I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1631 
To amend the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to preserve and protect 
the ability of State and local governments, public-private partnerships, 
and cooperatives to provide broadband services. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 8, 2021 
Ms. ESHOO (for herself, Mr. GOLDEN, Mr. NEAL, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. NORTON, 
and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to preserve 
and protect the ability of State and local governments, 
public-private partnerships, and cooperatives to provide 
broadband services. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Broadband 
Act of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. STATE, LOCAL, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, 
AND CO-OP BROADBAND SERVICES. 
Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 
(47 U.S.C. 1302) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (e) and inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) STATE, LOCAL, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNER-
SHIP, AND CO-OP ADVANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS CA-
PABILITY AND SERVICES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No State statute, regula-
tion, or other State legal requirement may prohibit 
or have the effect of prohibiting any public provider, 
public-private partnership provider, or cooperatively 
organized provider from providing, to any person or 
any public or private entity, advanced telecommuni-
cations capability or any service that utilizes the ad-
vanced telecommunications capability provided by 
such provider. 
‘‘(2) ANTIDISCRIMINATION SAFEGUARDS.— 
‘‘(A) PUBLIC PROVIDERS.—To the extent 
any public provider regulates competing private 
providers of advanced telecommunications capa-
bility or services that utilize advanced tele-
communications capability, such public provider 
shall apply its ordinances and rules without dis-
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crimination in favor of itself or any provider 
that it owns of services that utilize advanced 
telecommunications capability. 
‘‘(B) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP PRO-
VIDERS.—To the extent any State or local enti-
ty that is part of a public-private partnership 
provider regulates competing private providers 
of advanced telecommunications capability or 
services that utilize advanced telecommuni-
cations capability, such State or local entity 
shall apply its ordinances and rules without dis-
crimination in favor of such public-private part-
nership provider or any provider that such 
State or local entity or public-private partner-
ship provider owns of services that utilize ad-
vanced telecommunications capability. 
‘‘(3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub-
section shall exempt a public provider, public-private 
partnership provider, or cooperatively organized pro-
vider from any Federal or State telecommunications 
law or regulation that applies to all providers of ad-
vanced telecommunications capability or services 
that utilize such advanced telecommunications capa-
bility.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (e), as redesignated— 
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service that utilizes such advanced telecommuni-
cations capability, to any person or public or private 
entity. 
‘‘(6) STATE
OR
LOCAL
ENTITY.—The term 
‘State or local entity’ means a State or political sub-
division thereof, any agency, authority, or instru-
mentality of a State or political subdivision thereof, 
or an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 4(e) of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e))).’’. 
Æ 
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