HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3148        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 137

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Danillo A. Sena

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act establishing free broadband internet access in public housing.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Danillo A. Sena

37th Middlesex

2/18/2021

James B. Eldridge

Middlesex and Worcester

2/26/2021

Peter Capano

11th Essex

2/26/2021

Vanna Howard

17th Middlesex

2/26/2021

Lindsay N. Sabadosa

1st Hampshire

2/26/2021

Dylan A. Fernandes

Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket

3/8/2021

Elizabeth A. Malia

11th Suffolk

3/15/2021


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3148        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 137

By Mr. Sena of Acton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 137) of Danillo A. Sena and others for an investigation by the Department of Public Health of broadband internet access and its relation to the public health objectives.  Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

_______________

 

An Act establishing free broadband internet access in public housing.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 239. The United Nations has declared health a fundamental human right indispensable for the exercise of other human rights and that the right to health is closely related to and dependent upon the realization of other human rights, as contained in the International Bill of Rights, including the rights to food, housing, work, education, human dignity, life, non-discrimination, equality, the prohibition against torture, privacy, access to information, and the freedoms of association, assembly and movement. Broadband internet access is now an essential component of the realization of many of these human rights and is itself a human right.

The department shall make a study into broadband internet access in the commonwealth and its relation to the public health objectives of the commonwealth. Said study shall be conducted for the purposes of understanding how broadband internet access is a determinant of health, improving the public health services of the commonwealth, and expanding broadband internet throughout the Commonwealth to reflect its status as a human right, with a focus on communities that have suffered disproportionate health impacts as a result of lack of access to broadband internet.

SECTION 2. Section 32 of chapter 121B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “cost”, in line 6, the following words:- ,with broadband internet available in all units offered at no charge to residents considered a requirement of a decent, safe and sanitary dwelling

SECTION 3.The first paragraph of said section 32, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the third sentence the following sentence:- For the purposes of this paragraph, broadband internet shall not be considered a utility.

SECTION 4. Said first paragraph of said section 32, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following sentence:- Funds to subsidize housing authorities or other public housing bodies for implementation and maintenance of the requirement of no charge broadband internet for all units shall be appropriated by the general court. The undersecretary shall administer these funds.