* Warning: This is an unofficial, introductory copy of the bill.
The official copy considered by the City Council is the first reader copy.
Introductory*
City of Baltimore
Council Bill R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmembers Cohen and McCray
A Resolution Entitled
A Council Resolution concerning
title
Request for Federal Action - Permanent Broadband Subsidy to Support Low-Income Communities
For the purpose of calling upon President Joseph Biden and the United States Congress to create a Congressionally-funded broadband subsidy, as well as broadband adoption and learning solution, as a permanent component of the federal benefits available to those experiencing digital inequity.
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Recitals
Whereas, because of the vital nature of broadband in today’s society, the African American Mayors Association urged Congress in its resolution, “Bridge the Digital Divide-19 by Implementing an Emergency Broadband Benefit”, to include an emergency broadband benefit for low-income Americans, and called for a permanent broadband internet subsidy for low-income Americans funded through federal appropriations.
Whereas, the Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition was founded to close the digital divide in 2020 during the Covid-19 Pandemic and called for the creation of the Baltimore City Office of Broadband and Digital Equity.
Whereas, the federal Consolidated appropriations Act of 2021 established an Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (“EBB”), enacted on May 12, 2021, that served as a temporary subsidy on monthly broadband services for qualifying low-income households to ensure they could afford broadband connections needed for work, school, hea...
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