Bill Text: CA SCR90 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Affordable housing: in-home Internet service

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2010-08-11 - In Assembly. Held at Desk. [SCR90 Detail]

Download: California-2009-SCR90-Introduced.html

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BILL NUMBER: SCR 90	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Lowenthal

                        MARCH 18, 2010

   Relative to affordable in-home Internet service.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 90, as introduced, Lowenthal. Affordable housing: in-home
Internet service accessibility.
   This measure would encourage all state and local affordable
housing lenders to ensure that affordable housing funding provides
for high-speed in-home Internet service at reduced prices and that
in-home Internet service and network maintenance costs be eligible as
operating costs and expenses in specified housing developments and
programs.
   Fiscal committee: yes.



   WHEREAS, The Internet is rapidly changing the way people live,
learn, and earn in modern society. Access to information and the
networks available on the Internet strengthens communities, opens new
markets for business, offers new workforce development
opportunities, and inspires individuals towards entrepreneurship.
Without access and training, many citizens will be unable to compete
in the increasingly technology-driven, knowledge-based economy. This
is precisely the case in California, where the disparities in levels
of technology adoption between different socioeconomic groups are
enormous. In response to this inequality, strategies have been
developed to foster digital inclusion and ensure that all people have
access to technology regardless of socioeconomic status; and
   WHEREAS, The federal government has acknowledged through its
provision of funds in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 that due to the immense transformative ability of technology,
lack of access has critical social implications; and
   WHEREAS, According to the Brookings Institution 2007 report, "The
Effects of Broadband Deployment on Output and Employment: A
Cross-sectional Analysis of U.S. Data" for every one percentage point
increase in broadband penetration in a state, employment is
projected to increase by 0.2 to 0.3 percent per year; and
   WHEREAS, According to the study, "Does Home Internet Use Influence
the Academic Performance of Low-Income Children?" published in the
peer-reviewed journal, Developmental Psychology, results of the
academic performance of children of low-income families with median
annual income of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), mostly from
single-parent households, indicate that children who used the
Internet more had higher GPAs after one year and higher scores on
standardized tests of reading achievement after six months compared
to children who used it less; and
   WHEREAS, The University of California study "Crossing the Divide:
Immigrant Youth and Digital Disparity in California" concludes that
home computer use and Internet access positively impacts school
enrollment, high school graduation, and grades; and
   WHEREAS, Low-income households are significantly less likely to
have a computer, Internet access, or home broadband service, while
almost all adults earning over eighty-thousand dollars ($80,000) a
year have a computer, Internet access at home, and a broadband
connection; and
   WHEREAS, While 91 percent of college graduates in California
subscribe to the Internet at home, less than 50 percent of those
without any college education do; and
   WHEREAS, Overall, 73 percent of Caucasians use the Internet at
least occasionally from any location, compared with 62 percent of
African Americans and 56 percent of Latinos. At the time of the 2000
Census, 36 percent of Californians are Latinos and 6.7 percent are
African American; and
   WHEREAS, According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project,
35 percent of dial-up users state that the price of high-speed
Internet or broadband is too expensive for them to adopt the service,
and 7 percent of non-Internet users say that high-speed Internet or
broadband service is too expensive; and
   WHEREAS, Sixty-one percent of college graduates and 64 percent of
people with annual household incomes over eighty thousand dollars
($80,000) report that the Internet is very important to them as a
source of information in their everyday lives, while only 41 percent
of high school graduates and 43 percent of people who earn less than
forty thousand dollars ($40,000) say the same; and
   WHEREAS, Through its Low Income Housing Tax Credit program,
California has recognized the importance of Internet service for
low-income populations since 2003. The California Tax Credit
Allocation Committee (TCAC), which administers the credit in
California, amended its policy to encourage affordable housing
developers to use low-income housing tax credit funding to provide
broadband as a service amenity in affordable housing units. The
current policy allows for the cost of data network infrastructure
design and installation to be paid for with tax credit funding, and
as a result of this amendment, 16,949 units of affordable housing
throughout the state currently enjoy in-home Internet service as a
basic service amenity; and
   WHEREAS, Currently the TCAC policy encourages, but does not
require, the inclusion of free broadband in all publicly-supported
housing. Furthermore, it does not provide an incentive or funding
stream for the operation and maintenance of these networks, placing
the financial burden on the housing developers. The nonprofit One
Economy Corporation has assisted 283 affordable housing developments
in California design and install data network infrastructure. The
operation and maintenance of the network is paid for by the developer
in 100 percent of these developments; and
   WHEREAS, Most affordable housing developments that receive tax
credit funding also borrow money from public agencies, including, but
not limited to, the Department of Housing and Community Development,
local housing departments, and local redevelopment agencies; and
   WHEREAS, Most public lenders allow for affordable housing owners
to deduct certain project operating costs before they determine the
debt payment obligations; and
   WHEREAS, Currently most lenders do not explicitly allow for
Internet service costs and network maintenance costs to be included
as eligible operating costs; and
   WHEREAS, Allowing costs of Internet service and network
maintenance would not delay the repayment of public loans and as a
result slow the reinvestment of public funds to other developments;
now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the State of California encourages all state
and local affordable housing lenders to ensure that affordable
housing developed with public funds be Smart Housing by aligning
their lending policies to California Tax Credit Allocation Committee
policies. "Smart Housing" for these purposes means publicly funded
affordable housing that has the ability to provide high-speed
Internet service to residents in their homes at reduced prices; and
be it further
   Resolved, That the Department of Housing and Community
Development, in its funding for affordable housing, should recognize
the costs for not only the data network infrastructure necessary to
provide shared affordable Internet service to residents of affordable
housing, but also the Internet service and network maintenance costs
as eligible operating costs of developments; and be it further
   Resolved, That local public lending agencies are encouraged to
allow for in-home Internet service and data network maintenance cost
as eligible operating expenses in its multifamily lending programs;
and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.