Abbott Appoints Chair and Vice Chair to Council

Gov. Greg Abbott has appointed Floyd County Judge Marty Lucke to chair the Governor’s Broadband Development Council and Jennifer Harris of Connected Nation Texas to vice chair. The appointees will serve through Aug. 31, 2024, according to a press release.

The council was created by the 86th Legislature in 2019 and expanded by the 87th Legislature in 2021. The council works to study and identify ways to provide Internet access to underserved areas of Texas.

Lucke is an inaugural member of the council and judge for Floyd County, which is about 70 miles northeast of Lubbock. The judge’s office not only performs broad judicial duties but is responsible for presiding over the commissioners court, representing the county in administrative functions and serving as head of emergency management. Lucke is president of the South Plains Rural Transit Board and chairman of the South Plains Rural Planning Organization. He graduated from Abilene Christian University with a B.S. in Geology.

Harris is the state program director for Connected Nation Texas, a nonprofit providing consulting and advisory services to expand and accelerate broadband services. She provides oversight of the collection and analysis of broadband data and the development of broadband advancement strategies addressing access, adoption and use among residents, businesses and institutions. She was council chair for 2020-2021. Harris holds degrees from Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin.

The council studies broadband accessibility, reliability and affordability across the state in economic development, educational opportunities, law enforcement, emergency preparedness and delivery of health care. The council is charged with reporting its findings each November.