II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 742 

To promote competition, to preserve the ability of local governments to provide 

broadband capability and services, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 28, 2017 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. KING, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, and Mrs. MCCASKILL) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To promote competition, to preserve the ability of local governments to provide broadband capability and services, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Broadband 

5 Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘advanced telecommunications ca9 pability’’ has the meaning given the term in section 


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1 706(d) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 

2 U.S.C. 1302(d)); 

3 (2) the term ‘‘advanced telecommunications ca4 pability or services’’ means— 

5 (A) advanced telecommunications capa6 bility; or 

7 (B) services using advanced telecommuni8 cations capability; 

9 (3) the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the meaning 

10 given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter11 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

12 5304); 

13 (4) the term ‘‘public provider’’ means— 

14 (A) a State or political subdivision thereof; 

15 (B) any agency, authority, or instrumen16 tality of a State or political subdivision thereof; 

17 (C) an Indian tribe; or 

18 (D) any entity that is owned by, controlled 

19 by, or otherwise affiliated with— 

20 (i) a State or political subdivision 

21 thereof; 

22 (ii) an agency, authority, or instru23 mentality of a State or political subdivision 

24 thereof; or 

25 (iii) an Indian tribe; 


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1 (5) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

2 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

3 of Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession 

4 of the United States; and 

5 (6) the term ‘‘telecommunications service’’ has 

6 the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Com7 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 

8 SEC. 3. LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROVISION OF TELE9 COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AND AD10 VANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITY 

11 AND SERVICES. 

12 No statute, regulation, or other legal requirement of 

13 a State, a political subdivision thereof, or an Indian tribe 

14 may prohibit, or have the effect of prohibiting or substan15 tially inhibiting, any public provider from providing tele16 communications services or advanced telecommunications 

17 capability or services to any person or any public or pri18 vate entity. 

19 SEC. 4. SAFEGUARDS. 

20 (a) ADMINISTRATION.—To the extent any public pro21 vider regulates competing providers of telecommunications 

22 services or advanced telecommunications capability or 

23 services, the public provider shall apply its ordinances, 

24 rules, and policies, including those relating to the use of 


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1 public rights-of-way, permitting, performance bonding, 

2 and reporting, without discrimination in favor of— 

3 (1) the public provider; or 

4 (2) any other provider of telecommunications 

5 services or advanced telecommunications capability 

6 or services that the public provider owns or with 

7 which the public provider is affiliated. 

8 (b) APPLICATION OF GENERAL LAWS.—Nothing in 

9 this Act shall be construed to exempt a public provider 

10 that offers telecommunications services or advanced tele11 communications capability or services to the public from 

12 any Federal communications law or regulation that applies 

13 to all providers of telecommunications services or ad14 vanced telecommunications capability or services to the 

15 public. 

16 SEC. 5. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS ENCOURAGED. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that a public provider that 

18 intends to provide telecommunications services or ad19 vanced telecommunications capability or services to the 

20 public should consider the potential benefits of a public21 private partnership before providing the capability or serv22 ices. 


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1 SEC. 6. PUBLIC INPUT AND PRIVATE SECTOR OPPOR2 TUNITY TO BID. 

3 (a) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD.—Be4 fore a public provider may provide telecommunications 

5 services or advanced telecommunications capability or 

6 services to the public, either directly or through a public7 private partnership, the public provider shall— 

8 (1) publish notice of its intention to do so; 

9 (2) generally describe the capability or services 

10 to be provided and the proposed coverage area for 

11 the capability or services; 

12 (3) identify any special capabilities or services 

13 to be provided in low-income areas or other demo14 graphically or geographically defined areas; 

15 (4) provide local residents and private-sector 

16 entities with an opportunity to be heard on the costs 

17 and benefits of the project and potential alternatives 

18 to the project, including any bids under paragraph 

19 (5); and 

20 (5) provide private-sector entities with an op21 portunity to bid to provide the capability or services 

22 during the 30-day period beginning on the date on 

23 which the notice is published under paragraph (1). 

24 (b) APPLICATION TO EXISTING PROJECTS AND

25 PENDING PROPOSALS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply 

26 to— 


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1 (1) any contract or other arrangement under 

2 which a public provider is providing telecommuni3 cations services or advanced telecommunications ca4 pability or services to the public as of the date of en5 actment of this Act; or 

6 (2) any proposal by a public provider to provide 

7 telecommunications services or advanced tele8 communications capability or services to the pub9 lic— 

10 (A) that is in the request-for-proposals 

11 process as of the date of enactment of this Act; 

12 (B) the infrastructure for which is in the 

13 process of being built as of the date of enact14 ment of this Act; or 

15 (C) that has been approved by referendum 

16 as of the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 7. EXEMPTIONS. 

18 The requirements under sections 4 and 6 shall not 

19 apply— 

20 (1) when a public provider provides tele21 communications services or advanced telecommuni22 cations capability or services other than— 

23 (A) to the public; or 


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1 (B) to such classes of users as to make the 

2 capability or services effectively available to the 

3 public; or 

4 (2) during an emergency declared by the Presi5 dent, the Governor of the State in which the public 

6 provider is located, or any other elected local official 

7 authorized by law to declare a state of emergency in 

8 the jurisdiction in which the public provider is lo9 cated. 

10 SEC. 8. USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS. 

11 If any project providing telecommunications services 

12 or advanced telecommunications capability or services 

13 under this Act fails due to bankruptcy or is terminated 

14 by a public provider, no Federal funds may be provided 

15 to the public provider specifically to assist the public pro16 vider in reviving or renewing that project, unless the fail17 ure due to bankruptcy occurred in a jurisdiction that is 

18 subject to a declaration by the President of a major dis19 aster, as defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford 

20 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 5122). 

Æ 


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