Senate Resolution 10 - Introduced
PAG LIN
SENATE RESOLUTION NO.
BY BOLKCOM, DVORSKY, HART, HOGG, TAYLOR, BISIGNANO,
and DANIELSON
1 1 A Resolution affirming Iowa's commitment to net
1 2 neutrality.
1 3 WHEREAS, broadband Internet access is an essential
1 4 part of daily life for all people in Iowa and networks
1 5 are often becoming our basic and only communication
1 6 platform, and Governor Branstad and the Iowa General
1 7 Assembly have recognized the importance of extending
1 8 broadband Internet access to all Iowans; and
1 9 WHEREAS, access to an open Internet is important
1 10 for each and every constituent of Iowa as the Internet
1 11 becomes a driver of our economy, our educational
1 12 system, our health care services, our government
1 13 institutions, and our democratic discourse; and
1 14 WHEREAS, access to an open Internet gives
1 15 individuals, associations, investors, and entrepreneurs
1 16 the power to run small businesses, contribute to the
1 17 marketplace of ideas, partake in civic engagement, and
1 18 exercise freedom of speech; and
1 19 WHEREAS, the open Internet developed and thrived
1 20 under the principle that broadband providers cannot
1 21 block, discriminate against, or interfere with the
1 22 lawful content, applications, and services that
1 23 these broadband networks carry, and that broadband
1 24 customers may choose to access over the broadband
1 25 connections; and
1 26 WHEREAS, this principle, commonly referred to as
1 27 "net neutrality", protects innovation and creativity
2 1 by preventing broadband providers from unreasonably
2 2 favoring or prioritizing their own voice, video,
2 3 messaging, or other communications services over
2 4 offerings from entities unaffiliated with such
2 5 broadband providers; and
2 6 WHEREAS, this principle preserved the long=standing
2 7 ideal of ensuring that communications networks are
2 8 open to all speakers on similar terms, while ensuring
2 9 that broadband providers will continue to invest in
2 10 abundant capacity rather than creating incentives
2 11 for underinvestment, scarcity, and prioritization of
2 12 traffic on purposefully congested networks; and
2 13 WHEREAS, without the continuation of net neutrality,
2 14 the public will not benefit from competition, job
2 15 creation, and technological innovation, as our entire
2 16 economy becomes more vulnerable to the profit motives
2 17 of large broadband providers that could charge new fees
2 18 for access to broadband customers; and
2 19 WHEREAS, violations of net neutrality create
2 20 uncertainty and the potential for broadband providers
2 21 to extort fees from Internet sites and thereby threaten
2 22 Iowa businesses that rely on the Internet, particularly
2 23 our burgeoning community of technology start=up
2 24 businesses; and
2 25 WHEREAS, the federal communications commission's
2 26 authority to safeguard net neutrality, and to
2 27 ensure that our nation's broadband networks remain
2 28 competitive, open, and nondiscriminatory in the
2 29 carriage of our information has come into question as a
2 30 result of a federal appellate court decision issued in
3 1 January 2014; NOW THEREFORE,
3 2 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Senate
3 3 supports an open Internet protected by the principle of
3 4 net neutrality; and
3 5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate supports
3 6 the federal communications commission's adoption of
3 7 open Internet rules that will categorically protect
3 8 our state's residents and businesses from blocking,
3 9 discrimination, and undue interference by broadband
3 10 providers with the information the providers carry for
3 11 their customers; and
3 12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate supports
3 13 the federal communications commission's use of
3 14 that agency's jurisdiction over all interstate
3 15 telecommunications services as the basis of its
3 16 authority to adopt and enforce these protections
3 17 for the free flow of information over our nation's
3 18 essential broadband communications infrastructure; and
3 19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Senate urges Iowa's
3 20 United State senators and representatives to support,
3 21 and make known their support, for strong net neutrality
3 22 regulations that mandate that broadband providers
3 23 not block, discriminate against, or interfere with
3 24 the lawful content, applications, and services that
3 25 these broadband networks carry and that broadband
3 26 customers may choose to access over the broadband
3 27 connections; and
3 28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of
3 29 the Senate is directed to distribute a copy of this
3 30 resolution to each member of Iowa's congressional
4 1 delegation.
LSB 1754XS (4) 86
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