State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

WI: Rural broadband bills would boost funding, streamline local approvals and fees

Wisconsin State Journal: A pair of bills set for hearings Thursday could deliver more state funding for rural broadband grants, but skeptics believe grant criteria created by one of the bills could be too limiting to help many residents in remote areas.

Assembly Bill 798, introduced in late January by Reps. Romaine Quinn, R-Rice Lake, and Ed Brooks, R-Reedsburg, would increase annual funding for Wisconsin’s Broadband Expansion Grant Program from $1.5 million to $10 million. A companion bill introduced last week, however, would direct the state’s Public Service Commission to give priority in awarding grants to projects that promote economic development or municipalities that achieve a certification proposed in the bill.

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