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ARPA broadband commission to begin accepting project submissions – Daily Montanan

['Arren Kimbel-Sannit', 'More From Author', '- February']

Date: 2022-02 

A legislative panel will next week begin accepting submissions for broadband infrastructure projects funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, Sen. Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, announced Thursday afternoon.

The ARPA Communications Advisory Commission will meet Monday for the first of three public hearings to discuss project applications and general program information, and begin fielding proposals to spend down some of the $275 million available for broadband projects in the state thanks to ARPA and Senate Bill 297, legislation passed this session establishing a broadband infrastructure deployment program and a commission to oversee disbursement of the funds. $265 million is available, with more on the way, Ellsworth, who carried SB297, said in a statement.

“This investment is massive. We want the public to understand how the process will work and how applications for funding can be made to benefit their local community,” said Ellsworth, who also chairs the advisory commission. “We want full transparency and a lot of public participation, especially from Montana tribal nations, schools, and local governments in rural and underserved communities.”

ARPA, federal COVID-19 recovery legislation passed by Congress in March, injected billions of dollars in grants, loans and other aid at the state level, including a Coronavirus Capital Project Fund that Montana has tapped into in order to fund an expansion of rural broadband in the state, one of the least connected in the nation. Senate Bill 297, dubbed the ConnectMT Act, calls for projects in under-and-unserved areas.

The commission will have further public meetings on Feb. 22 and March 7, after which point it will begin reviewing projects.

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