The budget for Oklahoma's upcoming fiscal year includes $42 million that will be given to companies that expand Internet access in rural areas. About one-fifth of Oklahoma homes don't have broadband.
Oklahoma lawmakers passed several bills this session to aid in the state’s effort to expand broadband in rural areas. That includes $42 million in tax rebates for companies to pay for equipment to expand broadband in underserved and rural areas.
Updated: 11:46 AM CDT Apr 25, 2021 Associated Press Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a pair of bills Friday to mitigate the skyrocketing storm-related utility costs from a February winter storm.The bills were among two dozen measures that Stitt signed into law. He also vetoed two measures.The utility bills authorize the issuance of ratepayer-backed bonds to help offset an estimated $4.5 billion in increased storm-related energy costs. The securitization is designed to lower the monthly costs for ratepayers over an extended period.One bill he vetoed would have added members to a Rural Broadband Expansion Council that the governor described as “unnecessary.” The other vetoed bill would have exempted the Legislature and judiciary from fees and costs of services rendered by state agencies. Stitt said in a veto message the bill didn’t comply with his administration’s “standards of accountability and transparency.”
Credit File photo OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a pair of bills Friday to mitigate the skyrocketing storm-related utility costs from a February winter storm. The bills were among two dozen measures that Stitt signed into law. He also vetoed two measures. The utility bills authorize the issuance of ratepayer-backed bonds to help offset an estimated $4.5 billion in increased storm-related energy costs. The securitization is designed to lower the monthly costs for ratepayers over an extended period. One bill he vetoed would have added members to a Rural Broadband Expansion Council that the governor described as “unnecessary.” The other vetoed bill would have exempted the Legislature and judiciary from fees and costs of services rendered by state agencies. Stitt said in a veto message the bill didn’t comply with his administration’s “standards of accountability and transparency.”