II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 522 

To clarify the rights and responsibilities of Federal entities in the spectrum 

relocation process, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 9, 2011 

Mr. WARNER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To clarify the rights and responsibilities of Federal entities 

in the spectrum relocation process, 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 ‘‘Spectrum Relocation 

5 Improvement Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF FEDERAL ENTI7 TIES IN THE SPECTRUM RELOCATION PROC8 ESS. 

9 (a) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL ENTITIES.—Section 

10 113(g)(1) of the National Telecommunications and InforVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:37 Mar 10, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S522.IS S522

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1 mation Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 

2 923(g)(1)) is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL ENTITIES.—Any Fed4 eral entity, as defined in subsection (i), that operates 

5 a Federal Government station assigned to a band of 

6 eligible frequencies, as described in paragraph (2), 

7 and that incurs relocation costs because of the re8 allocation of frequencies from Federal use to non9 Federal use shall receive payment for such costs 

10 from the Spectrum Relocation Fund if the Federal 

11 entity is found by the Office of Management and 

12 Budget (in this section referred to as ‘OMB’) to 

13 comply with the requirements of this section and 

14 section 118. For purposes of this paragraph, Fed15 eral power agencies exempted under subsection 

16 (c)(4) that choose to relocate from the frequencies 

17 identified for reallocation pursuant to subsection (a) 

18 are eligible to receive payment under this para19 graph.’’. 

20 (b) PUBLIC INFORMATION ON RELOCATION PROC21 ESS.—Section 113(g) of the National Telecommunications 

22 and Information Administration Organization Act (47 

23 U.S.C. 923(g)) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para25 graph (7); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol2 lowing new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(6) PUBLIC NOTICE OF RELOCATION PLANS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) Not later than 90 days after the date 

5 on which the NTIA, on behalf of eligible Fed6 eral entities and after review by OMB, notifies 

7 the Commission of estimated relocation costs 

8 and timelines for such relocation as required by 

9 paragraph (4)(A), NTIA shall post on its Web 

10 site detailed transition plans from each of the 

11 eligible Federal entities, taking appropriate 

12 measures to safeguard classified or sensitive in13 formation as detailed in this section. Each Fed14 eral entity’s transition plan shall provide the 

15 public with the following information about its 

16 spectrum relocation requirements: 

17 ‘‘(i) Current use of the spectrum. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Geographic location of the Fed19 eral entities’ facilities or systems, including 

20 frequency bands used by such systems. 

21 ‘‘(iii) The steps to be taken by the 

22 Federal entity to relocate its current spec23 trum uses from the eligible frequencies, in24 cluding timelines for specific geographic lo25 cations in sufficient detail to indicate when 


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1 use of such frequencies at specific locations 

2 will be shared between the Federal entity 

3 and the commercial licensee. 

4 ‘‘(iv) The specific interactions between 

5 eligible Federal entities and NTIA needed 

6 to implement the transition plan. 

7 ‘‘(v) The name of the director, officer, 

8 or employee responsible for the Federal en9 tity’s relocation efforts and who is author10 ized to meet and negotiate with commercial 

11 licensees regarding the relocation process. 

12 ‘‘(vi) The Federal entity’s plans and 

13 timeline for using relocation funds received 

14 from the Spectrum Relocation Fund, pro15 curing new equipment and additional per16 sonnel needed for the relocation, and field17 testing and deploying new equipment need18 ed in the relocation. 

19 ‘‘(vii) Risk factors in the relocation 

20 process that could affect the Federal enti21 ty’s fulfillment of its transition plan. 

22 ‘‘(B) To be eligible to receive payment for 

23 relocation costs from the Spectrum Relocation 

24 Fund— 


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1 ‘‘(i) Federal entities shall make the 

2 transition plans described in this sub3 section available to NTIA at least 90 days 

4 prior to the date that NTIA shall make 

5 such plans publicly available on its Web 

6 site pursuant to subparagraph (A), in a 

7 common format to be specified by NTIA 

8 after public input; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) each transition plan shall be 

10 evaluated by a standing 3-member tech11 nical panel (in this section referred to as 

12 the ‘Technical Panel’), which shall report 

13 to NTIA and to the Federal entity, within 

14 30 days after the plan’s submission to 

15 NTIA, on the sufficiency of the plan under 

16 this paragraph, including whether the re17 quired public information is included and 

18 whether proposed timelines and estimated 

19 relocation costs, including costs proposed 

20 for expanding the capabilities of a Federal 

21 system in connection with relocation, are 

22 reasonable. 

23 ‘‘(C) The Director of OMB, the Adminis24 trator of NTIA, in consultation with the af25 fected Federal entities, and the Chairman of 


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1 the Commission shall each appoint one member 

2 to the Technical Panel, and each such member 

3 shall be a radio engineer or technical expert, or 

4 have equivalent qualifications. NTIA shall 

5 adopt regulations to govern the workings of the 

6 Technical Panel after public notice and com7 ment, subject to OMB approval, and the mem8 bers of the Technical Panel shall be appointed, 

9 within 180 days of the date of enactment of the 

10 Spectrum Relocation Improvement Act of 2011. 

11 No person shall serve as a member of the Tech12 nical Panel for more than 3 years. 

13 ‘‘(D) If any of the information otherwise 

14 required by this paragraph is ‘classified infor15 mation,’ as that term is defined in section 

16 798(b) of title 18, United States Code, the Fed17 eral entity’s transition plan shall explain the ex18 clusion of any such information as specifically 

19 as possible, shall make all relevant non-classi20 fied information available in its transition plan, 

21 and shall discuss as a risk factor the extent of 

22 the classified information and the effect on the 

23 relocation process of the classified information. 

24 ‘‘(E) NTIA, in consultation with OMB and 

25 the Department of Defense, shall adopt regulaVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:37 Mar 10, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S522.IS S522

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1 tions within 180 days of the date of enactment 

2 the Spectrum Relocation Improvement Act of 

3 2011 to ensure information released publicly for 

4 the purpose of this paragraph contains no sen5 sitive or classified information.’’. 

6 (c) SHARING AND COORDINATION OF SPECTRUM BE7 TWEEN COMMERCIAL LICENSEES AND FEDERAL ENTI8 TIES DURING RELOCATION TRANSITION.— 

9 (1) EVALUATION OF SHARED ACCESS.—Section 

10 111 of the National Telecommunications and Infor11 mation Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 

12 921) is amended— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘As used’’ and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As used’’; and 

16 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION OF SHARED ACCESS.—The Com18 mission and the NTIA shall jointly establish any applica19 ble conditions as are determined necessary to define the 

20 term shared access to include such considerations as meth21 ods of sharing spectrum resources, coordination between 

22 Federal and non-Federal entities, such as commercial li23 censees, and/or sharing network infrastructure or other re24 sources.’’. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENT OF RELOCATION

2 COSTS.—Section 118 of the National Telecommuni3 cations and Information Administration Organiza4 tion Act (47 U.S.C. 928) is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following new subsections: 

6 ‘‘(f) ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENT OF RELOCATION

7 COSTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) SPECTRUM SHARING.—To be eligible to re9 ceive payment for relocation costs from the Spec10 trum Relocation Fund, a Federal entity shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) in its transition plan for relocating its 

12 current spectrum uses, provide— 

13 ‘‘(i) to the fullest extent possible, for 

14 sharing and coordination of eligible fre15 quencies with commercial licensees, includ16 ing reasonable accommodation by the Fed17 eral entity for the use of eligible fre18 quencies by the commercial licensee during 

19 the period that the Federal entity is relo20 cating its spectrum uses (in this subsection 

21 referred to as the ‘transition period’); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) a presumption that commercial 

23 licensees shall be able to use eligible fre24 quencies during the transition period in geVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:37 Mar 10, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S522.IS S522

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1 ographic areas where the Federal entity 

2 does not utilize those frequencies; 

3 ‘‘(B) during the transition period, make 

4 itself available, within 30 days after a written 

5 request, for negotiation and discussion with 

6 commercial licensees; and 

7 ‘‘(C) during the transition period, make 

8 available to a commercial licensee with appro9 priate security clearances any ‘classified infor10 mation’ as that term is defined in section 

11 798(b) of title 18, United States Code, regard12 ing the relocation process, which will assist the 

13 commercial licensee in the relocation process 

14 with that Federal entity or other Federal enti15 ties. 

16 ‘‘(2) TIMELY AND SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION

17 OF RELOCATION.—In addition to the conditions of 

18 paragraph (1), to be eligible to receive payment for 

19 relocation costs from the Spectrum Relocation Fund, 

20 a Federal entity— 

21 ‘‘(A) shall complete the relocation of its 

22 current spectrum uses not later than 1 year 

23 after the date upon which funds are transferred 

24 to the entity to fund the relocation; 


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1 ‘‘(B) may complete the relocation of its 

2 current spectrum use at a time period different 

3 that required under subparagraph (A), if prior 

4 to the date the Technical Panel (as described in 

5 section 113(g)(6)(C)) is required to post pub6 licly the Federal entity’s transition plan, the 

7 Federal entity receives written approval from 

8 the Office of Management and Budget (in this 

9 section referred to as ‘OMB’), with the advice 

10 of the Technical Panel; and 

11 ‘‘(C) shall make available to NTIA, not 

12 later than 15 days prior to the date that is the 

13 halfway point of the time period described in 

14 subparagraph (A), a complete update of its 

15 transition plan, provided that NTIA shall post 

16 such update publicly on its Web site not later 

17 than the date that is the halfway point of the 

18 time period described in subparagraph (A). 

19 ‘‘(3) Nothing in paragraphs (1) or (2) shall be 

20 construed to adversely affect critical communications 

21 related to the mission of any Federal entity. 

22 ‘‘(4) Subject to subsection (d), payments for re23 location costs from the Spectrum Relocation Fund 

24 shall be made to an eligible Federal entity not later 


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1 than 30 days after the grant of the first license fol2 lowing the close of the auction. 

3 ‘‘(g) DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) If, during the spectrum relocation process, 

5 a dispute arises over the execution, timing, or cost 

6 of the Federal entity’s transition plan, either the 

7 Federal entity or the affected commercial licensee 

8 may seek resolution of the dispute from a 3-member 

9 dispute resolution board, consisting of a representa10 tive of OMB, NTIA, and the Commission, and 

11 chaired by the representative of OMB. 

12 ‘‘(2) The dispute resolution board shall meet 

13 with representatives of the Federal entity involved in 

14 the dispute and the commercial licensee together to 

15 discuss the dispute. The dispute resolution board 

16 may require the parties to make written submissions 

17 to it. The dispute resolution board shall rule on any 

18 dispute within 30 days after the date that the dis19 pute was brought before it. 

20 ‘‘(3) The dispute resolution board shall be as21 sisted by the Technical Panel described in section 

22 113(g)(6)(C). 

23 ‘‘(4) Subject to OMB approval, NTIA shall 

24 adopt regulations to govern the working of the dis25 pute resolution board and the role of the Technical 


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1 Panel after public notice and comment within 180 

2 days after the date of enactment of the Spectrum 

3 Relocation Improvement Act of 2011. 

4 ‘‘(5) Appeals may be taken from decisions of 

5 the dispute resolution board to the United States 

6 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir7 cuit by filing a notice of appeal with that court with8 in 30 days after the date of such decision. Each 

9 party shall bear its own costs and expenses, includ10 ing attorneys’ fees, for any litigation to enforce this 

11 subsection or any decision rendered under it.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

14 United States shall conduct a study regarding the Na15 tional Telecommunications and Information Administra16 tion and other Federal agencies’ spectrum management 

17 capabilities, including related staff, mission, and current 

18 budget for the annual spectrum-related efforts of the 

19 NTIA and such other Federal agencies. The study re20 quired under this subsection shall include an analysis of 

21 expected funding needs and coordination of existing re22 sources of the Federal Government, by agency, to prepare 

23 for any future relocation or sharing of currently utilized 

24 spectrum. 


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1 (b) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—Not later than De2 cember 31, 2011, the Comptroller General of the United 

3 States shall submit report on the study required under 

4 subsection (a) to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

5 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

6 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

Æ 


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