6.6 EDSR 01-17-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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areas with a significant proportion of low-income households. Low-income households are households whose income is less than or equal to 200% of the most recent calculation of the federal poverty guidelines, adjusted for family size. The commissioner of DEED is now required to publish grant criteria and ascoring system the department will use to evaluate or rank applications and award grants at least 30 days prior to the first day applications may be submitted. Grant applicants must provide evidence they have written all entities providing broadband service in the proposed project area to ask for each broadband service provider’s plan to upgrade service in the project area to meet or exceed the state’s broadband goals within the time frame of the proposed grant activities. Applicants must contact existing area providers at least six weeks prior to submission of the grant application. Any responses collected by the applicant must be submitted with application contents. Revisions to the law also added a challenge period during which existing broadband providersmay challenge the grant award. The Office of Broadband Development must publish an application evaluation report and update the state’s broadband deployment data and public maps. Projects receiving grant funding are exempt from prevailing wage requirements. Finally, the new broadband legislation updates the State’s broadband goals as follows: No later than 2022, all Minnesotabusinesses and homes have access to high-speed o broadband that provides minimum download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second and minimum upload speeds of at least three megabits per second; and No later than 2026, all Minnesota businesses and homes have access to at least one o provider of broadband with download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 20 megabits per second. DEED Programs and Grants. Section 2, subdivision 2 of the omnibus supplemental budget act (Chapter 189 (HF2749/SF2356)) contains several funding provisions in fiscal year 2017 including: One-time reduction of $9 million for the Minnesota investment fund; o One-time reduction of $11.5 million for the Minnesota job creation fund; o $2 million for the redevelopment program; o $600,000 grant for a city of the second class that is designated as an economically o depressed area for redevelopment, job creation, and economic development; $34,250,000 to DEED for grants for communities of color, people with disabilities, o senior, youth;and $300,000 for DEED’s Business and Community Development (workforce o development Fund) Good Food Access Program . Article 2 of the omnibus supplemental budget act (Chapter 189 (HF2749/SF2356)) created a Good Food Access Programwith the Department of Agriculture. The program is intended to “increase availability and access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food, including fruits and vegetables, for underserved communities in low-and moderate-income areas.” Severalapproaches are potentially 2 493126v1 JSB EL185-13