State Legislators: Don’t Upend BEAD

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2025 – A group of 115 state legislators asked the Commerce Department Thursday not to impose sweeping changes onto states’ management of $42.5 billion in broadband grants.

“As state legislators, we understand that no program is perfect. Indeed, we welcome some changes. However, we ask that you defer to our states about which changes we adopt,” the legislators wrote. 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said the department is reviewing the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program to make it more technologically neutral, which would mean changing its preference for fiber to some extent.