The Missouri House approved a bill that would establish a grant program for broadband access in Missouri.
The program would prioritize areas of Missouri that do not have any broadband access until 90 percent of the was covered, according to bill sponsor Rep. Delus Johnson, R-St. Joseph. After that is achieved, the grants would be more broadly available for broadband projects in communities that have either no or poor access.
Johnson’s bill, House Bill 1872, passed through the House in a 136-11 vote. The bill now goes to the Senate.
The grants provided by the program could be used to fund a maximum of 50 percent of any broadband service project and would be capped at $5 million per project.
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