As used in the Connect New Mexico Act:
A. "2020 broadband plan" means the State of New Mexico Broadband Strategic Plan and Rural Broadband Assessment published by the department of information technology in June 2020;
B. "broadband infrastructure" means any cable or device used for high-capacity transmission of a wide range of frequencies enabling a large number of electronic messages to be transmitted or received simultaneously;
C. "council" means the connect New Mexico council;
D. "department" means the department of information technology; provided that, upon Senate Bill 93 of the first session of the fifty-fifth legislature becoming law, "department" means a state agency, department, division or other organization unit designated in that law to plan or coordinate broadband development efforts by all state agencies;
E. "digital equity" means information technology needed for civic and cultural participation, employment, education, business and economic development, lifelong learning and access to essential services generally available to residents regardless of their racial grouping, socioeconomic status or cultural identity;
F. "digital inclusion" means access to and the ability to use information technologies;
G. "federal assistance funding" means federal grant and loan programs that provide full or matching funding for the development or maintenance of broadband infrastructure, training in the use or administration of internet-based services or the purchase of computers or other devices that access the internet;
H. "local government" means the government of a municipality, county or political subdivision of the state or an entity operating pursuant to a joint powers agreement pursuant to the Planning District Act [4-58-1 to 4-58-6 NMSA 1978] or the Regional Planning Act [3-56-1 to 3-56-9 NMSA 1978];
I. "public educational institution" means a public school that receives state funding for its operations, a school district, a public post-secondary educational institution or a state agency that provides administrative services, funding or technical support to public schools, school districts and public post-secondary educational institutions;
J. "quality of service" means the standards for broadband service established by the department that meet or exceed the baseline standards established by the federal communications commission;
K. "statewide broadband plan" means a plan developed by the department that may be an updated revision of the 2020 broadband plan; provided that, upon Senate Bill 93 of the first session of the fifty-fifth legislature becoming law, "statewide broadband plan" means the statewide broadband plan developed pursuant to that law;
L. "tribal government" means the government of a federally or state-recognized Indian nation, pueblo or tribe;
M. "underserved" means an area or property that does not receive internet quality of service access; and
N. "unserved" means an area or property that does not have internet access that meets the baseline standards established by the federal communications commission.
History: Laws 2021, ch. 120, § 2.
Effective dates. — Laws 2021, ch. 120, § 10 made Laws 2021, ch. 120, § 2 effective July 1, 2021.