PRINTER'S NO. 656
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
47
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY PHILLIPS-HILL, YAW, GORDNER, HUTCHINSON, COSTA,
BAKER, AUMENT, STEFANO, WHITE, BROWNE, HAYWOOD AND
BARTOLOTTA, APRIL 29, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY, APRIL 29, 2019
A RESOLUTION
Establishing a legislative task force on the delivery of high-
speed broadband services and directing the Joint State
Government Commission to establish an advisory committee to
conduct a study on the delivery of high-speed broadband
services in unserved areas and underserved areas of this
Commonwealth and to report its findings and recommendations
to the Senate.
WHEREAS, Effective economic development today requires
unprecedented levels of collaboration and communication among
State and local government, business, education, health care,
tourism and community leaders; and
WHEREAS, High-speed Internet access has become an essential
element of economic vitality; and
WHEREAS, High-speed broadband availability increases
individual worker productivity, breaks down the traditional
geographic barriers to jobs and careers in high-paying fields
and connects Pennsylvania businesses to international markets
around the world; and
WHEREAS, Small towns and rural communities across this
Commonwealth are the cradle of the best of American ingenuity,
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potential and values; and
WHEREAS, Without sufficient access to broadband and a high
level of use of available technology, these small towns and
rural communities and their residents will remain
technologically and economically isolated and competitively
disadvantaged; and
WHEREAS, The availability of high-speed broadband in
Pennsylvania is continuing to increase across multiple
technological platforms, but certain locations and communities
are either underserved, having insufficient broadband speeds to
fully leverage the benefits of the technology, or are unserved
altogether; and
WHEREAS, Eliminating unserved areas and underserved areas in
this Commonwealth will provide educational, economic, health,
governance and public safety benefits to all residents; and
WHEREAS, The basic requirements for successfully expanding
the benefits of high-speed broadband to all residents of this
Commonwealth are:
(1) access to computers, whether privately owned or
leased or provided at public locations as a public benefit;
(2) access to reliable broadband services at affordable
prices and at speeds required for current and future
applications; and
(3) knowledge to effectively use those computers and the
Internet;
and
WHEREAS, High-speed broadband infrastructure:
(1) allows communities to engage the world with their
goods and services;
(2) allows industries which are reliant upon traditional
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manufacturing to use the Internet to expand their markets and
make their operations even more efficient;
(3) promotes the use of agricultural technology to help
farmers:
(i) maintain online field, mapping, water
management, livestock and accounting records; and
(ii) develop machinery that can operate virtually on
its own; and
(4) allows professionals in rural communities to work or
run businesses from their homes;
and
WHEREAS, High-speed broadband brings educational
opportunities, improved health care, more effective government
services and a better quality of life to all residents of this
Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Companies selling technology-intensive products and
services, or companies with technologically advanced operations,
generally provide faster growth in employment and income than
companies without such capabilities; and
WHEREAS, Studies show that as much as 85% of the growth in
per capita income over the past 150 years has resulted from
technological change; and
WHEREAS, Technology-intensive private sector jobs on average
pay wages which are 85% to 95% higher than wages paid for
private sector jobs that are not technology-intensive; and
WHEREAS, The President and Congress, in the effort to make
broadband or high-speed access to the Internet available to all
Americans, based on the belief that every American needs to have
access to broadband to have the doors of economic and social
opportunity open to them, required the Federal Communications
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Commission to:
(1) develop a forward-looking national broadband plan to
ensure that all Americans have access to broadband
capability;
(2) contribute to efforts of the United States
Department of Commerce and the United States Department of
Agriculture to award $7.2 billion in grants, loans and loan
guarantees to hasten the introduction of the facilities
needed to provide broadband and educate consumers to use this
infrastructure; and
(3) collect and report far more detailed and
comprehensive information on the status of broadband
deployment, adoption and use, including how broadband service
in the United States compares to broadband service in other
countries;
and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth's efforts to secure the
availability of high-speed broadband throughout urban, suburban
and rural areas of this Commonwealth has been fragmented,
resulting in a lack of coordination among multiple State
agencies and commissions overseeing various broadband-related
programs, projects and Federal and State funding; therefore be
it
RESOLVED, That the Senate establish a legislative task force
on the delivery of high-speed broadband services; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the task force be comprised of the chairperson
and minority chairperson of the Communications and Technology
Committee of the Senate or a designee of the chairperson or
minority chairperson; and be it further
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RESOLVED, That the Senate direct the Joint State Government
Commission to assist the task force and conduct a study on the
delivery of high-speed broadband services in unserved areas and
underserved areas of this Commonwealth; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission, as part
of its study, establish an advisory committee consisting of
approximately 25 members from across this Commonwealth,
including:
(1) the Secretary of Agriculture or a designee;
(2) the Secretary of Community and Economic Development
or a designee;
(3) the Deputy Secretary for Technology and Innovation
in the Department of Community and Economic Development or a
designee;
(4) the Secretary of Education or a designee;
(5) the Secretary of Health or a designee;
(6) the Secretary of Labor and Industry or a designee;
(7) the Secretary of Policy and Planning or a designee;
(8) the executive director of the Pennsylvania Office of
Broadband Initiatives or a designee;
(9) the executive director of the Governor's Center for
Local Government Services of the Pennsylvania Municipal
League or a designee;
(10) the chairperson of the Pennsylvania Public Utility
Commission or a designee;
(11) the vice chairperson of the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission or a designee;
(12) the Small Business Advocate or a designee;
(13) the Consumer Advocate or a designee;
(14) the director of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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or a designee;
(15) representatives of broadband service providers and
any related cable, wireless or other technology industries or
associations within this Commonwealth; and
(16) representatives of other departments, agencies,
boards, commissions or entities that the Joint State
Government Commission deems appropriate in conducting the
study under this resolution;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission develop
reports in collaboration with the advisory committee which, at a
minimum, include the following:
(1) background information which addresses the matters
set forth in this resolution;
(2) recommendations to:
(i) improve the delivery of high-speed broadband
services to unserved areas and underserved areas of this
Commonwealth; and
(ii) extend the benefits of advanced high-speed
broadband technology to every community in this
Commonwealth through collaborative partnerships with
governmental and private sector stakeholders; and
(3) proposed legislation which relates to the proposed
recommendations and specifically addresses the delivery of
high-speed broadband services to rural high-cost areas of
this Commonwealth;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission may, as
it deems necessary, hold informational meetings to receive
testimony from professionals or consumers with expertise or
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knowledge in the matters described in this resolution; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission issue an
initial report of its findings and recommendations to the Senate
no later than one year after the adoption of this resolution;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission issue
four additional annual reports of its findings and
recommendations to the Senate, each of which shall be issued no
later than one year after the issuance of the immediately prior
report.
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