LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.

(a) The legislature finds that access to quality, high-speed broadband Internet service is important to this state, is a necessary prerequisite for enabling economic development and improving education, health care, public safety, and government services in this state, and provides other benefits to its citizens.

(b) The legislature finds that broadband development in unserved and underserved areas of Texas can be facilitated by the participation of electric utilities in this state that own and operate facilities that may be useful for the full deployment of broadband service by Internet service providers throughout this state.

(c) The legislature finds that electric utilities have existing infrastructure in place throughout this state and that excess fiber capacity on that infrastructure could be used to provide middle mile broadband service in unserved and underserved areas.

(d) The legislature finds that it is in the public interest to encourage the deployment of broadband service in unserved and underserved areas by permitting electric utilities to own, construct, or operate fiber facilities for the support of electric service and to lease excess fiber capacity for the provision of middle mile broadband service. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the appropriate framework to facilitate the leasing of excess fiber capacity on electric utility facilities.

(e) The legislature finds that an electric utility may choose to implement middle mile broadband service to lease excess fiber capacity to Internet service providers under the procedures set forth in this chapter, but is not required to do so. The electric utility shall have the right to decide, in its sole discretion, whether to implement middle mile broadband service and may not be penalized for deciding to implement or not to implement that service.