1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to education; appropriating money for a 
  1.3             collaborative planning process for telecommunications 
  1.4             in region 6W. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [APPROPRIATIONS; COLLABORATIVE 
  1.7   TELECOMMUNICATION PLAN FOR REGION 6W.] 
  1.8      $....... is appropriated from the general fund in fiscal 
  1.9   year 1997 to the commissioner of children, families, and 
  1.10  learning for a telecommunications planning grant for Big Stone, 
  1.11  Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Swift, and Yellow Medicine counties of 
  1.12  region 6W.  The grant must be used for a collaborative planning 
  1.13  process to include the region's school districts, education 
  1.14  cooperative organizations, county governments, other local 
  1.15  governments and government agencies, private businesses, and 
  1.16  local telephone companies.  The planning process must result in 
  1.17  a plan to provide coordinated telecommunications infrastructure 
  1.18  and affordable access to telecommunication service throughout 
  1.19  the region.  The plan must consider the individual and joint 
  1.20  telecommunication needs of the participating entities, public 
  1.21  and private access to telecommunication services in the region, 
  1.22  and public and private telecommunication infrastructure 
  1.23  investments.  The plan should give priority to providing 
  1.24  adequate and equitable access to telecommunication services to 
  1.25  support learning in school districts, and to meet the current 
  2.1   and future business and economic development needs of the region.