BILL NUMBER: SR 29	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Murray

                        MAY 26, 2000

   Senate Resolution No. 29--Relative to closing the Digital Divide.


  HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST



   WHEREAS, California is the national leader in the use of
technology for the information age; and
   WHEREAS, Computers and the Internet are revolutionizing the ways
people learn, communicate, earn a living, and entertain themselves;
and
   WHEREAS, The Digital Divide is the term commonly used to describe
the gap between those who can afford the computer hardware and
software they need to access the Internet at home and those who
cannot; and
   WHEREAS, The disparity created by the Digital Divide establishes
an impenetrable barrier to not only quality jobs, but also
educational opportunities and access to information that all
Americans will need in order to be successful; and
   WHEREAS, Although there has been a significant and steady increase
in low-income Americans' ownership and use of computers and the
Internet, the disparity continues to expand between low-income and
higher income Americans; and
   WHEREAS, Nationwide computer ownership among households with
children is now almost as common as cable television subscriptions
(42 percent), and Internet access almost as common as newspaper
subscriptions (26 percent), and these numbers are higher for
California households; and
   WHEREAS, Although nationwide more than 50 percent of children in
urban households earning more than $75,000 and 40 percent of
two-parent households have Internet access, only 11 percent of black,
12.6 percent of Latino, and 15 percent of female, single-parent
households have Internet access; and
   WHEREAS, The technology gap is not simply a reflection of choices
made by an individual household, but a reflection of a deeper problem
of access to infrastructure; and
   WHEREAS, A concerted effort is needed to address the children on
the wrong side of the Digital Divide in low-income areas; and
   WHEREAS, Most parents and children view the Internet as a positive
force in children's lives and a powerful tool for learning and
communicating; and
   WHEREAS, Home-based information technology is the fastest growing
part of the information superhighway; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate
of the State of California supports the goal described by United
States Secretary of Commerce William Daley at the Digital Divide
Summit:  "A goal that will close the gap ... may be a goal where we
would have a computer in every house like a chicken in every pot and
two cars in every garage ..."; and be it further
   Resolved, That the State of California should provide support,
encouragement, and incentives to close the Digital Divide through
universal Internet access; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.