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2026 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE BILL NO. 80
BY SENATOR MIZELL
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 51:2370.13, 2370.32(B), and 2370.41 and to repeal R.S.
3 51:2370.51, relative to the regulation of certain broadband services; to provide for
4 administration fees; to provide for reimbursement of grantees; to provide for
5 rulemaking; to provide for grants; and to provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 51:2370.13, 2370.32(B), and 2370.41 are hereby amended and
8 reenacted to read as follows:
9 §2370.13. Administration fee
10 The office may use up to one two and one-half percent of the appropriated
11 funds to administer the GUMBO 1.0 program. The office may use an additional one
12 two and one-half percent of the appropriated funds to hire third-party contractors
13 as deemed necessary for the further administration of the GUMBO 1.0 program. The
14 additional one two and one-half percent shall not be used as compensation for any
15 new or existing positions within the office.
16 * * *
17 §2370.32. Reimbursement for grantees
18 * * *
19 B.(1) Except as provided in Subsection C of this Section, the next ten percent
ACT No. 736
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SB NO. 80 ENROLLED
1 of the subgrant award shall be provided based on provider certification and the
2 office's verification that ten percent of the eligible locations have been reached. The
3 remaining disbursements shall be given at the thresholds of completion of thirty-five
4 percent, sixty percent, eighty-five percent, and one hundred percent. The final
5 disbursement for one hundred percent completion shall be given only after
6 verification of one hundred percent deployment to eligible locations, within the
7 mandatory forty-eight-month maximum deadline, which may be extended up to a
8 year by the office or another shorter timeline certified by the applicant. The office
9 shall disburse funds only for completed deployments that comply with the terms
10 included in the successful application and shall withhold funds for failure to do so.
11 (2)(a) The office may withhold only the final payment to a provider, and
12 only in an amount equal to the unpaid portion of a final judgment by a court of
13 competent jurisdiction for damage to underground utilities or facilities
14 occurring during the course of a GUMBO 2.0 project, after a final
15 non-appealable adjudication determining that the provider is legally at fault for
16 such damage and has failed to timely satisfy the judgment.
17 (b) The office may require documentation of repairs, reimbursement of
18 damages, corrective action plans, utility coordination records, locate requests,
19 or other compliance measures prior to the release of withheld funds. Any
20 evidence gathered in the course of such administrative process, as well as any
21 findings of the office, shall not be admissible as evidence in any court of law.
22 (3)(a) The office shall not withhold any progress payment or interim
23 disbursement pursuant to this Section. The office may withhold only the final
24 disbursement or closeout payment of a GUMBO 2.0 grant, and only if such
25 withholding is authorized by rules promulgated in accordance with the
26 Administrative Procedure Act and only after completion of the regular notice,
27 public comment, and legislative oversight process applicable to rulemaking
28 pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act. Such rules shall include notice
29 to the grantee, a statement of the grounds for withholding, and an opportunity
30 for the grantee to cure or respond prior to final agency action.
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1 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the office may not
2 promulgate rules through emergency rulemaking, pursuant to R.S. 49:962, to
3 implement the provisions of this Paragraph.
4 * * *
5 §2370.41. GUMBO 3.0
6 A. In the event that there are remaining GUMBO 2.0 funds after the
7 obligation of infrastructure funds, the office of broadband development and
8 connectivity, which shall be referred to in this Subpart as "office", shall run a
9 grant program, nondeployment non-deployment, that will allow eligible parties
10 including but not limited to state agencies, nonprofits, for-profits, academic
11 institutions, and planning commissions to utilize these funds to help address
12 challenges in economic development, workforce development, health care,
13 cybersecurity, agriculture, and other sectors and industries of importance to the state
14 of Louisiana, as determined by approval of Volume 2 of Initial Proposal from the
15 office and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or IIJA, the Broadband Equity,
16 Access, and Deployment, or BEAD, Program, and the Notice of Funding
17 Opportunity, or NOFO, with an obligation deadline of these funds to be completed
18 no later than December 12, 2024. This program will be designated as "Granting
19 Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities 3.0", and the office shall have the
20 authority to create appropriate rules and scoring criteria.
21 B. Grants solicited and awarded pursuant to the GUMBO 3.0 program
22 are subject to the provisions of the Louisiana Procurement Code, R.S. 39:1551
23 et seq., or the state Public Bid Law, R.S. 38:2181 et seq. Alternative
24 procurement methods consistent with the requirements defined by the assistant
25 secretary of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration,
26 or NTIA, of the United States Department of Commerce may be used to solicit
27 and award grants pursuant to the GUMBO 3.0 program if determined in
28 writing by the commissioner of administration to be in the best interest of the
29 state. The office may promulgate rules, after the NTIA releases non-deployment
30 guidance, that are consistent with the requirements promulgated by the
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1 assistant secretary pursuant to the IIJA, BEAD program guidelines, state law,
2 and this Subpart.
3 Section 2. R.S. 51:2370.51 is hereby repealed in its entirety.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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