Provides "WiFi service" internet access to all individuals residing in temporary housing; provides that one hundred percent of the cost for the expense incurred for local social services districts to provide such internet access shall be reimbursed by the state; relates to the ConnectAll digital equity grant program.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8552--B
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
December 13, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. REYES, HEVESI, MAMDANI, GUNTHER, GRIFFIN, GONZA-
LEZ-ROJAS, THIELE, SIMON, MEEKS -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Social Services -- recommitted to the Committee on Social
Services in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Social Services
in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged,
bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee
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
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01779-13-2
A. 8552--B 2
1 approved by the Division of Broadband Access of the New York state urban
2 development corporation, and the term "WiFi service" means access to
3 high-speed broadband internet through wireless router which connects to
4 the internet by wire or cable. For purposes of this subdivision, tempo-
5 rary housing shall include but not be limited to, shelters for adults,
6 shelters for adult families, small-capacity shelters, shelters for fami-
7 lies with children, domestic violence shelters, runaway and homeless
8 youth shelters, shelters in hotels or shelters for refugees. Each tempo-
9 rary housing facility shall submit their plan to provide internet access
10 pursuant to this subdivision to the department for oversight and
11 approval within one hundred twenty days of the effective date of this
12 subdivision. Temporary housing facilities shall implement and comply
13 with such plans within twelve months of such approval.
14 (1) (i) A temporary housing facility shall not use, disclose, sell,
15 retain, or permit access to the personal information pertaining to a
16 person residing in temporary housing obtained in the course of providing
17 internet access except as required to provide such access without regard
18 to content, application, service, or use of a non-harmful device, or to
19 respond to a warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction under
20 the procedures described in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure or
21 article six hundred ninety of the criminal procedure law.
22 (ii) For the purposes of this subdivision, personal information shall
23 mean information that directly or indirectly identifies, relates to,
24 describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be
25 linked to a particular individual, family, or personal device. Informa-
26 tion is reasonably linkable to an individual, family, or personal device
27 if it can be used on its own or in combination with other reasonably
28 available information, regardless of whether such other information is
29 held by the social services district or temporary housing facility, to
30 identify an individual, family, or a personal device.
31 (2) Any contract or agreement for internet access provided by an
32 internet service provider to a temporary housing facility shall have the
33 same terms and conditions, other than the requirements of this section,
34 as the regularly priced comparable internet plan offered by such inter-
35 net service provider.
36 (3) Local social services districts and temporary housing facilities
37 shall not be required to actively monitor or control the information
38 accessed through the WiFi service and shall not be held responsible for
39 any illegal and/or criminal activities committed, orchestrated, or
40 organized through the provided Wifi access by residents.
41 § 2. Section 153 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
42 subdivision 13 to read as follows:
43 13. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, one
44 hundred percent of the cost for the expense incurred after the effective
45 date of this subdivision by temporary housing facilities to provide
46 internet access as required by subdivision (k) of section seventeen of
47 this chapter shall be reimbursed by the state.
48 § 3. Subdivision 10 of section 16-gg of section 1 of chapter 174 of
49 the laws of 1968, as added by section 2 of part MMM of chapter 58 of the
50 laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
51 10. ConnectAll digital equity grant program. The ConnectAll digital
52 equity grant program is hereby established to support individuals to
53 have the information technology capacity needed for full participation
54 in society and the economy, including the effective implementation of a
55 State Digital Equity Plan or any successor plan and to facilitate, fund,
56 or reimburse, the provision of internet access as provided in subdivi-
A. 8552--B 3
1 sion (k) of section 17 and section 153 of the social services law.
2 Grants issued pursuant to this program shall be awarded in a manner and
3 form as determined by the division consistent with all relevant federal
4 laws, codes, rules, and regulations associated with the federal Digital
5 Equity Act as established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
6 Act. The division shall establish such State Digital Equity Plan and the
7 procedures to solicit, receive and evaluate proposals for the program
8 consistent with rules, regulations, or guidelines established by the
9 commissioner.
10 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately. Effective immediately,
11 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
12 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
13 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
