BILL REQ. #:  S-4002.1 

Read first time 01/16/08.   Referred to Committee on Water, Energy & Telecommunications.

     AN ACT Relating to a statewide high-speed internet deployment and adoption effort; and adding a new section to chapter 43.105 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 43.105 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature finds that the deployment and adoption of telecommunications services and information technology has resulted in enhanced economic development and public safety for the state's communities, improved health care and educational opportunities, and a better quality of life for the state's residents. Further, continued progress in the deployment and adoption of high-speed internet and other advanced telecommunications services, both land-based and wireless, is vital to ensuring Washington remains competitive and continues to create business and job growth. The legislature finds that the state must encourage and support strategic partnerships of public, private, and nonprofit sectors in the continued growth and development of telecommunications and information technology for state residents and businesses, and do so through formalized and structured arrangements like the highly successful K-20 educational network.
     (2) The department, as the state agency responsible for coordinating with the education sectors on the K-20 educational network, shall work in similar partnership with the department of community, trade, and economic development and the utilities and transportation commission to lead a comprehensive, statewide high-speed internet deployment and adoption initiative to:
     (a) Ensure that all state residents and businesses have access to affordable and reliable high-speed internet services;
     (b) Achieve improved technology literacy, increased computer ownership, and high-speed internet use among state residents and businesses;
     (c) Establish and empower local technology planning teams and partnerships to plan for improved technology use across multiple community sectors; and
     (d) Establish and sustain an environment ripe for telecommunications and technology investment statewide, including solicitation and receipt of grants, loans, and other financial mechanisms.
     (3) The partnership in subsection (2) of this section shall include input and cooperation among public, private, and nonprofit agencies and organizations representing economic development, local community development, technology planning, education, health care, and other relevant entities. The partnership shall additionally collaborate with telecommunications providers, technology companies, telecommunications unions, community-based organizations, and relevant private sector entities to achieve the purposes in subsection (2) of this section.
     (4) The high-speed internet deployment and adoption effort in subsection (2) of this section shall include, but not be limited to:
     (a) Creating and regularly updating a geographic statewide inventory of high-speed internet service and other relevant telecommunications and information technology services. The inventory shall:
     (i) Identify geographic gaps in high-speed internet service through a method of geographic information system mapping of service availability and geographic information system analysis at the census block level;
     (ii) Provide a baseline assessment of statewide high-speed internet
deployment in terms of percentage of households and businesses with high-speed internet availability;
     (iii) Provide updates to these data every six months; and
     (iv) Build upon the initial utilities and transportation commission broadband disparity study authorized by the legislature in 2007;
     (b) Tracking statewide residential and business adoption of high-speed internet, computers, and related information technology; identifying barriers to adoption; and measuring progress on these data annually;
     (c) Building and facilitating local technology planning teams and partnerships with members representing cross-sections of the community, including but not limited to representatives of business, telecommunications unions, K-12 education, health care, libraries, higher education, community-based organizations, local government, tourism, parks and recreation, and agriculture. Local technology planning teams shall benchmark technology use across relevant community sectors, set goals for improving technology use within each sector, and develop tactical business plans for achieving identified goals, with specific recommendations for online application development and demand creation;
     (d) Working collaboratively with high-speed internet providers and technology companies across the state to encourage deployment and use,
especially in underserved areas, through use of local demand aggregation, mapping analysis, and creation of market intelligence to improve the investment rationale and business case; and
     (e) Establishing programs to improve computer ownership and internet access for disenfranchised populations across the state.
     (5) The partnership in subsection (2) of this section may contract with other organizations to accomplish the objectives in this section. Any such organization shall have an established competency in working with public and private sectors to accomplish wide-scale deployment and adoption of telecommunications and information technology.
     (6) The partnership in subsection (2) of this section shall provide a report on the partnership's activities to the fiscal and telecommunications committees in the senate and house of representatives, together with any recommendations for strengthening the program. The report shall be provided annually not later than December 1st, beginning in 2009, and cover the preceding fiscal year.