By CEDAR ATTANASIO – Associated Press / Report for America
SANTA FE, NM (AP) – The New Mexico House passed a bill to encourage federal pandemic aid to improve projects to improve broadband internet and road infrastructure in the state on Friday after a committee added additional spending items to the bill.
An amendment to the House Appropriations and Finance Committee’s bill calls for $ 50 million to be used to build a rural hospital. While a location for the hospital has not been determined, some lawmakers have tended to build it in the Valencian Community, south of Albuquerque.
Another change consolidated $ 123 million in internet funding to give state officials flexibility in deciding which technology to improve broadband access in underserved areas, especially in rural areas. New Mexico has considered methods ranging from traditional fiber optic cables to the Internet broadcast to the ground by satellites and airships.
Republican committee members complained that existing Internet projects stalled $ 25 million because they were not funded.
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“You have been checked. They have been approved and they sit on a shelf that is lacking money, “said Clovis Rep. Randal Crowder.
Broadband was also discussed in the Senate on Friday when a lawmaker announced that state officials were considering buying a new form of satellite internet for rural students – most of whom had no internet access due to the pandemic.
The State Department of Education is working on an agreement to connect rural students to the Internet using StarLink, a SpaceX satellite network that will open services to the New Mexico public starting next year. Agency spokeswoman Judy Robinson said the cost would be $ 1.6 million for the first year of service and for installing the receivers.
The bill, passed by the House of Representatives, also provides for $ 142 million for roads and $ 2 million for a teacher training fund.
With the increase in the training fund, the country is to be freed from the growing shortage of teachers, which has swelled to around 1,000 vacancies. Proponents said the bill could support up to 1,500 educators and aspiring educators, mainly by subsidizing university studies for college students who want to become teachers.
“Our teacher shortage is acute,” said Democratic MP Nathan Small of Las Cruces, adding that he wants prospective teachers to know that the legislature is taking action.
Attanasio is a corps member of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a not-for-profit national utility that places journalists on local newsrooms to cover undercover issues. Follow Attanasio on Twitter.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in any way without permission.
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