SENATE BILL 2

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second special session, 2020

INTRODUCED BY

Michael Padilla

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION OF FUNDS PROVIDED BY THE FEDERAL CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO DESIGN, DEVELOP, PROCURE AND IMPLEMENT A MOBILE HIGH-SPEED BROADBAND INTERNET NETWORK TO SUPPORT DISTANCE LEARNING AND TELEMEDICINE SERVICES; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. APPROPRIATION.--

          A. Of the seven hundred fifty million dollars ($750,000,000) from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act relief fund allocation transferred to the appropriation account of the general fund pursuant to Laws 2020 (1st S.S.), Chapter 5, Section 14, and subject to the contingency provided in that section, fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) is appropriated to the department of information technology for expenditure in fiscal years 2021 and 2022 to provide and to contract for services for the design, development, procurement and implementation of a mobile high-speed broadband internet network to support distance learning and telemedicine services statewide.

          B. If the date to expend the allocation referenced in Subsection A of this section is extended or eliminated by the federal government, any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2022 from the appropriation made in Subsection A of this section shall revert to the general fund.

          C. When a public health order that is issued in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is in effect, fifty percent of the expenditures from the funding provided by this 2020 act shall be to support distance learning and telemedicine services in areas that either do not currently have internet service or do not have access to internet speeds that meet the latest federal communications commission guidelines for students, video conferencing or streaming standard definition video, and fifty percent of the expenditures from the funding provided by this 2020 act shall be to support distance learning and telemedicine services in the remaining areas of the state.

          D. When a public health order that is issued in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is not in effect, the funding provided by this 2020 act shall be to support distance learning and telemedicine statewide.

     SECTION 2. EMERGENCY.--It is necessary for the public peace, health and safety that this act take effect immediately.

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