Powers and duties of the Utah Communications Authority.
Checkout our iOS App for a better way to browser and research.
(1) The authority has the power to:
(a) sue and be sued in the authority's own name;
(b) have an official seal and power to alter that seal at will;
(c) make and execute contracts and all other instruments necessary or convenient for the performance of the authority's duties and the exercise of the authority's powers and functions under this chapter, including contracts with public and private providers;
(d) own, acquire, design, construct, operate, maintain, repair, and dispose of any portion of a public safety communications network utilizing technology that is fiscally prudent, upgradable, technologically advanced, redundant, and secure;
(e) borrow money and incur indebtedness;
(f) enter into agreements with public agencies, private persons, the state, and federal government to provide public safety communications network services on terms and conditions the authority considers to be in the best interest of the authority;
(g) acquire, by gift, grant, purchase, or by exercise of eminent domain, any real property or personal property in connection with the acquisition and construction of a public safety communications network and all related facilities and rights-of-way that the authority owns, operates, and maintains;
(h) sell, lease, or trade public safety communications network capacity, except backhaul network capacity, to a state agency, a political subdivision of the state, or an agency of the federal government;
(i) sell, lease, or trade backhaul network capacity to a state agency, a political subdivision of the state, or an agency of the federal government for a public safety purpose;
(j) sell, lease, or trade backhaul network capacity to a state agency, a political subdivision of the state, or an agency of the federal government for a purpose other than a public safety purpose, subject to a maximum of 50 megabytes per second in the aggregate at any one location;
(k) subject to Subsection (2):
(i) sell, lease, or trade backhaul network capacity to a private person for a public safety purpose, subject to a maximum of 50 megabytes per second in the aggregate at any one location; or
(ii) sell, lease, or trade public safety communications network capacity, except backhaul network capacity, to a private person for any purpose;
(l) sell, lease, or trade public safety communications network capacity, if the sale, lease, or trade is under an agreement the authority entered into before June 30, 2020, or under an extension of an agreement that the authority entered into before June 30, 2020;
(m) review, approve, disapprove, or revise recommendations regarding the expenditure of funds disbursed by the authority under this chapter; and
(n) perform all other duties authorized by this chapter.
(2)
(a) For a sale, lease, or trade to a private person under Subsection (1)(k), the authority shall require compensation from the private person that is:
(i) fair and reasonable;
(ii) competitively neutral;
(iii) nondiscriminatory;
(iv) open to public inspection;
(v) established to promote access by multiple telecommunication facility providers; and
(vi) set after the authority conducts a market analysis to determine the fair and reasonable value of public safety communications network capacity.
(b) The authority shall conduct the market analysis required under Subsection (2)(a)(vi):
(i) before a sale, lease, or trade to a private person under Subsection (1)(k); and
(ii) thereafter no less frequently than every five years.
(c)
(i) Compensation charged under Subsection (2)(a) may be cash, in-kind, or a combination of cash and in-kind.
(ii) In-kind compensation may not be charged without the agreement of the authority and the private person who will pay the in-kind compensation.
(iii) The authority shall determine the present value of any in-kind compensation based on the incremental cost to the private person.
(iv) The authority shall require the value of any in-kind compensation or combination of cash and in-kind compensation to be at least the amount of cash that would be paid if compensation were cash only.
(3) The authority shall work with PSAPs to identify and address deficiencies relating to PSAP staffing and training.