Bill Text: NY S07987 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires that state contracts only be with internet service providers compliant with net neutrality and establishes a revolving fund for the establishment of municipal internet service providers; appropriates $250 million therefor.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-04 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S07987 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S07987-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7987 IN SENATE January 4, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sens. PARKER, JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the public service law, the general business law and the state finance law, in relation to requiring that internet service providers that are compliant with net neutrality and state contracts only be made with such compliant providers and establishing a revolv- ing fund for the creation of municipal internet service providers; and making an appropriation therefor The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "NYS Net Neutrality Protection Act". 3 § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 92-j to 4 read as follows: 5 § 92-j. Reports by internet service providers. 1. Any telephone corpo- 6 ration, as defined by subdivision seventeen of section two of this chap- 7 ter, or cable television company, as defined by subdivision one of 8 section two hundred twelve of this chapter, which is also a broadband 9 internet service provider, as defined by paragraph (b) of subdivision 10 one of section three hundred ninety-nine-z-two of the general business 11 law, shall annually report to the department, and publicly disclose, 12 accurate information regarding network management practices, perform- 13 ance, and commercial terms of such company's or corporation's broadband 14 internet access that is sufficient for consumers to make informed choic- 15 es regarding the use of such services, and for content, application, 16 service, and device providers to develop, market, and maintain internet 17 offerings. 18 2. The publication of disclosures that comply with the federal commu- 19 nications commission's transparency rule (47 C.F.R. 8.1) shall satisfy 20 the requirements of subdivision one of this section. 21 3. The commission shall annually prepare a report that lists the 22 certification status for each broadband internet service provider quali- 23 fied to do business in the state. Such report shall be published on the 24 commission's website and updated at least annually. The commission shall EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06285-02-4S. 7987 2 1 notify the governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the 2 speaker of the assembly of the publication of such report and of any 3 updates to such report. 4 4. Except to the extent necessary to supervise the reporting and 5 notice requirements of subdivisions one and two of this section, nothing 6 in this section shall confer upon the commission any regulatory juris- 7 diction over internet service providers or internet broadband services. 8 § 3. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 399- 9 z-2 to read as follows: 10 § 399-z-2. Net neutrality. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this 11 section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: 12 (a) "Broadband internet access" shall mean a mass-market retail 13 service by wire or radio that provides the capability to transmit data 14 to and receive data from all or substantially all internet endpoints, 15 including any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the opera- 16 tion of the communications service, but shall not include dial-up inter- 17 net access service. Broadband internet access shall be considered to be 18 an information service as such term is defined pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 19 153. 20 (b) "Broadband internet service provider" shall mean any person, busi- 21 ness or organization qualified to do business in this state, including 22 municipal broadband providers, to the extent that such individuals, 23 corporations, or other entities provide other individuals, corporations 24 or entities with broadband internet access. 25 (c) "End user" shall mean any individual or entity that utilizes 26 broadband internet access. 27 (d) "Paid prioritization" shall mean the management of a broadband 28 provider's network to directly or indirectly favor some traffic over 29 other traffic in a manner that materially harms competition and mate- 30 rially harms end users, including through the use of traffic shaping, 31 prioritization, resource reservation, or other forms of preferential 32 traffic management, which is either: 33 (i) in exchange for consideration, monetary or otherwise, from a third 34 party; or 35 (ii) to benefit an affiliated entity. 36 (e) "Reasonable network management" shall mean a network management 37 practice that is appropriate and tailored to achieving a legitimate 38 network management purpose, including deterring or preventing cyberse- 39 curity threats and similar threats originating from equipment connected 40 directly or indirectly to the network or otherwise, taking into account 41 the particular network architecture and technology of the broadband 42 internet access service. 43 (f) "Specialized services" shall mean service other than broadband 44 internet access that is provided by broadband providers over last-mile 45 capacity shared with broadband internet access. 46 2. Net neutrality. (a) Any broadband internet service provider shall 47 not: 48 (i) block lawful content, applications, services, or non-harmful 49 devices, subject to reasonable network management. 50 (ii) impair or degrade lawful internet traffic on the basis of inter- 51 net content, application, or service, or use of a non-harmful device, 52 subject to reasonable network management. 53 (iii) engage in paid prioritization, including, but not limited to, 54 traffic shaping, prioritization, resource reservation, or other forms of 55 preferential traffic management, either: 56 (A) in exchange for any form of consideration from a third party, orS. 7987 3 1 (B) to benefit an affiliated entity, unless the broadband internet 2 service provider demonstrates that the practice would provide a signif- 3 icant public interest benefit and would not harm the open nature of the 4 internet. 5 (b) Nothing in this section shall: 6 (i) supersede any obligation or authorization a provider of broadband 7 internet access may have to address the needs of emergency communi- 8 cations or law enforcement, public safety, or national security authori- 9 ties, consistent with or as permitted by applicable law, or limit the 10 provider's ability to do so; 11 (ii) prohibit reasonable efforts by a provider of broadband internet 12 access to address copyright infringement or other unlawful activity; 13 (iii) be construed to limit the choice of service plans available to 14 consumers, or consumers' control over their chosen broadband internet 15 access; and 16 (iv) be construed to limit the ability of broadband internet access 17 providers to offer or provide specialized services, so long as the 18 broadband internet service provider continues to offer broadband inter- 19 net access in a manner consistent with the provisions of this section. 20 3. Reporting. Any person or entity engaged in providing broadband 21 internet access within the state who are not covered by either of the 22 definitions established pursuant to subdivision seventeen of section two 23 or subdivision one of section two hundred twelve of the public service 24 law, shall report to the commission, and publicly disclose at least 25 annually, accurate information regarding the network management prac- 26 tices, performance, and commercial terms of such company's or corpo- 27 ration's broadband internet access that is sufficient for consumers to 28 make informed choices regarding the use of such services, and for 29 content, application, service, and device providers to develop, market, 30 and maintain internet offerings. 31 4. Enforcement. A violation of the requirements of this section by a 32 broadband internet service provider shall be enforceable solely through 33 an action brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in this state by 34 the attorney general. 35 5. Preemption. Any provision of any local law or ordinance, or any 36 rule or regulation promulgated thereto, governing broadband internet 37 service shall upon the effective date of this section, be preempted. 38 § 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 149 to 39 read as follows: 40 § 149. Contracting for broadband internet access. 1. (a) Notwithstand- 41 ing any other provision of law to the contrary, where a contract 42 pertains to broadband internet access, as defined in section three 43 hundred ninety-nine-z-two of the general business law, such contract 44 shall be awarded by: 45 (i) a state agency, as defined in section one hundred sixty of this 46 chapter, or any state or local authority, as such terms are defined in 47 section two of the public authorities law; or 48 (ii) a municipal corporation as defined in section two of the general 49 municipal law, or any public benefit corporation or municipality of the 50 state; or 51 (iii) public library or association library, as such terms are defined 52 in section two hundred fifty-three of the education law; or 53 (iv) the legislature, judiciary, state university of New York, or city 54 university of New York. 55 (b) If such contract is formed pursuant to a competitive bidding proc- 56 ess or a request for proposal process, whenever the responsive andS. 7987 4 1 responsible offerer having the lowest price or best value offer has not 2 agreed to stipulate to the conditions set forth in this subdivision and 3 another responsive and responsible offerer who has agreed to stipulate 4 to such conditions has submitted an offer, the contract shall be awarded 5 to the lowest price or best value offer for internet services from a 6 source compliant with the internet service neutrality requirements 7 established in section three hundred ninety-nine-z-two of the general 8 business law. 9 (c) Provided, however, the entity awarding such contract may award 10 such contract to a non-compliant broadband internet service provider, 11 only if such entity determines that: 12 (i) there are no other broadband internet service providers available 13 to contract with; 14 (ii) awarding such contract to a compliant broadband internet service 15 provider would result in a significant financial hardship when compared 16 to awarding such contract to a non-compliant broadband internet service 17 provider; or 18 (iii) there is no need for the broadband internet service provider to 19 meet such requirements in order to render the service required by such 20 entity. 21 2. (a) In the case of contracts let by other than a competitive proc- 22 ess which include internet services involving an expenditure of an 23 amount greater than the discretionary buying threshold, as specified in 24 section one hundred sixty-three of this chapter, the contracting entity 25 shall not award to a proposed contractor who has not agreed to stipulate 26 to the conditions set forth in this subdivision unless the entity seek- 27 ing to use the internet services determines that: 28 (i) the internet services are necessary for the entity to perform its 29 functions and there is no other responsible contractor who will supply 30 internet services of comparable quality at a comparable price; 31 (ii) awarding such contract to a compliant broadband internet service 32 provider would result in a significant financial hardship when compared 33 to awarding such contract to a non-compliant broadband internet service 34 provider; or 35 (iii) there is no need for the broadband internet service provider to 36 meet such requirements in order to render the service required by such 37 entity. 38 (b) Any determinations under paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall 39 be made in writing and shall be public documents. 40 3. Nothing is this section shall: 41 (a) supersede any obligation or authorization a provider of broadband 42 internet access may have to address the needs of emergency communi- 43 cations or law enforcement, public safety, or national security authori- 44 ties, consistent with or as permitted by applicable law, or limit the 45 provider's ability to do so; 46 (b) prohibit reasonable efforts by a provider of broadband internet 47 access to address copyright infringement or other unlawful activity; 48 (c) be construed to limit the choice of service plans available to 49 consumers, or consumers' control over their chosen broadband internet 50 access; and 51 (d) be construed to limit the ability of broadband internet access 52 providers to offer or provide specialized services, so long as the 53 broadband internet service provider continues to offer broadband inter- 54 net access in a manner consistent with section three hundred ninety- 55 nine-z-two of the general business law.S. 7987 5 1 § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 165 of the state finance law is amended 2 by adding two new paragraphs f and g to read as follows: 3 f. "Net neutral source of internet services" shall mean an internet 4 service provider that adheres to the principles of net neutrality as 5 described in section three hundred ninety-nine-z-two of the general 6 business law. 7 g. "Non-net neutral source of internet services" shall mean an inter- 8 net service provider that violates any of the principles of net neutral- 9 ity as described in section three hundred ninety-nine-z-two of the 10 general business law. 11 § 6. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-rr to 12 read as follows: 13 § 99-rr. Municipal internet service provider revolving loan fund. 1. 14 There is hereby established in the joint custody of the comptroller and 15 the public service commission a fund to be known as the "municipal 16 internet service provider revolving loan fund". Such fund shall consist 17 of moneys made available pursuant to appropriation and any other sources 18 in order to provide support for municipalities attempting to create 19 their own internet service provider. 20 2. The account shall consist of all moneys appropriated for its 21 purpose, all moneys transferred to such account pursuant to law, and all 22 moneys required by this section or any other law to be paid into or 23 credited to this account, including all moneys received by the account 24 or donated to it, payments of principal and interest on loans made from 25 the account, and any interest earnings which may accrue from the invest- 26 ment or reinvestment of moneys from the account. 27 3. Moneys of the account, when allocated, shall be available to the 28 public service commission to make loans as provided in this section. Up 29 to five percent of the moneys of the account or two hundred fifty thou- 30 sand dollars, whichever is less, may be used to pay the expenses, 31 including personal service and maintenance and operation, in connection 32 with the administration of such loans. 33 4. (a) The public service commission may make, upon application duly 34 made, up to the amounts available by appropriation, loans for any and 35 all costs associated with the creation of a municipally owned broadband 36 internet service provider. 37 (b) The public service commission shall have the power to make such 38 rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper to effectuate the 39 purposes of this section. 40 5. (a) Application for loans may be made by a town, village, city or 41 county provided that the application is otherwise consistent with its 42 respective powers. Applications may also be submitted jointly by multi- 43 ple applicants provided that the application is otherwise consistent 44 with each applicant's respective powers. 45 (b) Every application shall be in a form acceptable to the public 46 service commission. Every application shall accurately reflect the 47 conditions which give rise to the proposed expenditure and accurately 48 reflect the ability of the applicant to make such an expenditure without 49 the proceeds of a loan under this section. 50 (c) (i) The public service commission shall give preference to those 51 applications which: 52 (A) demonstrate the greatest need; 53 (B) are joint applications; and 54 (C) apply the proceeds towards attaining compliance with federal and 55 state laws.S. 7987 6 1 (ii) The public service commission may disapprove any application 2 which contains no adequate demonstration of need or which would result 3 in inequitable or inefficient use of the moneys in the account. 4 (iii) In making determinations on loan applications, the public 5 service commission shall assure that loan fund moneys are equitably 6 distributed among all geographical areas of the state. 7 (d) The public service commission shall, to the maximum extent feasi- 8 ble, and consistent with the other provisions of this section, seek to 9 provide that loans authorized by this section reflect an appropriate 10 geographic distribution, are distributed equitably and encourage 11 regional cooperation. 12 § 7. The sum of two hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000), or 13 so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the 14 municipal internet service provider revolving loan fund from any moneys 15 in the state treasury in the general fund to the credit of the state 16 purposes account not otherwise appropriated for services and expenses of 17 the municipal internet service provider revolving loan fund for the 18 purposes of carrying out the provisions of this act. Such sum shall be 19 payable on the audit and warrant of the state comptroller on vouchers 20 certified or approved by the public service commission in the manner 21 provided by law. No expenditure shall be made from this appropriation 22 until a certificate of approval of availability shall have been issued 23 by the director of the budget and filed with the state comptroller and a 24 copy filed with the chairman of the senate finance committee and the 25 chairman of the assembly ways and means committee. Such certificate may 26 be amended from time to time by the director of the budget and a copy of 27 each such amendment shall be filed with the state comptroller, the 28 chairman of the senate finance committee and the chairman of the assem- 29 bly ways and means committee. 30 § 8. Separability. If any part or provision of this article or the 31 application thereof to any person or circumstance be adjudged invalid by 32 any court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect, 33 impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its 34 operation to part or provision thereof directly involved in the contro- 35 versy in which such judgment shall have been rendered. 36 § 9. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 37 it shall have become a law.
