BILL NUMBER: S9030a

SPONSOR: BIAGGI
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to providing inter-
net access to all individuals receiving temporary housing assistance

 
PURPOSE:

To ensure that all individuals receiving temporary housing assistance
have access to the internet.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 17 of the social services law by adding a new
subdivision 1 to require local social services districts to provide
internet access to all individuals receiving temporary housing assist-
ance in their district.

Section 2 amends section 153 of the social service law to add a new
              

subdivision 13 to require the state to reimburse local social service
districts for 100% of the cost of providing internet access.

Section 3 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

According to the New York City Department of Social Services, most of
the 450 homeless shelters in New York City do not provide wifi for resi-
dents.*1 In a 2019 survey of shelter residents by the City Bar Justice
Association, residents detailed their frustrations. Most were either
unable to access the internet regularly or had to spend their limited
resources on phone plans with data. For residents looking for a job,
housing, or trying to access city resources, being unable to access the
internet is costly. Residents reported that they lost out on jobs or had
to use limited funds to pay for internet access instead of food or other
essential items. *2

For the estimated 114,000 children who live in shelters in New York
City, being unable to access the internet has made remote learning inac-
cessible. There are countless accounts of students who received laptops
from the New York City Department of Education but had no access to
wifi. In some cases, students received wifi enabled devices, but still
could not access the internet for school because of spotty cell recep-
tion in their shelter. *3

This legislation would require all local social service districts to
provide internet access for all individuals receiving temporary housing
assistance in their district. That includes, but is not limited to,
family shelters, shelters for adults, domestic violence shelters, runa-
way and homeless youth shelters, and safe houses for refugees. 100% of
the cost will be reimbursed by the state.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPACT ON TILE STATE:
To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect after 30 days.
*1 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/nyregion/new-york-homeless-
students-coronavirus.html
*2 https://www.citybarjusticecenterom/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/
Homeless-Need-Internet-Access-toFind-a-Home-2020-Report.pdf
*3 For example:
https://citylimits.orq/2020/03/27/online-learning-means-new-barriers-
for-nycs-homelessstudents/;
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/nyregion/new-york-homeless-
students-coronavirus.html