15 CAR Part 190 — Arkansas Rural Connect Coronavirus Rule

Chapter VIII

Subchapter C

Subpart 1

15 CAR § 190-101 Background {#sec-15-car-190-101 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-15-part-190--15 CAR § 190-101}

15 CAR § 190-101. Background.

(a)(1) The Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission ("director") issues this part to respond to urgent telecommunication needs in this state for communities impacted by the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

(2) On or about February 21, 2020, the director issued the Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program rule, 15 CAR pt. 189, to implement the Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program (hereafter, "Arkansas Rural Connect", "Arkansas Rural Connect Program", or "ARC").

(3) The Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program rule was promulgated prior to the issuance of state and federal public health guidelines responding to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

(b)(1) The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has severely impacted the citizens of this state.

(2)(A) New public health guidelines encourage, and in some cases require, citizens to practice social distancing, staying at least six feet (6’) away from other people as much as possible.

(B) In light of these restrictions, coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has brought about an urgent and immediate need for broadband internet access.

(C) Normal day-to-day activities can no longer be done safely.

(3) Broadband enables:

(A) Workers to telework;

(B) Patients to use telemedicine services;

(C) K-12 and college students and unemployed workers in need of reskilling to participate in distance education;

(D) Religious people to participate in online worship services; and

(E) All citizens to:

(i) Shop online;

(ii) Interact with friends through Skype and other video chat tools; and

(iii) Keep up with the latest news and public health guidelines.

(c)(1) While the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively impacted the state's economy, the federal government has instituted a major relief effort under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Pub. L. No. 116-136.

(2) The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act provides substantial locations of funding to states for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) response, broadly defined.

(3) Guidance provided by the United States Department of the Treasury describes allowable uses of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding.

(4) In general, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act money cannot be used for regular budget support and must be used for coronavirus response, but this includes both public health-related measures and economic relief to address the "second-order effects" of the crisis.

(5) All Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds must be spent by December 31, 2021.

(d)(1) The Arkansas Rural Connect program promotes broadband deployment in rural areas of Arkansas that lack meaningful and efficient broadband services.

(2) The ARC program and its purposes align with allowable uses of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds.

(3) However, Arkansas Rural Connect is designed as a medium-to-longer-term investment program, requiring deployment only by late in 2022, which lies well outside the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act spending window.

(e) Due to the urgent need for broadband for distance learning and telemedicine and the need for social distancing necessitated by the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there is a need to issue this part to disperse funds immediately and to accelerate deployment of broadband to address these needs to the extent possible.

15 CAR § 190-102 Expedited review {#sec-15-car-190-102 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-15-part-190--15 CAR § 190-102}

15 CAR § 190-102. Expedited review.

(a) Expedited review and approval of completed applications.

(1) Applications must be completed to be entitled to expedited review.

(2) Due to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic crisis, completed application submissions will receive an expedited review while the funding window is still open.

(3) The funding window shall remain open upon the passing of this part so long as funds are available.

(4) Special attention entitling organizations for expedited review will be given to:

(A) Qualified projects that are able to deploy in six (6) months to a year to at least ninety percent (90%) of the locations targeted by the project (the ninety percent (90%) deployment rate is flexible, but preferred, and must be clearly stated in your application); or

(B) Projects falling under the Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program, 15 CAR pt. 189, cap of three thousand dollars ($3,000) per unserved location connection (the three thousand-dollar cap is flexible, but preferred).

(5) These qualified projects must state, in a separate writing attached to the application, how they will assist with:

(A) Telemedicine;

(B) Distance learning;

(C) Telework; or

(D) All three (3).

(6) Areas that are eligible for federal broadband grants will receive a low priority towards funding but will still be eligible to apply.

(7)(A) Preference may be given to applications that expedite current expansion plans of providers.

(B) The expansion plans:

(i) Must deploy to areas that lack broadband; and

(ii) Can be deployed in six (6) months or a year.

(8)(A) The ARC population threshold of five hundred (500) people still applies.

(B) Failure to accurately state the number of unserved citizens in an area will not be a bar to applying or possibly receiving a grant award.

(C) Rural unserved or underserved communities is a primary goal of this program.

(D) Communities that do not meet the population threshold will still be able to partner with other communities to meet that eligibility criteria.

(9) Focus will be given to:

(A) Internet speed; and

(B) Whether there is internet service in the areas meeting the population threshold.

(10)(A) All approved applications must:

(i) Meet eligibility criteria; and

(ii) Follow all program requirements under the ARC rules.

(B) However, grant awards under this part shall control over any conflicting ARC broadband rules.

(b) Deadlines under the Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program, 15 CAR pt. 189.

(1) Due to the urgency of deploying broadband to underserved areas during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, some of the deadlines in the Arkansas Rural Connect program timeline may be moved forward to facilitate faster decision-making.

(2) Due to the need for expediency, the scoring rubric described in the Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program, 15 CAR pt. 189, may or may not be used in making award decisions.

(3) The Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office and technical review team will evaluate applications until funding ends.

History

• Codification Notes: “ARC” means Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program. Authority: Arkansas Code § 15-4-209

15 CAR § 190-103 Distribution of funds {#sec-15-car-190-103 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-15-part-190--15 CAR § 190-103}

15 CAR § 190-103. Distribution of funds.

(a) Due to coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), approved projects will immediately receive disbursement of funds up to the maximum amount of funding allowable under the ARC program.

(b)(1) Depending on the project, the State Broadband Manager, with the approval of the Secretary of the Department of Commerce, may increase the maximum amount of funding per project under the ARC program.

(2) This funding mechanism contrasts with the usual fiscal rules of the Arkansas Rural Connect program and helps to ensure that projects will not be delayed by cash flow constraints on the part of awardees.

(c) In other respects, including submittal of receipts and payment of penalties for nonperformance or early termination of service, awardee ISPs shall be subject to the same obligations as other ARC participants.

(d)(1) The State Broadband Manager makes grant award recommendations to the secretary or his or her designee.

(2) The secretary or his or her designee has final authority on who is awarded a grant.

(e) Funds may be distributed before August 15, 2020, when the original application window closes, upon project evaluation and approval.

History

• Codification Notes: “ARC” means Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program."ISP" means internet service provider. Authority: Arkansas Code § 15-4-209

15 CAR § 190-104 Monitoring fund disbursements {#sec-15-car-190-104 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-15-part-190--15 CAR § 190-104}

15 CAR § 190-104. Monitoring fund disbursements.

(a)(1) Applicants that accept funding under this part shall follow all the requirements under the ARC rules.

(2) This includes this section for monitoring deployment and use of funds until the conclusion of the project.

(b) Applicants receiving funds under this part are subject to the right of the Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office or its designee to conduct quarterly audits.

(c)(1) The State Broadband Manager, or his or her designee, with the permission of the Secretary of the Department of Commerce, may make random audits in addition to quarterly audits.

(2) This right to conduct audits does not eliminate the responsibility of grant awardees to submit timely receipts and documentation of quarterly expenditures.

(d) Grant recipients, upon receipt of these funds, shall follow these monitoring rules in this part until the conclusion of deployment.

(e) Deployment will not end until an evaluation of the project is made by the broadband office or its designee.

History

• Codification Notes: “ARC” means Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program. Authority: Arkansas Code § 15-4-209

15 CAR § 190-105 Monitoring project {#sec-15-car-190-105 omnilex-key=us-ar-regs-official--title-15-part-190--15 CAR § 190-105}

15 CAR § 190-105. Monitoring project.

(a) The Arkansas Department of Commerce Broadband Office or its designee will be assigned to monitoring of implementation of broadband infrastructure construction awarded to approved applicants.

(b) The broadband office or its designee:

(1) Will strategically review guidelines for the ARC broadband implementation projects within each region and awarded ISP network; and

(2) Shall report to the broadband office/Department of Commerce should areas fall into noncompliance.

(c) This manner of compliance verification shall be achieved by, but not limited to, the following three (3) stages:

(1)(A) Initial stage.

(B) Conduct preconstruction analysis of project scope prior to deployment;

(2)(A) Mid stage.

(B) Review project status updates (milestones) to ensure timely and proper implementation of network construction and related equipment and material installation.

(C) Inspect (spot check) new construction sites in and around newly developed broadband areas and any improvements made to already existing broadband areas.

(D) Oversight of the construction and tests of the new network segments and network topology to ensure the service delivery of a minimum of twenty-five megabits per second (25 Mbps) download/three megabits per second (3 Mbps) upload for end users regardless of geographical location; and

(3)(A) Final project compliance.

(B) Monitor the expenditure of awarded funds to ensure financial application is purposed as directed.

(d) The broadband office or its designee, upon occurrences of noncompliance, will report its findings to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, which will require awardees to take appropriate remedial measures to return the project to compliance.

(e)(1) Funds must be used in the most efficient manner during deployment efforts.

(2) Any discovery of misappropriated or misapplied funds must be reimbursed by the awardees and applied appropriately to the project, as intended.

(3) Supporting documents shall be required from awardees demonstrating this was done.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as waiving the state’s sovereign immunity.

(f) Each project deployment shall be completed by the date specified by the broadband office, but in any event, each project funded with Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Pub. L. No. 116-136, funds shall be completed no later than December 31, 2021.

History

• Codification Notes: “ARC” means Arkansas Rural Connect Broadband Grant Program."ISP" means internet service provider. Authority: Arkansas Code § 15-4-209