Bill Text: NY A01714 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires broadband providers to offer high speed broadband service to certain low-income consumers at a cost of not more than five dollars per month.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to corporations, authorities and commissions [A01714 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A01714-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1714 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 20, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to broadband service for low-income consumers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new 2 section 399-zzzzzz to read as follows: 3 § 399-zzzzzz. Broadband service for low-income consumers. 1. For the 4 purposes of this section, the term "broadband service" shall mean a 5 mass-market retail service that provides the capability to transmit data 6 to and receive data from all or substantially all internet endpoints, 7 including any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the opera- 8 tion of the communications service provided by a wireline, fixed wire- 9 less or satellite service provider, but shall not include dial-up 10 service. 11 2. Every person, business, corporation, or their agents providing or 12 seeking to provide broadband service in New York state shall, no later 13 than sixty days after the effective date of this section, offer high 14 speed broadband service to low-income consumers whose household: (a) is 15 eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch through the National School 16 Lunch Program; or (b) whose annual gross household income is not in 17 excess of one hundred eighty-five percent of the federal poverty guide- 18 lines as updated periodically in the Federal Register by the United 19 States Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 20 U.S.C. § 9902(2); or (c) is eligible for, or receiving the supplemental 21 nutrition assistance program benefits; or (d) is eligible for, or 22 receiving Medicaid benefits; or (e) is eligible for, or enrolled in 23 senior citizen rent increase exemption; or (f) is eligible for, or 24 enrolled in disability rent increase exemption; or (g) is a recipient of 25 an affordability benefit from a utility. Such low-income broadband EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04269-01-3A. 1714 2 1 service shall provide a minimum download speed equal to the greater of 2 one hundred megabits per second download speed or the download speed of 3 the provider's existing low-income broadband service sold to customers 4 in the state, and a minimum upload speed equal to the greater of ten 5 megabits per second or the upload speed of the provider's existing low- 6 income broadband service sold to customers in the state, subject to 7 exceptions adopted by the public service commission where such speeds 8 are unreasonable and impracticable. 9 3. Broadband service for low-income consumers, as set forth in this 10 section, shall be provided at a cost of no more than five dollars per 11 month, inclusive of any recurring taxes and fees such as recurring 12 rental fees for service provider equipment required to obtain broadband 13 service and usage fees. Broadband service providers shall allow low-in- 14 come broadband service subscribers to purchase standalone or bundled 15 cable and/or phone services separately. Broadband service providers may, 16 once every five years, and after thirty days' notice to its customers 17 and the department of public service, increase the price of this service 18 by the lesser of the most recent change in the consumer price index or a 19 maximum of two percent per year of the price for such service. 20 4. Any contract or agreement for broadband service targeted to low-in- 21 come consumers provided by an entity described in subdivision two of 22 this section, pursuant to this section or otherwise, shall have the same 23 terms and conditions, other than price and speed set pursuant to this 24 section, as for the regularly priced offerings for similar service 25 provided by such entity. 26 5. Every person, business, corporation, or their agents providing or 27 seeking to provide broadband service in New York state shall make all 28 commercially reasonable efforts to promote and advertise the availabili- 29 ty of broadband service for low-income consumers including, but not 30 limited to, the prominent display of, and enrollment procedures for, 31 such service on its website and in any written and commercial promo- 32 tional materials developed to inform consumers who may be eligible for 33 service pursuant to this section. 34 6. Every person, business, corporation, or their agents providing or 35 seeking to provide broadband service in New York state shall annually 36 submit to the department of public service, no later than November 37 fifteenth after the effective date of this act, and annually thereafter, 38 a compliance report setting forth: (a) a description of the service 39 offered pursuant to this section; (b) the number of consumers enrolled 40 in such service; (c) a description of the procedures being used to veri- 41 fy the eligibility of customers receiving such service; (d) a 42 description and samples of the advertising or marketing efforts under- 43 taken to advertise or promote such service; (e) a description of all 44 retail rate products, including pricing, offered by such person, busi- 45 ness, corporation, or their agents; (f) a description, including speed 46 and price, of all broadband products offered in the state of New York; 47 (g) a description of the number of customers in arrears for the payment 48 for broadband service, percentage of customers in arrears that qualify 49 for low-income broadband service, the number of households that have had 50 their service terminated as a result of non-payment, the number of 51 customers whose service was terminated for arrears arising from non-pay- 52 ment for services other than broadband service, and the number of house- 53 holds that have their broadband service restored after being delinquent 54 on their payments; and (h) such other information as the department of 55 public service may require.A. 1714 3 1 7. The department of public service shall, within two years of the 2 effective date of this section and at least every five years thereafter, 3 undertake a proceeding to determine if the minimum broadband download 4 speed in this section should be increased to the federal communications 5 commission's benchmark broadband download speed, or to another minimum 6 broadband download speed if the federal communications commission has 7 not increased its benchmark by such date. The department of public 8 service shall also: (a) undertake appropriate measures to inform the 9 public about available broadband products, including retail rate product 10 offerings and low-income offerings; and (b) periodically, but no less 11 than once every five years, review eligibility requirements for the 12 low-income service required pursuant to this section, and update such 13 requirements as may be necessary to meet the needs of consumers. 14 8. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application 15 may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of the 16 state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction by a special 17 proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of 18 not less than five days, to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such 19 violation; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or 20 justice that the defendant has, in fact, violated this section, an 21 injunction may be issued by the court or justice, enjoining and 22 restraining any further violations, without requiring proof that any 23 person has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby. In any such 24 proceeding, the court may make allowances to the attorney general as 25 provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of section eighty-three 26 hundred three of the civil practice law and rules, and direct restitu- 27 tion. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this 28 section has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more 29 than one thousand dollars per violation. In connection with any such 30 proposed application, the attorney general is authorized to take proof 31 and make a determination of the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in 32 accordance with the civil practice law and rules. 33 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 34 have become a law.
