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SB 922 - This act establishes the "Missouri Rural Broadband Development Fund" which shall consist of appropriated moneys, gifts, contributions, grants, or bequests made to the fund. The fund shall be used for the expansion of broadband internet access in rural areas. For purposes of this act, "rural areas" means any county except charter counties and St. Louis City. This act requires the Department of Economic Development to establish a committee to review grant applications. Grant applications shall be submitted by a regional planning commission on behalf of a rural regional development group, and grants shall be distributed based on the rural regional development group's years in operation as set forth in this act. However, a rural regional development group shall not qualify for a grant if the group's region includes a county outside of Missouri or a portion of another state, or if the group maintains an operating budget greater than $250,000. A single grant may not exceed $150,000, and a regional planning commission shall not receive more than 2 grants annually. Grant recipients shall annually report the allocation of the grants and the purposes for which the funding was used to the Governor and certain committees of the General Assembly. This act is substantially similar to HB 1872 (2018), and is similar to HB 2741 (2016). KAYLA HAHN
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