HLS 23RS-2609 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 103
BY REPRESENTATIVE SCHEXNAYDER
UTILITIES: Memorializes the United States Congress to support the extension of funding
for the Affordable Connectivity Program which provides our citizens with access to
broadband services
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the United States Congress to support the extension of funding for the
3 Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) of 2021, which provides our citizens with
4 access to broadband services.
5 WHEREAS, in August of 2019, by executive order, Governor John Bel Edwards
6created the Broadband for Everyone in Louisiana commission. This commission facilitates
7private sector providers, public entities, and other broadband stakeholders to improve both
8the adoption and availability of broadband service for Louisiana residents by providing
9universal access to broadband service; and
10 WHEREAS, during the 2020 Second Extraordinary Session of the Legislature of
11Louisiana, the legislature created the office of broadband and connectivity within the
12governor's office to promote and encourage broadband adoption for households in an effort
13to eliminate the digital divide in Louisiana by 2029; and
14 WHEREAS, the office of broadband and connectivity's mission is to coordinate
15federal, state, and municipal efforts by identifying best practices and tactics necessary in
16their goal; and
17 WHEREAS, in 2021, as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
18Act's historic investment in broadband infrastructure and digital equity, Congress
19appropriated more than fourteen billion dollars for the ACP; and
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HCR NO. 103
1 WHEREAS, Congress assigned the Federal Communications Commission to
2administer the ACP, the successor program to the Emergency Broadband Benefit, which
3helped almost nine million households afford internet access during the pandemic; and
4 WHEREAS, under the ACP, eligible households can receive up to thirty dollars per
5month discount toward internet services and up to seventy-five dollars per month for
6households on qualifying tribal lands; and
7 WHEREAS, eligible households may also receive a one-time discount of up to one
8hundred dollars to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating
9providers; and
10 WHEREAS, Louisiana was the first state to receive broadband award approval from
11the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and is number one in the nation for
12ACP enrollment with an estimated forty-six percent of eligible households enrolled; and
13 WHEREAS, currently, there are more than nine hundred thousand eligible
14households within the state that may qualify for the ACP and four hundred and twenty-two
15thousand, two hundred and fifty-seven households that have enrolled; and
16 WHEREAS, based on current take rates, the more than fourteen billion dollars in
17funding appropriated for the ACP program could be exhausted in late 2023 or early 2024;
18and
19 WHEREAS, the ACP has been a critical tool in helping bridge the "digital divide"
20that exists between those who have access to modern information and communications
21technology and those who do not.
22 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
23urge and request each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation to support
24continued funding of the ACP so that low-income Louisiana households can continue to
25receive the support they need to participate in the digital marketplace.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
27presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Congress of the
28United States of America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation.
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HCR NO. 103
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 103 Original 2023 Regular Session Schexnayder
Requests the Louisiana congressional delegation to support the extension of funding for the
federal Affordable Connectivity Program of 2021.
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