S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5000
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 27, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
 
 AN ACT to amend the New York state urban development corporation act, in
   relation to the provision of grant funding for broadband  services  in
   non-competitive locations

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 16-gg of section 1 of chapter  174
 of  the  laws of 1968, constituting the New York state urban development
 corporation act,  as added by section 2 of part MMM of chapter 58 of the
 laws of 2022, is amended by adding  a  new  paragraph  (i)  to  read  as
 follows:
   (I) "NON-COMPETITIVE LOCATION" MEANS A BROADBAND-SERVICEABLE LOCATION,
 AS  DETERMINED  BY  THE  DIVISION,  THAT HAS ACCESS TO ONLY ONE WIRED OR
 FIXED WIRELESS BROADBAND SERVICE PROVIDER THAT OFFERS HIGH-SPEED  INTER-
 NET  SERVICE,  AS  SUCH  TERM  IS DEFINED IN SECTION 224-C OF THE PUBLIC
 SERVICE LAW.
   § 2. Subdivision 7 of section 16-gg of section 1 of chapter 174 of the
 laws of 1968, constituting the New York state urban  development  corpo-
 ration  act, as added by section 2 of part MMM of chapter 58 of the laws
 of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   7. ConnectAll deployment program. The ConnectAll deployment program is
 hereby established to provide grant funding to construct  infrastructure
 necessary  to  provide  broadband  services  to unserved and underserved
 locations in the state, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT APPROPRIATIONS ARE AVAIL-
 ABLE, TO NON-COMPETITIVE LOCATIONS IN THE STATE. Grants issued  pursuant
 to  this  program  shall facilitate projects that, at a minimum, provide
 reliable internet service with consistent speeds of at least  100  mega-
 bits  per  second  for  download and at least 20 megabits per second for
 upload, unless this requirement is waived  for  a  specific  project  or
 location  and  a  different speed level is approved by the division, but
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09565-01-3
              

 A. 5000                             2
 
 under no circumstances less than 25 megabits per second download  and  3
 megabits  per  second upload; provided further that applicants for grant
 funding under  this  section  may  include  incorporated  organizations,
 Native  American  tribes or tribal organizations, local units of govern-
 ment, or a group of any of the above entities; provided further that  an
 applicant  for  grant funding under this section shall demonstrate suit-
 able fiscal, technical,  operational,  and  management  capabilities  as
 determined by the division; provided further that an applicant for grant
 funding under this section shall provide certifications as to compliance
 with  relevant safety standards as determined by the division, including
 the National Electrical Safety Code; provided further that an  applicant
 for  grant funding under this section shall provide certifications as to
 compliance with relevant workplace  protections  as  determined  by  the
 division  including  the  Occupational  Safety  and Health Act, the Fair
 Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and  New
 York State labor and employment laws; provided further that an applicant
 for  grant  funding  under  this  section shall submit to the division a
 workforce plan in a format determined by  the  division  which,  to  the
 extent  practicable,  shall include: (a) information relating to whether
 the construction workforce will be directly employed  or  subcontracted;
 (b)  the  anticipated  size  of  the workforce required to carry out the
 proposed work; (c) a description of plans to maximize use  of  local  or
 regional  workforce;  and  (d)  a  description of the expected workforce
 safety standards and training to ensure the project is  completed  at  a
 high  standard.  The division shall establish the procedures to solicit,
 receive and evaluate applications for the program consistent with rules,
 regulations, or guidelines established  by  the  commissioner;  provided
 that  preference shall be given to applications that: (a) are capable of
 delivering speeds of 1 gigabit per second download  and  1  gigabit  per
 second  upload  to  the  end  user;  (b) provide service to locations in
 unserved areas as determined by the division; (c) commit not  to  impose
 caps  on data usage on the service provided to the end-user or to block,
 throttle, or prioritize internet content in the general course of  busi-
 ness; and (d) have and commit to maintaining high standards of workplace
 safety  practices, training, certification or licensure for all relevant
 workers, and compliance with state and federal workplace protections.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.