CABLE Leadership Act

Cable Access for Broadband and Local Economic Leadership Act or the CABLE Leadership Act

This bill establishes a 120-day deadline for a cable franchising authority to act on a complete request for a new franchise.

Further, the bill deems such a request granted on the day after this deadline expires if the franchising authority has not granted or denied the request by that date, and it outlines when such a request shall be considered complete.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1148 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1148

 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to preserve cable franchising 
                   authority, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 18, 2021

   Mr. Long introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to preserve cable franchising 
                   authority, 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 ``Cable Access for Broadband and Local 
Economic Leadership Act'' or the ``CABLE Leadership Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUEST FOR NEW FRANCHISE.

    Section 621 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 541) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Timing of Decision on Request for Franchise.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date 
        on which a franchising authority receives a complete request 
        for the grant of a franchise (other than a renewal thereof), 
        the franchising authority shall approve or deny such request.
            ``(2) Deemed grant of new franchise.--If the franchising 
        authority does not approve or deny a request under paragraph 
        (1) by the day after the date on which the time period ends 
        under such paragraph, such request shall be deemed granted on 
        such day.
            ``(3) Applicability.--Notwithstanding any provision of this 
        title, the timeframe under paragraph (1) shall apply 
        collectively to all proceedings required by a franchising 
        authority for the approval of the request.
            ``(4) No tolling.--A timeframe under paragraph (1) may not 
        be tolled by any moratorium, whether express or de facto, 
        imposed by a franchising authority on the consideration of any 
        request for a franchise.
            ``(5) Written decision and record.--Any decision by a 
        franchising authority to deny a complete request for a 
        franchise shall be--
                    ``(A) in writing;
                    ``(B) supported by substantial evidence contained 
                in a written record; and
                    ``(C) publicly released, contemporaneously with the 
                decision.
            ``(6) When request considered complete; received.--
                    ``(A) When request considered complete.--
                            ``(i) In general.--For the purposes of this 
                        subsection, a request to a franchising 
                        authority shall be considered complete if the 
                        requesting party has not received a written 
                        notice from the franchising authority within 10 
                        business days after the date on which the 
                        request is received by the franchising 
                        authority--
                                    ``(I) stating that all the 
                                information (including any form or 
                                other document) required by the 
                                franchising authority to be submitted 
                                for the request to be considered 
                                complete has not been submitted; and
                                    ``(II) identifying the information 
                                required to be submitted that was not 
                                submitted.
                            ``(ii) Definition.--In this paragraph, the 
                        term `received by the franchising authority' 
                        means--
                                    ``(I) in the case of a request 
                                submitted electronically, on the date 
                                on which the request is transmitted;
                                    ``(II) in the case of a request 
                                submitted in person, on the date on 
                                which the request is delivered to the 
                                individual or at the location specified 
                                by franchising authority for in-person 
                                submission; and
                                    ``(III) in the case of a request 
                                submitted in any other manner, on the 
                                date determined under regulations 
                                promulgated by the Commission for the 
                                manner in which the request is 
                                submitted.
                    ``(B) When complete request considered received.--
                For the purposes of this subsection, a complete request 
                shall be considered received on the date on which the 
                requesting party submits to the franchising authority 
                all information (including any form or other document) 
                required by the franchising authority to be submitted 
                for the request to be considered complete.''.
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