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H101 • 2025

An Act establishing free broadband internet access in public housing

An Act establishing free broadband internet access in public housing

Housing Technology
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Danillo A. Sena
Last action
2025-10-14
Official status
Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act establishing free broadband internet access in public housing

An Act establishing free broadband internet access in public housing By Representative Sena of Acton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act establishing free broadband internet access in public housing By Representative Sena of Acton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 101) of Danillo A.
  • Sena and others for an investigation by the Department of Public Health of broadband internet access and its relation to the public health objectives.
  • Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-10-14 House

    Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means

  2. 2025-06-30 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 07/10/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2

  3. 2025-02-27 House

    Referred to the committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity

  4. 2025-02-27 Senate

    Senate concurred

Official Summary Text

An Act establishing free broadband internet access in public housing
By Representative Sena of Acton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 101) of Danillo A. Sena and others for an investigation by the Department of Public Health of broadband internet access and its relation to the public health objectives. Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity.
Status:
Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
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Bill H.101

SECTION 1. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 239. The United Nations has declared health a fundamental human right indispensable for the exercise of other human rights and that the right to health is closely related to and dependent upon the realization of other human rights, as contained in the International Bill of Rights, including the rights to food, housing, work, education, human dignity, life, non-discrimination, equality, the prohibition against torture, privacy, access to information, and the freedoms of association, assembly and movement. Broadband internet access is now an essential component of the realization of many of these human rights and is itself a human right.

The department shall make a study into broadband internet access in the commonwealth and its relation to the public health objectives of the commonwealth. Said study shall be conducted for the purposes of understanding how broadband internet access is a determinant of health, improving the public health services of the commonwealth, and expanding broadband internet throughout the Commonwealth to reflect its status as a human right, with a focus on communities that have suffered disproportionate health impacts as a result of lack of access to broadband internet.

SECTION 2. Section 32 of chapter 121B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “cost”, in line 6, the following words:- ,with broadband internet available in all units offered at no charge to residents considered a requirement of a decent, safe and sanitary dwelling

SECTION 3.The first paragraph of said section 32, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the third sentence the following sentence:- For the purposes of this paragraph, broadband internet shall not be considered a utility.

SECTION 4. Said first paragraph of said section 32, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following sentence:- Funds to subsidize housing authorities or other public housing bodies for implementation and maintenance of the requirement of no charge broadband internet for all units shall be appropriated by the general court. The undersecretary shall administer these funds.

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