{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-224a.1118","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 224A.1118","heading":"Office of Broadband  Development  -- Purpose  -- Duties and","body":"responsibilities.\n(1) There is established the Office of Broadband Development, which shall:\n(a) Be administratively attached to the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority;\n(b) Encourage,  foster, develop, and  improve  broadband  within the\nCommonwealth  to:\n1. Drive job creation, promote innovation, and expand markets for\nKentucky businesses; and\n2. Serve the ongoing and growing needs of Kentucky's:\na. Agricultural, educational, health care, and  public safety\nsystems;\nb. Industries and businesses;\nc. Governmental operations; and\nd. Citizens;\n(c) Improve  broadband  accessibility for unserved  and  underserved\ncommunities and populations;\n(d) Develop, coordinate, administer, and implement the Commonwealth's\nbroadband deployment fund under KRS 224A.112;\n(e) Perform all administrative functions necessary to carry out the purposes\nof this section;\n(f) On  behalf of the Commonwealth, serve as:\n1. The central broadband planning and coordination entity;\n2. The  single point of contact and liaison to federal agencies and\nprograms regarding broadband issues, including but not limited to:\na. National Telecommunications and Information Administration;\nb. Federal Communications Commission;\nc. United States Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service;\nand\nd. United States Treasury; and\n3. An  information clearinghouse for federal programs  providing\nfinancial assistance to institutions located in rural areas seeking to\nobtain access to broadband;\n(g) Coordinate with other state, regional, local, and private entities to:\n1. Develop  and implement a statewide broadband plan, including\nrelevant goals and objectives;\n2. Develop and encourage cost-effective broadband;\n3. Make  recommendations for broadband infrastructure development,\nparticularly in rural, unserved, and underserved areas; and\n4. Provide consultation services to local units of government or other\nproject sponsors in connection with the planning, acquisition,\nimprovement,  construction, or development  of any  broadband\ndeployment project;\n(h) Monitor the broadband development efforts of other states and nations;\n(i) Maintain data and statistics on broadband throughout the Commonwealth\nby:\n1. Collecting broadband availability data from Kentucky broadband\nproviders and other sources on a street address or location-specific\nbasis;\n2. Verifying the accuracy of that data through on-the-ground testing;\n3. Creating and maintaining a statewide interactive map  displaying\nbroadband availability, which shall be available for public and state\ngovernment use online;\n4. Analyzing the deployment data collected to inform and guide future\ninvestments  in  broadband  infrastructure, including moneys\nexpended under the broadband deployment fund;\n5. Empirically validating, on  a  targeted basis, the accuracy of\nbroadband  data  that is routinely collected by  the  Federal\nCommunications  Commission  to pinpoint areas of overstatement\nand understatement that may exist;\n6. Challenging the validity of the data as may be warranted, on behalf\nof the Commonwealth,  to ensure that this state is receiving its due\nshare of funding from federal broadband programs; and\n7. Monitoring the progress of federal awards for deploying broadband\ninfrastructure to Kentucky locations and issuing an annual report to\nthe Governor and the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and\nRevenue  by November 1 of each year;\n(j) Develop a process for:\n1. Receiving complaints related to insufficient broadband service;\n2. Incorporating forms for the collection of data related to the\ncomplaints;\n3. Resolving complaints;\n4. Reporting the information collected on unresolved complaints; and\n5. Referring complaints to the Office of the Attorney General, Federal\nCommunications  Commission, or Federal Trade Commission, as\nappropriate; and\n(k) Perform other duties and responsibilities as necessary to promote the\ndevelopment of broadband within the Commonwealth.\n(2) The  office shall have all the power, not explicitly prohibited by statute,\nnecessary and convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes of this\nsection, including:\n(a) Entering into contracts or agreements necessary or incidental to the\nperformance of its duties, functions, and responsibilities;\n(b) Soliciting, borrowing, accepting, receiving, and expending funds from any\npublic or private source, property, labor, or other things of value to be\nused to carry out the office's operations, functions, and responsibilities;\nand\n(c) Promulgating administrative regulations under KRS Chapter 13A.\n(3) (a) The  authority may  contract with a private nonprofit corporation with at\nleast five (5) years of broadband and telecommunications public policy\nresearch and mapping experience to fulfill the purposes, duties, and\nresponsibilities of the office as required in subsections (1) and (2) of this\nsection.\n(b) If the authority exercises its option to contract with an entity to fulfill the\noffice's obligations under this section, the procurement shall not abrogate\nthe authority from fulfilling the office's duties or achieving the timelines for\nissuing grants in KRS 224A.1121.\n(4) The authority shall report the activities of the office to the Legislative Research\nCommission  on a semiannual basis, each January 1 and each July 1.","path":["KRS Chapter 224A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52193","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:52:42Z","sha256":"f6b7d3adcb5532a899bc1725c4285dad27a83b69b9ad03a921a14ea343a7db23","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-224a.1115","next":"us-ky/krs-224a.112"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}