Wireless Telephone Infrastructure Deployment Incentives

Cell Phone Connectivity Interim Study Committee. The bill requires the Colorado broadband office in the governor's office (broadband office) to implement a wireless telephone infrastructure deployment grant program (grant program) similar to the broadband deployment grant program in the broadband office. The broadband office may allocate high cost support mechanism (HCSM) money for the grant program to help finance the deployment of wireless telephone infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas of the state. Sections 1 through 3 of the bill authorize a county, special district, or school district to negotiate property tax relief with a taxpayer that establishes or expands a "qualified communication services facility", which is a facility or other real or personal property used in the provision of fixed broadband or mobile broadband internet access service, if the facility will serve an unserved or underserved area of the county, special district, or school district. Section 4 amends the legislative declaration for the statute establishing a sales tax refund for rural broadband service providers by:

• Stating that requirements to pay sales and use tax on federal-funded and state-funded broadband deployment reduce the efficacy and impact of the federal and state deployment grant money;
• Noting that wireless telecommunications technologies rely on forms of broadband infrastructure like fiber and landline networks and are, therefore, interconnected to broadband; and
• Including a tax preference performance statement for the sales tax refund indicating that a purpose of the sales tax refund is to incentivize private sector investment in broadband infrastructure.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)