I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2976 

To enhance public safety by making more spectrum available to public safety 

agencies, to facilitate the development of a wireless public safety 

broadband network, to provide standards for the spectrum needs of 

public safety agencies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011 

Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. KING of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 

and Commerce 

A BILL 

To enhance public safety by making more spectrum available 

to public safety agencies, to facilitate the development 

of a wireless public safety broadband network, to provide 

standards for the spectrum needs of public safety agencies, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Help Emergency Responders Operate Emergency Sys6 tems Act of 2011’’ or the ‘‘HEROES Act of 2011’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—ALLOCATION AND ASSIGNMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY 

LICENSES 

Sec. 101. Findings. 

Sec. 102. Allocation and assignment of public safety licenses. 

Sec. 103. Standards. 

Sec. 104. Rule of construction. 

TITLE II—FUNDING 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Funding. 

Sec. 203. Public safety interoperable broadband network construction. 

Sec. 204. Public safety interoperable broadband maintenance and operation. 

Sec. 205. Audits. 

Sec. 206. Auction of spectrum to fund the interoperable broadband network 

construction fund, the operation and maintenance fund, and 

the narrowbanding compliance assistance program. 

Sec. 207. Narrowbanding assistance. 

Sec. 208. Extension of auction authority and assurance of open auctions. 

Sec. 209. Report on efficient use of public safety spectrum. 

Sec. 210. Report on long-term interoperability using IP-based solutions. 

3 TITLE I—ALLOCATION AND AS4 SIGNMENT OF PUBLIC SAFE5 TY LICENSES 

6 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The communications capabilities of first re9 sponders and other public safety agencies directly af10 fect the public safety of the people of the United 

11 States and our national security. 

12 (2) As events such as the terrorist attacks of 

13 September 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina re14 vealed, the inability of local, State, tribal, and FedVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:53 Sep 22, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2976.IH H2976

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1 eral first responders to communicate effectively dur2 ing an emergency impairs operations to respond to 

3 terrorist acts and natural disasters. 

4 (3) Many public safety communications systems 

5 rely on commercially available systems that lack 

6 broadband capabilities or otherwise fail to provide 

7 the level of service necessary to meet the mission8 critical needs of public safety agencies. 

9 (4) A wireless public safety broadband network 

10 is needed to guarantee priority access for public 

11 safety use and first responder interoperability across 

12 the United States. 

13 (5) Allocating the paired electromagnetic spec14 trum bands of 758–763 megahertz and 788–793 

15 megahertz, referred to as the D Block, to public 

16 safety agencies will fulfill the needs of public safety 

17 agencies for sufficient spectrum and would help re18 duce the complexity and future operating cost of 

19 public safety communications systems. 

20 (6) Because the communications needs of public 

21 safety agencies may differ by geographic region (in22 cluding whether they require a dedicated commu23 nications system or can rely on a system shared with 

24 commercial users), each region requires flexibility to 

25 develop a model that meets its local needs without 


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1 sacrificing the interoperability of the nationwide sys2 tem. 

3 (7) The most timely and cost-effective way to 

4 achieve nationwide interoperability in public safety 

5 communications will be to leverage commercial infra6 structure without compromising the mission-critical 

7 needs of public safety agencies. 

8 (8) The use by public safety agencies of stand9 ardized technologies commonly employed in the com10 mercial telecommunications sector will provide sig11 nificant benefits, including improved capabilities, 

12 greater economies of scale, and more rapid adoption 

13 of technological innovations. 

14 (9) When it is in the interest of public safety, 

15 the Federal Communications Commission should en16 courage any public safety licensee or spectrum lessee 

17 to consider using existing or planned commercial in18 frastructure. 

19 SEC. 102. ALLOCATION AND ASSIGNMENT OF PUBLIC SAFE20 TY LICENSES. 

21 (a) SPECTRUM ALLOCATION.—Section 337(a) of the 

22 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 337(a)) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘24’’ and in25 serting ‘‘34’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘36’’ and in2 serting ‘‘26’’. 

3 (b) ASSIGNMENT.—Section 337(b) of the Commu4 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 337(b)) is amended to 

5 read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(b) ASSIGNMENT.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

8 after the date of enactment of the HEROES Act of 

9 2011, the Commission shall allocate the paired elec10 tromagnetic spectrum bands of 758–763 megahertz 

11 and 788–793 megahertz for public safety broadband 

12 communications and shall license such paired bands 

13 to the public safety broadband licensee. 

14 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF RULES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

16 establish rules to permit the public safety 

17 broadband licensee to authorize providers of 

18 public safety services to construct and operate 

19 a wireless public safety broadband network in 

20 the spectrum licensed to the public safety 

21 broadband licensee if the public safety 

22 broadband licensee determines that such au23 thorization would expedite the deployment of 

24 public safety broadband communications. 


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1 ‘‘(B) NETWORK REQUIREMENTS.—The 

2 Commission shall require that any such wireless 

3 public safety broadband network shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) be fully interoperable and remain 

5 interoperable with, and in conformance 

6 with the same broadband technology stand7 ards as, all other public safety broadband 

8 systems deployed or authorized; 

9 ‘‘(ii) provide for roaming by local, 

10 State, tribal, and Federal governments and 

11 other authorized users of the spectrum li12 censed to the public safety broadband li13 censee; 

14 ‘‘(iii) provide priority access to public 

15 safety agencies; 

16 ‘‘(iv) be built to survive most large17 scale disasters; 

18 ‘‘(v) ensure that networks of such sys19 tems have the appropriate level of cyber se20 curity; 

21 ‘‘(vi) ensure that authorized users 

22 have control over all local network uses 

23 consistent with rules established by the 

24 Commission; and 


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1 ‘‘(vii) be consistent with the Statewide 

2 Interoperable Communications Plans 

3 adopted by each State and the National 

4 Emergency Communications Plan, as 

5 adopted by the Department of Homeland 

6 Security. 

7 ‘‘(C) DEADLINES.— 

8 ‘‘(i) RULES.—The Commission shall 

9 establish rules under this paragraph not 

10 later than 9 months after the date of en11 actment of the HEROES Act of 2011. 

12 ‘‘(ii) REPORT.— 

13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later 

14 than 60 days after the date of enact15 ment of the HEROES Act of 2011, 

16 the public safety broadband licensee 

17 shall submit a report to the appro18 priate committees of Congress on the 

19 phased network deployment plan of 

20 such spectrum bands. 

21 ‘‘(II) DEFINITIONS.—For pur22 poses of subclause (I), the term ‘ap23 propriate committees of Congress’ 

24 means— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) the Committee on 

2 Homeland Security and Govern3 mental Affairs of the Senate; 

4 ‘‘(bb) the Committee on 

5 Commerce, Science, and Trans6 portation of the Senate; 

7 ‘‘(cc) the Committee on En8 ergy and Commerce of the House 

9 of Representatives; and 

10 ‘‘(dd) the Committee on 

11 Homeland Security of the House 

12 of Representatives.’’. 

13 (c) NETWORK-SHARING AGREEMENTS.—Section 337 

14 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 337) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub17 section (g); and 

18 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(f) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—The Commission 

21 shall establish regulations to— 

22 ‘‘(1) authorize the shared use of the public safe23 ty broadband spectrum and network infrastructure 

24 by entities that are not defined as public safety serv25 ices in subsection (g)(1), subject to the requirement 


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1 that public safety services retain priority access to 

2 the spectrum, pursuant to procedures adopted by the 

3 Commission, so long as the needs of other govern4 mental entities needs are considered before commer5 cial entities; and 

6 ‘‘(2) allow use of the public safety broadband 

7 spectrum by emergency response providers, as de8 fined in section 2 of the Homeland Security Act of 

9 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101).’’. 

10 (d) DEFINITION.—Section 337(g) of the Communica11 tions Act of 1934 (as so redesignated) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

13 paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 

14 (2) by inserting before paragraph (3), as so re15 designated, the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) PUBLIC SAFETY BROADBAND LICENSEE.— 

17 The term ‘public safety broadband licensee’ means a 

18 licensee as defined by the Commission in its Second 

19 Report and Order adopted July 31, 2007 (FCC 07– 

20 132), and selected in the Commission’s Order adopt21 ed November 19, 2007 (FCC 07–199), by the Com22 mission to be the licensee for spectrum between 

23 763–768 and 793–798 megahertz. 

24 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC SAFETY BROADBAND SPEC25 TRUM.—The term ‘public safety broadband specVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:53 Sep 22, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2976.IH H2976

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1 trum’ means the electromagnetic spectrum between 

2 758 megahertz and 768 megahertz, inclusive, and 

3 788 megahertz and 798 megahertz, inclusive, and 

4 any additional electromagnetic frequencies allocated 

5 by the Commission for public safety broadband 

6 use.’’. 

7 SEC. 103. STANDARDS. 

8 (a) INTEROPERABILITY REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

9 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

10 the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commis11 sion, in consultation with the Director of the National In12 stitute of Standards and Technology, the Secretary of 

13 Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and local, 

14 State, tribal, and Federal public safety agencies, shall de15 velop a public safety agency statement of requirements 

16 that enables nationwide interoperability and roaming 

17 across any communications system using public safety 

18 broadband spectrum, as defined in section 337(g) of the 

19 Communications Act of 1934. 

20 (b) SPECIFICATIONS.—The Secretary of Homeland 

21 Security, in coordination with the Director of the National 

22 Institute of Standards and Technology, shall establish an 

23 appropriate standard, or set of standards, for meeting the 

24 public safety agency statement requirements developed 

25 under subsection (a), taking into consideration— 


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1 (1) the extent to which particular technologies 

2 and user equipment are, or are likely to be, available 

3 in the commercial marketplace; 

4 (2) the availability of necessary technologies 

5 and equipment on reasonable and nondiscriminatory 

6 licensing terms; 

7 (3) the ability to evolve with technological devel8 opments in the commercial marketplace; 

9 (4) the ability to accommodate prioritization for 

10 public safety transmissions; 

11 (5) the ability to accommodate appropriate se12 curity measures for public safety transmissions; and 

13 (6) any other considerations the Federal Com14 munications Commission deems appropriate. 

15 SEC. 104. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

16 Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this 

17 Act, shall be construed to overturn, supersede, or other18 wise preempt the Federal Communication Commission’s 

19 Order adopted on November 19, 2007 (FCC 07–199), set20 ting forth the roles and responsibilities of the public safety 

21 broadband licensee (as such term is defined in section 

22 337(g) of the Communications Act of 1934) and the Fed23 eral Communications Commission, except that the fol24 lowing may, by rule or order, be modified by the Commis25 sion: 


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1 (1) Any organization seeking membership to the 

2 board of directors of the public safety broadband li3 censee may be voted in by a simple majority of the 

4 then serving members of the Board of Directors. 

5 (2) The Board of Directors of the public safety 

6 broadband licensee shall include the following orga7 nizations: 

8 (A) International Association of Chiefs of 

9 Police. 

10 (B) International Association of Fire 

11 Chiefs. 

12 (C) National Sheriffs’ Association. 

13 (D) International Association of Fire 

14 Fighters. 

15 (E) National Volunteer Fire Council. 

16 (F) Fraternal Order of Police. 

17 (G) Major Cities Chiefs Association. 

18 (H) Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association. 

19 (I) Major County Sheriffs’ Association. 

20 (J) Association of Public-Safety Commu21 nications Officials, International. 

22 (K) National Emergency Management As23 sociation. 

24 (L) International Association of Emer25 gency Managers. 


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1 (M) Police Executive Research Forum. 

2 (N) National Criminal Justice Association. 

3 (O) National Association of Police Organi4 zations. 

5 (P) National Organization of Black Law 

6 Enforcement Executives. 

7 (Q) Association of Air Medical Services. 

8 (R) Advocates for Emergency Medical 

9 Services. 

10 (S) Emergency Nurses Association. 

11 (T) National Association of Emergency 

12 Medical Services Physicians. 

13 (U) National Association of Emergency 

14 Medical Technicians. 

15 (V) National Association of State Emer16 gency Medical Service Officials. 

17 (W) National Emergency Medical Services 

18 Management Association. 

19 (X) International Municipal Signal Asso20 ciation. 

21 (Y) American Probation and Parole Asso22 ciation. 

23 (Z) National Governors Association. 

24 (AA) National Association of Counties. 

25 (BB) National League of Cities. 


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1 (CC) United States Conference of Mayors. 

2 (DD) Council of State Governments. 

3 (EE) International City/County Managers 

4 Association. 

5 (FF) National Conference of State Legis6 latures. 

7 (GG) National Association of Regional 

8 Councils. 

9 (HH) Utilities Telecom Council. 

10 (II) American Association of State High11 way Transportation Officials. 

12 (JJ) American Hospital Association. 

13 (KK) Forestry Conservation Communica14 tions Association. 

15 (LL) National Association of State 911 

16 Administrators. 

17 (MM) National Troopers Coalition. 

18 (NN) National Emergency Numbers Asso19 ciation. 

20 TITLE II—FUNDING 

21 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this title— 

23 (1) the term ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’ means the 

24 Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communica25 tions and Information; 


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1 (2) the term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con2 gress’’ means— 

3 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

4 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

5 (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

6 and Transportation of the Senate; 

7 (C) the Committee on Energy and Com8 merce of the House of Representatives; and 

9 (D) the Committee on Homeland Security 

10 of the House of Representatives; 

11 (3) the term ‘‘Construction Fund’’ means the 

12 Public Safety Interoperable Broadband Network 

13 Construction Fund established under section 202; 

14 (4) the term ‘‘Maintenance and Operation 

15 Fund’’ means the Public Safety Interoperable 

16 Broadband Network Maintenance and Operation 

17 Fund established under section 202; and 

18 (5) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

19 of Homeland Security. 

20 SEC. 202. FUNDING. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF FUNDS.— 

22 (1) CONSTRUCTION FUND.— 

23 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab24 lished in the Treasury of the United States a 

25 fund to be known as the Public Safety InterVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:53 Sep 22, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2976.IH H2976

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1 operable Broadband Network Construction 

2 Fund. 

3 (B) PURPOSE.—The Secretary shall estab4 lish and administer the grant program under 

5 section 203 using the funds deposited in the 

6 Construction Fund. 

7 (C) CREDIT.— 

8 (i) BORROWING AUTHORITY.—The 

9 Secretary may borrow from the general 

10 fund of the Treasury beginning October 1, 

11 2011, such sums as may be necessary, but 

12 not to exceed $2,000,000,000, to imple13 ment section 203. 

14 (ii) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary 

15 of the Treasury shall reimburse the general 

16 fund of the Treasury, without interest, for 

17 any amounts borrowed under clause (i) as 

18 funds are deposited into the Construction 

19 Fund, but in no case later than December 

20 31, 2014. 

21 (2) MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION FUND.— 

22 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab23 lished in the Treasury of the United States a 

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1 operable Broadband Network Maintenance and 

2 Operation Fund. 

3 (B) PURPOSE.—The Secretary shall use 

4 the funds deposited in the Maintenance and Op5 eration Fund to carry out section 204. 

6 (3) NARROWBANDING COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE

7 PROGRAM.— 

8 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab9 lished in the Treasury of the United States a 

10 fund to be known as the Narrowbanding Com11 pliance Assistance Program. 

12 (B) PURPOSE.—The Secretary shall use 

13 the funds deposited in the Narrowbanding Com14 pliance Assistance Program to carry out section 

15 207. 

16 (b) INITIAL DISTRIBUTION OF AUCTION PROCEEDS

17 IN FUNDS.—Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and (D) 

18 of section 309(j)(8) of the Communications Act of 1934 

19 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)), the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

20 deposit the proceeds (including deposits and upfront pay21 ments from successful bidders) from the auction of the 

22 spectrum described in section 205 in the following man23 ner: 

24 (1) All proceeds less than or equal to 

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1 tion Fund and shall be made available to the Sec2 retary without further appropriations. 

3 (2) Any proceeds exceeding $5,500,000,000 

4 shall be deposited in the Maintenance and Operation 

5 Fund and shall be made available to the Secretary 

6 without further appropriations. 

7 (c) TRANSFER OF FUNDS AT COMPLETION OF CON8 STRUCTION.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer 

9 to the Maintenance and Operation Fund any funds re10 maining in the Construction Fund after the date of the 

11 completion of the construction phase, as determined by the 

12 Secretary. 

13 (d) TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO TREASURY.—The Sec14 retary of the Treasury shall transfer to the general fund 

15 of the Treasury any funds remaining in the Maintenance 

16 and Operation Fund after the end of the 10-year period 

17 following receipt of notice by the Secretary of Homeland 

18 Security that construction of the nationwide system has 

19 been completed. 

20 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 (1) CONSTRUCTION FUND.—There are author22 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary for deposit 

23 in the Construction Fund in and after fiscal year 

24 2012 an amount not to exceed the amount set forth 

25 in paragraph (4). 


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1 (2) MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION FUND.— 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary for deposit in the Maintenance and Operation 

4 Fund in and after fiscal year 2012 an amount not 

5 to exceed the amount set forth in paragraph (4). 

6 (3) NARROWBANDING COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE

7 PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be appropriated 

8 to the Secretary for deposit in the Narrowbanding 

9 Compliance Assistance Program in and after fiscal 

10 year 2012 an amount not to exceed the amount set 

11 forth in paragraph (4). 

12 (4) LIMITATION.—The authorization of appro13 priations under paragraphs (1) and (2) may not ex14 ceed a total of $5,500,000,000 and paragraph (3) 

15 may not exceed $400,000,000. 

16 SEC. 203. PUBLIC SAFETY INTEROPERABLE BROADBAND 

17 NETWORK CONSTRUCTION. 

18 (a) CONSTRUCTION GRANT PROGRAM ESTABLISH19 MENT.—The Secretary shall take such action as is nec20 essary to establish a grant program to assist public safety 

21 entities to establish a nationwide public safety interoper22 able broadband network in the 700 megahertz band. 

23 (b) PROJECTS.—The projects for which construction 

24 grants may be made under this section are the following: 


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1 (1) Construction of a new public safety inter2 operable broadband network using public safety in3 frastructure or commercial infrastructure, or both, 

4 in the 700 megahertz band. 

5 (2) Improvement of the existing public safety 

6 and commercial networks and construction of new 

7 infrastructure to meet public safety requirements. 

8 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

10 the cost of carrying out a project under this section 

11 may not exceed 80 percent of the eligible costs of 

12 carrying out a project, as determined by the Sec13 retary in consultation with the Chairman of the Fed14 eral Communications Commission. 

15 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

16 share of the cost of carrying out a project under this 

17 section may be provided through an in-kind con18 tribution. 

19 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 6 months after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es21 tablish grant program requirements including the fol22 lowing: 

23 (1) Defining entities that are eligible to receive 

24 a grant under this section. 


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1 (2) Defining eligible costs for purposes of sub2 section (c)(1). 

3 (3) Determining the scope of network infra4 structure eligible for grant funding under this sec5 tion. 

6 (4) Conditioning grant funding on compliance 

7 with the Federal Communications Commission’s li8 cense terms. 

9 (5) Ensuring that all grant funds are in compli10 ance with and support the goals of the National 

11 Emergency Communications Plan and the Statewide 

12 Communication Interoperability Plans for each State 

13 and territory. 

14 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary will en15 hance the Office of Emergency Communications Technical 

16 Assistance Program to assist grantees with best practices 

17 and guidance in implementing these projects. 

18 SEC. 204. PUBLIC SAFETY INTEROPERABLE BROADBAND 

19 MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION. 

20 (a) MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION REIMBURSE21 MENT PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall administer a pro22 gram through which not more than 50 percent of mainte23 nance and operational expenses associated with the public 

24 safety interoperable broadband network may be reim25 bursed from the Maintenance and Operation Fund for 


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1 those expenses that are attributable to the maintenance, 

2 operation, and improvement of the public safety interoper3 able broadband network. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 7 years after the com5 mencement of the reimbursement program established 

6 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to Con7 gress a report on whether to continue to provide funding 

8 for the Maintenance and Operation Fund following com9 pletion of the period provided for under section 202(d). 

10 SEC. 205. AUDITS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, and every 3 years there13 after, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

14 perform an audit of the financial statements, records, and 

15 accounts of the— 

16 (1) Public Safety Interoperable Broadband Net17 work Construction Fund established under section 

18 202(a)(1); 

19 (2) Public Safety Interoperable Broadband Net20 work Maintenance and Operation Fund established 

21 under section 202(a)(2); 

22 (3) construction grant program established 

23 under section 203; and 

24 (4) maintenance and operation grant program 

25 established under section 204. 


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1 (b) GAAP.—Each audit required under subsection 

2 (a) shall be conducted in accordance with generally accept3 ed accounting procedures. 

4 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—A copy of each audit re5 quired under subsection (a) shall be submitted to the ap6 propriate committees of Congress. 

7 SEC. 206. AUCTION OF SPECTRUM TO FUND THE INTER8 OPERABLE BROADBAND NETWORK CON9 STRUCTION FUND, THE OPERATION AND 

10 MAINTENANCE FUND, AND THE NARROW11 BANDING COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE PRO12 GRAM. 

13 (a) REALLOCATION OF SPECTRUM.—Not later than 

14 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assist15 ant Secretary shall reallocate for commercial use electro16 magnetic spectrum at 1755–1780 megahertz. 

17 (b) AUCTION.—Not later than 18 months after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communica19 tions Commission shall establish rules for pairing electro20 magnetic spectrum bands at 1755–1780 megahertz and 

21 2155–2180 megahertz, inclusive, frequencies between 

22 1780–1800 megahertz and 2180–2200 megahertz, and 

23 the frequencies between 1915–1920 megahertz and 2020– 

24 2025 megahertz, and auction the licenses for such paired 


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1 spectrum in accordance with section 309(j) of the Commu2 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)). 

3 SEC. 207. NARROWBANDING ASSISTANCE. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

5 Narrowbanding Compliance Assistance Program to assist 

6 eligible recipients in meeting the January 2, 2013, 

7 narrowbanding deadline established by the Federal Com8 munications Commission. 

9 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Public safety jurisdictions oper10 ating land mobile radio systems in the 150–512 megahertz 

11 radio bands are eligible to apply for funding from the 

12 Narrowbanding Compliance Assistance Program. Such ap13 plications must be submitted to the Secretary not later 

14 than six months after the completion of narrowbanding. 

15 (c) ALLOWABLE USES.—Funding under the 

16 Narrowbanding Compliance Assistance Program may be 

17 used to reimburse eligible recipients for costs incurred 

18 from the purchase of 12.5 kHz technology. 

19 SEC. 208. EXTENSION OF AUCTION AUTHORITY AND ASSUR20 ANCE OF OPEN AUCTIONS. 

21 (a) EXTENSION OF AUCTION AUTHORITY.—Section 

22 309(j)(11) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

23 309(j)(11)) is amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘2020’’. 


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1 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—The Federal Communications 

2 Commission shall ensure that no bidder is deemed ineli3 gible for or otherwise excluded from an auction specified 

4 in this Act, or any other competitive bidding process under 

5 section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

6 U.S.C. 309(j)), on account of its size or amount of its 

7 other spectrum holdings. 

8 SEC. 209. REPORT ON EFFICIENT USE OF PUBLIC SAFETY 

9 SPECTRUM. 

10 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act and every 3 years thereafter, the Federal Com12 munications Commission shall conduct a study and submit 

13 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report— 

14 (1) on the spectrum held by the public safety 

15 broadband licensee; 

16 (2) on how efficiently such spectrum is being 

17 used; and 

18 (3) that provides a recommendation for whether 

19 more spectrum needs to be made available to meet 

20 the needs of public safety entities. 

21 SEC. 210. REPORT ON LONG-TERM INTEROPERABILITY 

22 USING IP-BASED SOLUTIONS. 

23 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission, in 

25 consultation with the Secretary and the Assistant SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:53 Sep 22, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2976.IH H2976

jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 2976 IH

1 retary, shall issue a report and order, after allowing time 

2 for notice and comment, including comment from public 

3 safety users, and shall submit such report to the appro4 priate committees of Congress, on whether Internet Pro5 tocol-enabled solutions could aid interoperability. 

Æ 


jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with BILLS