{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-74-74-9205","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 74, § 74-9205","heading":"Oklahoma Broadband Office – Duties - Authority","body":"A. The Oklahoma Broadband Office shall:\n\n1. Conduct a study of and continually monitor broadband access\n\nin the state to assess:\n\na. existing capabilities to access broadband\n\ntelecommunication services,\n\nb. the costs of obtaining broadband services from\n\nexisting providers,\n\nc. the estimated cost to improve broadband access, and\n\nd. the likelihood of changes in broadband access in the\n\nnear and intermediate future based on available\n\ninformation regarding public and private programs to\n\nenhance access and adoption; and\n\n2. Maintain, update, and execute the Statewide Broadband Plan\n\nas necessary.\n\nB. The Office shall incorporate the information as described in\n\nsubsection A of this section into a mapping system that depicts\n\nresources, broadband coverage, connectivity speeds, and other such\n\nfeatures as the Office deems relevant. The Office may also purchase\n\ndata sets it deems necessary to complete such mapping system.\n\nC. The Office shall establish policies and regulations as may\n\nbe necessary to implement the provisions of this act.\n\nD. The Office shall establish policy as needed to implement a\n\nprocess whereby impacted parties may challenge or protest data and\n\ninformation published on the Office's mapping system. The process\n\nshall include, but not be limited to, features that:\n\n1. Are heard and ruled on at the Office level;\n\n2. Provide for a ruling by the Office within sixty (60) days of\n\nthe submitted challenge or protest; and\n\n3. Upon successful protest action, result in a timely\n\ncorrection of the map.\n\nE. The Office shall perform and maintain a study of existing\n\ngrants, incentives, and programs that may improve physical access to\n\nbroadband along with adoption of broadband technologies. The\n\ngrants, incentives, and programs may include federal funds, state\n\nfunds or resources, tribal funds or resources, donated funds, or\n\nfunding available from foundations, endowments or similar resources,\n\nstate or local tax incentives, state or local financing incentives\n\nor options, or federal, tribal, state or local regulatory policies\n\nthat would be conducive to improving existing broadband access or\n\nestablishing access where it does not currently exist. The Office\n\nshall regularly report on the currently available grants,\n\nincentives, and programs and how best to utilize each.\n\nF. The Office shall create, and update no less than biannually,\n\na Statewide Broadband Plan. The Plan shall detail what areas are\n\nserved, underserved, or unserved according to the prevailing\n\ndefinitions of the FCC, and how best to improve the infrastructure\n\nand connectivity in underserved and unserved areas. The Plan shall\n\ninclude, but shall not be limited to, detailing a pathway for\n\nninety-five percent (95%) of the state's population to be adequately\n\nserved by June 30, 2028.\n\nG. The Office shall create the Capital Projects Fund Grant\n\nReport or provide the necessary information to the state entity\n\ndrafting the Report. The Report shall be submitted to the\n\nDepartment of the Treasury no later than September 24, 2022. The\n\nOffice shall maintain the Report and submit any and all additional\n\ninformation as required. The Office shall work with the Joint\n\nCommittee to ensure all approved broadband projects utilizing funds\n\nfrom the Capital Projects Fund follow the correct reporting\n\nrequirements based on Department of Treasury guidance.\n\nH. Additionally, the Office is authorized to seek, apply for,\n\nand administer funding through grant opportunities. The Office is\n\nalso authorized to administer grant funding awards to recipients and\n\nsubrecipients.\n\nI. On or before October 31, 2022, the Office, with the advice\n\nof the Council, shall develop a set of broadband grants or incentive\n\nawards guidelines to be approved by the Board. The grants and\n\nincentive awards shall be for unserved and underserved areas. The\n\nOffice shall submit a copy of the guidelines to the Office of the\nd to administer grant funding awards to recipients and\n\nsubrecipients.\n\nI. On or before October 31, 2022, the Office, with the advice\n\nof the Council, shall develop a set of broadband grants or incentive\n\nawards guidelines to be approved by the Board. The grants and\n\nincentive awards shall be for unserved and underserved areas. The\n\nOffice shall submit a copy of the guidelines to the Office of the\n\nSpeaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the Office of the\n\nPresident Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma State Senate, and to the\n\noffices of the chairs of the appropriate legislative committees.\n\nThe guidelines shall:\n\n1. Consider a weighted approach for awards based upon the\n\nfollowing:\n\na. the area's need for services, including, but not\n\nlimited to, whether the area is underserved or\n\nunserved,\n\nb. whether there are existing broadband assets in the\n\narea, based on the statewide map,\n\nc. whether existing federal, state, local, tribal, or\n\nprivate resources have been allocated to broadband\n\nservices in the area,\n\nd. a preference for federal, state, local, tribal, or\n\nprivate partnerships, and\n\ne. the capacity of the provider to maintain assets for an\n\nextended period of time;\n\n2. Recommend any necessary controls including, but not limited\n\nto, capping the dollar amount of awards, allowing for an auditing\n\nprocess, and a process that allows for award clawbacks. These\n\ncontrols shall be in place to ensure the maximum efficiency of the\n\nincentive award and to protect against waste, fraud, or abuse; and\n\n3. Include annual reporting requirements of award recipients to\n\nassess effectiveness of such incentives which shall include, but not\n\nbe limited to, changes in coverage resulting from implementing\n\nawarded grants and incentives.","path":["OK Code","Title 74"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os74.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"cc244beb97c374b1992d49b77e78e2160a6f3a9a1e8ff0b8aba9eccfa4e23612","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-74-74-9204","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-74-74-9206"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}