OH HB378

Establishes the Ohio Broadband Development Grant Program administered by the Director of Development Services to provide grants for broadband infrastructure construction in unserved areas of Ohio.

Eligible applicants include private businesses, political subdivisions, nonprofit entities, and cooperatives; grants capped at the lesser of 50% of project cost or $5 million per recipient.

Prioritizes grant awards to areas with lowest broadband speeds (3 Mbps or less download), then by secondary criteria including service to community institutions, economically distressed areas, and greater funding leverage.

Requires political subdivisions to contact internet service providers 6 weeks before applying and denies grants if any provider credibly commits to provide benchmark broadband speeds within 24 months.

Appropriates $50 million ($50 million for FY2018 and $50 million for FY2019) and encourages the Ohio Department of Transportation to coordinate with telecommunications providers to lay fiber optic cable along state highways.