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Amend the amendment in Part A in section 1 in §9211-A by striking out all of subsection 2 (page 1, lines 31 to 33 and page 2, lines 1 to 3 in amendment) and inserting the following:
 
‘2.  Fund established.     The Municipal Gigabit Broadband Network Access Fund is established as a nonlapsing, revolving fund administered by the authority for the purposes of supporting the activities and projects of the authority under this section. All money in the fund must be continuously applied by the authority to carry out this section. The authority may receive and deposit in the fund funds from the following sources:
 
A.  Federal funds and awards that may be used for the purposes of this section;
 
B.  The proceeds of bonds issued for the purposes of this section; and
 
C. Any other funds from public or private sources received in support of the purposes for which the fund is established.’
Amend the amendment in Part A in section 1 in §9211-A in subsection 3 in the 3rd line (page 2, line 6 in amendment) by striking out the following: "The" and inserting the following: 'To the extent funds are available, the'
Amend the amendment in Part A in section 1 in §9211-A by striking out all of subsection 4 (page 2, lines 27 to 38 in amendment) and inserting the following:
 
‘4.  Implementation grants; maximum awards.     To the extent funds are available, the authority shall award implementation grants to achieve the purpose of the fund as described in subsection 3 as follows.
 
A.  An implementation grant to an applicant may not exceed $200,000 for each eligible project selected for funding.
 
B.  An implementation grant may be awarded only to an applicant that has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the authority that it has participated in a planning grant process as described in subsections 5, 6 and 7.
 
C. Municipalities selected for funding must be required to provide a 25% cash match.’
Amend the amendment in Part A in section 1 in §9211-A in subsection 5 in the 2nd and 3rd lines (page 2, lines 40 and 41 in amendment) by striking out the following: "the authority may award up to 25" and inserting the following: 'to the extent funds are available, the authority shall award'
Amend the amendment in Part A in section 1 in §9211-A in subsection 5 in paragraph A in the first line (page 3, line 7 in amendment) by striking out the following: "An economic development plan" and inserting the following: 'A plan'
Amend the amendment in Part A in section 1 in §9211-A in subsection 8 in the first line (page 3, line 39 in amendment) by striking out the following: "shall" and inserting the following: 'may'
Amend the amendment in Part A by striking out all of sections 2 and 3 (page 4, lines 12 to 37 in amendment) and inserting the following:
‘Sec. A-2. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
 
CONNECTME AUTHORITY
 
Municipal Gigabit Broadband Network Access Fund N185
 
Initiative: Provides a base allocation of $500 to establish the Municipal Gigabit Broadband Network Access Fund.

OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS	2015-16	2016-17	
All Other	$500	$500	
			
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL	$500	$500	
 
’
Amend the amendment by striking out all of Part B.
Amend the amendment by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
 
SUMMARY
This amendment:
1. Removes General Fund allocations that provide funds to support the Municipal Gigabit Broadband Network Access Fund;
2. Provides that the ConnectME Authority may receive and deposit in the Municipal Gigabit Broadband Network Access Fund federal funds, the proceeds from bonds and funds from any other public or private source;
3. Removes the minimum number of implementation and planning grants the ConnectME Authority is required to award;
4. Removes the requirement that the ConnectME Authority establish a timeline and standards for grants under the Municipal Gigabit Broadband Network Access Fund and perform an evaluation of the Municipal Gigabit Broadband Network Access Fund; and
5. Makes other changes to reflect the removal of the General Fund allocation to fund the Municipal Gigabit Broadband Network Access Fund.
This amendment adds an appropriations and allocations section.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)