Regulating AI could threaten federal broadband funding • Source New Mexico

Source Domain: sourcenm.com

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
New Mexico plans to connect the last households in the state that don’t have high-speed internet access, including tribal communities, which are among the hardest to connect, in part by using $675 million from the federal government.
But the state is still awaiting guidance on how a significant chunk of that money can be spent.
Another complication: If state lawmakers were to pass artificial intelligence regulations, they could put the funding at risk.

That’s according to Jeff Lopez, the director of the state’s Office of Broadband Access and Expansion, who spoke to lawmakers on the interim Science, Technology and Telecommunications Committee on Tuesday in Crownpoint.
Since 2021, the percentage of New Mexico households with high-speed internet access has grown from 73% to 91%, according to Lopez. The state plans to close the remaining gap with help from the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant program, established in 2021.
The Navajo Nation was allocated $111 million, the single largest project supported by the state office.
“I often say we have the most beautiful mountains, valleys, the bosques, the rivers and streams,” Lopez said at the committee hearing. “It makes visiting many of these locations and living in these many locations a distinct privilege, but it also makes broadband infrastructure very expensive when it comes to the topography of New Mexico, and many of our nations, Pueblos and tribes live in some of those hardest-to-connect rural areas.”
About 43% of total BEAD funding — $293 million — has yet to be released.
Lopez’s office in March called on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the federal bureau that administers the program, to disperse what are called non-deployment funds. The state plans to use the money for workforce development and to connect community institutions like schools and libraries, among other priorities.
Also on the state office’s radar is an executive order President Donald Trump issued last December directing his administration to identify “onerous” state laws regulating artificial intelligence. According to the order, states with such laws on their books will largely be ineligible for non-deployment funds.
Lopez said his office conducted a review and didn’t find any New Mexico laws that could conflict with the order. He added that his office can provide guidance on AI legislation during future sessions, as it did earlier this year.
Rep. Tara Lujan, D-Santa Fe, said continued feedback would be helpful because she expects the committee will be evaluating AI legislation ahead of next year’s legislative session.
“I don’t feel like we should have to curtail what we need to do for the state in a responsible way. However, I think that having more information is always the best way to go,” Lujan said.
The federal government taking back already-appropriated money is always a possibility, particularly under the Trump administration, Lopez said, but the BEAD program is likely at less risk because it was part of a bipartisan infrastructure law.