Bill > H68

This bill, the BRIGHT Futures Act, aims to address the challenges faced by North Carolina's rural areas in developing the necessary digital infrastructure to support economic development. The key provisions of the bill include: 1. Allowing cities to lease components of a wired or wireless network for up to 25 years without treating it as a sale of property, as long as the lease is entered into on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis. 2. Authorizing counties to purchase, lease, construct, and operate facilities to support their internal governmental services, including wired or wireless network facilities. 3. Requiring the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology, and Innovation to report annually on the impact of technology and innovation in "BRIGHT Market" segments (broadband, retail online services, the Internet of things, the power grid, health care, and training and education) on economic growth and development in the state, and to provide recommendations for increasing that impact. 4. Requiring the NCWorks Commission to submit annual reports on adult educational programs and nondegree certifications related to the BRIGHT Market segments, as well as recommendations for improving data sharing to accelerate employment in these areas. 5. Directing the Department of Commerce to evaluate the impact of including digital infrastructure in public-private partnerships, the use of downtown revitalization funds for digital infrastructure, and ways to align various state resources and programs to connect rural communities with BRIGHT Market opportunities. The overall goal of the bill is to facilitate the development of the digital infrastructure necessary to support economic growth and development in North Carolina's rural and underserved areas.

Transportation and Infrastructure

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2017&BillID=H68&votesToView=all