I 

119TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 278 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to streamline siting processes 

for telecommunications service facilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 9, 2025 

Mr. GRIFFITH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to streamline 

siting processes for telecommunications service facilities, 

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 ‘‘Barriers and Regu5 latory Obstacles Avoids Deployment of Broadband Access 

6 and Needs Deregulatory Leadership Act’’ or the 

7 ‘‘BROADBAND Leadership Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO ENTRY. 

9 Section 253 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

10 U.S.C. 253) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 253. REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO ENTRY. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No State or local statute or reg3 ulation, or other State or local legal requirement, may pro4 hibit or have the effect of prohibiting the ability of any 

5 entity to provide or enhance the provision of any interstate 

6 or intrastate telecommunications service. 

7 ‘‘(b) PLACEMENT, CONSTRUCTION, OR MODIFICA8 TION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE FACILITIES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATION.—The 

10 regulation of the placement, construction, or modi11 fication of a telecommunications service facility by a 

12 State or local government or instrumentality thereof 

13 may not discriminate— 

14 ‘‘(A) among telecommunications service fa15 cilities— 

16 ‘‘(i) based on the technology used to 

17 provide services; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) based on the services provided; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(B) against telecommunications service 

21 facilities, as compared to the regulation of the 

22 placement, construction, or modification of 

23 other facilities. 

24 ‘‘(2) TIMEFRAME TO GRANT OR DENY RE25 QUESTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State or local gov2 ernment or instrumentality thereof shall grant 

3 or deny a request for authorization to place, 

4 construct, or modify a telecommunications serv5 ice facility not later than— 

6 ‘‘(i) if the request is for authorization 

7 to place, construct, or modify such facility 

8 in or on eligible support infrastructure, 90 

9 days after the date on which the request is 

10 submitted by the requesting party to the 

11 government or instrumentality; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) for any other action relating to 

13 such facility, 150 days after the date on 

14 which the request is submitted by the re15 questing party to the government or in16 strumentality. 

17 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—The applicable 

18 timeframe under subparagraph (A) shall apply 

19 collectively to all proceedings, including permits 

20 and authorizations, required by a State or local 

21 government or instrumentality thereof for the 

22 approval of the request. 

23 ‘‘(C) NO MORITORIA.—A timeframe under 

24 subparagraph (A) may not be tolled by any 

25 moratorium, whether express or de facto, imVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Feb 01, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H278.IH H278

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1 posed by a State or local government or instru2 mentality thereof on the submission, accept3 ance, or consideration of requests for authoriza4 tion to place, construct, or modify a tele5 communications service facility. 

6 ‘‘(D) TOLLING DUE TO INCOMPLETE7 NESS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) INITIAL REQUEST INCOM9 PLETE.—If, not later than 30 days after 

10 the date on which a requesting party sub11 mits to a State or local government or in12 strumentality thereof a request for author13 ization to place, construct, or modify a 

14 telecommunications service facility, the 

15 government or instrumentality provides to 

16 the requesting party a written notice de17 scribed in clause (iii) with respect to the 

18 request, the timeframe described in sub19 paragraph (A) is tolled with respect to the 

20 request until the date on which the re21 questing party submits to the government 

22 or instrumentality a supplemental submis23 sion in response to the notice. 

24 ‘‘(ii) SUPPLEMENTAL SUBMISSION IN25 COMPLETE.—If, not later than 10 days 


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1 after the date on which a requesting party 

2 submits to a State or local government or 

3 instrumentality thereof a supplemental 

4 submission in response to a written notice 

5 described in clause (iii), the government or 

6 instrumentality provides to the requesting 

7 party a written notice described in clause 

8 (iii) with respect to the supplemental sub9 mission, the timeframe under subpara10 graph (A) is further tolled until the date 

11 on which the requesting party submits to 

12 the government or instrumentality a subse13 quent supplemental submission in response 

14 to the notice. 

15 ‘‘(iii) WRITTEN NOTICE DE16 SCRIBED.—The written notice described in 

17 this clause is, with respect to a request de18 scribed in subparagraph (A) or a supple19 mental submission described in clause (i) 

20 or (ii) submitted to a State or local govern21 ment or instrumentality thereof by a re22 questing party, a written notice from the 

23 government or instrumentality to the re24 questing party— 


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1 ‘‘(I) stating that all of the infor2 mation (including any form or other 

3 document) required by the govern4 ment or instrumentality to be sub5 mitted for the request to be consid6 ered complete has not been submitted; 

7 ‘‘(II) identifying the information 

8 described in subclause (I) that was 

9 not submitted; and 

10 ‘‘(III) including a citation to a 

11 specific provision of a publicly avail12 able rule, regulation, or standard 

13 issued by the government or instru14 mentality requiring that such informa15 tion be submitted with such a request. 

16 ‘‘(iv) LIMITATION ON SUBSEQUENT

17 WRITTEN NOTICE.—If a written notice pro18 vided by a State or local government or in19 strumentality thereof to a requesting party 

20 under clause (ii) with respect to a supple21 mental submission identifies as not having 

22 been submitted any information that was 

23 not identified as not having been submitted 

24 in the prior written notice under this sub25 paragraph in response to which the suppleVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Feb 01, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H278.IH H278

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1 mental submission was submitted, the sub2 sequent written notice shall be treated as 

3 not having been provided to the requesting 

4 party. 

5 ‘‘(E) TOLLING BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT.— 

6 The timeframe under subparagraph (A) may be 

7 tolled by mutual agreement between the State 

8 or local government or instrumentality thereof 

9 and the requesting party. 

10 ‘‘(3) DEEMED GRANTED.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a State or local 

12 government or instrumentality thereof has nei13 ther granted nor denied a request within the 

14 applicable timeframe under paragraph (2), the 

15 request shall be deemed granted on the date on 

16 which the government or instrumentality re17 ceives a written notice of the failure to grant or 

18 deny from the requesting party. 

19 ‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—In the 

20 case of a request that is deemed granted under 

21 subparagraph (A), the placement, construction, 

22 or modification requested in such request shall 

23 be considered to be authorized, without any fur24 ther action by the government or instrumen25 tality, beginning on the date on which such reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Feb 01, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H278.IH H278

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1 quest is deemed granted under such subpara2 graph. 

3 ‘‘(4) WRITTEN DECISION AND RECORD.—A de4 cision by a State or local government or instrumen5 tality thereof to deny a request to place, construct, 

6 or modify a telecommunications service facility shall 

7 be— 

8 ‘‘(A) in writing; 

9 ‘‘(B) supported by substantial evidence 

10 contained in a written record; and 

11 ‘‘(C) publicly released, and provided to the 

12 requesting party, on the same day such decision 

13 is made. 

14 ‘‘(5) FEES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To the extent per16 mitted by law, a State or local government or 

17 instrumentality thereof may charge a fee that 

18 meets the requirements under subparagraph 

19 (B)— 

20 ‘‘(i) to consider a request for author21 ization to place, construct, or modify a 

22 telecommunications service facility; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) for use of a right-of-way or a fa24 cility in a right-of-way owned or managed 

25 by the government or instrumentality for 


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1 the placement, construction, or modifica2 tion of a telecommunications service facil3 ity. 

4 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—A fee charged 

5 under subparagraph (A) shall be— 

6 ‘‘(i) competitively neutral, technology 

7 neutral, and nondiscriminatory; 

8 ‘‘(ii) established in advance and pub9 licly disclosed; 

10 ‘‘(iii) calculated— 

11 ‘‘(I) based on actual and direct 

12 costs for— 

13 ‘‘(aa) review and processing 

14 of requests; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) repairs and replace16 ment of— 

17 ‘‘(AA) components and 

18 materials directly resulting 

19 from and affected by the 

20 placement, construction, or 

21 modification (including the 

22 installation or improvement) 

23 of telecommunications serv24 ice facilities; or 


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1 ‘‘(BB) equipment that 

2 facilitates the placement, 

3 construction, or modification 

4 (including the installation or 

5 improvement) of such facili6 ties; and 

7 ‘‘(II) using, for purposes of sub8 clause (I), only costs that are objec9 tively reasonable; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) described to a requesting party 

11 in a manner that distinguishes between— 

12 ‘‘(I) nonrecurring fees and recur13 ring fees; and 

14 ‘‘(II) the use of facilities on 

15 which telecommunications service fa16 cilities or infrastructure for compat17 ible uses are already located and fa18 cilities on which there are no tele19 communications service facilities or 

20 infrastructure for compatible uses as 

21 of the date on which the request is 

22 submitted by the requesting party to 

23 the government or instrumentality. 

24 ‘‘(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person adversely affected 

2 by a State or local statute, regulation, or other legal 

3 requirement, or by a final action or failure to act by 

4 a State or local government or instrumentality there5 of, that is inconsistent with this section may com6 mence an action in any court of competent jurisdic7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(2) TIMING.— 

9 ‘‘(A) EXPEDITED BASIS.—A court shall 

10 hear and decide an action commenced under 

11 paragraph (1) on an expedited basis. 

12 ‘‘(B) FINAL ACTION OR FAILURE TO

13 ACT.—An action may only be commenced under 

14 paragraph (1) on the basis of a final action or 

15 failure to act by a State or local government or 

16 instrumentality thereof, if commenced not later 

17 than 30 days after such action or failure to act. 

18 ‘‘(d) PRESERVATION OF STATE REGULATORY AU19 THORITY.—Nothing in this section shall affect the ability 

20 of a State to impose, on a competitively neutral and non21 discriminatory basis and consistent with section 254, re22 quirements necessary to preserve and advance universal 

23 service, protect the public safety and welfare, ensure the 

24 continued quality of telecommunications services, and 

25 safeguard the rights of consumers. 


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1 ‘‘(e) PRESERVATION OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERN2 MENT AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this section affects the 

3 authority of a State or local government or instrumen4 tality thereof to manage, on a competitively neutral and 

5 nondiscriminatory basis, the public rights-of-way or to re6 quire, on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory 

7 basis, fair and reasonable compensation from tele8 communications providers for use of public rights-of-way, 

9 if the compensation required meets the requirements of 

10 subsection (b)(5). 

11 ‘‘(f) PREEMPTION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, after notice and an op13 portunity for public comment, the Commission deter14 mines that a State or local government or instru15 mentality thereof has permitted or imposed a stat16 ute, regulation, or legal requirement that violates or 

17 is inconsistent with this section, the Commission 

18 shall preempt the enforcement of such statute, regu19 lation, or legal requirement to the extent necessary 

20 to correct such violation or inconsistency. 

21 ‘‘(2) TIMING.—Not later than 120 days after 

22 receiving a petition for preemption of the enforce23 ment of a statute, regulation, or legal requirement 

24 as described in paragraph (1), the Commission shall 

25 grant or deny the petition. 


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1 ‘‘(g) COMMERCIAL MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDERS; 

2 CABLE OPERATORS.—Nothing in this section shall affect 

3 the application of section 332(c)(3) to commercial mobile 

4 service providers or section 621 to cable operators. 

5 ‘‘(h) RURAL MARKETS.—It shall not be a violation 

6 of this section for a State to require a telecommunications 

7 carrier that seeks to provide telephone exchange service 

8 or exchange access in a service area served by a rural tele9 phone company to meet the requirements in section 

10 214(e)(1) for designation as an eligible telecommuni11 cations carrier for that area before being permitted to pro12 vide such service. This subsection shall not apply— 

13 ‘‘(1) to a service area served by a rural tele14 phone company that has obtained an exemption, sus15 pension, or modification of section 251(c)(4) that ef16 fectively prevents a competitor from meeting the re17 quirements of section 214(e)(1); and 

18 ‘‘(2) to a provider of commercial mobile serv19 ices. 

20 ‘‘(i) WHEN REQUEST CONSIDERED SUBMITTED.— 

21 For the purposes of this section, a request to a State or 

22 local government or instrumentality thereof shall be con23 sidered submitted on the date on which the requesting 

24 party takes the first procedural step within the control of 

25 the requesting party— 


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1 ‘‘(1) to submit such request in accordance with 

2 the procedures established by the government or in3 strumentality for the review and approval of such a 

4 request; or 

5 ‘‘(2) in the case of a government or instrumen6 tality that has not established specific procedures for 

7 the review and approval of such a request, to submit 

8 to the government or instrumentality the type of fil9 ing that is typically required to initiate a standard 

10 review for a similar facility or structure. 

11 ‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

13 The term ‘eligible support infrastructure’ means in14 frastructure that supports or houses a telecommuni15 cations service facility (or that is designed for or ca16 pable of supporting or housing such a facility) at the 

17 time when a request to a State or local government 

18 or instrumentality thereof for authorization to place, 

19 construct, or modify a telecommunications service 

20 facility in or on the infrastructure is submitted by 

21 the requesting party to the government or instru22 mentality. 

23 ‘‘(2) TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE FACIL24 ITY.—The term ‘telecommunications service facil25 ity’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) means a facility that is designed or 

2 used to provide or facilitate the provision of any 

3 interstate or intrastate telecommunications 

4 service; and 

5 ‘‘(B) includes a facility described in sub6 paragraph (A) that is used to provide other 

7 services.’’. 

Æ 


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