Statewide Amendment 2 on the general election ballot next week would clear the way for counties and cities to use federal funds to help bring access to high-speed internet to more homes and businesses.

Amendment 2 is one of 10 statewide amendments on the ballot Nov. 8. The Legislature passed bills to put the proposals before voters, who will decide whether to add them to the Alabama Constitution.

About 19 percent of addresses in Alabama do not have access to broadband as defined by the state, according to the Alabama Broadband Map and the Alabama Connectivity Plan developed by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

Alabama lawmakers and Gov. Kay Ivey have said for several years that closing those gaps is essential for work and for education, points reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The state received an infusion of federal money to help close the gaps through the American Rescue Plan Act, passed by Congress last year. ARPA allocated $2.1 billion to state government in Alabama, plus $952 million to Alabama counties and $787 million to municipalities. Congress said the money can be used for broadband expansion.

Public-private partnerships or grants for broadband are important because they can enable companies to extend fiber cable into areas where there are not enough potential customers to make the investment feasible otherwise.

But Section 94 of the Alabama Constitution prohibits counties and municipalities from providing grant funds to private companies. Amendment 2 would provide an exception to that prohibition.

“Core to the whole structure of broadband around the country, not just in Alabama, is providing financial incentives to companies to provide broadband into areas they might not move on otherwise,” Sonny Brasfield, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, said earlier this year. “That means you’re giving money, you’re giving a thing of value, to an entity. So, we’ve got to amend the constitution to allow counties to do that.”

The ACCA helped spearhead passage of the legislation proposing the amendment, which is also supported by the Alabama League of Municipalities.

Rep. Randall Shedd, a Republican from Cullman County, and Sen. Clay Scofield, a Republican from Guntersville, sponsored the bill that put Amendment 2 on the ballot. It passed both chambers without a dissenting vote.

The amendment says; “The state. a county. or a municipality is authorized to grant federal award funds or any other source of funding designated for broadband infrastructure by state law to any public or private entity for the purpose of providing or expanding broadband infrastructure.”

The amendment requires that any such grants be approved at a public meeting of the county commission or city or town council.

Related: Alabama counties seek change in state constitution to use federal COVID funds for broadband

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