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_ 128 Item Details($) Appropriations($) ITEM 103. First Year Second Year First Year Second Year FY2025 FY2026 FY2025 FY2026 shall not include information regarding ownership or control over the network or networks providing service. The department shall establish a process for broadband providers to petition the Department to correct inaccuracies in the map. Any determination made by the department pursuant to any specific petition with respect to any specific map to correct inaccuracies shall be final and not subject to further review. 5. Maps published by the department pursuant to this section may be considered, but shall not be considered conclusive, for purposes of determining eligibility for funding for Commonwealth broadband expansion grant or loan programs, including the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative, or challenges thereto. 6. The department: (i) may contract with private parties to make the necessary improvements to the existing map and to maintain the map. Such private parties may include any entities and individuals selected by the department to assist the department in improving and maintaining such a map; (ii) shall consult existing broadband maps, particularly those published by the Federal Communications Commission; and (iii) may acquire existing, privately held data or mapping information that may contribute to the accuracy of the map. 7. Information submitted by a broadband provider in connection with this section shall be excluded from the requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.). Information submitted by a broadband provider pursuant to this section shall be used solely for the purposes stated under this section and shall not be released by the department, or any other public records custodian, without the express written permission of the submitting broadband provider. 8. The department shall annually evaluate federal mapping data and shall waive the requirement for broadband providers to submit territory data if a map of near identical or greater quality is made publicly available by the Federal Communications Commission as part of the federal Digital Opportunity Data Collection program or its successor. This waiver shall not be unreasonably withheld. 9. For the purposes of the initiative outlined in paragraph O. of this item, "Broadband" means Internet access at speeds equal to or greater than the broadband Internet speed benchmark set by the Federal Communications Commission. "Broadband provider" means a provider of fixed or mobile broadband Internet access service and includes any entity required to provide the federal government with information on Federal Communications Commission Form 477 or as part of the federal Digital Opportunity Data Collection program or a provider of satellite-based broadband Internet access service that has been designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 214(e)(6) for any portion of the Commonwealth. "Chief Advisor" means the Commonwealth Broadband Chief Advisor as established in § 2.2-205.2, Code of Virginia. "Map" means the statewide broadband availability map developed and maintained pursuant to paragraph O. of this item. 10. The department shall add layers to the Map to demonstrate broadband availability in: (i) rural areas and (ii) on farmlands. The department, in collaboration with the Center for Rural Virginia, shall determine an appropriate definition of rural for effectuating the purposes of this paragraph. The Map shall utilize information from the Virginia Land and Energy Navigator, produced by the Virginia Cooperative Extension at Virginia Tech to showcase broadband availability on Virginia prime farmland. The Virginia Cooperative Extension at Virginia Tech shall provide this data to the department at no cost. P.1. Out of this appropriation, $150,000$2,650,000 the first year and $150,000 the second year from the general fund is provided for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, as established by § 36-140.01, Code of Virginia. Of these amounts, the department is authorized to use up to $150,000 to administer these funds. 2. The department shall use up to 20 percent, but no less than 10 percent, of the fund to provide low-interest, non-forgivable loans to qualifying institutions, as defined by § 36- 140.01, Code of Virginia. Interest on loans made from the fund shall not exceed three percent. 3. The department shall require (a) qualifying institutions receiving a loan from the fund to finance eligible program projects through loans, and (b) repayment of loan awards no sooner than five years after its execution of a loan contract with the qualifying institution.