Assembly Bill A4686

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Enacts the regional broadband expansion and access program act

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Assembly 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

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2023-A4686 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S2613
Current Committee:
Assembly Corporations, Authorities And Commissions
Law Section:
Public Service Law
Laws Affected:
Add Art 12 §§241 - 245, Pub Serv L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:
A8447, S7557

2023-A4686 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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

2023-A4686 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4686
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 22, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A. SMULLEN, SIMPSON, ANGELINO, BYRNES, GALLAHAN,
   K. BROWN,   MANKTELOW,   WALSH,   LEMONDES,   GUNTHER,   J. M. GIGLIO,
   J. A. GIGLIO, BLANKENBUSH, DeSTEFANO, MEEKS, McDONOUGH, DURSO, NORRIS,
   MORINELLO,  BRABENEC,  HAWLEY, MILLER, TAGUE -- read once and referred
   to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions

 AN ACT to amend the public service law,  in  relation  to  enacting  the
   "regional broadband expansion and access program act"
 
   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.
                                                            LBD05579-01-3
              

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