Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2370.12

  • Agriculture: means the commercial planting, growing, harvesting, production, storage, processing, marketing, distribution, or export of any agricultural product, including but not limited to farm products, livestock and livestock products, poultry and poultry products, milk and dairy products, fruit and other horticultural products, and seafood and aquacultural products. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2370.2
  • Broadband service: means deployed internet access service with a minimum of one hundred megabits per second (Mbps) download and at least twenty megabits per second upload transmission speeds. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2370.2
  • Fund: means the Louisiana Economic Development Fund. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2332
  • Local government: means a parish, municipality, or school board, or any instrumentality thereof. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2370.2
  • Office: means the office of broadband development and connectivity within the division of administration. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2370.2
  • person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
  • Program: means the Workforce Development and Training Program. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:2332

            A. Grant recipients shall submit to the office an annual report for each funded project for the duration of the agreement. The report shall include a summary of the items contained in the grant agreement and shall also include all of the following:

            (1) The number of residential and commercial locations that have broadband access as a result of the project.

            (2) The percentage of end users in the project area who have access to broadband service and the percentage of those with access who actually subscribe to the broadband service.

            (3) The average monthly subscription rate for residential and commercial broadband service in the project area.

            (4) Any right-of-way fees or permit fees paid to local government, state government, railroad, private entity or person during the fulfillment of the grant awarded pursuant to this Subpart.

            (5) Any delays encountered when obtaining a right-of-way permission.

            B. The office shall submit an annual report to the House Committee on Commerce, Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and International Affairs, and the Joint Legislative Committee on Technology and Cybersecurity on or before September thirtieth of each calendar year. The report shall contain all of the following:

            (1) The number of grant projects applied for and the number of grant agreements entered into.

            (2) A timeline for each grant agreement and the number of households, businesses, agriculture operations, and community anchor points expected to benefit from each agreement.

            (3) The amount of matching funds required for each agreement and the total amount of investment.

            (4) A summary of areas receiving grants that are now being provided broadband service and the advertised broadband speeds and corresponding costs for those areas.

            (5) Any breaches of agreements, grant fund forfeitures, or subsequent reductions or refunds of matching funds.

            (6) Any recommendations for the GUMBO program, including better sources and methods for improving outcomes and accountability.

            Acts 2021, No. 477, §1, eff. July 1, 2021; Acts 2023, No. 383, §3A.