Senate Bill S7557

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Enacts the regional broadband expansion and access program act; repealer

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Energy And Telecommunications Committee


  • Introduced
    • In Committee Assembly
    • In Committee Senate
    • On Floor Calendar Assembly
    • On Floor Calendar Senate
    • Passed Assembly
    • Passed Senate
  • Delivered to Governor
  • Signed By Governor

Do you support this bill?

Please enter your contact information

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.
Actions

co-Sponsors

2021-S7557 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A8447
Current Committee:
Senate Energy And Telecommunications
Law Section:
Public Service Law
Laws Affected:
Add Art 12 §§241 - 245, Pub Serv L; rpld §10 sub 24-e, Hway L; rpld §7, Transp Corps L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:
S2613, A4686

2021-S7557 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the regional broadband expansion and access program act; relates to the cost of expanding broadband access.

2021-S7557 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S7557 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7557
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             December 1, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  GRIFFO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the public service law,  in  relation  to  enacting  the
   "regional  broadband  expansion and access program act"; and to repeal
   subdivision 24-e of section 10 of the highway law and section 7 of the
   transportation corporations law, in relation to the cost of  expanding
   broadband access
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Legislative findings.  The  legislature  hereby  finds  and
 declares that, based on certain metrics, New York State is number two in
 the  nation  for  broadband access, but the State's progress is far from
 over. Nationwide, the State ranks in the middle of  the  pack  when  one
 accounts for overall access to gigabit internet, coupled with the broad-
 band  subscription  rate.  In  2015,  Governor  Cuomo established a $500
 million "New NY Broadband Program" that was intended to bring high-speed
 internet access to areas both unserved (download speeds  fewer  than  25
 Mbps  (megabits per second)) and underserved (download speeds between 25
 Mbps and 99 Mbps), respectively. One thing  became  clear  as  many  New
 Yorkers were unable to access necessary services due to a lack of inter-
 net  access:  Governor  Cuomo's  top-down  strategy  has  failed. As the
 COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new "remote world", where the economy
 and our healthcare/education systems are dependent on a reliable  broad-
 band  infrastructure,  access  to broadband is needed in order to access
 necessary services.
   It is the government's responsibility to design a  program  that  will
 provide  this  access.  Doing so would increase access to remotely-based
 employment, education, and health services that  will  be  part  of  the
 post-pandemic  world.  This  proposal  would  completely restructure the
 State's strategy for delivering adequate broadband service and speeds to
 underserved areas. Similar to how the State altered course  when  estab-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13434-01-1
              

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.