Spectrum Relocation Fund Act of 2015

Summary: Spectrum Relocation Fund Act of 2015 This bill amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to make amounts available from the Spectrum Relocation Fund (SRF) for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to pay federal entities for research and development activities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their use of electromagnetic spectrum under government station licenses in order to make frequencies available for: (1) reallocation for nonfederal use, shared federal and nonfederal use, or a combination of such uses; and (2) auctions in accordance with such reallocation. As a condition to the OMB paying a federal entity for such activities, the federal entity must have a plan: (1) approved by a technical panel within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and (2) submitted by the OMB to the appropriate congressional committees for a period of 60 days. The bill also provides for&nbsp;incumbent federal entities to receive payment from the SRF&nbsp;for relocation and sharing costs&nbsp;incurred to accommodate sharing spectrum frequencies assigned to such entity with another federal entity the operations of which are being relocated from other frequencies.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Spectrum Relocation Fund Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL USES OF SPECTRUM RELOCATION FUND.

    (a) In General.--Section 118 of the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 928) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (i); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
    ``(g) Additional Payments for Research and Development and Planning 
Activities.--
            ``(1) Amounts available.--Notwithstanding subsections (c) 
        through (e)--
                    ``(A) there are appropriated from the Fund on the 
                date of the enactment of the Spectrum Relocation Fund 
                Act of 2015, and available to the Director of OMB for 
                use in accordance with paragraph (2), not more than 
                $500,000,000 from amounts in the Fund on such date of 
                enactment; and
                    ``(B) there are appropriated from the Fund after 
                such date of enactment, and available to the Director 
                of OMB for use in accordance with such paragraph, not 
                more than 10 percent of the amounts deposited in the 
                Fund after such date of enactment.
            ``(2) Use of amounts.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Director of OMB may use 
                amounts made available under paragraph (1) to make 
                payments requested by Federal entities for research and 
                development, engineering studies, economic analyses, or 
                other planning activities intended to improve the 
                efficiency and effectiveness of the spectrum use of 
                Federal entities in order to make available frequencies 
                described in subparagraph (C) for reallocation for non-
                Federal use or shared Federal and non-Federal use, or a 
                combination thereof, and for auction in accordance with 
                such reallocation.
                    ``(B) Systems that improve efficiency and 
                effectiveness of federal spectrum use.--For purposes of 
                a payment under subparagraph (A) for activities with 
                respect to systems that improve the efficiency and 
                effectiveness of the spectrum use of Federal entities, 
                such systems include the following:
                            ``(i) Systems that have increased 
                        functionality or that increase the ability of a 
                        Federal entity to accommodate spectrum sharing 
                        with non-Federal entities.
                            ``(ii) Systems that consolidate functions 
                        or services that have been provided using 
                        separate systems.
                            ``(iii) Non-spectrum technology or systems.
                    ``(C) Frequencies described.--The frequencies 
                described in this subparagraph are, with respect to a 
                payment under subparagraph (A), frequencies that--
                            ``(i) are assigned to a Federal entity; and
                            ``(ii) at the time of the activities 
                        conducted with such payment, are not identified 
                        for auction.
                    ``(D) Conditions.--The Director of OMB may not make 
                a payment to a Federal entity under subparagraph (A)--
                            ``(i) unless--
                                    ``(I) the Federal entity has 
                                submitted to the Technical Panel 
                                established under section 113(h)(3) a 
                                plan describing the activities that the 
                                Federal entity will conduct with such 
                                payment;
                                    ``(II) the Technical Panel has 
                                approved such plan under subparagraph 
                                (E); and
                                    ``(III) the Director of OMB has 
                                submitted the plan approved under 
                                subparagraph (E) to the congressional 
                                committees described in subsection 
                                (d)(2)(C); and
                            ``(ii) until 60 days have elapsed after 
                        submission of the plan under clause (i)(III).
                    ``(E) Review by technical panel.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not later than 120 days 
                        after a Federal entity submits a plan under 
                        subparagraph (D)(i)(I) to the Technical Panel 
                        established under section 113(h)(3), the 
                        Technical Panel shall approve or disapprove 
                        such plan.
                            ``(ii) Criteria for review.--In considering 
                        whether to approve or disapprove a plan under 
                        this subparagraph, the Technical Panel shall 
                        consider whether--
                                    ``(I) the activities that the 
                                Federal entity will conduct with the 
                                payment will--
                                            ``(aa) increase the 
                                        probability of relocation from 
                                        or sharing of Federal spectrum;
                                            ``(bb) facilitate an 
                                        auction intended to occur not 
                                        later than 8 years after the 
                                        payment; and
                                            ``(cc) increase the net 
                                        expected auction proceeds in an 
                                        amount not less than the time 
                                        value of the amount of the 
                                        payment; and
                                    ``(II) the transfer will leave 
                                sufficient amounts in the Fund for the 
                                other purposes of the Fund.
            ``(3) Definition of federal entity.--For purposes of this 
        subsection, the term `Federal entity' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 113(l).
    ``(h) Prioritization of Payments.--In determining whether to make 
payments under subsections (f) and (g), the Director of OMB shall, to 
the extent practicable, prioritize payments under subsection (g).''.
    (b) Administrative Support for Technical Panel.--Section 
113(h)(3)(C) of the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(h)(3)(C)) is amended by 
striking ``this subsection and subsection (i)'' and inserting ``this 
subsection, subsection (i), and section 118(g)(2)(E)''.
    (c) Eligible Federal Entities.--
            (1) Relocation of and spectrum sharing by federal 
        government stations.--Section 113 of the National 
        Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization 
        Act (47 U.S.C. 923) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (g)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)--
                                    (I) by striking ``authorized to use 
                                a band of eligible frequencies 
                                described in paragraph (2) and'';
                                    (II) by inserting ``eligible'' 
                                after ``auction of''; and
                                    (III) by inserting ``eligible'' 
                                after ``reallocation of''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (3)(A)--
                                    (I) in the matter preceding clause 
                                (i), by striking ``previously assigned 
                                to such entity or the sharing of 
                                spectrum frequencies assigned to such 
                                entity'' and inserting ``or the sharing 
                                of spectrum frequencies'';
                                    (II) in clause (iv), by striking 
                                ``and'' at the end;
                                    (III) in clause (v), by striking 
                                the period and inserting ``; and''; and
                                    (IV) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                            ``(vi) the costs incurred by an incumbent 
                        Federal entity to accommodate sharing the 
                        spectrum frequencies assigned to such entity 
                        with a Federal entity the operations of which 
                        are being relocated from eligible frequencies 
                        described in paragraph (2).''; and
                    (B) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ``authorized 
                to use any such frequency''.
            (2) Spectrum relocation fund.--Section 118 of the National 
        Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization 
        Act (47 U.S.C. 928) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (c), by striking ``with respect 
                to'' and all that follows and inserting the following: 
                ``with respect to--
            ``(1) relocation from or sharing of such eligible 
        frequencies; or
            ``(2) in the case of an incumbent Federal entity described 
        in section 113(g)(3)(A)(vi), accommodating sharing the spectrum 
        frequencies assigned to such entity with a Federal entity the 
        operations of which are being relocated from such eligible 
        frequencies.''; and
                    (B) in subsection (d)(3)(B)(ii), by inserting 
                ``except in the case of an incumbent Federal entity 
                described in section 113(g)(3)(A)(vi),'' before ``the 
                transition plan''.