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Bill expands Office of Broadband to include digital opportunity; committee adopts technical changes and lays it over
Summary
House File 2279 would rename the state Office of Broadband Development to include digital opportunity and broaden the office—ocus to adoption, affordability and digital inclusion. The committee adopted two technical amendments aligning federal language and removing unfunded grant language and laid the bill over.
Representative Griffin Vang presented House File 2279 to rename the Office of Broadband Development to the Office of Broadband Development and Digital Opportunity, align state terminology with federal digital equity plans, broaden statutory goals to include broadband adoption and affordability, and update grant criteria to target unserved and underserved communities in both rural and low‑income urban areas. The committee adopted an A1 technical amendment and an A2 amendment aligning federal language and deleting language establishing a new unfunded grant program; the bill was laid over for possible inclusion in a future omnibus.
Mika Baer, Hennepin County Office of Broadband and Digital Inclusion, described how broadband transformed educational and farm operations for her family and stressed that barriers are not just rural: she testified many urban multifamily units lack wired connections or affordable service. Phil Essington, Hennepin County director of Broadband and Digital Inclusion, answered questions on technology options and said a mix of technologies (fiber, fixed wireless, low‑Earth‑orbit satellite) may be necessary to reach different communities and that infrastructure alone does not guarantee adoption.
Department officials explained there is no appropriation in the bill and that it codifies goals and reporting. DEED staff explained the statutory served/unserved thresholds tied to federal grants: Minnesota's statutory goal for served locations is 100/20 Mbps and unserved is 25/3 Mbps, and grants must be scalable to higher speeds. Members asked about affordability programs and subsidies; DEED staff noted federal subsidy programs have existed (Affordable Connectivity Program) but the state does not currently have a general low‑income subscription subsidy program and that some providers offer discounts.
Representative Vang said the measure is intended to broaden state focus beyond infrastructure buildout to include adoption, affordability and outreach. The committee adopted the two author's amendments and laid the bill over for possible inclusion in future legislation.
