Bill Text: NY S05525 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
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 - Dead) 2022-08-29 - PRINT NUMBER 5525A [S05525 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S05525-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5525--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 9, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. PARKER, HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Tele- communications -- recommitted to the Committee on Energy and Telecom- munications in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee 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 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09898-04-2S. 5525--A 2 1 receiving Medicaid benefits; or (e) is eligible for, or enrolled in 2 senior citizen rent increase exemption; or (f) is eligible for, or 3 enrolled in disability rent increase exemption; or (g) is a recipient of 4 an affordability benefit from a utility. Such low-income broadband 5 service shall provide a minimum download speed equal to the greater of 6 one hundred megabits per second download speed or the download speed of 7 the provider's existing low-income broadband service sold to customers 8 in the state, and a minimum upload speed equal to the greater of ten 9 megabits per second or the upload speed of the provider's existing low- 10 income broadband service sold to customers in the state, subject to 11 exceptions adopted by the public service commission where such speeds 12 are unreasonable and impracticable. 13 3. Broadband service for low-income consumers, as set forth in this 14 section, shall be provided at a cost of no more than five dollars per 15 month, inclusive of any recurring taxes and fees such as recurring 16 rental fees for service provider equipment required to obtain broadband 17 service and usage fees. Broadband service providers shall allow low-in- 18 come broadband service subscribers to purchase standalone or bundled 19 cable and/or phone services separately. Broadband service providers may, 20 once every five years, and after thirty days' notice to its customers 21 and the department of public service, increase the price of this service 22 by the lesser of the most recent change in the consumer price index or a 23 maximum of two percent per year of the price for such service. 24 4. Any contract or agreement for broadband service targeted to low-in- 25 come consumers provided by an entity described in subdivision two of 26 this section, pursuant to this section or otherwise, shall have the same 27 terms and conditions, other than price and speed set pursuant to this 28 section, as for the regularly priced offerings for similar service 29 provided by such entity. 30 5. Every person, business, corporation, or their agents providing or 31 seeking to provide broadband service in New York state shall make all 32 commercially reasonable efforts to promote and advertise the availabili- 33 ty of broadband service for low-income consumers including, but not 34 limited to, the prominent display of, and enrollment procedures for, 35 such service on its website and in any written and commercial promo- 36 tional materials developed to inform consumers who may be eligible for 37 service pursuant to this section. 38 6. Every person, business, corporation, or their agents providing or 39 seeking to provide broadband service in New York state shall annually 40 submit to the department of public service, no later than November 41 fifteenth after the effective date of this act, and annually thereafter, 42 a compliance report setting forth: (a) a description of the service 43 offered pursuant to this section; (b) the number of consumers enrolled 44 in such service; (c) a description of the procedures being used to veri- 45 fy the eligibility of customers receiving such service; (d) a 46 description and samples of the advertising or marketing efforts under- 47 taken to advertise or promote such service; (e) a description of all 48 retail rate products, including pricing, offered by such person, busi- 49 ness, corporation, or their agents; (f) a description, including speed 50 and price, of all broadband products offered in the state of New York; 51 (g) a description of the number of customers in arrears for the payment 52 for broadband service, percentage of customers in arrears that qualify 53 for low-income broadband service, the number of households that have had 54 their service terminated as a result of non-payment, the number of 55 customers whose service was terminated for arrears arising from non-pay- 56 ment for services other than broadband service, and the number of house-S. 5525--A 3 1 holds that have their broadband service restored after being delinquent 2 on their payments; and (h) such other information as the department of 3 public service may require. 4 7. The department of public service shall, within two years of the 5 effective date of this section and at least every five years thereafter, 6 undertake a proceeding to determine if the minimum broadband download 7 speed in this section should be increased to the federal communications 8 commission's benchmark broadband download speed, or to another minimum 9 broadband download speed if the federal communications commission has 10 not increased its benchmark by such date. The department of public 11 service shall also: (a) undertake appropriate measures to inform the 12 public about available broadband products, including retail rate product 13 offerings and low-income offerings; and (b) periodically, but no less 14 than once every five years, review eligibility requirements for the 15 low-income service required pursuant to this section, and update such 16 requirements as may be necessary to meet the needs of consumers. 17 8. Whenever there shall be a violation of this section, an application 18 may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of the 19 state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction by a special 20 proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon notice to the defendant of 21 not less than five days, to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such 22 violation; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or 23 justice that the defendant has, in fact, violated this section, an 24 injunction may be issued by the court or justice, enjoining and 25 restraining any further violations, without requiring proof that any 26 person has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby. In any such 27 proceeding, the court may make allowances to the attorney general as 28 provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of section eighty-three 29 hundred three of the civil practice law and rules, and direct restitu- 30 tion. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this 31 section has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more 32 than one thousand dollars per violation. In connection with any such 33 proposed application, the attorney general is authorized to take proof 34 and make a determination of the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in 35 accordance with the civil practice law and rules. 36 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 37 have become a law.
