A. The department shall enter into necessary agreements to provide, where feasible, a telecommunication network and related facilities to all executive, legislative and judicial branches. Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to the provision of a telecommunication network and related facilities to political subdivisions of the state.

B. Pursuant to Section 9-27-13 NMSA 1978, the department may, where feasible and economical, provide a telecommunication network and related facilities to educational institutions that request to be included in the telecommunication network and shall enter into the necessary contractual agreements with telecommunication providers to provide the telecommunication network and related facilities to educational institutions that request to be included in the telecommunication network.

C. Pursuant to Sections 9-27-6 and 9-27-13 NMSA 1978, the department and the public education department shall coordinate to apply for reimbursements from the federal universal service fund pursuant to Section 254 of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. 254, as such section existed on January 1, 2006, on behalf of state agencies, political subdivisions and educational institutions as available for telecommunication network services.

D. Pursuant to Section 9-27-7 NMSA 1978, the department shall establish a rate structure based on actual costs, including necessary administrative expenses, and shall charge participants according to such rate structure.

History: Laws 1963, ch. 181, § 1; 1953 Comp., § 6-1-24; Laws 1965, ch. 225, § 1; 1977, ch. 247, § 61; 1978, ch. 124, § 11; 1980, ch. 151, § 17; 1983, ch. 301, § 57; 2007, ch. 288, § 3; 2007, ch. 290, § 20; 1978 Comp., § 15-5-1, recompiled as § 9-27-20 by Laws 2009, ch. 146, § 10; 2017, ch. 7, § 3.

Recompilations. — Laws 2009, ch. 146, § 10 recompiled former 15-5-1 NMSA 1978 as 9-27-20 NMSA 1978, effective June 19, 2009.

The 2017 amendment, effective June 16, 2017, required the department of information technology to enter into the necessary agreements to provide a telecommunication network to all executive, legislative and judicial branches, allowed the department to provide a telecommunication network to educational institutions that request to be included in the network, required the department of information technology and the public education department to apply for federal reimbursements for telecommunication network services, and required the department of information technology to establish a rate structure and to charge participants in the telecommunication network according to that rate structure; after the heading, added the subsection designation "A" to the first paragraph of the section; in Subsection A, after "The department", deleted "of information technology", after "where feasible, a", deleted "central telephone system, including wide-area telephone service" and added "telecommunication network", after "the provision of a", deleted "central telephone system" and added "telecommunication network"; and added new Subsections B, C, and D.

Repeals. — Laws 2017, ch. 7, § 10, repealed Laws 2007, ch. 888 [288], § 3, effective June 16, 2017, which enacted amendments to this section but was not compiled because it could not be reconciled with Laws 2007, ch. 290, § 20, which as the last act signed by the governor, was compiled into the NMSA 1978.

The 2007 amendment, effective July 1, 2007, required the department of information technology to enter into agreements to provide a central telephone system for state governmental branches, except for political subdivisions of the state.