Enrolled  February 13, 2018
Passed  IN  Senate  February 12, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Resolution No. 74

Introduced by Senators De León, Wiener, Allen, Atkins, Beall, Bradford, Dodd, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leyva, McGuire, Mitchell, Monning, Newman, Pan, Portantino, Roth, Skinner, Stern, and Wieckowski

January 22, 2018

Relative to net neutrality


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SR 74, De León.
WHEREAS, Net neutrality is the principle that the Internet should always remain a free, open, and egalitarian platform, where ideas and information are equally accessible to all parties; and
WHEREAS, In December 2017, the Trump Administration’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to repeal its 2015 Open Internet Order, which established strong net neutrality protections for American consumers and businesses who rely on the Internet; and
WHEREAS, Three short decades ago, the world was just discovering the Internet and we had no idea just how rapidly and completely it would change our lives, from the way we communicate, to how we do business, how we get around, and even how we buy our groceries; and
WHEREAS, Millions of Americans of every income level and political persuasion depend on a free and open Internet for their livelihoods; and
WHEREAS, Today, the Internet is critical to free expression, free speech, and democracy; and
WHEREAS, The FCC’s recent repeal of net neutrality protections directly contradicts the will of the vast majority of Americans; and
WHEREAS, Repealing net neutrality protections gives Internet service providers the power to sabotage their competition by throttling Internet speeds for competing content and the power to charge for priority bandwidth, which can give companies an unfair advantage in the race for our time, attention, and business; and
WHEREAS, Without strong net neutrality protections, there is nothing to stop the companies that already monopolize the Internet from blocking certain Internet Web sites or information altogether; and
WHEREAS, California’s nearly 40 million residents and our global economy—the sixth largest on the planet by gross domestic product—are heavily dependent on fair and competitive protections for Internet access; and
WHEREAS, California has joined several states, including Washington, New York, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, in proposing state laws to protect consumers by establishing our own net neutrality protections; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the public interest in a free and open Internet outweighs the profits and political motives of Internet service providers; and be it further
Resolved, That the Senate urges the FCC to reinstate the 2015 Open Internet Order; and be it further
Resolved, That the Senate urges the United States Congress to intervene to protect net neutrality and codify its principles in statute; and be it further
Resolved, That the Senate commends the efforts of United States Senator Markey, Congressman Doyle, and their colleagues to use the Congressional Review Act to issue a resolution of disapproval to reverse the FCC’s misguided decision to repeal the 2015 Open Internet Order; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.