BILL NUMBER: S4943

SPONSOR: PARKER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to the manufactur-
ing of portable electronic devices

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This Bill would require mobile device manufacturers to install ATSC 3.0
chips in mobile devices sold in New York. The Bill will greatly enhance
safety and emergency communications because New Yorkers would be able to
receive more robust emergency alerts and notifications directly on their
mobile devices.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: The general business law is amended by adding a new article
40-A.

Section 2: This act shall take effect immediately.
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In November 2017, the United States Federal Communications Commission
approved regulations allowing television broadcast stations to voluntar-
ily offer NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0); however, they must be offered alongside
a standard digital signal. There will not be a mandatory transition as
was done with the transition from analog to digital in 1996.

NextGenTV or ATSC 3.0 is the latest version of the Advanced Television
Systems Committee (ATSC) standards, defining how exactly television
signals are broadcast and interpreted. The Over the Air (OTA) TV signals
currently use version 1.0 of the ATSC standards, which were introduced
in 1996, initiating the switch from analog to digital TV that was final-
ized in the U.S. in 2009.

The switch to digital that ATSC 1.0 delivered, improved picture and
sound quality, but it also laid the groundwork for a vast new world of
broadcast content and interactivity. By leveraging the same underlying
protocols as the internet, NextGenTV makes much more possible.

A consortium has advocated for the use of ATSC 3.0 features, including
datacasting, and automatically waking up devices, in order to provide an
emergency alert system with support for embedded rich media and finer
geotargeting. These features are defined within the "Advanced Emergency
Alerting" portions of the ATSC 3.0 standards.

In New York State, in light of the CoronaVirus pandemic, Super Storm
Sandy and 911, we have been faced with an ever-increasing need to commu-
nicate more targeted, immediately and directly to our residents.

New York state and local government officials must have the ability to
geo-target emergency communications and warnings to its residents
directly on their mobile devices.

This bill would require mobile device manufacturers to install ATSC 3.0
chips in devices sold in New York State.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22: S5970 - REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION

2019-20: S8797 - REFERRED TO RULES

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately