Legislation

Both state and federal broadband-related legislation impacts our understanding of regional needs, affordability, access, funding options and more. The following content represents some of the most notable activities.

State Activity

Current Session

The 2022 legislative session features a variety of proposals focused on broadband funding – both for municipalities seeking broadband infrastructure bonds as well as the State’s upcoming matching grant initiative offered by the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs. Each bill represents an opportunity to improve broadband infrastructure and access throughout the State.

Senate Bill 247: relative to broadband infrastructure bonds.

  • Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee Hearing: 1/26/22
  • Committee Report: Referred to Interim Study, 2/24/22

Senate Bill 273: relative to broadband infrastructure funding.

  • Senate Finance Committee Hearing: 1/11/22
  • Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment, 2/3/22
  • Municipal and County Government Public Hearing: 4/7/22

Senate Bill 395: relative to the broadband matching grant initiative.

  • Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee Hearing: 1/26/22
  • Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment, 2/3/22
  • Science Technology and Energy Public Hearing: 4/11/22

Senate Bill 445: appropriating funds to the broadband matching grant fund.

  • Senate Finance Committee Hearing: 2/1/22
  • Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment, 3/31/22
  • Finance Public Hearing: 4/13/22

Past Sessions

Below is a summary of past legislative proposals and actions.

Senate Bill 85: establishing a broadband matching grant initiative and fund.

Senate Bill 88: adopting omnibus legislation relative to broadband.

  • Part I: relative to the creation of communications district planning committees.
  • Part II: relative to public utility regulation of utility pole attachments.
  • Part III: relative to the issuance of bonds for financing broadband infrastructure.

House Bill 77: relative to the broadband matching grant initiative.

House Bill 153: establishing a committee to study universal Internet access for New Hampshire. 

House Bill 308: relative to broadband access to pole attachments.

House Bill 477: establishing consumer protections regarding Internet service provider outages and download speeds.

House Bill 1111: relative to municipal broadband infrastructure bonds and establishing communications districts. 

Senate Bill 457: establishing communications districts.

Senate Bill 459: relative to determining access to broadband.

Senate Bill 559: relative to municipal broadband infrastructure bonds. 

Senate Bill 103: authorizing municipalities to engage in multi-town bonding projects.

Senate Bill 170: relative to the authority of towns to issue bonds for the expansion of broadband infrastructure.

House Bill 191: relative to the authority of towns to issue bonds for the expansion of Internet service.

House Bill 238: establishing a committee to study broadband access to the Internet.

Federal Activity

Federal legislative proposals have to potential to offer major changes to the broadband funding landscape for internet service providers and customers as well as improvements in data and information available to support decision-making about improvements to broadband infrastructure.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act addresses provisions related to broadband infrastructure, federal-aid highway, transit, highway safety, motor carrier, research, hazardous materials, and rail programs of the Department of Transportation (DOT).

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provides relief to address the continued impact of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses.

The CARES Act responds to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak and its impact on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses.

The Rural Broadband Investment Tax Credit Act allows a new tax credit for up to 10% of investment in qualifying broadband projects, subject to specified limitations. The bill includes in the definition of “qualifying broadband project” any project that is designed solely to provide broadband service to one or more rural areas in which more than 50% of households lack access to adequate broadband service.

The Rural Broadband Financing Flexibility Act allows the use of tax-exempt private activity bonds to finance qualified broadband projects. A “qualified broadband project” is any project that is designed solely to provide broadband service to one or more rural areas in which more than 50% of residential households do not have access to adequate broadband service. The bill also allows direct payments to issuers of broadband infrastructure bonds for 35% of the interest payable under such bonds. 

The Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act of 2021 requires the Federal Communications Commission to establish a national standard—informed by data gathered on broadband service in the 20 most populous metropolitan areas in the United States—to determine whether the broadband service available in rural areas is reasonably comparable to that of urban areas. 

The Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (DATA) Act requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to change the way broadband data is collected, verified, and reported. 

Specifically, the FCC must collect and disseminate granular broadband service availability data (broadband maps) from wired, fixed-wireless, satellite, and mobile broadband providers. To do this, the FCC is required to establish the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (a dataset of geocoded information for all broadband service locations, atop which broadband maps are overlaid) as the vehicle for reporting broadband service availability data. 

Additionally, the FCC must put forth specified requirements for service availability data collected from broadband providers, and it must create a challenge process to enable the submission of independent data challenging the accuracy of FCC broadband maps. 

The Government Accountability Office must report on identified locations where fixed broadband can be installed to improve the quality and completeness of data sources for the fabric 


Resources & Helpful Links

Contact Information

Henry Underwood
Senior Planner

loading..