Texas May Return $1 Billion in BEAD Funding to Treasury

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2025 – In an unexpected development, Texas may be handing back as much as $1 billion in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funds to the federal government.

Glenn Hegar, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, revealed in a March 4 letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that the state could return these funds to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Hegar cited both state-led initiatives and private sector expansion in the reasoning for no longer needing the total $3.3 billion in BEAD money allocated by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) under the Biden administration.

“Under Texas’ leadership, my office has mobilized over $700 million for broadband infrastructure development from various sources. At the same time, private industry has continued to significantly expand broadband service without using taxpayer dollars in commercially viable areas of the state, combining to connect more than two-thirds of the state’s initial BEAD-eligible locations since June 2023,” Hegar said. 

The Biden administration awarded Texas the $3.3 billion, the most of any state allocation, to connect 779,378 eligible locations in the state.

“Following the BEAD challenge process, that number dropped to roughly 236,000 eligible locations, pending NTIA approval,” Hegar explained in a footnote. 

Despite the potential return of funds, Hegar suggested he was not entirely keen on forfeiting the full $1 billion.

He expressed interest in repurposing some of the money for “non-deployment uses,” such as “workforce development, small business growth, education, and healthcare improvements that will enhance quality of life and drive economic growth.”