SB 66

Department of Housing and Community Development - Office of Statewide Broadband - Established (Digital Connectivity Act of 2021)

Sponsor: Senator ElfrethCommittee: Education, Health, and Environmental AffairsSubject: Economic and Community DevelopmentStatus: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 74 (as of Dec 1, 2021)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Establishing the Office of Statewide Broadband in the Department of Housing and Community Development to ensure that every resident of the State is supported by high-quality, affordable broadband Internet service and has the tools necessary to take advantage of the Internet; requiring the Office to develop, by July 1, 2022, a statewide plan to ensure that all State residents have the ability to connect to reliable broadband Internet by December 31, 2026; establishing the Digital Inclusion Fund to support capacity building in the State; etc.

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Analysis reads the bill text, the fiscal note, and the witness list. It is generated by Claude and reviewed by nobody, so check the source documents before you rely on it.

Testimony (43)

MGA witness list

FAV 35FavorableFWA 6Favorable with amendmentsINFO 2Information only

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Knowlton, Brianna	ACLU-MD	Written (PDF)
FAV	Gilmore , Deniselobbyist	AFSCME Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Price, Tia	Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition	Written (PDF)
FAV	Ko, Kelsey	Baltimoreans for Educational Equity	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Berstler, Andrea	Carroll County Public Library	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Klingenmaier, Lisalobbyist	Catholic Charities of Baltimore	Written (PDF)
FAV	Franchot, Comptroller	Comptroller of Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Coy, Andrew	Digital Harbor Foundation	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Fry, Donald	Greater Baltimore Committee	Written (PDF)
FAV	Arneson, Emilylobbyist	Kennedy Krieger Institute	Written (PDF)
FAV	Echelman, Adam	Libraries Without Borders	Written (PDF)
FAV	Tulkin, Joshlobbyist	MD Sierra Club	Written (PDF)
FAV	Sadusky, Dr. Bernard	Maryland Association of Community Colleges (MACC)	Written (PDF)
FAV	Jabin, Drew	Maryland Association of Counties (MACo)	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Walmsley, Keithlobbyist	Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council	Written (PDF)
FAV	Dorrien, Erinlobbyist	Maryland Hospital Association	Written (PDF)
FAV	Fidler, Sara	Maryland Independent College and University Association	Written (PDF)
FAV	Jorch, Bill	Maryland Municipal League	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Bogdan, Henrylobbyist	Maryland Nonprofits	Written (PDF)
FAV	May, Lisalobbyist	Maryland REALTORS	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Orosz, Samantha	Maryland Rural Health Association	Written (PDF)
FAV	Owusu-Acheaw, Pokuaa	Maryland State Education Association	Written (PDF)
FAV	Jefferson , Staceylobbyist	Marylanders Against Poverty	Written (PDF)
FAV	Mehu, Natashalobbyist	Mayor's Office of Government Relations	Written (PDF)
FAV	Kornegay, Kevin	Morgan State University	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Britt, Adiena	N/A	Written (PDF)
FAV	Alsobrooks, Angela	Prince George's County Executive	Written (PDF)
FAV	deloney, amalia	Robert W. Deutsch Foundation	Written (PDF)
FAV	Kasemeyer, Pam	Schwartz, Metz & Wise, P.A.	Written (PDF)
FAV	Caucus, MD Latino	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Ceruolo, Rich	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Loll, Michael	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Senator Elfreth, Senator Elfrethlegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Shin, Rebecca	Individual	Position only
FAV	Wilson Randall, Claudia	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Ogunlegan, Adeyinka	Comcast	Oral
FWA	Boucher, Kathleen	Montgomery County, MD	Written (PDF)
FWA	Matthews, Dakota	Rural Maryland Council	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Horner, John	Town of Easton - Easton Utilities Commission	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Davis, Charlotte	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FWA	Looney, Sean	Individual	Oral
INFO	Pickels, Hunter	Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development	Written (PDF)
INFO	Horrigan, John	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)

Organizations on record

ACLU-MDFAV 1

AFSCME MarylandFAV 1

Baltimore Digital Equity CoalitionFAV 1

Baltimoreans for Educational EquityFAV 1

Carroll County Public LibraryFAV 1

Catholic Charities of BaltimoreFAV 1

ComcastFWA 1

Comptroller of MarylandFAV 1

Digital Harbor FoundationFAV 1

Greater Baltimore CommitteeFAV 1

Kennedy Krieger InstituteFAV 1

Libraries Without BordersFAV 1

Maryland Association of Community Colleges (MACC)FAV 1

Maryland Association of Counties (MACo)FAV 1

Maryland Department of Housing and Community DevelopmentINFO 1

Maryland Developmental Disabilities CouncilFAV 1

Maryland Hospital AssociationFAV 1

Maryland Independent College and University AssociationFAV 1

Maryland Municipal LeagueFAV 1

Maryland NonprofitsFAV 1

Maryland REALTORSFAV 1

Maryland Rural Health AssociationFAV 1

Maryland State Education AssociationFAV 1

Marylanders Against PovertyFAV 1

Mayor's Office of Government RelationsFAV 1

MD Sierra ClubFAV 1

Montgomery County, MDFWA 1

Morgan State UniversityFAV 1

N/AFAV 1

Prince George's County ExecutiveFAV 1

Robert W. Deutsch FoundationFAV 1

Rural Maryland CouncilFWA 1

Schwartz, Metz & Wise, P.A.FAV 1

Town of Easton - Easton Utilities CommissionFWA 1

Registered lobbyists who testified

FAVGilmore , DeniseAFSCME MarylandRegistered for: AFSCME Maryland Council 3; AFSCME Council 3

FAVKlingenmaier, LisaCatholic Charities of BaltimoreRegistered for: Catholic Charities

FAVArneson, EmilyKennedy Krieger InstituteRegistered for: Kennedy Krieger Institute

FAVTulkin, JoshMD Sierra ClubRegistered for: Sierra Club Maryland Chapter

FAVWalmsley, KeithMaryland Developmental Disabilities CouncilRegistered for: Bank of America Corporation; CarMax, Inc.; Carfax, Inc.; Christiana Care; Consumer Data Industry Association; Fiserv…

FAVDorrien, ErinMaryland Hospital AssociationRegistered for: Maryland Hospital Association

FAVBogdan, HenryMaryland NonprofitsRegistered for: Maryland Nonprofits

FAVMay, LisaMaryland REALTORSRegistered for: Maryland REALTORS; Maryland Association of Realtors

FAVJefferson , StaceyMarylanders Against PovertyRegistered for: Behavioral Health System Baltimore

FAVMehu, NatashaMayor's Office of Government RelationsRegistered for: Maryland Hospital Association; Maryland Patient Care and Access Coalition; Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants; Maryland Academy of Advanced Practice Clinicians; Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail, LLC; Maryland Works, Inc.…