Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Broadband Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House committee approves higher admin fees for state broadband closeout
Summary
Lawmakers voted to report Senate Bill 80 favorably after the broadband office described a request to raise administrative and third‑party contractor fees for the Gumbo 1 program to cover project closeout needs through March 2027; members adopted technical and scope amendments limiting increases to Gumbo 1.
The House Committee on Commerce voted to report Senate Bill 80 favorably after hearing from the state Office of Broadband about a request to raise administrative fees on one tranche of federal broadband funds.
Sen. Meisel, sponsor of the bill, told the committee the increase is intended to give the broadband office flexibility to close out the state’s first round of projects quickly and meet federal deadlines. Vineeth (Vinnie) Iyengar, broadband director for the State of Louisiana, said Gumbo 1 projects must be completed by Dec. 31, 2026, with closeout and accounting work continuing through March 2027.
Ariel Collins, director of federal program operations for the Office of Broadband, told lawmakers the office originally received a 1% administrative fee allocation in 2021 and an additional 1% for third‑party contractor support in 2022. The office has exhausted prior allocations and requested an additional 1.5% for administrative fees and 1.5% for third‑party contractors — a combined 3%, which Collins said equates to roughly $5.3 million. Collins added the office expects to spend less than the full amount and estimates about $2 million–$2.5 million will be required to finish operations, leaving a potential balance to be returned to the U.S. Treasury if unused.
Committee members questioned why the full amount was requested up front rather than budgeting only what is expected to be spent. Iyengar said the office and its financial team have prepared projections and will finalize budgets before the Treasury closeout guidance deadline, and that any unspent funds must be returned. Collins and Iyengar also described options for using any remaining funds, including a governor‑proposed device program for veterans, municipal institutions and rural health facilities, and other allowable project categories.
Members adopted several amendments clarifying that the fee increases would apply only to Gumbo 1 funds and restoring certain reimbursement language for grantees. With those changes, the committee voted to report SB 80 favorably.
The bill now moves to the floor for further consideration.
