86-1308.

Grants; funding; conditions; limitation; maximum amount.

(1) For each fiscal year, the commission shall approve grant funding for all qualified applicants within the limits of available appropriations.

(2)(a) As conditions for accepting a grant under the program, the applicant and its successors and affiliates shall agree to:

(i) Offer broadband Internet service in the project area for fifteen years after receipt of grant funding; and

(ii) Commit to maintaining minimum speed capability of one hundred megabits per second for downloading and one hundred megabits per second for uploading in all locations for which the applicant will receive support for the period of time prescribed in subdivision (2)(a)(i) of this section.

(b) Any applicant that declines to accept the conditions described in subdivision (2)(a) of this section shall not be eligible to receive a grant. For any grant recipient, the commission shall have the authority to enforce the performance of such agreed-upon conditions, including the authority to impose civil penalties pursuant to section 75-156.

(3) The commission shall not add to the obligations required of a grant recipient except as specifically authorized under the Nebraska Broadband Bridge Act or as required by federal law to access and distribute federal funds appropriated for the purpose of broadband expansion.

(4) The maximum grant amount awarded under the program with respect to any single project shall be five million dollars.