,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ijff ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #ca1 #bjbj,ms4 ,schrier 7for herself and ,mr4 ,budd7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,assistant ,secretary of ,commerce for ,communications and ,information to establish a pilot program to provide innovation grants to established ,state broadband offices1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,state ,broadband ,office ,innovation ,pilot ,act4 #b4 ,innovation pilot program 7a7 ,establishment of program 7#a7 ,requirements ,not later than #cj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,assistant ,secretary shall establish a pilot program to provide grants to eligible ,state broadband offices for new projects to increase broadband connectivity1 accelerate deployment of broadband1 or establish affordable broadband access to underserved populations that includes any of the following3 7,a7 ,mapping and data collection of areas of connectivity1 underserved areas1 and unserved areas to improve efforts to map1 collect data1 and supplement ongoing efforts4 7,b7 ,planning and program evaluation of broadband to establish or incentivize affordable options4 7,c7 ,engaging unserved or underserved farms for the purpose of enabling precision agriculture or other purposes4 7,d7 ,a project that makes networks more reliable and resilient to natural disasters4 7,e7 ,any ,state1 local1 or ,tribal project that engages in creative solutions to ensure more underserved populations have access to affordable1 high-quality broadband and a latency that is sufficiently low to allow real-time1 interactive applications4 7#b7 ,partnerships ,an eligible ,state broadband office may engage in partnerships with public1 private1 or other entities 7including public utilities districts7 in a project described under paragraph 7#a74 7b7 ,source of funding ,any grant made under this section shall be in addition to any other grant made by the ,federal ,government and shall not be a violation of any other grant requirement restricting or prohibiting the ,federal ,government as a source of funding4 7c7 ,public outreach ,the ,assistant ,secretary-- 7#a7 shall notify the public about the pilot program under this section by-- 7,a7 publishing a description of the program1 including when and how to apply1 on the ,,ntia website2 and 7,b7 disseminating such description through social media or other means2 and 7#b7 shall notify ,state broadband offices and offer those offices technical assistance for applying for a grant under this section4 7d7 ,application and deadline ,to apply ,to be eligible to participate in the pilot program under this section1 an eligible ,state broadband office shall submit to the ,assistant ,secretary an application that describes how any funds granted will be used1 in such a form and in such a manner as the ,assistant ,secretary may require not later than #fj days after the date on which the program is established pursuant to subsection 7a74 7e7 ,disbursement of funds ,not later than #e months after the date on which the program is established pursuant to subsection 7a71 the ,assistant ,secretary shall disburse funds to those eligible ,state broadband offices selected by the ,assistant ,secretary to receive grants under this section4 7f7 ,report required 7#a7 ,project establishment and first year report ,not later than #a year after the receipt of any grant made under this section1 the eligible ,state broadband office shall commit funds for any project funded with the grant and submit to the ,assistant ,secretary a report that includes the following3 7,a7 ,an accounting of how grant funds were used4 7,b7 ,a summary of-- 7i7 the completed project2 or 7ii7 progress made on the project and a detailed timeline for completion4 7,c7 ,a description of whether the project was successful1 including if goals were met1 and the following information1 if applicable3 7i7 ,the number of previously underserved or unserved households now served4 7ii7 ,the percentage of households in ,state connected to broadband4 7iii7 ,any project improvements that would increase the affordability of broadband4 7,d7 ,any recommendations for further improvements on the project4 7#b7 ,report on completion ,with regard to any project not completed by the submission of the report required pursuant to paragraph 7#a71 not later than #cj days after the date on which the project is completed1 the eligible ,state broadband office shall submit to the ,assistant ,secretary a report that includes the information described under subparagraphs 7,a71 7,b77i71 7,c71 and 7,d74 7g7 ,transparency1 accountability1 and oversight required 7#a7 ,in general ,in implementing this section1 the ,assistant ,secretary shall adopt measures to ensure sufficient transparency1 accountability1 and oversight to provide the public with information regarding the award and use of grant funds under this section1 and to deter waste1 fraud1 and abuse of grant funds4 7#b7 ,review of report ,the ,assistant ,secretary shall review any report submitted pursuant to subsection 7e7 and consider any new ideas from those reports for future ,,ntia projects4 7#c7 ,request for information ,the recipient of any grant made under this section shall respond to any request made by the ,assistant ,secretary for more information or documentation related to the project funded through the grant4 7#d7 ,misuse of funds ,the ,assistant ,secretary may prohibit any grant recipient from other grants made by ,,ntia if the ,assistant ,secretary determines there has been a misuse of funds under this section4 7#e7 ,recovery of unauthorized use of funds ,to the extent that the ,inspector ,general of the ,department of ,commerce determines that an eligible entity expended grant funds received under this section in violation of this section1 the ,assistant ,secretary shall recover the amount of funds that were so expended4 7h7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to the ,assistant ,secretary to carry out this section #ej1jjj1jjj for the fiscal year in which grants are disbursed pursuant to subsection 7d74 ,funds shall remain available until expended4 7i7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,assistant secretary ,the term ,assistant ,secretary means the ,assistant ,secretary of ,commerce for ,communications and ,information4 7#b7 ,broadband ,the term broadband has the meaning given the term broadband internet access service in section #h4a7;b7 of title #dg1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or any successor regulation4 7#c7 ,eligible state broadband office ,the term eligible ,state broadband office means an office located in a ,state with at least one employee whose salary is funded with ,state resources and whose primary focus is broadband build out and monitoring4 7#d7 ,,ntia ,the term ,,ntia means the ,national ,telecommunications and ,information ,administration4