Gov. Jared Polis issued an executive order on Oct. 13 creating a broadband advisory board tasked with being the public face of the state’s efforts to plan for and provide reliable high-speed internet access to people across the state.
That board held its first meeting Thursday, one day after the Colorado legislature authorized a $20 million grant program aimed at improving broadband access for students and educators in a year when online learning has become essential.
Based on the meeting, held virtually over Zoom, it appears the new body will not be inserting itself into legislative “sausage-making” at the capitol as it seeks to fulfill the tasks Polis has laid out for it.
“I think there is a very specific process in terms of anything that involves engaging the legislature, so I don’t view this advisory board as having that role,” Anthony Neal-Graves, head of the state’s broadband office, said during the meeting. “I think what we do is provide those broad recommendations for consideration that then could be taken into, for example, a legislative process.”
Neal-Graves was elected the board chair’s Thursday. Members also adopted bylaws and a charter.
It’s not a job Neal-Graves is expected to hold for long. Earlier this month, he was appointed the state’s chief information officer and head of the office of information technology. He will be replaced on the board by the next person hired to lead the broadband office, a spokeswoman said.
The $20 million grant program the legislature approved Wednesday demonstrated the limited role the new board has, at least for now. The money was dedicated directly to the department of education for distribution. While the department of education is a part of the broadband board, it is not a voting member under the charter approved Thursday.
Carrie Paykoc, the director of the state’s Office of eHealth Innovation, is also a nonvoting member. She expressed hope that her department would be given voting power if the board is allocated money for distribution, something Neal-Graves was open to discussing at future meetings.
Beyond providing some clarity into the board’s role, Thursday’s meeting also gave at least one example of the importance of access to reliable internet and technology. Voting board member Brian Martin, from the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies, was about 10 minutes late for the meeting because he was “having some serious technical difficulties.”
“Welcome to the world of virtual work,” Neal-Graves told him.
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