Bill Text: NY A05649 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Provides "WiFi service" internet access to all individuals residing in temporary housing; relates to funding for internet service under the ConnectAll digital equity grant program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 38-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to social services [A05649 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A05649-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5649

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 20, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. REYES, HEVESI, MAMDANI, GUNTHER, THIELE, SIMON,
          MEEKS, GONZALEZ-ROJAS -- read once and referred to  the  Committee  on
          Social Services

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to providing inter-
          net  access  to  all individuals residing in temporary housing; and to
          amend the  New  York  state  urban  development  corporation  act,  in
          relation to the ConnectAll  digital  equity grant program

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subdivision (k) of section 17 of the social  services  law,
     2  as relettered by chapter 424 of the laws of 2017, is relettered subdivi-
     3  sion (l) and a new subdivision (k) is added to read as follows:
     4    (k)  require that all temporary housing facilities shall provide unin-
     5  terrupted access to  high-speed  broadband  internet  service  and  WiFi
     6  service to all individuals residing in such temporary housing.  The WiFi
     7  service  shall be made available throughout all private and common areas
     8  accessible to residents. Such WiFi service must  be  accessible  through
     9  personal  devices  of  the  residents.  The WiFi service signal strength
    10  shall be consistent and sufficient to support simultaneous  use  by  all
    11  residents. For the purposes of this section, the term "high-speed broad-
    12  band internet service" means internet service with download speeds of at
    13  least  one  gigabit per second and upload speeds of at least one gigabit
    14  per second, or if such speeds are not available the maximum download and
    15  upload speeds commercially available within the  local  social  services
    16  district,  unless  a  plan  with  lower  speeds is deemed sufficient and
    17  approved by the Division of Broadband Access of the New York state urban
    18  development corporation, and the term "WiFi  service"  means  access  to
    19  high-speed  broadband internet through wireless router which connects to
    20  the internet by wire or cable.  For purposes of this subdivision, tempo-
    21  rary housing shall include but not be limited to, shelters  for  adults,
    22  shelters for adult families, small-capacity shelters, shelters for fami-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05533-01-3
        A. 5649                             2

     1  lies  with  children,  domestic  violence shelters, runaway and homeless
     2  youth shelters, shelters in hotels or shelters for refugees. Each tempo-
     3  rary housing facility shall submit their plan to provide internet access
     4  pursuant  to  this  subdivision  to  the  department  for  oversight and
     5  approval within one hundred twenty days of the effective  date  of  this
     6  subdivision.  Temporary  housing  facilities  shall implement and comply
     7  with such plans within twelve months of such approval.
     8    (1) (i) A temporary housing facility shall not  use,  disclose,  sell,
     9  retain,  or  permit  access  to the personal information pertaining to a
    10  person residing in temporary housing obtained in the course of providing
    11  internet access except as required to provide such access without regard
    12  to content, application, service, or use of a non-harmful device, or  to
    13  respond  to  a warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction under
    14  the procedures described in the Federal Rules of Criminal  Procedure  or
    15  article six hundred ninety of the criminal procedure law.
    16    (ii)  For the purposes of this subdivision, personal information shall
    17  mean information that directly or  indirectly  identifies,  relates  to,
    18  describes,  is  capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be
    19  linked to a particular individual, family, or personal device.  Informa-
    20  tion is reasonably linkable to an individual, family, or personal device
    21  if it can be used on its own or in  combination  with  other  reasonably
    22  available  information,  regardless of whether such other information is
    23  held by the social services district or temporary housing  facility,  to
    24  identify an individual, family, or a personal device.
    25    (2)  Any  contract  or  agreement  for  internet access provided by an
    26  internet service provider to a temporary housing facility shall have the
    27  same terms and conditions, other than the requirements of this  section,
    28  as  the regularly priced comparable internet plan offered by such inter-
    29  net service provider.
    30    (3) Local social services districts and temporary  housing  facilities
    31  shall  not  be  required  to actively monitor or control the information
    32  accessed through the WiFi service and shall not be held responsible  for
    33  any  illegal  and/or  criminal  activities  committed,  orchestrated, or
    34  organized through the provided Wifi access by residents.
    35    § 2. Section 153 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
    36  subdivision 13 to read as follows:
    37    13. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to  the  contrary,  one
    38  hundred percent of the cost for the expense incurred after the effective
    39  date  of  this  subdivision  by  temporary housing facilities to provide
    40  internet access as required by subdivision (k) of section  seventeen  of
    41  this chapter shall be reimbursed by the state.
    42    §  3.  Subdivision  10 of section 16-gg of section 1 of chapter 174 of
    43  the laws of 1968, as added by section 2 of part MMM of chapter 58 of the
    44  laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
    45    10. ConnectAll digital equity grant program.  The  ConnectAll  digital
    46  equity  grant  program  is  hereby established to support individuals to
    47  have the information technology capacity needed for  full  participation
    48  in  society and the economy, including the effective implementation of a
    49  State Digital Equity Plan or any successor plan and to facilitate, fund,
    50  or reimburse, the provision of internet access as provided  in  subdivi-
    51  sion  (k)  of  section  17  and  section 153 of the social services law.
    52  Grants issued pursuant to this program shall be awarded in a manner  and
    53  form  as determined by the division consistent with all relevant federal
    54  laws, codes, rules, and regulations associated with the federal  Digital
    55  Equity  Act  as established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
    56  Act. The division shall establish such State Digital Equity Plan and the
        A. 5649                             3

     1  procedures to solicit, receive and evaluate proposals  for  the  program
     2  consistent  with  rules,  regulations,  or guidelines established by the
     3  commissioner.
     4    §  4.  This act shall take effect immediately.  Effective immediately,
     5  the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or  regulation  neces-
     6  sary  for  the  implementation  of  this  act  on its effective date are
     7  authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.