SF 1463

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to telecommunications; establishing Minnesota 
  1.3             rural communications infrastructure fund and 
  1.4             appropriating money for providing low-interest loans 
  1.5             and grants to communications infrastructure projects 
  1.6             in rural Minnesota; imposing a fee on wireless 
  1.7             telephone service; providing ten-year sunset date; 
  1.8             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.9             chapter 237. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  [237.82] [MINNESOTA RURAL COMMUNICATIONS 
  1.12  INFRASTRUCTURE FUND.] 
  1.13     Subdivision 1.  [FUND ESTABLISHED.] There is established in 
  1.14  the state treasury a Minnesota rural communications 
  1.15  infrastructure revolving fund consisting of (1) money 
  1.16  appropriated to the fund by the legislature and (2) all 
  1.17  repayments of financial assistance granted under this section, 
  1.18  including all earnings arising from fund assets, such as 
  1.19  interest and dividends, which must be credited to the fund. 
  1.20     Subd. 2.  [FEE; APPROPRIATION.] Each customer receiving 
  1.21  service from a wireless telecommunications service provider is 
  1.22  assessed a fee of ....... per month per service number.  Each 
  1.23  wireless telecommunications service provider shall collect this 
  1.24  fee and submit the proceeds collected to the commissioner of 
  1.25  revenue.  The commissioner shall deposit these receipts in the 
  1.26  state treasury, credited to the Minnesota rural communications 
  1.27  infrastructure fund.  Money in the fund is appropriated to the 
  2.1   commissioner of commerce for the purposes provided in 
  2.2   subdivision 3. 
  2.3      Subd. 3.  [EXPENDITURES.] The commissioner may only use 
  2.4   money in the fund to provide grants and low-interest loans for 
  2.5   wireless infrastructure development in rural Minnesota, 
  2.6   including infrastructure for cellular telephone service and 
  2.7   high-speed wireless access to the Internet.  The commissioner 
  2.8   may also transfer money in the fund to the commissioner of 
  2.9   administration for upgrades to the enhanced 911 system in rural 
  2.10  Minnesota provided for in section 403.113. 
  2.11     Subd. 4.  [ELIGIBILITY.] To be eligible for a loan under 
  2.12  this section, a borrower must: 
  2.13     (1) locate the proposed project on land located in rural 
  2.14  Minnesota; 
  2.15     (2) provide evidence of financial stability and technical 
  2.16  capability; 
  2.17     (3) demonstrate an ability to repay the loan; and 
  2.18     (4) provide evidence that the proposed project will have a 
  2.19  significant beneficial affect on the provision of wireless 
  2.20  communication services in rural Minnesota. 
  2.21     Subd. 5.  [LOANS.] The commissioner may make a direct loan 
  2.22  or participate in a loan with an eligible lender to a borrower 
  2.23  who is eligible under subdivision 4.  The interest rates and 
  2.24  repayment terms of the state's participation interest may differ 
  2.25  from the interest rates and repayment terms of the lender's 
  2.26  retained portion of the loan.  The state's interest rate for a 
  2.27  direct loan or a loan participation must not exceed four percent.
  2.28  Application for a direct loan or a loan participation must be 
  2.29  made on forms prescribed by the commissioner.  The commissioner 
  2.30  shall set standards for loan amortization, which must not exceed 
  2.31  ten years.  Security for the loans must be a personal note 
  2.32  executed by the borrower and any other security required by the 
  2.33  eligible lender or the commissioner.  No loan proceeds may be 
  2.34  used to refinance a debt existing before application.  The 
  2.35  commissioner may impose a reasonable nonrefundable application 
  2.36  fee for each application for a direct loan or a loan 
  3.1   participation.  The authority may review the application fees 
  3.2   annually and make adjustments as necessary.  The application fee 
  3.3   is initially set at $100.  The fees received by the authority 
  3.4   must be deposited in the revolving fund created in subdivision 1.
  3.5      Subd. 6.  [GRANTS.] (a) The commissioner may make grants 
  3.6   for wireless infrastructure development in rural Minnesota.  To 
  3.7   be eligible for a grant, a project developer must: 
  3.8      (1) locate the proposed project on land located in rural 
  3.9   Minnesota; 
  3.10     (2) provide evidence of financial stability and technical 
  3.11  capability; 
  3.12     (3) provide evidence that the proposed project will have a 
  3.13  significant beneficial affect on the provision of wireless 
  3.14  communication services in rural Minnesota; and 
  3.15     (4) demonstrate that a low-interest loan under subdivision 
  3.16  5 would not be sufficient to make the project financially 
  3.17  viable, because of higher installation and development costs due 
  3.18  to difficult terrain, or other reason. 
  3.19     (b) Before approving a grant under this section, the 
  3.20  commissioner must find that the proposed project is integral to 
  3.21  further development of wireless communications in rural 
  3.22  Minnesota.  To provide for maximum flexibility in encouraging 
  3.23  needed infrastructure projects, the commissioner may issue both 
  3.24  grants and loans under this section to a single project. 
  3.25     Subd. 7.  [REPORT TO LEGISLATURE.] The commissioner shall 
  3.26  issue a report to the legislature by November 1 of each year, 
  3.27  detailing expenditures from the fund and the progress of 
  3.28  projects receiving assistance under this section.  The 
  3.29  commissioner shall provide legislative recommendations to 
  3.30  further encourage the development of needed communications 
  3.31  infrastructure in rural Minnesota. 
  3.32     Subd. 8.  [SUNSET.] This section expires June 30, 2013. 
  3.33     [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective July 1, 2003.