Bill Text: NY S00917 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Enacts the "credit for rural broadband act"; provides for a refundable tax credit for costs paid for new construction of new broadband networks to residences and small businesses located in rural, unserved areas.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - REFERRED TO INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY [S00917 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S00917-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           917

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  HELMING,  BORRELLO,  OBERACKER  -- read twice and
          ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
          Internet and Technology

        AN ACT to amend the state technology law and the tax law, in relation to
          a refundable tax credit provided to broadband deployment to residences
          and small businesses located in rural, unserved areas

          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 "credit for rural broadband act".
     3    §  2.  Section  104 of the state technology law is amended by adding a
     4  new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
     5    3. The office of information technology services, in conjunction  with
     6  input  from  the  advisory council, is hereby authorized and directed to
     7  promulgate rules and regulations necessary for verifying  an  "unserved"
     8  area  under  the credit for rural broadband act, using broadband mapping
     9  data at the time a project is proposed.
    10    § 3. Section 210-B of the tax law is amended by adding a new  subdivi-
    11  sion 61 to read as follows:
    12    61.  Credit  for rural broadband deployment.  (a) Allowance of credit.
    13  A qualified taxpayer shall be allowed a credit against the  tax  imposed
    14  by  this  article equal to any qualified customer contribution in aid of
    15  construction resulting from new network construction to  deliver  broad-
    16  band  service to the individual's residence or place of business located
    17  in an unserved area.  The credit allowed by this  subdivision  shall  be
    18  claimed annually over a five-year period equal to one-fifth of the cred-
    19  it  amount. If the credit allowed under this subdivision is greater than
    20  the tax due in any taxable year, the amount by which such credit exceeds
    21  such tax due is treated as an overpayment  of  tax  to  be  refunded  in

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00707-01-5
        S. 917                              2

     1  accordance  with  the  provisions  of section one thousand eighty-six of
     2  this chapter.
     3    (b)  For purposes of this subdivision, the following definitions shall
     4  apply:
     5    (1)  "Qualified  construction  expenses"  equal  the  total  cost   of
     6  construction  of  new networks in the proposed unserved service area, as
     7  certified by the broadband service provider, but not to exceed a reason-
     8  able cost based upon the average cost  per  mile  of  broadband  network
     9  construction  as determined by the commissioner in consultation with the
    10  public service commission and broadband service providers.
    11    (2) "Qualified customer contribution in aid of construction" is deter-
    12  mined in accordance with the following formula: (QCE/TC)  -  (ACM/35)  =
    13  QC, where QCE equals the qualified construction expenses; ACM equals the
    14  average  cost  of construction per mile in the proposed unserved service
    15  area, as certified by the broadband service provider, but not to  exceed
    16  a  reasonable  cost  based  upon  the average cost per mile of broadband
    17  network construction as determined by the commissioner  in  consultation
    18  with  the  public service commission and broadband service providers; TC
    19  equals the number of residents  and  small  business  customers  in  the
    20  proposed  unserved service area making a qualified customer contribution
    21  in aid to construction and contracting for services  over  the  network;
    22  and   QC   equals   the   qualified  customer  contribution  in  aid  of
    23  construction.
    24    (3) "Required provider contribution  in  aid  to  construction"  shall
    25  equal the qualified construction expenses, less the sum of all the qual-
    26  ified  customer  contributions  in  aid  to construction in the proposed
    27  unserved service area.
    28    (4) "Broadband service" means  Internet  access  service  with  trans-
    29  mission  speeds  that  are  equal to or greater than combined advertised
    30  download speeds of at least 4 Megabits  per  second  (Mbps)  and  upload
    31  speeds of at least 1 Mbps over the provider's network.
    32    (5)  "Unserved  area" means an area composed of one or more contiguous
    33  census blocks where at least ninety percent of households lack access to
    34  facilities-based terrestrial broadband service. A household  has  access
    35  to  a  broadband  service if the household can readily subscribe to that
    36  service upon request.
    37    (6) "Qualified taxpayer" means a taxpayer which is  a  small  business
    38  corporation  as  defined in paragraph three of subsection (c) of section
    39  twelve hundred forty-four of the internal revenue code  (without  regard
    40  to  the  second sentence of subparagraph (A) thereof) as of the last day
    41  of the taxable year.
    42    § 4. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new  subsection
    43  (bbb) to read as follows:
    44    (bbb) Credit for rural broadband deployment.  (A) Allowance of credit.
    45  A  qualified  taxpayer shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed
    46  by this article equal to any qualified customer contribution in  aid  of
    47  construction  resulting  from new network construction to deliver broad-
    48  band service to the individual's residence or place of business  located
    49  in  an  unserved  area.   The credit allowed by this subsection shall be
    50  claimed annually over a five-year period equal to one-fifth of the cred-
    51  it amount. If the credit allowed under this subsection is  greater  than
    52  the tax due in any taxable year, the amount by which such credit exceeds
    53  such  tax  due  is  treated  as  an overpayment of tax to be refunded in
    54  accordance with the provisions of section  one  thousand  eighty-six  of
    55  this chapter.
        S. 917                              3

     1    (B)  For  purposes of this subsection, the following definitions shall
     2  apply:
     3    (1)   "Qualified  construction  expenses"  equal  the  total  cost  of
     4  construction of new networks in the proposed unserved service  area,  as
     5  certified by the broadband service provider, but not to exceed a reason-
     6  able  cost  based  upon  the  average cost per mile of broadband network
     7  construction as determined by the commissioner in consultation with  the
     8  public service commission and broadband service providers.
     9    (2) "Qualified customer contribution in aid of construction" is deter-
    10  mined  in  accordance  with the following formula: (QCE/TC) - (ACM/35) =
    11  QC, where QCE equals the qualified construction expenses; ACM equals the
    12  average cost of construction per mile in the proposed  unserved  service
    13  area,  as certified by the broadband service provider, but not to exceed
    14  a reasonable cost based upon the average  cost  per  mile  of  broadband
    15  network  construction  as determined by the commissioner in consultation
    16  with the public service commission and broadband service  providers;  TC
    17  equals  the  number  of  residents  and  small business customers in the
    18  proposed unserved service area making a qualified customer  contribution
    19  in  aid  to  construction and contracting for services over the network;
    20  and  QC  equals  the  qualified  customer   contribution   in   aid   of
    21  construction.
    22    (3)  "Required  provider  contribution  in  aid to construction" shall
    23  equal the qualified construction expenses, less the sum of all the qual-
    24  ified customer contributions in aid  to  construction  in  the  proposed
    25  unserved service area.
    26    (4)  "Broadband  service"  means  Internet  access service with trans-
    27  mission speeds that are equal to or  greater  than  combined  advertised
    28  download  speeds  of  at  least  4 Megabits per second (Mbps) and upload
    29  speeds of at least 1 Mbps over the provider's network.
    30    (5) "Unserved area" means an area composed of one or  more  contiguous
    31  census blocks where at least ninety percent of households lack access to
    32  facilities-based  terrestrial  broadband service. A household has access
    33  to a broadband service if the household can readily  subscribe  to  that
    34  service upon request.
    35    (6)  "Qualified  taxpayer" means any individual with New York adjusted
    36  gross income of two hundred fifty thousand dollars or less.
    37    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  tax
    38  years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.