UPDATE, March 6: New Mexico announced today that its affordable broadband bill was signed into law by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. The bill makes $10 million available to help low-income families afford broadband.
The bill passed the New Mexico House by a vote of 48-14 on February 19, just two days after the bill passed the state Senate (see below for original story).
“This law sends a clear message that all New Mexicans deserve access to broadband despite their income,” said New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion Director Jeff Lopez in a statement about the bill’s signing.
“The governor’s signature ensures that tens of thousands of New Mexicans will now be able to afford high-speed internet. I am grateful the governor and the Legislature took action on this important bipartisan issue to help low-income families pay for this vital infrastructure.”
Original story follows: February 17
New Mexico’s Low-Income Telecommunications Assistance Program (LITAP) took a key step toward becoming law Friday with its unanimous passage by the state senate. Senate Bill 152 would provide $10 million in funding to help as many as 27,000 low-income residents in need in New Mexico get broadband.
The funding will come from the Public Regulation Commission’s State Rural Universal Service Fund. That fund has $40 million earmarked for broadband funding.
The legislation — introduced by Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla (D-14) and cosponsored by State Representatives Pamelya Herndon (D-28) and Debra Sariñana (D-21) — now moves to the state’s House, where it will be overseen by the Appropriations & Finance Committee.
“Our mission is more than delivering broadband to rural and remote parts of the state,” Jeff Lopez, the director of the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE), said in a press release. “It is critical that New Mexico families be able to afford high-speed internet. This bill will provide discounts to ensure that income doesn’t deter New Mexicans from getting access to broadband.”
Low-cost broadband for residents in need is not a new idea, of course. In New York, a mandatory $15 per month tier withstood a legal challenge when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
The story was different on the other side of the country. Last July, California Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, the chair of the state’s Committee on Communications and Conveyance, pulled Assembly Bill 353 (AB353), which would have mandated that providers offer an inexpensive internet option to eligible residents.
Boerner’s move was in reaction to the reconfigured Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Boerner said that the revised BEAD program pushed federal control and put the $1.86 billion funding the state was in line for in jeopardy.
More information about New Mexico broadband, including links to state funding resources, grants made, BEAD news, state-specific Telecompetitor coverage, and more can be found on Telecompetitor’s Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
