Bill Text: NY J01684 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Senate Resolution 1684

Introduced

Bill Title: Urging the United States Congress to support the extension of funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) of 2021 which provides our citizens with access to broadband services

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-17 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [J01684 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-J01684-Introduced.html


Senate Resolution No. 1684

BY: Senator PARKER

        URGING  the  United States Congress to support the
        extension of funding for the Affordable Connectivity
        Program (ACP) of 2021 which  provides  our  citizens
        with access to broadband services

  WHEREAS,  In  2022,  the  New  York  State  Legislature outlined the
principles for the development of broadband, also articulated by Working
to Implement Reliable and Equitable Deployment of Broadband  Act  (WIRED
Broadband Act); and

  WHEREAS,  The  Act  was  created  to promote and encourage broadband
adoption for households in an  effort  to  transform  New  York  State's
digital  infrastructure  so  all residents and businesses have access to
high-speed, reliable, and affordable internet  for  education,  economic
growth, and full participation in civic life; and

  WHEREAS,   In   2021,  as  part  of  the  bipartisan  Infrastructure
Investment   and   Jobs   Act's   historic   investment   in   broadband
infrastructure  and  digital  equity,  Congress  appropriated  more than
fourteen billion dollars for the ACP; and

  WHEREAS, Congress assigned the Federal Communications Commission  to
administer  the  ACP,  the  successor program to the Emergency Broadband
Benefit, which helped almost nine  million  households  afford  internet
access during the pandemic; and

  WHEREAS, Under the ACP, eligible households can receive up to thirty
dollars   per   month  discount  toward  internet  services  and  up  to
seventy-five dollars per  month  for  households  on  qualifying  tribal
lands; and

  WHEREAS, Eligible households may also receive a one-time discount of
up  to  one  hundred  dollars to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or
tablet from participating providers; and

  WHEREAS,  Currently,  there  are  more  than  two  million  eligible
households  within  the  state that may qualify for the ACP and over one
million households that have enrolled; and

  WHEREAS, Based on current take rates, the more than fourteen billion
dollars in funding appropriated for the ACP program could  be  exhausted
in late 2023 or early 2024; and

  WHEREAS,  The  ACP  has  been  a critical tool in helping bridge the
"digital divide" that exists between those who  have  access  to  modern
information  and  communications  technology  and those who do not; now,
therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body does hereby  urge  and  request
each  member  of  the  New  York  Congressional  Delegation  to  support
continued funding of the ACP so that low-income New York households  can
continue  to receive the support they need to participate in the digital
marketplace; and be it further


  RESOLVED,  That  copies  of  this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the presiding officers of the Senate  and  the  House  of
Representatives  of the Congress of the United States of America; and to
each member of the New York Congressional Delegation.