Senator Rachel May Advances Two Bills through Senate

Syracuse, NY – This week, Senator Rachel May (D-48th District) advanced her bonds for broadband bill and code enforcement training bill through the New York State Senate.

Senator May’s bonds for broadband bill (S289) will help extend internet services throughout the state, especially in rural areas where the big internet companies are not providing service. It establishes the bonding authority of municipalities to issue and sell bonds to fund the acquisition, construction, or replacement of broadband and related telecommunications infrastructure.

“High-speed internet is critical for learning, business, and entertainment. So, all Central New York residents must have access to it. Municipal broadband is one of the solutions that communities employ around the country to provide internet to everyone and not to make it just about the profit motive. I look forward to seeing many of our upstate municipalities thrive because they can provide internet service to all residents,” said Senator May.

Some tenants in Central New York live in substandard conditions because their community lacks code enforcement officers. Senator May’s bill (S1059) requires the secretary of state to offer online code enforcement training programs for trainees, with flexible options for completion. This bill will help increase the number of code enforcement officers by making classes more accessible, creating better living conditions for tenants, and raising the quality of housing stock.

“All over the state, there are people who are living in unsafe conditions. One of the reasons is that we don't have enough code enforcement officers to do the inspections. This is a particular problem in many rural areas, not because people don’t want to do code enforcement but because they can't get the training. This bill will make it much easier, especially in rural communities, to train code enforcement officers so tenants across the state can live in safer conditions,” said Senator May.