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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 338 FILED ON: 1/8/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 101 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Danillo A. Sena |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act establishing free broadband internet access in public housing. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Danillo A. Sena37th Middlesex1/8/2025Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/15/2025Bud L. Williams11th Hampden2/6/2025Patrick Joseph Kearney4th Plymouth2/14/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/27/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 338 FILED ON: 1/8/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 101 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Sena of Acton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 101) of Danillo A. |
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| 19 | 19 | | Sena and others for an investigation by the Department of Public Health of broadband internet |
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| 20 | 20 | | access and its relation to the public health objectives. Advanced Information Technology, the |
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| 21 | 21 | | Internet and Cybersecurity. |
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| 22 | 22 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 23 | 23 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 81 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 24 | 24 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 28 | 28 | | _______________ |
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| 29 | 29 | | An Act establishing free broadband internet access in public housing. |
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| 30 | 30 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 31 | 31 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 32 | 32 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the |
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| 33 | 33 | | 2following section:- |
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| 34 | 34 | | 3 Section 239. The United Nations has declared health a fundamental human right |
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| 35 | 35 | | 4indispensable for the exercise of other human rights and that the right to health is closely related |
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| 36 | 36 | | 5to and dependent upon the realization of other human rights, as contained in the International Bill |
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| 37 | 37 | | 6of Rights, including the rights to food, housing, work, education, human dignity, life, non- |
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| 38 | 38 | | 7discrimination, equality, the prohibition against torture, privacy, access to information, and the |
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| 39 | 39 | | 8freedoms of association, assembly and movement. Broadband internet access is now an essential |
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| 40 | 40 | | 9component of the realization of many of these human rights and is itself a human right. 2 of 2 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 10 The department shall make a study into broadband internet access in the commonwealth |
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| 42 | 42 | | 11and its relation to the public health objectives of the commonwealth. Said study shall be |
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| 43 | 43 | | 12conducted for the purposes of understanding how broadband internet access is a determinant of |
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| 44 | 44 | | 13health, improving the public health services of the commonwealth, and expanding broadband |
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| 45 | 45 | | 14internet throughout the Commonwealth to reflect its status as a human right, with a focus on |
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| 46 | 46 | | 15communities that have suffered disproportionate health impacts as a result of lack of access to |
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| 47 | 47 | | 16broadband internet. |
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| 48 | 48 | | 17 SECTION 2. Section 32 of chapter 121B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 |
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| 49 | 49 | | 18Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “cost”, in line 6, the following |
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| 50 | 50 | | 19words:- ,with broadband internet available in all units offered at no charge to residents |
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| 51 | 51 | | 20considered a requirement of a decent, safe and sanitary dwelling |
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| 52 | 52 | | 21 SECTION 3.The first paragraph of said section 32, as so appearing, is hereby amended |
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| 53 | 53 | | 22by inserting after the third sentence the following sentence:- For the purposes of this paragraph, |
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| 54 | 54 | | 23broadband internet shall not be considered a utility. |
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| 55 | 55 | | 24 SECTION 4. Said first paragraph of said section 32, as so appearing, is hereby further |
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| 56 | 56 | | 25amended by adding the following sentence:- Funds to subsidize housing authorities or other |
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| 57 | 57 | | 26public housing bodies for implementation and maintenance of the requirement of no charge |
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| 58 | 58 | | 27broadband internet for all units shall be appropriated by the general court. The undersecretary |
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| 59 | 59 | | 28shall administer these funds. |
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