Hevesi, Mamdani, Simon, Meeks, Gonzalez-Rojas, Simone, Otis, Cunningham, Raga, Epstein, Clark,
Dinowitz, Shimsky, Shrestha, Seawright, Stirpe, Jackson, Lunsford, Rivera, Gallagher, Zaccaro,
Taylor, De Los Santos, Gibbs, Forrest, Tapia, Bichotte Hermelyn, Levenberg, Davila, Kim, Mitaynes,
Glick, Romero, Colton, Hooks, Anderson
MLTSPNSR
Amd §17, Soc Serv L; amd §16-gg, UDC Act
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.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1755
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. REYES, HEVESI, MAMDANI, SIMON, MEEKS,
GONZALEZ-ROJAS, SIMONE, OTIS, CUNNINGHAM, RAGA, EPSTEIN, CLARK, DINOW-
ITZ, SHIMSKY, SHRESTHA, SEAWRIGHT, STIRPE, JACKSON, LUNSFORD, RIVERA,
GALLAGHER, ZACCARO, TAYLOR, DE LOS SANTOS, GIBBS, FORREST, TAPIA,
BICHOTTE HERMELYN, LEVENBERG, DAVILA, KIM, MITAYNES, GLICK -- 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. Section 17 of the social services law is amended by adding
2 a new subdivision (m) is added to read as follows:
3 (m) require that all temporary housing facilities shall provide access
4 to high-speed broadband internet service and WiFi service to all indi-
5 viduals residing in such temporary housing. The WiFi service shall be
6 made available in private and common areas accessible to residents.
7 Such shelter shall have at least one router and at least one modem, or
8 any technological equivalent that performs the function of providing an
9 area with high-speed broadband internet service. For the purposes of
10 this subdivision, the term "high-speed broadband internet service" means
11 internet service with download speeds of at least one gigabit per second
12 and upload speeds of at least one gigabit per second, or if such speeds
13 are not available the maximum download and upload speeds commercially
14 available within the local social services district. The term "WiFi
15 service" means access to high-speed broadband internet through wireless
16 router which connects to the internet by wire or cable. For purposes of
17 this subdivision, temporary housing shall include but not be limited to,
18 shelters for adults, shelters for adult families, small-capacity shel-
19 ters, shelters for families with children, domestic violence shelters,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03220-01-5
A. 1755 2
1 runaway and homeless youth shelters, shelters in hotels or shelters for
2 refugees. Each temporary housing facility shall submit their plan to
3 provide internet access pursuant to this subdivision to the department
4 for oversight and approval within one year of the effective date of this
5 subdivision. Temporary housing facilities shall implement and comply
6 with such plans within one year of such approval.
7 (1) (i) A temporary housing facility shall not use, disclose, sell,
8 retain, or permit access to the personal information pertaining to a
9 person residing in temporary housing obtained in the course of providing
10 internet access except as required to provide such access without regard
11 to content, application, service, or use of a non-harmful device, or to
12 respond to a warrant or subpoena issued by a court of competent juris-
13 diction.
14 (ii) For the purposes of this subdivision, personal information shall
15 mean information that directly or indirectly identifies, relates to,
16 describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be
17 linked to a particular individual, family, or personal device. Informa-
18 tion is reasonably linkable to an individual, family, or personal device
19 if it can be used on its own or in combination with other reasonably
20 available information, regardless of whether such other information is
21 held by the social services district or temporary housing facility, to
22 identify an individual, family, or a personal device.
23 (2) Any contract or agreement for internet access provided by an
24 internet service provider to a temporary housing facility shall have the
25 same terms and conditions, other than the requirements of this section,
26 as the regularly priced comparable internet plan offered by such inter-
27 net service provider.
28 (3) Local social services districts, temporary housing facilities, and
29 their employees and subcontractors shall not be required to actively
30 monitor or control the information accessed through the WiFi service and
31 shall not be held responsible for any illegal and/or criminal activities
32 committed, orchestrated, or organized through the provided WiFi access
33 by residents.
34 (4) Where credentials, such as a password and username, are necessary
35 to access WiFi, temporary housing facilities shall conspicuously display
36 such credentials in all public areas of the facility. Temporary housing
37 facilities need not disclose the credentials to access WiFi that is
38 reserved for staff or emergency service use.
39 (5) Where a temporary housing facility is a hotel or motel as defined
40 in section one hundred thirty-one-v of this chapter, and such temporary
41 housing facility provides WiFi access to patrons at no additional cost,
42 such facility shall provide WiFi to all residents, without discrimi-
43 nation at no additional cost.
44 § 2. Subdivision 10 of section 16-gg of section 1 of chapter 174 of
45 the laws of 1968, as added by section 2 of part MMM of chapter 58 of the
46 laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
47 10. ConnectAll digital equity grant program. The ConnectAll digital
48 equity grant program is hereby established to support individuals to
49 have the information technology capacity needed for full participation
50 in society and the economy, including the effective implementation of a
51 State Digital Equity Plan or any successor plan and to facilitate, fund,
52 or reimburse, the provision of internet access as provided in subdivi-
53 sion (m) of section 17 and section 153 of the social services law.
54 Grants issued pursuant to this program shall be awarded in a manner and
55 form as determined by the division consistent with all relevant federal
56 laws, codes, rules, and regulations associated with the federal Digital
A. 1755 3
1 Equity Act as established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
2 Act. The division shall establish such State Digital Equity Plan and the
3 procedures to solicit, receive and evaluate proposals for the program
4 consistent with rules, regulations, or guidelines established by the
5 commissioner.
6 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. Effective immediately,
7 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
8 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
9 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
