Section 9-6-16 - Rural equity ombud; infrastructure planning and development division of the department of finance and administration; dutiesA. The infrastructure planning and development division of the department of finance and administration shall employ at least one "rural equity ombud", whose job it is to work on issues of concern to rural and frontier communities with: (1) the governor's office, the legislature and all state agencies;(2) counties and municipalities in the state;(3) federal agencies, including the rural utilities service and the rural development agency of the United States department of agriculture, the United States department of the interior, the United States department of housing and urban development and other appropriate federal agencies; and(4) nonprofit organizations that address issues faced by rural and frontier communities or provide services to residents of those communities.B. The rural equity ombud shall be employed solely on the basis of education and experience.C. The rural equity ombud shall: (1) provide technical assistance to federal, state and local governments on issues of concern for rural and frontier communities;(2) provide planning assistance to the state and counties to ensure that concerns of residents of rural and frontier communities are being addressed as part of the state's or a county's planning processes in: (c) educational services;(d) economic development;(e) infrastructure planning, funding and improvements, including water and wastewater, utilities, roads and highways, broadband and other infrastructure;(h) land use and land development;(k) natural resource management, including game and fish resources;(l) community development block grant projects;(m) state or local planning in conjunction with federal agencies and funding; and(n) any other planning processes that affect rural and frontier communities;(3) serve as an advocate for rural and frontier communities and work to ensure that those communities' needs are met and that residents of rural and frontier communities have a voice in state and local government;(4) take and resolve complaints from rural and frontier communities;(5) provide bill analyses and provide testimony to the legislature on legislation that positively or negatively affects rural and frontier communities;(6) make annual reports to the governor and the legislature on:(a) activities of the ombud, including interactions with governmental agencies and the outcome of those interactions;(b) complaints received and resolved;(c) structural barriers to providing needed services to rural and frontier communities and recommendations for eliminating or ameliorating those barriers; and(d) other information that may inform executive and legislative decisions affecting rural and frontier communities; and(7) perform other duties as assigned by the director of the infrastructure planning and development division, the secretary of finance and administration, the governor or the legislature.Amended by 2024, c. 10,s. 4, eff. 7/1/2024.