This funding authority is pursuant to section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), H.R. 1319, Public Law No.117-2, as well as to Montana's 67th Legislature HB 632, also pursuant to Montana's 67th Legislature SB (Senate Bill) 297, signed May 11, 2021, establishing Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Laws, and establishing the Connect Montana Act.
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed ARPA into law. Section 9901 of ARPA establishes the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund and the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. Under the U.S. Treasury's Interim Final Rule, 31 CFR (Code of Federal Regulation) Part 35, the Secretary of the Treasury issued its Interim Final Rule to implement the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund and the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund established under the ARPA-21.
On September 20, 2021, the U.S. Treasury issued its Interim Final Rule regarding the 602 Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund and the 602 Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, allocating $275 million to the state of Montana. The 602 Coronavirus Local & State Fiscal Recovery Funds, in combination with 604 Capital Project Funds (CPF), were distributed via a competitive awards process to promote the deployment of improved broadband internet connectivity in Montana.
ARPA broadband deployment is comprised of 602 State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds and 604 Capital Projects Funds. During the 68th legislative session (i.e., LC 1234) a shift of $44,148,748 of 602 funds to this program was passed by an appropriation change. The State applied to Treasury and has received approval for the $119.9M of CPF 604 funds. Total funding for grant awards was increased from $266M to approximately $310M.