ENROLLED
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 103
BY REPRESENTATIVE SCHEXNAYDER
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the United States Congress to support the extension of funding for the
Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) of 2021, which provides our citizens with
access to broadband services.
WHEREAS, in August of 2019, by executive order, Governor John Bel Edwards
created the Broadband for Everyone in Louisiana commission. This commission facilitates
private sector providers, public entities, and other broadband stakeholders to improve both
the adoption and availability of broadband service for Louisiana residents by providing
universal access to broadband service; and
WHEREAS, during the 2020 Second Extraordinary Session of the Legislature of
Louisiana, the legislature created the office of broadband and connectivity within the
governor's office to promote and encourage broadband adoption for households in an effort
to eliminate the digital divide in Louisiana by 2029; and
WHEREAS, the office of broadband and connectivity's mission is to coordinate
federal, state, and municipal efforts by identifying best practices and tactics necessary in
their goal; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
Act's historic investment in broadband infrastructure and digital equity, Congress
appropriated more than fourteen billion dollars for the ACP; and
WHEREAS, Congress assigned the Federal Communications Commission to
administer the ACP, the successor program to the Emergency Broadband Benefit, which
helped almost nine million households afford internet access during the pandemic; and
WHEREAS, under the ACP, eligible households can receive up to thirty dollars per
month discount toward internet services and up to seventy-five dollars per month for
households on qualifying tribal lands; and
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WHEREAS, eligible households may also receive a one-time discount of up to one
hundred dollars to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating
providers; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana was the first state to receive broadband award approval from
the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and is number one in the nation for
ACP enrollment with an estimated forty-six percent of eligible households enrolled; and
WHEREAS, currently, there are more than nine hundred thousand eligible
households within the state that may qualify for the ACP and four hundred and twenty-two
thousand, two hundred and fifty-seven households that have enrolled; and
WHEREAS, based on current take rates, the more than fourteen billion dollars in
funding appropriated for the ACP program could be exhausted in late 2023 or early 2024;
and
WHEREAS, the ACP has been a critical tool in helping bridge the "digital divide"
that exists between those who have access to modern information and communications
technology and those who do not.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation to support
continued funding of the ACP so that low-income Louisiana households can continue to
receive the support they need to participate in the digital marketplace.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Congress of the
United States of America and to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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