Includes whereas clauses.

Appropriates from the General Fund to the Department of Information Technology (DIT) $900,000 for 2017‑18 and $900,000 for 2018‑19, with $50,000 to be allocated each fiscal year to each of the State's 16 regional Councils of Government (COG) to be used to provide technical assistance in economic and community development and broadband deployment planning to the unserved and underserved rural areas within the respective region. Requires each regional COG to implement a plan of work for use of these appropriated funds that includes, but is not limited to, the following four specified components including the development of one or more multijurisdictional broadband deployment plans in cooperation with their respective local governments and key broadband providers, user stakeholders, and the Department of Information Technology's Broadband Office, based on the region's broadband needs.

Specifies how the fund are to be disbursed.

Requires each regional COG that receives funding under this act to: (1) by September 1, 2017, submit its goals, objectives, and proposed expenditures for those program funds to the DIT and the Fiscal Research Division and to any other legislative entity as may be required by the COG's annual plan of work; (2) make a first progress report to the Broadband Infrastructure Office due in the first quarter after the first year of funding and a final report due in the first quarter after the second year of funding; and (3) by June 30, 2019, submit a report to the DIT and the Fiscal Research Division on its actual expenditure of the funds appropriated by this act and its accomplishments achieved through use of those funds during the previous fiscal year.

Effective July 1, 2017.