Community Broadband Act of 2020

To promote competition, to preserve the ability of local governments to provide broadband capability and services, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Community Broadband Act of 2020 2. Definitions In this Act— (1) the term advanced telecommunications capability 47 U.S.C. 1302(d) (2) the term advanced telecommunications capability or services (A) advanced telecommunications capability; or (B) services using advanced telecommunications capability; (3) the term Indian Tribe Indian tribe 25 U.S.C. 5304 (4) the term public provider (A) a State or political subdivision thereof; (B) any agency, authority, or instrumentality of a State or political subdivision thereof; (C) an Indian Tribe; or (D) any entity that is owned by, controlled by, or otherwise affiliated with— (i) a State or political subdivision thereof; (ii) an agency, authority, or instrumentality of a State or political subdivision thereof; or (iii) an Indian Tribe; (5) the term State (6) the term telecommunications service 47 U.S.C. 153 3. Local government provision of telecommunications services and advanced telecommunications capability and services No statute, regulation, or other legal requirement of a State, a political subdivision thereof, or an Indian Tribe may prohibit, or have the effect of prohibiting or substantially inhibiting, any public provider from providing telecommunications services or advanced telecommunications capability or services to any person or any public or private entity. 4. Safeguards (a) Administration (1) In general To the extent any public provider regulates competing providers of telecommunications services or advanced telecommunications capability or services, the public provider shall apply its ordinances, rules, and policies, including those relating to the use of public rights-of-way, permitting, performance bonding, and reporting, without discrimination in favor of— (A) the public provider; or (B) any other provider of telecommunications services or advanced telecommunications capability or services that the public provider owns or with which the public provider is affiliated. (2) Exemptions Paragraph (1) shall not apply— (A) when a public provider provides telecommunications services or advanced telecommunications capability or services other than— (i) to the public; or (ii) to such classes of users as to make the capability or services effectively available to the public; or (B) during an emergency declared by the President, the Governor of the State in which the public provider is located, or any other elected local official authorized by law to declare a state of emergency in the jurisdiction in which the public provider is located. (b) Application of general laws Nothing in this Act shall be construed to exempt a public provider that offers telecommunications services or advanced telecommunications capability or services to the public from any Federal communications law or regulation that applies to all providers of telecommunications services or advanced telecommunications capability or services to the public. 5. Public-private partnerships encouraged It is the sense of Congress that a public provider that intends to provide telecommunications services or advanced telecommunications capability or services to the public should consider the potential benefits of a public-private partnership before providing the capability or services. 6. Use of Federal funds If any project providing telecommunications services or advanced telecommunications capability or services under this Act fails due to bankruptcy or is terminated by a public provider, no Federal funds may be provided to the public provider specifically to assist the public provider in reviving or renewing that project, unless the failure due to bankruptcy occurred in a jurisdiction that is subject to a declaration by the President of a major disaster, as defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5122

Summary: Community Broadband Act of 2020 This bill restricts state, local, or tribal governments from prohibiting or inhibiting such government entities or their affiliates from serving as public providers of telecommunications services or advanced telecommunications capabilities to any person or any public or private entity. The bill prohibits such public providers from favoring themselves over competing providers in the application of regulations, ordinances, public rights-of-way, or permitting requirements. However, the bill provides an exemption from this prohibition during an emergency declared by the President, a governor, or an authorized elected local official. Lastly, the bill expresses the sense of Congress that such governments or affiliates intending to provide public telecommunications services should consider public-private partnerships.