DIT Agency Bill.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 3
HOUSE BILL 819
Committee Substitute Favorable 6/24/25
Third Edition Engrossed 6/25/25

Short Title: DIT Agency Bill. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
April 9, 2025
*H819-v-3*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIO US CHANGES RELATED T O THE DEPARTMENT OF 2
INFORMATION TECHNOLO GY, BROADBAND FUNDIN G, AND 3
TELECOMMUNICATIONS. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
6
PART I. DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CHANGES 7
SECTION 1.1.(a) G.S. 143B-1320(b) reads as rewritten: 8
"(b) Exemptions. – Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, the provisions of 9
this Chapter do not apply to the following entities: the General Assembly, the Judicial 10
Department, and The University of North Carolina and its constituent institutions. institutions, 11
and the State Highway Patrol . These entities may elect to participate in the information 12
technology programs, services, or contracts offered by the Department, including information 13
technology procurement, in accordance with the statutes, policies, and rules of the Department. 14
The election must be made in writing, as follows: 15
(1) For the General Assembly, by the Legislative Services Commission. 16
(2) For the Judicial Department, by the Chief Justice. 17
(3) For The University of North Carolina, by the Board of Governors. 18
(4) For the constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina, by the 19
respective boards of trustees. 20
(5) For the State Highway Patrol , by the Commander of the State Highway 21
Patrol." 22
SECTION 1.1.(a1) If House Bill 549, 2025 Regular Session, becomes law, 23
G.S. 143B-1320(b), as amended by Section 2 of that act and subsection (a) of this section, reads 24
as rewritten: 25
"(b) Exemptions. – Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, this Article does not 26
apply to the following entities: the General Assembly, the Judicial Department, The University 27
of North Carolina and its constituent institutions, and the Office of the State Auditor. Auditor, 28
and the State Highway Patrol. These entities may elect to participate in the information 29
technology programs, services, or contracts offered by the Department, including information 30
technology procurement, in accordance with the statutes, policies, and rules of the Department. 31
The election must be made in writing, as follows: 32
(1) For the General Assembly, by the Legislative Services Commission. 33
(2) For the Judicial Department, by the Chief Justice. 34
(3) For The University of North Carolina, by the Board of Governors. 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 819-Third Edition
(4) For the constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina, by the 1
respective boards of trustees. 2
(5) For the Office of the State Auditor, by the State Auditor. 3
(5)(6) For the State Highway Patrol, by the Commander of the State Highway 4
Patrol." 5
SECTION 1.1.(b) Section 38.4 of S.L. 2023-134 reads as rewritten: 6
"SECTION 38.4.(a) In accordance with G.S. 143B-1325(c)(13), and notwithstanding any 7
other provision of Article 15 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes to the contrary, the State 8
Highway Patrol, the State Bureau of Investigation, Investigation and the Division of Emergency 9
Management within the Department of Public Safety shall continue to be entirely exempt from 10
any and all information technology oversight by the Department of Public Safety and the 11
Department of Information Technology. The State Highway Patrol, the State Bureau of 12
Investigation, and the Division of Emergency Management shall initiate a pilot project where 13
those divisions the division shall be deemed as a separate, stand-alone entities entity within the 14
Department of Public Safet y in all matters related to information technology, and each the 15
division shall autonomously manage their its own respective information technology 16
infrastructure and all associated services without oversight from the Department of Information 17
Technology or the Department of Public Safety. Exemption from information technology 18
oversight includes, but is not limited to, the following: 19
… 20
"SECTION 38.4.(b) This section expires on June 30, 2025.2027." 21
SECTION 1.1.(c) G.S. 143B-1325(c) reads as rewritten: 22
"(c) Participating Agencies. – The State CIO shall prepare detailed plans to transition each 23
of the participating agencies. As the transition plans are completed, the following participating 24
agencies shall transfer information technology personnel, operati ons, projects, assets, and 25
appropriate funding to the Department of Information Technology: 26
… 27
(13) Department of Public Safety, with the exception of the following: 28
a. State Bureau of Investigation. 29
b. Repealed by Session Laws 2024 -57, s. 3E.1(v), effectiv e December 30
11, 2024. 31
c. Division of Emergency Management. 32
The State CIO shall ensure that State agencies' operations are not adversely impacted under the 33
State agency information technology consolidation." 34
35
PART II. CHANGES TO THE BROADBAND POLE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM 36
SECTION 2.1. Section 38.10 of S.L. 2021-180, as amended by Section 16.4 of S.L. 37
2022-6, reads as rewritten: 38
"BROADBAND ACCELERATION 39
… 40
"SECTION 38.10.(b) The Broadband Pole Replacement Program (hereinafter "Program") 41
is hereby established for the purpose of speeding and facilitating the deployment of broadband 42
service to individuals, businesses, agricultural operations, and community access points in 43
unserved areas by reimbursing a portion of eligible pole replacement costs incurred by 44
communications service providers. A communications service provider who pays or incurs the 45
costs of removing and replacing an existing pole pole, or placing facilities underground to better 46
protect the critical infrastructure from natural disasters, in connection with a qualified project 47
may apply to the Department for reimbursement in an amount equal to fifty percent (50%) of 48
eligible pole replacement costs paid or incurred by the applicant or ten thousand dollars 49
($10,000), whichever is less, for each pole replaced.replaced or, in the case of placing facilities 50
underground, fifty percent (50%) of such costs. 51
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House Bill 819-Third Edition Page 3
… 1
"SECTION 38.10.(g) A pole owner shall promptly review a request for access, perform 2
surveys, provide estimates and final invoices, and complete, or require the completion by other 3
attaching entities of, any make-ready work necessary for purposes of offering broadband service 4
in an unserved area. A pole owner shall prov ide a good-faith estimate for any make-ready costs 5
to the communications service provider within 60 days after receipt of a complete application for 6
access. If requested by the communications service provider, the pole owner shall provide 7
accompanying docu mentation indicating the basis of all estimated fees or other charges, 8
including, but not limited to, administrative costs, that form the basis of its estimate. A good-faith 9
estimate shall remain valid for 14 days. To accept a good -faith estimate, a commun ications 10
service provider must provide the pole owner with written acceptance and payment of the 11
good-faith estimate. Make -ready work shall be conditioned upon payment of the good -faith 12
estimate and shall be completed within a reasonable time frame mutuall y agreed to by the 13
communications service provider and the pole owner. A pole owner may treat multiple requests 14
from a single communications service provider as one application for access when the requests 15
are filed within 90 days of one another. A pole owner may deviate from the time limits specified 16
in this subsection during performance of make -ready work for good and sufficient cause that 17
renders it infeasible to complete make -ready work within the time limits specified in this 18
subsection. Any deviation from the time limits specified in this subsection shall extend for a 19
period no longer than necessary. A communications service provider shall promptly be notified, 20
in writing, of the reason for a deviation and the new completion date estimate. A communications 21
service provider shall provide notice, in writing, to the pole owner no later than 14 days after 22
attaching equipment to a pole in an unserved area. This subsection shall not apply to poles owned 23
by a utility. 24
"SECTION 38.10.(h) A party subject to a dispute arising under subsection (g) of this section 25
may invoke the dispute procedures authorized in G.S. 62-350 in the same manner as a party 26
seeking resolution of a dispute under G.S. 62-350(c), and the Utilities Commission shall issue a 27
final order resolving the dispute within 120 days of the date the proceedings were initiated; 28
provided, however, the Commission may extend the time for issuance of a final order for good 29
cause and with the agreement of all parties. In such a dispute , the Commission shall apply the 30
provisions of this section notwithstanding any contrary provisions of any existing agreement. 31
This subsection shall not apply to poles owned by a utility. 32
"SECTION 38.10.(i) No later than 60 days after the date funds are a ppropriated to the 33
Program special fund, and on a quarterly basis thereafter, the Department shall maintain and 34
publish on its website all of the following: 35
(1) The number of applications for reimbursement received, processed, and 36
rejected, including the reasons applications were rejected. 37
(2) The amount of each reimbursement, the total number of reimbursements, and 38
the status of any pending reimbursements. 39
(3) The estimated remaining balance in the Program special fund. 40
"SECTION 38.10.(j) The following definitions apply in this section: 41
… 42
(4) Eligible pole replacement cost. – The actual and reasonable costs paid or 43
incurred by a party after June 1, 2021, to (i) remove and replace a pole, 44
including the amount of any expenditures to remove and dispose of the 45
existing pole, purchase and install a replacement pole, and transfer any 46
existing facilities to the new pole. pole or (ii) place facilities, including lines, 47
conduit, and related equipment, underground to better protect the critical 48
infrastructure from natural disaster. The term includes costs paid or incurred 49
by the party responsible for the costs of a pole replacement to reimburse the 50
party that performs the pole replacement. The term does not include costs that 51
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the party incurs initially that have been reimbursed to the party by another 1
party ultimately responsible for the costs. 2
(5) Pole. – Any pole used, wholly or partly, for any wire communications or 3
electric distribution, irrespective of who owns or operates the pole.pole, 4
including poles owned by a utility. 5
(6) Pole owner. – A city or cooperatively organized entity that owns utility poles. 6
(7) Qualified project. – A project undertaken by a communications service 7
provider that is not affiliated with a pole owner seeking to provide or, due to 8
natural disaster or other force majeure event, restore , temporarily or 9
permanently, qualifying internet access service on a retail basis to one or more 10
households, businesses, agricultural operations, or community access points 11
in an unserved or underserved area. The project may be affiliated with a 12
cooperatively organized entity that owns utility poles but shall not be affiliated 13
with a city that owns utility poles. A pole owner whose affiliate seeks 14
reimbursement for a qualified project shall not pass through the costs for 15
which reimbursement is sought to unaffiliated communications service 16
providers and shall schedule and perform all work in a nondiscriminat ory 17
fashion. 18
… 19
(9) Unserved area. – An area in which, according to the most recent map of fixed 20
broadband i nternet access service made available by the Federal 21
Communications Commission, fixed, terrestrial broadband service at speeds 22
of at least 25 megabits per second download and at least 3 megabits per second 23
upload is unavailable at the time the communicatio ns service provider 24
requests access. An unserved area also includes an area that was previously 25
served but has become unserved due to damage or destruction by a natural 26
disaster. A pole or underground installation shall be presumed to be located in 27
an unserved area if the pole is located in an area that is the subject of a federal 28
or State grant to deploy broadband service, the conditions of which limit the 29
availability of a grant to unserved areas.areas or, in the case of a damaged or 30
destroyed facility, was in such an area when the facility was originally 31
constructed. 32
(10) Utility. – As defined by 47 U.S.C. § 224. 33
…." 34
SECTION 2.2. This Part is effective when it becomes law. Funds encumbered for 35
expenses incurred as of June 1, 2021, prior to the effective date of this Part shall remain eligible 36
for reimbursement. 37
38
PART III. BROADBAND FUND FLEXIBILITY 39
SECTION 3.1. G.S. 143B-1373.2 is repealed. 40
SECTION 3.2. G.S. 143B-1374 is repealed. 41
SECTION 3.3.(a) The Department of Information Technology shall use funds 42
appropriated for the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology program for fixed 43
wireless and satellite broadband grants, established in G.S. 143B-1373.2, to award grants to 44
eligible entities to purchase i nstallation materials for satellite internet service. Installation 45
materials and internet service must be for the grantee's own use and not for distribution to other 46
parties. No portion of funds granted under this section shall be used for internet service 47
subscriptions. The Department shall prioritize grant applicants that operate in one of the 39 48
counties designated as a disaster area due to Hurricane Helene. The Department may also give 49
priority to grantees that offer emergency services, disaster relief, educational services, or 50
economic development. 51
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House Bill 819-Third Edition Page 5
SECTION 3.3.(b) For the purposes of this section, an eligible entity is one of the 1
following: 2
(1) A State agency. 3
(2) A local government entity. 4
(3) A volunteer fire department. 5
(4) An anchor point, as that term is defined in G.S. 117-18.1(d)(1). 6
SECTION 3.4.(a) The Department of Information Technology may provide 7
emergency funding to communications service providers to rebuild, repair, or replace broadband 8
infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Helene, including reimbursement of costs already incurred 9
for rebuilding, repairing, or replacing broadband infrastructure, provided that all of the following 10
apply: 11
(1) An applicant for funding under this section shall only be permitted to recover 12
costs that are not sub ject to reimbursement from another source of external 13
funding, including insurance. 14
(2) The Department may cap reimbursement at a portion of the costs incurred 15
based upon evaluation of considerations such as the number of applications 16
anticipated compared to funds available. 17
(3) Priority shall be given to restoration of broadband service. 18
SECTION 3.4.(b) The Department may use up to fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) 19
of the funds available from the Broadband Make Ready Accelerator appropriation in S.L. 20
2021-180 for the emergency funding described in subsection (a) of this section. Funds shall be 21
used in compliance with applicable federal guidelines associated with the use of federal funds. 22
The Department may use its emergency procurement authority provided in 09 NCAC 06B .1302 23
to procure any goods or services in accordance with this section and shall document the request 24
for funding, the emergency situation or need, the area to be served, and the community's need for 25
the procurement. 26
SECTION 3.5. Section 38.15 of S.L. 2021 -180, as enacted by Section 16.1(a) of 27
S.L. 2022-6, reads as rewritten: 28
"SECTION 38.15. Except as otherwise provided, provided and after the intent of the original 29
appropriation has been satisfied to the extent practicable, the Department of Information 30
Technology shall have flexibility to transfer funding between the programs outlined in Section 31
38.4, Section 38.5, and Section 38.6 38.6, and Sections 38.10(b) through (k) of this act, so long 32
as the total allocations for the programs remain the same.act." 33
34
PART IV. BEAD DEPLOYMENT CHANGES 35
SECTION 4.1. Section 10.2 of S.L. 2024-55 reads as rewritten: 36
"SECTION 10.2.(a) Definitions. – As used in this section, the following definitions apply: 37
(1) BEAD. – Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment. 38
(2) Broadband service. – For the purposes of this section, a terrestrially deployed 39
mass-market retail service by wire or radio that provides the capability to 40
transmit data to and receive data from all or substantially all internet 41
endpoints, including any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the 42
operation of the communications service, but excluding dial-up internet access 43
service. 44
… 45
(8) Extremely high cost per location threshold. – A BEAD subsidy cost per 46
location above which the Office may decline to select a proposal if use of an 47
alternative technology meeting the BEAD Program's technical requirements 48
is necessitated by the fact that selection of an eligible project proposing to 49
provision service via end -to-end fiber -optic facilities to each end -user 50
premises would be cost prohibitive. The Office will develop a methodology 51
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for calculating this threshold in a manner that maximizes use of the best 1
available technology while ensuring that the program can, at a minimum, meet 2
the prioritization requirements. The Office will post the methodology for 3
public comment before implementation. The Office shall not, unless it is 4
determined that it does not have sufficient funding to select each 5
highest-scoring application in the initial round described in this section, utilize 6
the extremely high cost per location threshold in the initial round. 7
… 8
(14) Low-cost broadband service option. – A broadband service offered to 9
low-income households that meets the eligibility requirements for the federal 10
Affordable Connectivity Program, or similar replacement program, in the 11
project area for at least the length of time defined by federal requirements. A 12
low-cost broadband service option must be made available and include the 13
following elements: As defined in the IIJA and as interpreted by a ny 14
subsequent guidance issued by NTIA. 15
a. Provide typical download speeds of at least 100 Mbps and typical 16
upload speeds of at least 20 Mbps. 17
b. Provide typical latency measurements of no more than 100 18
milliseconds. 19
c. Not be subject to nongovernmental imposed surcharges and be subject 20
only to the same acceptable use policies to which subscribers to all 21
other broadband internet access service plans offered to home 22
subscribers by the participating subgrantee must adhere. 23
d. Shall be offered at a price that does not exceed the highest price listed 24
in the FCC's 2024 Urban Rate Survey data for Fixed Broadband 25
Service for a service offering in North Carolina that provides a 26
download speed of 100 Mbps, upload s peed of 20 Mbps, and an 27
unlimited capacity allowance. The price may be adjusted by the 28
subgrantee based on the Consumer Price Index, as defined by the 29
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, beginning with an adjustment 30
in the first new calendar year after the date of enactment of this section. 31
e. In the event the provider later increases the speeds of one of its 32
low-cost plans, it will permit eligible subscribers that are subscribed 33
to that plan to upgrade to those new speeds at no more than a 34
commensurate change in cost. 35
… 36
(20) Reliable broadband service. – Terrestrial-based broadband service (i) with 37
ninety-five percent (95%) of latency measurements during testing windows 38
falling at or below 100 milliseconds round-trip time and (ii) which is designed 39
to ensure that network outages should not exceed, on average, 48 hours over 40
any 365 -day period except in the case of natural disasters or other force 41
majeure occurrences. Locations served exclusively by satellite, terrestrial 42
fixed wireless services utilizing entirely licensed spectrum, using a hybrid of 43
licensed and unlicensed spectrum, or a technology not specified by the FCC 44
for purposes of its Broadband DATA Maps do not meet the definition of 45
"reliable broadband service" and will be considered "unserved" for the 46
purposes of determining eligible locations. As defined in the IIJA and as 47
interpreted by any subsequent guidance issued by NTIA. 48
(21) Secretary. – The Secretary of Information Technology. 49
(22) Subgrantee. – An eligible recipient who receives BEAD funds for an eligible 50
project. 51
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House Bill 819-Third Edition Page 7
(23) Underserved. – A BSL that has access to reliable broadband service equal to 1
or greater than 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload but less than 100 Mbps 2
download and 20 Mbps upload. Unless otherwise determined by the 3
Department based on competent findings of fact, locations that the FCC's 4
Broadband DATA Maps show to have available qualifying broadband service 5
delivered via (i) DSL or (ii) terrestrial fixed wireless services utilizing entirely 6
licensed spectrum, or using a hybr id of licensed and unlicensed spectrum, 7
shall be considered "underserved" for the purpose of determining eligible 8
locations.As defined in the IIJA and as interpreted by any subsequent 9
guidance issued by NTIA. 10
(24) Unserved. – A BSL that does not have acces s to reliable broadband service 11
with transmission speeds of at least 25 Mbps download and at least 3 Mbps 12
upload.As defined in the IIJA and as interpreted by any subsequent guidance 13
issued by NTIA. 14
… 15
"SECTION 10.2.(j) Competitive Subgrantee Selection Process. – The Office shall 16
implement a competitive subgrantee selection process that conforms with published regulations 17
and guidelines under the BEAD Program under the IIJA. Applications receiving the highest score 18
shall receive priority status for the awarding of subgrants pursuant to this section. As a means of 19
breaking a tie for applications receiving the same score, the Office shall give priority to the 20
application proposing to serve the highest number of new unserved and underserved locations. 21
Applications shall be scored on an objective 100 -point scale that is published prior to the 22
submission of applications for subgrants. The Office shall determine whether or not a subgrantee 23
has the capacity to perform multiple projects and shall not be required to award multiple projects 24
to a prequalified subgrantee that has failed to demonstrate its ability to perform. 25
…." 26
27
PART V. LIFELINE SERVICE PROVIDERS 28
SECTION 5.1. Article 3 of Chapter 62 of the General Statutes is amended by adding 29
a new section to read: 30
"§ 62-30.1. Designating telecommunications carriers; rules. 31
(a) Notwithstanding G.S. 62-3(23)j. or G.S. 62-30, the Utilities Commission may, solely 32
upon petition of any provider or reseller of mobile radio communications service, designate the 33
petitioning provider or reseller of mobile radio communications service as an eligible 34
telecommunications carrier pursuant to 47 C.F.R. § 54.201 for purposes of providing Lifeline 35
service. The Commission may adopt rules to effectuate the purposes of this section. 36
(b) Nothing in this section shall confer upon the Utilities C ommission any regulatory 37
jurisdiction over providers or resellers of mobile radio communications service that have been 38
previously designated as eligible telecommunications carriers for purposes of providing Lifeline 39
service prior to the enactment of this section." 40
41
PART VI. EFFECTIVE DATE 42
SECTION 6.1. Except as otherwise provided, this act becomes effective July 1, 43
2025. 44