Broadband Deployment Streamlining Act
This bill directs the Department of the Interior, for public lands, and the Department of Agriculture, for National Forest System lands, to issue regulations to: (1) streamline the process for the consideration of applications to locate or modify communications facilities on such lands; and (2) require that such applications be considered and granted on a neutral and non-discriminatory basis.
The bill amends the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 to require executive agencies to grant or deny within 270 days applications for an easement or right-of-way on federal property to install, construct, and maintain wireless service antenna structures and equipment and backhaul transmission equipment.
The Government Accountability Office shall report on:
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4847 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4847
To streamline the process for consideration of applications for the
placement of communications facilities on certain Federal lands, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 19, 2018
Mrs. Brooks of Indiana (for herself and Ms. Matsui) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture,
Natural Resources, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To streamline the process for consideration of applications for the
placement of communications facilities on certain Federal lands, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Broadband Deployment Streamlining
Act''.
SEC. 2. STREAMLINING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND THE FOREST
SERVICE PROCESS FOR CONSIDERATION OF COMMUNICATIONS
FACILITY LOCATION APPLICATIONS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Communications facility.--The term ``communications
facility'' includes--
(A) any infrastructure, including any transmitting
device, tower, or support structure, and any equipment,
switches, wiring, cabling, power sources, shelters, or
cabinets, associated with the licensed or permitted
unlicensed wireless or wireline transmission of
writings, signs, signals, data, images, pictures, and
sounds of all kinds; and
(B) any antenna or apparatus that--
(i) is designed for the purpose of emitting
radio frequency;
(ii) is designed to be operated, or is
operating, from a fixed location pursuant to
authorization by the Federal Communications
Commission or is using duly authorized devices
that do not require individual licenses; and
(iii) is added to a tower, building, or
other structure.
(2) Communications site.--The term ``communications site''
means an area of covered land designated for communications
uses.
(3) Communications use.--The term ``communications use''
means the placement and operation of communications facility.
(4) Communications use authorization.--The term
``communications use authorization'' means an easement, right-
of-way, lease, license, or other authorization to locate or
modify a communications facility on covered land by the
Department concerned for the primary purpose of authorizing the
occupancy and use of the covered land for communications use.
(5) Covered land.--The term ``covered land'' means--
(A) public land administered by the Secretary of
the Interior; and
(B) National Forest System land.
(6) Department concerned.--The term ``Department
concerned'' means the Department of the Interior or the
Department of Agriculture.
(7) Organizational unit.--The term ``organizational unit''
means--
(A) with respect to public land administered by the
Secretary of the Interior--
(i) a State office;
(ii) a district office; or
(iii) a field office; and
(B) within the Forest Service--
(i) a regional office;
(ii) the headquarters;
(iii) a management unit; or
(iv) a ranger district office.
(8) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned''
means--
(A) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to
public land; and
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to
National Forest System land.
(b) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall issue regulations--
(1) to streamline the process for considering applications
to locate or modify communications facilities on covered land
of the Department concerned;
(2) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the
process is uniform and standardized across the organizational
units of the Department concerned; and
(3) to require that the applications described in paragraph
(1) be considered and granted on a competitively neutral,
technology neutral, and non-discriminatory basis.
(c) Requirements.--The regulations issued under subsection (b)
shall include the following:
(1) Procedures for the tracking of applications described
in subsection (b)(1), including--
(A) identifying the number of applications--
(i) received;
(ii) approved; and
(iii) denied;
(B) in the case of an application that is denied,
describing the reasons for the denial; and
(C) describing the amount of time between the
receipt of an application and the issuance of a final
decision on an application.
(2) Provision for minimum lease terms of not less than five
years for leases with respect to the location of communications
facilities on covered land.
(3) A policy under which a communications use authorization
renews automatically on expiration, unless the communications
use authorization is revoked for good cause; and
(4) A structure of fees for--
(A) submitting an application described in
subsection (b)(1), based on the cost to the Department
concerned of considering such an application; and
(B) issuing communications use authorizations,
based on the cost to the Department concerned of any
maintenance or other activities required to be
performed by the Department concerned as a result of
the location or modification of the communications
facility.
(d) Additional Considerations.--In issuing regulations under
subsection (b), the Secretary concerned shall consider--
(1) how discrete reviews in considering an application
described in subsection (b)(1) can be conducted simultaneously,
rather than sequentially, by any organizational units of the
Department concerned that must approve the location or
modification; and
(2) how to eliminate overlapping requirements among the
organizational units of the Department concerned with respect
to the location or modification of a communications facility on
covered land administered by those organizational units.
(e) Communication of Streamlined Process to Organizational Units.--
The Secretary concerned shall, with respect to the regulations issued
under subsection (b)--
(1) communicate the regulations to the organizational units
of the Department concerned; and
(2) ensure that the organizational units of the Department
concerned follow the regulations.
(f) Deposit and Availability of Fees.--
(1) Special account.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall
establish a special account in the Treasury for each Department
concerned for the deposit of fees collected by the Department
concerned under subsection (c)(4) for communications use
authorizations on covered land granted, issued, or executed by
the Department concerned.
(2) Requirements for fees collected.--Fees collected by the
Department concerned under subsection (c)(4) shall be--
(A) based on the costs described in subsection
(c)(4); and
(B) competitively neutral, technology neutral, and
nondiscriminatory with respect to other users of the
communications site.
(3) Deposit of fees.--Fees collected by the Department
concerned under subsection (c)(4) shall be deposited in the
special account established for that Department concerned under
paragraph (1).
(4) Availability of fees.--Amounts deposited in the special
account for a Department concerned shall be available, to the
extent and in such amounts as are provided in advance in
appropriation Acts, to the Secretary concerned to cover costs
incurred by the Department concerned described in subsection
(c)(4), including the following:
(A) Preparing needs assessments or other
programmatic analyses necessary to designate
communications sites and issue communications use
authorizations.
(B) Developing management plans for communications
sites.
(C) Training for management of communications
sites.
(D) Obtaining or improving access to communications
sites.
(5) No additional appropriations authorized.--Except as
provided in paragraph (4), no other amounts are authorized to
be appropriated to carry out this section.
SEC. 3. WIRELESS FACILITIES DEPLOYMENT ON FEDERAL PROPERTY.
Section 6409(b) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act
of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(b)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(5) Timely consideration of applications.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 270 days after
the date on which an executive agency receives a duly
filed application for an easement or right-of-way under
this subsection, the executive agency shall--
``(i) grant or deny, on behalf of the
Federal Government, the application; and
``(ii) notify the applicant of the grant or
denial.
``(B) Explanation of denial.--If an executive
agency denies an application under subparagraph (A),
the executive agency shall notify the applicant in
writing, including a clear statement of the reasons for
the denial.
``(C) Deemed granted.--If an executive agency does
not grant or deny a duly filed application under
subparagraph (A) by the deadline set forth in such
subparagraph, the executive agency shall be deemed to
have granted the application.
``(D) Applicability of environmental laws.--Nothing
in this paragraph shall be construed to relieve an
executive agency of the requirements of division A of
subtitle III of title 54, United States Code, or the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.).
``(E) Point of contact.--Upon receiving an
application under subparagraph (A), an executive agency
shall designate one or more appropriate individuals
within the executive agency to act as a point of
contact with the applicant.
``(F) Rule of construction.--An application shall
not be considered duly filed for purposes of this
paragraph unless the application is complete.''.
SEC. 4. GAO REPORT.
(a) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit
to Congress a report evaluating--
(1) how the Federal Communications Commission ensures that
the broadband data collected for the National Broadband Map is
accurate, complete, and reliable, including--
(A) the source of the data; and
(B) whether data may be available from alternative
commercial sources;
(2) the extent to which Federal agencies or other entities
authorized to distribute Federal grants or loans for broadband
projects rely on data from the National Broadband Map to--
(A) award grants or loans for broadband projects;
or
(B) determine whether Federal Government funds will
be used to deploy broadband in areas already served by
private broadband providers;
(3) the actions the Federal Communications Commission has
taken or plans to take to address the limitations, if any, in
using data from the National Broadband Map for policy or
funding decisions;
(4) the extent to which interested parties have challenged
the accuracy of information on the National Broadband Map,
including how the challenges were resolved; and
(5) whether the Federal Communications Commission should
collect data for the National Broadband Map from additional or
alternative commercial sources.
(b) National Broadband Map Defined.--In this section, the term
``National Broadband Map'' means the map established by the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration under section 6001(l)
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (47 U.S.C.
1305(l)).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.