Bill Text: NY A05000 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides grant funding, where available, for broadband services in non-competitive locations through the ConnectAll deployment program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to corporations, authorities and commissions [A05000 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A05000-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5000 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 27, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions AN ACT to amend the New York state urban development corporation act, in relation to the provision of grant funding for broadband services in non-competitive locations The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 16-gg of section 1 of chapter 174 2 of the laws of 1968, constituting the New York state urban development 3 corporation act, as added by section 2 of part MMM of chapter 58 of the 4 laws of 2022, is amended by adding a new paragraph (i) to read as 5 follows: 6 (i) "Non-competitive location" means a broadband-serviceable location, 7 as determined by the division, that has access to only one wired or 8 fixed wireless broadband service provider that offers high-speed inter- 9 net service, as such term is defined in section 224-c of the public 10 service law. 11 § 2. Subdivision 7 of section 16-gg of section 1 of chapter 174 of the 12 laws of 1968, constituting the New York state urban development corpo- 13 ration act, as added by section 2 of part MMM of chapter 58 of the laws 14 of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 15 7. ConnectAll deployment program. The ConnectAll deployment program is 16 hereby established to provide grant funding to construct infrastructure 17 necessary to provide broadband services to unserved and underserved 18 locations in the state, and to the extent that appropriations are avail- 19 able, to non-competitive locations in the state. Grants issued pursuant 20 to this program shall facilitate projects that, at a minimum, provide 21 reliable internet service with consistent speeds of at least 100 mega- 22 bits per second for download and at least 20 megabits per second for 23 upload, unless this requirement is waived for a specific project or 24 location and a different speed level is approved by the division, but EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09565-01-3A. 5000 2 1 under no circumstances less than 25 megabits per second download and 3 2 megabits per second upload; provided further that applicants for grant 3 funding under this section may include incorporated organizations, 4 Native American tribes or tribal organizations, local units of govern- 5 ment, or a group of any of the above entities; provided further that an 6 applicant for grant funding under this section shall demonstrate suit- 7 able fiscal, technical, operational, and management capabilities as 8 determined by the division; provided further that an applicant for grant 9 funding under this section shall provide certifications as to compliance 10 with relevant safety standards as determined by the division, including 11 the National Electrical Safety Code; provided further that an applicant 12 for grant funding under this section shall provide certifications as to 13 compliance with relevant workplace protections as determined by the 14 division including the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Fair 15 Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and New 16 York State labor and employment laws; provided further that an applicant 17 for grant funding under this section shall submit to the division a 18 workforce plan in a format determined by the division which, to the 19 extent practicable, shall include: (a) information relating to whether 20 the construction workforce will be directly employed or subcontracted; 21 (b) the anticipated size of the workforce required to carry out the 22 proposed work; (c) a description of plans to maximize use of local or 23 regional workforce; and (d) a description of the expected workforce 24 safety standards and training to ensure the project is completed at a 25 high standard. The division shall establish the procedures to solicit, 26 receive and evaluate applications for the program consistent with rules, 27 regulations, or guidelines established by the commissioner; provided 28 that preference shall be given to applications that: (a) are capable of 29 delivering speeds of 1 gigabit per second download and 1 gigabit per 30 second upload to the end user; (b) provide service to locations in 31 unserved areas as determined by the division; (c) commit not to impose 32 caps on data usage on the service provided to the end-user or to block, 33 throttle, or prioritize internet content in the general course of busi- 34 ness; and (d) have and commit to maintaining high standards of workplace 35 safety practices, training, certification or licensure for all relevant 36 workers, and compliance with state and federal workplace protections. 37 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
