Title 77, Public Utilities and Carriers

Every electric cooperative shall conduct an annual audit of compliance with this chapter, which shall be made publicly available. Any electric cooperative electing to operate under the provisions of this chapter must send notice by mail to its members of its elections for board o…

(a) As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(a) “Broadband affiliate” or “affiliate” means any entity that is (i) wholly or partially owned by an electric cooperative, and (ii) formed to own or …

(1) Every electric cooperative is authorized to establish, acquire, and wholly or partially own one or more broadband affiliates. (2) An electric cooperative may allow its broadband affiliate(s) or an unaffiliated broadband operator to own, lease, construct, maintain and operate …

The passage of Chapter 301, Laws of 2019, does not expand the regulatory authority of any state agency, instrumentality or political subdivision of the State of Mississippi beyond the existing state or federal law and regulations in place on January 30, 2019.

(1) An electric cooperative shall not allow the installation or operation of a broadband system on its electric delivery system by an affiliate or other broadband operator to diminish the reliability of the electric delivery system. (2) An electric cooperative shall not require a…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) Act.”

(a) The criteria for determining the awarding of funds shall include the following:(a) The applicant’s experience and financial wherewithal to deploy, operate and manage the proposed project and broadband service offerings, including evidence of the applicant’s successful operati…

In accordance with federal laws, rules, regulations and guidance, the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) shall establish and publish on its website its criteria for competitively scoring applications.

(1) An applicant for funding under this chapter shall provide the following information at a minimum on the application:(a) The location of the project by use of a shapefile;(b) The type and amount of broadband infrastructure to be deployed for the project, including the amount t…

(1) Before the distribution of any grant monies from the BEAM Fund, BEAM shall notify the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Legislative Budget Office of the planned distribution. (2) BEAM may employ the services of such persons as the Direct…

(a) As used in this chapter:(a) “Applicant” means an eligible broadband service provider that has authorization to do business in this state and has demonstrated that it has the technical, financial and managerial resources and experience to provide broadband services in the stat…

There is created an Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) within the Department of Finance and Administration for the purpose of making determinations and awards from applications for projects to provide broadband service in unserved or underserved…

(1) The Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) shall serve as the state broadband office to review applications and make determinations and awards for projects to provide broadband access in unserved or underserved areas using the BEAM Fund created …

(a) In making determinations and awards, the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) shall consider the following:(a) Funds for the grant programs shall only be used by applicants for projects that exclusively extend broadband service into unserved o…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Video Service Act.” It is the intent of the Legislature that nothing in this chapter shall be construed to diminish, impair, limit or preempt the authority of a political subdivision over public rights-of-way that t…

(1) The following words and phrases have the meanings as provided in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(a) “Gross revenue” shall be calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and means all consideration of any kind or nature, …

(1) A video service provider shall not deny access to video service to any group of potential residential subscribers based on the income of the residents in the local area in which such a group resides. (2) A franchising authority or political subdivision shall not impose on a v…

(1) A video service provider shall comply with the customer service requirements under 47 CFR Section 76.309(c), as it existed on January 1, 2026. (2) (a) A video service provider shall provide a political subdivision, in writing, with a direct point of contact for receiving comp…

(1) As used in this section, “public, education, and government access channels,” also known as “PEG channels,” means channels used for noncommercial local interest programming. (2) (a) A video service provider, on the date that it first provides video service to a subscriber in …

(1) The Legislature intends that this chapter be consistent with the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, 47 USC Section 521 et seq., as it existed on January 1, 2026. (2) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, this chapter shall not be interpreted to prevent a video s…

(a) The following words and phrases have the meanings as provided in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(a) “Access to video service” means the capability of a video service provider to provide video service at a household address irrespective of whether …

(1) After May 31, 2026:(a) A person shall not act as a video service provider within the state unless the person:(i) Is providing video service under a franchise from the political subdivision in which service is to be provided which is in effect on May 31, 2026, or a subsequent …

(a) The fees for a certificate of franchise authority to be collected by the Secretary of State include:(a) An application filing fee as set by the Secretary of State that includes the cost of issuance of a certificate of franchise authority by the Secretary of State; and(b) A fe…

(1) A political subdivision shall allow the holder of a certificate of franchise authority to install, construct and maintain facilities in the public rights-of-way subject to the political subdivision’s reasonable rights-of-way management, permitting, inspection, coordination an…