Broadband Deployment Streamlining Act
This bill directs the Department of the Interior to (1) streamline the process for applications to locate or modify communications facilities on public lands administered by Interior, and (2) require that such applications be considered and granted on a neutral and nondiscriminatory basis.
The Department of the Treasury shall establish a special account for the deposit of fees collected by Interior for communications use authorizations granted, issued, or executed with respect to the public lands Interior administers. Amounts collected and deposited into the account shall be available to Interior to cover the costs incurred by it in considering and granting applications.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7334 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7334
To streamline the process for consideration of applications for the
placement of communications facilities on certain Federal lands.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 25, 2020
Mrs. Brooks of Indiana introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To streamline the process for consideration of applications for the
placement of communications facilities on certain Federal lands.
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 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PROCESSES FOR
CONSIDERATION OF COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY LOCATION
APPLICATIONS.
(a) Definitions.--In this Act:
(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 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 a 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 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 public
land administered by the Secretary of the Interior.
(6) Organizational unit.--The term ``organizational unit''
means with respect to public land administered by the Secretary
of the Interior--
(A) a State office;
(B) a district office; or
(C) a field office.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, with respect to public land.
(b) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations--
(1) to streamline the process for considering applications
to locate or modify communications facilities on covered land
of the Department of the Interior;
(2) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the
process is uniform and standardized across the organizational
units of the Department of the Interior;
(3) to require that the applications described in paragraph
(1) be considered and granted on a competitively neutral,
technology neutral, and non-discriminatory basis;
(4) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that any
analyses required under the National Environmental Policy Act
or National Historic Preservation Act may be completed
concurrently;
(5) to allow for the use of categorical exclusions funded
the National Environmental Policy Act from another department
or agency for covered land of the Department of the Interior;
(6) to revise land use designations for covered land of the
Department of the Interior;
(7) to provide that discrete reviews in considering an
application described in paragraph (1) shall be conducted
simultaneously to the maximum extent practicable, rather than
sequentially, by any organizational units of the Department of
the Interior that must approve the location or modification;
and
(8) to eliminate overlapping requirements among the
organizational units of the Department of the Interior with
respect to the location or modification of a communications
facility on covered land administered by those organizational
units.
(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 15
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.
(4) A structure of fees for--
(A) submitting an application described in
subsection (b)(1), based on the cost to the Department
of the Interior of considering such an application; and
(B) issuing communications use authorizations,
based on the cost to the Department of the Interior of
any maintenance or other activities required to be
performed by the Department of the Interior as a result
of the location or modification of the communications
facility.
(d) Communication of Streamlined Process to Organizational Units.--
The Secretary shall, with respect to the regulations issued under
subsection (b)--
(1) communicate the regulations to the organizational units
of the Department of the Interior; and
(2) ensure that the organizational units of the Department
of the Interior follow the regulations.
(e) Deposit and Availability of Fees.--
(1) Special account.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall
establish a special account in the Treasury for the Department
of the Interior for the deposit of fees collected by the
Department under subsection (c)(4) for communications use
authorizations on covered land granted, issued, or executed by
the Department of the Interior.
(2) Requirements for fees collected.--Fees collected by the
Department of the Interior 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 of
the Interior under subsection (c)(4) shall be deposited in the
special account established for that Department under paragraph
(1).
(4) Availability of fees.--Amounts deposited in the special
account for a Department of the Interior shall be available, to
the extent and in such amounts as are provided in advance in
appropriation Acts, to the Secretary to cover costs incurred by
the Department of the Interior 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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
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