A state panel on Monday endorsed the state Department of Commerce's request for $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds to cover administrative expenses at the state's broadband office.
The Arkansas' American Rescue Plan steering committee recommended approval of the department's request, which must also be approved by the Legislative Council.
State Department of Commerce Secretary Mike Preston requested $4 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds for the Arkansas Rural Connect broadband grant program's contractors and $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds for the broadband office's staffing.
The state broadband office is adding full-time employees to address the need for broadband service in areas of Arkansas that are still unserved and underserved, Preston wrote in a letter dated Friday to steering committee Chairman Larry Walther, who also is secretary of state Department of Finance and Administration.
Due to proposed changes to the state broadband master plan under the the Arkansas Rural Connect program, the scope of work for the program's contractors needs to be expanded, Preston said. These proposed changes include implementing competitive bidding and making grant awards using census block groups, he said.
"This requested amount will enable the broadband office to take the steps necessary to resume issuing broadband grants," Preston wrote in his letter to Walther.
Jim Hudson, chief of staff at the Department of Commerce, told the steering committee Monday that the $4 million in requested federal funds for the broadband grant program's contractors is primarily for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences' Institute for Digital Health & Innovation in fiscal 2023, which begins July 1.
The UAMS institute is the broadband grant program's technical review and monitoring agent and has about 20 employees doing a variety of technical work for the program, he said.
Hudson said the requested $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds for staffing will cover the salary and benefit costs for three new positions authorized by the Legislative Council in May as well as clerical and administrative staff in fiscal 2023.
Besides Steven Porch, who serves as chief legal counsel for the Department of Commerce and executive broadband manager for the Arkansas Rural Connect program, the state broadband office currently has one other employee, Hudson said.
Through the Arkansas Rural Connect broadband grant program, the state Department of Commerce has funded projects totaling $368 million that made broadband available to more than 109,000 households in the state, department spokesman Alisha Curtis has said.
In April, a report from the Broadband Development Group estimated the cost of extending broadband access to about 110,000 households in Arkansas without high-speed internet at $550 million. In its report, the group suggested that part of the $550 million price tag could be funded by tapping into federal funds in the range of $254 million to $358 million, reducing the remaining households down to about 10,000 underserved households within three years.
In May, the Legislative Council approved the creation of a new director position for the state's broadband office with a salary up to $200,000 a year, and two new systems architect positions for the office with a pay range of $89,541 to $129,835 a year.
Hudson told lawmakers in April that the person hired for the director position would have to be a "thought leader in both technology and in policy."
On Monday, Hudson told the steering committee that "we are still looking for somebody" for the broadband director post.
In March 2021, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan into law as part of an effort to help the U.S. recover from the economic and health effects of the covid-19 pandemic.
In May 2021, Gov. Asa Hutchinson appointed the state American Rescue Plan steering committee, comprising nine Hutchinson administration officials and six state lawmakers, to recommend the best uses of $1.57 billion in federal recovery funds and $157 million in federal capital project funds Arkansas is set to receive under the American Rescue Plan.
In December, the steering committee recommended the approval of a request from the state Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism for $2.48 million in American Rescue Plan funds to install broadband infrastructure at 27 sites at state parks and welcome centers. The Legislative Council subsequently approved the request.
In a letter dated Friday to Walther, Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism Secretary Stacy Hurst said the broadband project at Lake Catherine State Park was originally estimated to cost $435,000.
But the project will cost about $220,000 instead due to the provider's obtaining easements that allowed for the use of a portion of existing conduit in the easement, she said.
"We are requesting the ability to use the savings of funds in the amount of approximately $215,000 for all broadband projects within Arkansas State Parks, including any subsequent locations not included on the original request," Hurst said. The department wants to spend about $6,000 for broadband projects at two locations not included in the department's original request -- the Region Three office in Wynne and Daisy State Park in Wynne, she said.
On Monday, the steering committee recommended that Hurst seek approval from the Legislative Council for any broadband projects costing more than the original estimate and for any new broadband projects to be paid for out of the $2.48 million in American Rescue Plan funds awarded to the department in December.