The New York Senate passed a bill designed...

with no votes against it and two legislators excused. The bill proposes creating a refundable tax credit for deploying broadband to households and small businesses in rural, unserved areas. “Despite large investments by broadband providers, it is not economically feasible for providers to reach these areas,” according to the bill text (http://bit.ly/14yN7Q4). “Unfortunately, the projects just don’t pay off the investment before it is time to reinvest and rebuild the network with next-generation technology.” The bill proposes that any eligible out-of-pocket network construction costs for such residents and small businesses receive the opportunity for a fully refundable tax credit, given out for five years. The fiscal implications are about $10 million in the first year, it said. The bill has now gone to the Assembly, going first to the Governmental Operations Committee. Sen. Cecilia Tkaczyk (D), one of the bill’s cosponsors, applauded the passage of the bill in a press release and emphasized its companion bill: S-4523, the Broadband Internet Access Act of 2013, which would provide a tax credit for the delivery of current generation broadband and next generation broadband. That bill has not yet faced a full Senate vote. “The cornerstones of my legislative package would help small businesses by expanding Broadband Internet service, and would also support the small and medium farms that contribute so much to the Upstate economy,” Tkaczyk said in a statement (http://bit.ly/16ils5Z), also stressing the need for fast broadband access in schools.