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, ARPA was signed into law by President Biden. 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.
During the 68th legislative session an addition of $44,148,748 of 602 funds to this program was passed by an appropriation change. The State applied to Treasury and received approval for $119.9M of 604 CPF funds, increasing funding for grant awards from $266 million to approximately $310 Million.