§ 8062 - Purpose; powers and duties - Vermont Statutes

§ 8062. Purpose; powers and duties

(a) To achieve the goals under subsection 8060(b) of this title, the authority is directed:

(1) from information reasonably available after public notice to and written requests made of mobile telecommunications and broadband service providers, to develop and maintain an inventory of locations at which mobile telecommunications and broadband services are not available within the state, develop and maintain an inventory of infrastructure that is available or reasonably likely to be available to support provision of services to areas unserved, and develop and maintain an inventory of infrastructure necessary for provision of these services to the areas unserved;

(2) to identify the types and locations of infrastructure and services needed to accomplish the goals of this chapter;

(3) to coordinate the agencies of the state to make public resources available to support the extension of mobile telecommunications and broadband infrastructure and services to all unserved areas;

(4) to coordinate and establish public-private partnerships to extend availability of mobile telecommunications and broadband services, and to promote development of the infrastructure that enables the provision of these services;

(5) to support and facilitate local initiatives to extend the availability of mobile telecommunications and broadband services, and to promote development of the infrastructure that enables the provision of these services;

(6) to provide resources to local, regional, public and private entities in the form of loans, grants, and other incentives funded through bonded capital and other resources;

(7) to solicit and consider input from local municipal authorities, districts designated by the federal economic development administration, regional planning commissions, and metropolitan planning organizations on specific projects the authority plans to undertake;

(8) to inventory and assess the potential to use federal radio frequency licenses held by instrumentalities of the state to enable broadband service in unserved areas of the state; take whatever steps are consistent with the powers granted the authority under this chapter to promote the use of those licensed radio frequencies for that purpose; and recommend to the general assembly any further legislative measures with respect to ownership, management, and utilization of these licenses as would promote the general good of the state; and

(9) to the extent not inconsistent with the goals of this chapter, to utilize existing buildings and structures, historic or otherwise, as sites for visually-neutral placement of mobile telecommunications and wireless broadband antenna facilities.

(b) The authority shall have the following powers, which shall be exercised to further the authority's purpose, and shall have all other powers necessary to carry out the duties imposed on the authority by law:

(1) to establish partnerships and contracts with providers of telecommunications services and related facilities to serve unserved people and areas of the state; and to provide financial and other assistance to providers who agree in return to provide mobile telecommunications or broadband services to unserved people and areas of the state; and to facilitate directly or indirectly the efforts of other entities to advance the availability of mobile voice and high speed data or broadband services.

(2) to provide financial assistance in the form of loans, grants, guarantees, other financial instruments, or, in accordance with section 8064 of this title, to issue bonds backed by project revenues, the state, or its political subdivisions, or both, for the purpose of building infrastructure capable of delivering mobile telecommunications and broadband services to all Vermonters;

(3) to consult, contract, or partner with the Vermont economic development authority and the Vermont municipal bond bank to provide financial assistance for purposes authorized by this chapter;

(4) to coordinate access to and pursue regional and local revolving loan funding and all state, federal, and private funding that is available for telecommunications infrastructure, including financial assistance that may be available to rural economic area partnership (REAP) zones, as designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and to contract with financial assistance providers;

(5) to receive and accept grants, gifts, loans, or contributions from any source subject to the provisions of 32 V.S.A. § 5.

(6) to incorporate one or more nonprofit corporations in Vermont to fulfill the goals of this chapter. Such corporations shall be empowered to borrow money and to receive and accept gifts, grants, or contributions from any source, subject to the provisions of 32 V.S.A. § 5. The board of directors of any nonprofit corporation created under this subsection shall be the board of directors of the authority. The corporation shall be organized and operate under the nonprofit corporation laws of the state of Vermont. The authority may contract with the corporation to provide staff and management needs of the corporation;

(7) to aggregate and broker access at reduced prices to services and facilities required to provide wireless telecommunications and broadband services; and to waive or reduce state fees for access to state-owned rights-of-way in exchange for comparable value to the state, unless payment for use is otherwise required by federal law;

(8) to own, acquire, sell, trade, and lease equipment, facilities, and other infrastructure that could be accessed and used by multiple service providers, the state and local governments, including fiber optic cables, towers, shelters, easements, rights of way, and wireless spectrum of frequencies; provided that any agreement by the authority to sell infrastructure that is capable of use by more than one service provider shall contain conditions that will ensure continued shared use or co-location at reasonable rates;

(9) in collaboration with the Vermont municipal bond bank, to act as agent and advisor for municipalities that wish to offer municipally backed financial assistance, consistent with chapter 53 of Title 24, to develop telecommunications infrastructure or services in their communities;

(10) to apply for and obtain required permits for the construction of telecommunications infrastructure;

(11) in collaboration with the agency of administration, to lead the management of marketing of state properties to encourage and expedite collocation of infrastructure;

(12) to consult with agencies and departments on establishing charges or payments for use by wireless telecommunications and broadband service providers of state property, easements, and rights-of-way to the extent such charges or payments are required by law, and establish the criteria for waiver of such charges or payments when providers offer to furnish comparable value to the state to meet the public good;

(13) to sue and be sued in its own name and plead and be impleaded;

(14) to administer its own funds and to invest or deposit funds which are not needed currently to meet the obligations of the authority; and

(15) to borrow money and give other evidence of indebtedness or obligations and security consistent with the authority's purpose and needs.

(c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to grant power to the authority to offer the sale of telecommunications services to the public. (Added 2007, No. 79, § 1, eff. June 9, 2007.)