Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
                    HOUSE CONCURRENT
                     RESOLUTION NO. 51
                            102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
                             INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE HOUX.
    5338H.01I                                                     DANA RADEMAN MILLER, Chief Clerk



           WHEREAS, the Office of Broadband Development was established in 2018 as a
 2 partnership between the Department of Economic Development and the Department of
 3 Agriculture to build and strengthen partnerships between public and private stakeholders and
 4 align efforts statewide to improve broadband access; and
 5
 6         WHEREAS, the Office of Broadband Development is focused on addressing
 7 broadband availability and noninfrastructure barriers to full participation in the digital
 8 economy in Missouri by working with providers, communities, and stakeholders to expand
 9 and accelerate broadband deployment across the state; and
10
11         WHEREAS, in 2021, as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs
12 Act's historic investment in broadband infrastructure and digital equity, Congress
13 appropriated more than fourteen billion dollars for the Affordable Connectivity Program; and
14
15         WHEREAS, Congress assigned the Federal Communications Commission to
16 administer the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), the successor program to the
17 Emergency Broadband Benefit, which helped almost nine million households afford internet
18 access during the pandemic; and
19
20         WHEREAS, under the ACP, eligible households can receive a discount of up to thirty
21 dollars per month toward internet services and up to seventy-five dollars per month for
22 households on qualifying tribal lands; and
23
24         WHEREAS, eligible households may also receive a one-time discount of up to one
25 hundred dollars to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating
26 providers; and
27
HCR 51                                           2

28          WHEREAS, currently there are more than four hundred thousand eligible households
29   within the state of Missouri that may qualify for the ACP; and
30
31          WHEREAS, based on current take rates, the more than fourteen billion dollars in
32   funding appropriated for the ACP could be exhausted in the spring of 2024; and
33
34          WHEREAS, the ACP has been a critical tool in helping bridge the "digital divide"
35   that exists between those who have access to modern information and communications
36   technology and those who do not:
37
38          NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the House of
39   Representatives of the One Hundred Second General Assembly, Second Regular Session, the
40   Senate concurring therein, hereby urge each member of the Missouri congressional delegation
41   to support continued funding of the ACP so that low-income Missourians can continue to
42   receive the support they need to participate in the digital marketplace; and
43
44          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of
45   Representatives be instructed to prepare a properly inscribed copy of this resolution for
46   Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck
47   Schumer, and the members of the Missouri congressional delegation.
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