News
Minnesota is in line to get hundreds of millions of dollars in broadband funding from the federal government, but a new law seeks to regulate which companies can get a piece of the pie.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
A bill in Minnesota that would take effect this August if signed by the governor will mandate the state’s broadband office to prioritize companies that meet strict new workplace standards when awarding grants.
The bill, HF 5242, was passed in both the Minnesota house and senate last week. The legislation had been opposed by organizations like the Minnesota Cable Communications Association, the Minnesota Telecom Alliance, and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association.
All three organizations, in a letter sent to the governor earlier this month published by Broadband Breakfast, expressed “dire concern” that the legislation will cause some of the $1.3 billion in funding for Minnesota through the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program to be left unused.
The proposed bill “would effectively require BEAD funded projects to be prevailing wage projects,” according to the May 2 letter, signed by leaders from all three organizations, which was sent to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D).
Language in the letter also took aim at text that, if signed into law, “creates an unjustified, burdensome new broadband installer certification program.”
“We’re not claiming we have a spotless safety record. All we ask for is fact-based legislation,” the letter stated, while pointing to numbers that the letter argued reflect a steady decline of incidents causing damage to underground facilities since 2020.
“We want to be clear: This language will essentially make it impossible for any internet service provider in the state to participate in the BEAD or any other future border-to border grant program,” the letter stated. “Broadband investment to the remaining unserved areas of Minnesota will come to a halt. Proponents of the legislation may call this a victory, but it will be a hollow one.”
According to the letter, incidents causing damage to underground facilities in the state decreased from 638 in 2020, to 400 in 2021, to 347 in 2022.
“We do not envy those who will have to explain why the State of Minnesota, with a once in a lifetime chance to finish the job, instead chose to leave $1.3 billion in broadband investment on the table,” the letter read. “We ask for your help in preventing this harmful legislation from becoming law.”
The law, which was passed by Minnesota’s Democratic majorities in the state house and the state senate on May 19, now goes to the desk of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D). It would give preference regarding grant applications for telecommunications companies that provide at least 80 hours of skills training to employees annually, pay prevailing wages, and have a demonstrated track record of hiring people of color, Indigenous people, women, or people with disabilities.
HF 5242 will also direct the Minnesota broadband office to give priority to companies that offer employer-paid family health insurance coverage, and companies that offer employer-paid retirement benefit payments “equal to no less than 15 percent of the employee’s total taxable wages.”
Among the certification requirements listed in the bill, installers would be directed to complete a 40-hour course that includes “hands-on instruction covering proper work procedures for safe installation of underground utilities,” according to the revised text of the legislation.
Companies installing underground broadband equipment would be required to comply by the beginning of July in 2025 if the law is signed by the governor.
