SLS 24RS-101 ORIGINAL
2024 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 4
BY SENATOR MIZELL
CONGRESS. Memorializes Congress to support the extension of funding for the Affordable
Connectivity Program (ACP) of 2021, which provides Louisiana residents access to
broadband services.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To memorialize Congress of the United States to support the extension of funding for the
3 Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) of 2021, which provides Louisiana
4 residents access to broadband services.
5 WHEREAS, on August 29, 2019, by executive order, Governor John Bel Edwards
6 created the Broadband for Everyone in Louisiana Commission which facilitates private
7 sector providers, public entities, and other broadband stakeholders to improve both the
8 adoption and availability of broadband service for Louisiana residents by providing universal
9 access to broadband service; and
10 WHEREAS, during the 2020 Second Extraordinary Session of the Legislature of
11 Louisiana, the office of broadband and connectivity was created within the governor's office
12 to promote and encourage broadband adoption for households in an effort to eliminate the
13 digital divide in Louisiana by 2029; and
14 WHEREAS, the office of broadband and connectivity's mission is to coordinate
15 federal, state, and municipal efforts by identifying best practices and tactics necessary to
16 reach their goal; and
17 WHEREAS, in 2021, as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
18 Act's historic investment in broadband infrastructure and digital equity, Congress
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SLS 24RS-101 ORIGINAL
1 appropriated more than fourteen billion dollars for the ACP; and
2 WHEREAS, Congress assigned the Federal Communications Commission to
3 administer the ACP, the successor program to the Emergency Broadband Benefit, which
4 helped almost nine million households afford internet access during the pandemic; and
5 WHEREAS, under the ACP, eligible households can receive a discount of up to
6 thirty dollars per month for internet services and up to seventy-five dollars per month for
7 households on qualifying tribal lands; and
8 WHEREAS, eligible households may also receive a one-time discount of up to one
9 hundred dollars to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating
10 providers; and
11 WHEREAS, Louisiana was the first state to receive broadband award approval from
12 the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and is number one in the nation for
13 ACP enrollment with an estimated forty-six percent of eligible households enrolled; and
14 WHEREAS, currently, there are more than nine hundred thousand eligible
15 households within the state that may qualify for the ACP and four hundred twenty-two
16 thousand two hundred fifty-seven households that have enrolled; and
17 WHEREAS, based on current take rates, more than fourteen billion dollars in funding
18 appropriated for the ACP program could be exhausted in late 2023 or early 2024; and
19 WHEREAS, the ACP has been a critical tool in helping bridge the digital divide that
20 exists between those who have access to modern information and communications
21 technology and those who do not.
22 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana memorializes
23 the Congress of the United States to support continued funding of the ACP so that
24 low-income Louisiana households can continue to receive the support they need to
25 participate in the digital marketplace.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
27 secretary of the United States Senate and the clerk of the United States House of
28 Representatives and to each member of the Louisiana congressional delegation to the United
29 States Congress.
30
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SLS 24RS-101 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Xavier I. Alexander.
DIGEST
SCR 4 Original 2024 Regular Session Mizell
Memorializes Congress to support the extension of funding for the Affordable Connectivity
Program of 2021.
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