IB 
Union Calendar No. 192 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3557 
[Report No. 118–240, Part I] 
To streamline Federal, State, and local permitting and regulatory reviews 
to expedite the deployment of communications facilities, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 22, 2023 
Mr. CARTER of Georgia (for himself, Mr. MORAN, and Mr. DUNN of Florida) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Re-
sources, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
OCTOBER 2, 2023 
Additional sponsors: Mr. WALBERG, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, 
Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mrs. CAMMACK, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. PENCE, Mr. WEBER 
of Texas, and Ms. TENNEY 
OCTOBER 2, 2023 
Reported from the Committee on Energy and Commerce with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
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OCTOBER 2, 2023 
Committees on Natural Resources and Transportation and Infrastructure dis-
charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 
of the Union and ordered to be printed 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 22, 2023] 
A BILL 
To streamline Federal, State, and local permitting and regu-
latory reviews to expedite the deployment of communica-
tions facilities, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘American Broadband Deployment Act of 2023’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—STATE AND LOCAL SITING PROCESSES 
Sec. 101. Preservation of local zoning authority. 
Sec. 102. Removal of barriers to entry. 
Sec. 103. Requests for modification of certain existing wireless and telecommuni-
cations service facilities. 
TITLE II—CABLE 
Sec. 201. Request for new franchise. 
Sec. 202. Request regarding placement, construction, or modification of cable 
equipment. 
Sec. 203. Cable franchise term and termination. 
Sec. 204. Sales of cable systems. 
TITLE III—ENVIRONMENTAL AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION 
REVIEWS 
Sec. 301. Application of NEPA and NHPA to certain communications projects. 
Sec. 302. Presumption with respect to certain complete FCC forms. 
Sec. 303. Rule of construction. 
Sec. 304. Definitions. 
TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS 
Sec. 401. Timely consideration of applications for Federal easements, rights-of- 
way, and leases. 
Sec. 402. Streamlining of certain fees relating to broadband infrastructure de-
ployed using grant funds under BEAD Program. 
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TITLE I—STATE AND LOCAL 
SITING PROCESSES 
SEC. 101. PRESERVATION OF LOCAL ZONING AUTHORITY. 
Section 332(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 332(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (7) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(7) PRESERVATION OF LOCAL ZONING AUTHOR-
ITY.— 
‘‘(A) GENERAL
AUTHORITY.—Except as 
provided in this paragraph, nothing in this Act 
shall limit or affect the authority of a State or 
local government or instrumentality thereof over 
decisions regarding the placement, construction, 
or modification of personal wireless service fa-
cilities. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The regulation of 
the placement, construction, or modification 
of a personal wireless service facility by any 
State or local government or instrumen-
tality thereof— 
‘‘(I) shall not discriminate among 
personal wireless service facilities or 
providers of communications service, 
including by providing exclusive or 
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preferential use of facilities to a par-
ticular provider or class of providers of 
personal wireless service; and 
‘‘(II) shall not prohibit or have 
the effect of prohibiting the provision, 
improvement, or enhancement of per-
sonal wireless service. 
‘‘(ii) ENGINEERING STANDARDS; AES-
THETIC REQUIREMENTS.—It is not a viola-
tion of clause (i) for a State or local govern-
ment or instrumentality thereof to establish 
for personal wireless service facilities, or 
structures that support such facilities, objec-
tive, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory— 
‘‘(I) structural engineering stand-
ards based on generally applicable 
codes; 
‘‘(II) safety requirements (subject 
to clause (vi)); or 
‘‘(III) aesthetic or concealment re-
quirements (unless such requirements 
prohibit or have the effect of prohib-
iting the installation or modification 
of such facilities or structures). 
‘‘(iii) TIMEFRAMES.— 
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‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—A State or 
local government or instrumentality 
thereof shall grant or deny a request 
for authorization to place, construct, or 
modify a personal wireless service fa-
cility not later than— 
‘‘(aa) in the case of a request 
for authorization to place, con-
struct, or modify a personal wire-
less service facility that is not a 
small personal wireless service fa-
cility— 
‘‘(AA) if the request is 
for authorization to place, 
construct, or modify such fa-
cility 
using 
an 
existing 
structure, including with re-
spect to an area that has not 
previously been zoned for 
personal wireless service fa-
cilities (other than small per-
sonal wireless service facili-
ties), 90 days after the date 
on which the request is sub-
mitted 
by 
the 
requesting 
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party to the government or 
instrumentality; or 
‘‘(BB) if the request is 
for any other action relating 
to such facility, 150 days 
after the date on which the 
request is submitted by the 
requesting party to the gov-
ernment or instrumentality; 
and 
‘‘(bb) in the case of a request 
for authorization to place, con-
struct, or modify a small personal 
wireless service facility— 
‘‘(AA) if the request is 
for authorization to place, 
construct, or modify such fa-
cility 
using 
an 
existing 
structure, including with re-
spect to an area that has not 
previously been zoned for 
personal wireless service fa-
cilities, 60 days after the 
date on which the request is 
submitted by the requesting 
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party to the government or 
instrumentality; or 
‘‘(BB) if the request is 
for any other action relating 
to such facility, 90 days after 
the date on which the request 
is submitted by the request-
ing party to the government 
or instrumentality. 
‘‘(II) TREATMENT
OF
BATCHED 
REQUESTS.—In the case of requests de-
scribed in subclause (I) that are sub-
mitted as part of a single batch by the 
requesting party to the government or 
instrumentality on the same day, the 
applicable timeframe under such sub-
clause for each request in the batch 
shall be the longest timeframe under 
such subclause that would be applicable 
to any request in the batch if such re-
quests were submitted separately. 
‘‘(III) APPLICABILITY.—The ap-
plicable timeframe under subclause (I) 
shall apply collectively to all pro-
ceedings required by a State or local 
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government or instrumentality thereof 
for the approval of the request. 
‘‘(IV) NO
MORITORIA.—A time-
frame under subclause (I) may not be 
tolled by any moratorium, whether ex-
press or de facto, imposed by a State 
or local government or instrumentality 
thereof on the submission, acceptance, 
or consideration of any request for au-
thorization to place, construct, or mod-
ify a personal wireless service facility. 
‘‘(V) TOLLING
DUE
TO
INCOM-
PLETENESS.— 
‘‘(aa) INITIAL
REQUEST
IN-
COMPLETE.— 
‘‘(AA) SMALL PERSONAL 
WIRELESS
SERVICE
FACILI-
TIES.—If, not later than 10 
days after the date on which 
a requesting party submits to 
a State or local government 
or instrumentality thereof a 
request for authorization to 
place, construct, or modify a 
small personal wireless serv-
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ice facility, the government 
or instrumentality provides 
to the requesting party a 
written notice described in 
item (cc) with respect to the 
request, the timeframe de-
scribed in subclause (I) is 
tolled with respect to the re-
quest and shall restart at 
zero on the date on which the 
requesting party submits to 
the government or instru-
mentality 
a 
supplemental 
submission in response to the 
notice. 
‘‘(BB) 
OTHER
PER-
SONAL
WIRELESS
SERVICE 
FACILITIES.—If, 
not 
later 
than 30 days after the date 
on which a requesting party 
submits to a State or local 
government 
or 
instrumen-
tality thereof a request for 
authorization to place, con-
struct, or modify a personal 
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wireless service facility that 
is not a small personal wire-
less service facility, the gov-
ernment or instrumentality 
provides to the requesting 
party a written notice de-
scribed in item (cc) with re-
spect to the request, the time-
frame described in subclause 
(I) is tolled with respect to 
the request until the date on 
which the requesting party 
submits to the government or 
instrumentality 
a 
supple-
mental submission in re-
sponse to the notice. 
‘‘(bb) SUPPLEMENTAL
SUB-
MISSION
INCOMPLETE.—If, 
not 
later than 10 days after the date 
on which a requesting party sub-
mits to a State or local govern-
ment or instrumentality thereof a 
supplemental submission in re-
sponse to a written notice de-
scribed in item (cc), the govern-
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ment or instrumentality provides 
to the requesting party a written 
notice described in item (cc) with 
respect to the supplemental sub-
mission, the timeframe under sub-
clause (I) is further tolled until 
the date on which the requesting 
party submits to the government 
or instrumentality a subsequent 
supplemental submission in re-
sponse to the notice. 
‘‘(cc) WRITTEN
NOTICE
DE-
SCRIBED.—The written notice de-
scribed in this item is, with re-
spect to a request described in 
subclause (I) or a supplemental 
submission described in item (aa) 
or (bb) submitted to a State or 
local government or instrumen-
tality thereof by a requesting 
party, a written notice from the 
government or instrumentality to 
the requesting party— 
‘‘(AA) stating that all of 
the information (including 
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any form or other document) 
required by the government 
or instrumentality to be sub-
mitted for the request to be 
considered complete has not 
been submitted; 
‘‘(BB) identifying the 
information 
described 
in 
subitem (AA) that was not 
submitted; and 
‘‘(CC) including a cita-
tion to a specific provision of 
a publicly available rule, reg-
ulation, or standard issued 
by the government or instru-
mentality 
requiring 
that 
such information be sub-
mitted with such a request. 
‘‘(dd) LIMITATION ON SUBSE-
QUENT
WRITTEN
NOTICE.—If a 
written notice provided by a State 
or local government or instrumen-
tality thereof to a requesting 
party under item (bb) with re-
spect to a supplemental submis-
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sion identifies as not having been 
submitted any information that 
was not identified as not having 
been submitted in the prior writ-
ten notice under this subclause in 
response to which the supple-
mental submission was submitted, 
the subsequent written notice shall 
be treated as not having been pro-
vided to the requesting party. 
‘‘(VI) 
TOLLING
BY
MUTUAL 
AGREEMENT.—The timeframe under 
subclause (I) may be tolled by mutual 
agreement between the State or local 
government or instrumentality thereof 
and the requesting party. 
‘‘(iv) DEEMED GRANTED.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If a State or 
local government or instrumentality 
thereof fails to take final action to 
grant or deny a request within the ap-
plicable timeframe under subclause (I) 
of clause (iii), the request shall be 
deemed granted on the date on which 
the government or instrumentality re-
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ceives a written notice of the failure 
from the requesting party. 
‘‘(II) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 
In the case of a request that is deemed 
granted under subclause (I), the place-
ment, construction, or modification re-
quested in the request shall be consid-
ered to be authorized, without any fur-
ther action by the government or in-
strumentality, beginning on the date 
on which the request is deemed granted 
under such subclause. 
‘‘(v) 
WRITTEN
DECISION
AND 
RECORD.—Any decision by a State or local 
government or instrumentality thereof to 
deny a request for authorization to place, 
construct, or modify a personal wireless 
service facility shall be— 
‘‘(I) in writing; 
‘‘(II) supported by substantial 
evidence contained in a written record; 
and 
‘‘(III) publicly released, and pro-
vided to the requesting party, on the 
same day such decision is made. 
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‘‘(vi) ENVIRONMENTAL
EFFECTS
OF 
RADIO
FREQUENCY
EMISSIONS.—No State 
or local government or instrumentality 
thereof may regulate the operation, place-
ment, construction, or modification of per-
sonal wireless service facilities on the basis 
of the environmental effects of radio fre-
quency emissions to the extent that such fa-
cilities or structures comply with the Com-
mission’s regulations concerning such emis-
sions. 
‘‘(vii) FEES.—To the extent permitted 
by law, a State or local government or in-
strumentality thereof may charge a fee to 
consider a request for authorization to 
place, construct, or modify a personal wire-
less service facility or a fee for use of a 
right-of-way or a facility in a right-of-way 
owned or managed by the government or in-
strumentality for the placement, construc-
tion, or modification of a personal wireless 
service facility, if the fee is— 
‘‘(I) competitively neutral, tech-
nology 
neutral, 
and 
nondiscrim-
inatory; 
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‘‘(II) established in advance and 
publicly disclosed; 
‘‘(III) calculated— 
‘‘(aa) based on actual and 
direct costs for— 
‘‘(AA) review and proc-
essing of requests; and 
‘‘(BB) repairs and re-
placement of components and 
materials directly resulting 
from and affected by the 
placement, construction, or 
modification (including the 
installation or improvement) 
of personal wireless service 
facilities or repairs and re-
placement of equipment that 
facilitates 
the 
placement, 
construction, or modification 
(including the installation or 
improvement) of such facili-
ties; and 
‘‘(bb) using, for purposes of 
item (aa), only costs that are ob-
jectively reasonable; and 
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‘‘(IV) described to a requesting 
party in a manner that distinguishes 
between— 
‘‘(aa) nonrecurring fees and 
recurring fees; and 
‘‘(bb) the use of facilities on 
which personal wireless service fa-
cilities are already located and fa-
cilities on which there are no per-
sonal wireless service facilities as 
of the date on which the request is 
submitted by the requesting party 
to the government or instrumen-
tality. 
‘‘(C) JUDICIAL
OR
ADMINISTRATIVE
RE-
VIEW.— 
‘‘(i) JUDICIAL
REVIEW.—Any person 
adversely affected by any final action or 
failure to act by a State or local govern-
ment or any instrumentality thereof that is 
inconsistent with this paragraph may, 
within 30 days after the action or failure to 
act, commence an action in any court of 
competent jurisdiction, which shall hear 
and decide the action on an expedited basis. 
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‘‘(ii) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Any person 
adversely affected by any final action 
or failure to act by a State or local 
government or any instrumentality 
thereof that is inconsistent with this 
paragraph may petition the Commis-
sion to review such action or failure to 
act. 
‘‘(II) TIMING.—Not later than 
120 days after receiving a petition 
under subclause (I), the Commission 
shall grant or deny such petition. 
‘‘(D) WHEN
REQUEST
CONSIDERED
SUB-
MITTED.—For the purposes of this paragraph, a 
request to a State or local government or instru-
mentality thereof shall be considered submitted 
on the date on which the requesting party takes 
the first procedural step within the control of the 
requesting party— 
‘‘(i) to submit such request in accord-
ance with the procedures established by the 
government or instrumentality for the re-
view and approval of such a request; or 
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‘‘(ii) in the case of a government or in-
strumentality that has not established spe-
cific procedures for the review and approval 
of such a request, to submit to the govern-
ment or instrumentality the type of filing 
that is typically required to initiate a 
standard review for a similar facility or 
structure. 
‘‘(E) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this paragraph may be construed to affect section 
6409(a) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job 
Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(a)). 
‘‘(F) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 
‘‘(i) ANTENNA.—The term ‘antenna’ 
means an apparatus designed for the pur-
pose of emitting radiofrequency radiation, 
to be operated or operating from a fixed lo-
cation for the transmission of writing, 
signs, signals, data, images, pictures, and 
sounds of all kinds. 
‘‘(ii) COMMUNICATIONS
NETWORK.— 
The term ‘communications network’ means 
a network used to provide a communica-
tions service. 
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‘‘(iii) COMMUNICATIONS
SERVICE.— 
The term ‘communications service’ means 
each of— 
‘‘(I) cable service, as defined in 
section 602; 
‘‘(II) information service; 
‘‘(III) telecommunications service; 
and 
‘‘(IV) personal wireless service. 
‘‘(iv) GENERALLY APPLICABLE CODE.— 
The term ‘generally applicable code’ means 
a uniform building, fire, electrical, plumb-
ing, or mechanical code adopted by a na-
tional code organization, or a local amend-
ment to such a code, to the extent not incon-
sistent with this Act. 
‘‘(v) NETWORK INTERFACE DEVICE.— 
The term ‘network interface device’ means a 
telecommunications demarcation device and 
cross-connect point that— 
‘‘(I) is adjacent or proximate to— 
‘‘(aa) a small personal wire-
less service facility; or 
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‘‘(bb) a structure supporting 
a small personal wireless service 
facility; and 
‘‘(II) demarcates the boundary 
with any wireline backhaul facility. 
‘‘(vi) PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICE.— 
The term ‘personal wireless service’ means 
any fixed or mobile service (other than a 
broadcasting service) provided via licensed 
or unlicensed frequencies, including— 
‘‘(I) commercial mobile service; 
‘‘(II) commercial mobile data 
service (as defined in section 6001 of 
the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job 
Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 
1401)); 
‘‘(III) unlicensed wireless service; 
and 
‘‘(IV) common carrier wireless ex-
change access service. 
‘‘(vii) PERSONAL
WIRELESS
SERVICE 
FACILITY.—The 
term 
‘personal 
wireless 
service facility’ means a facility used to 
provide or support the provision of personal 
wireless service. 
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‘‘(viii) SMALL
PERSONAL
WIRELESS 
SERVICE FACILITY.—The term ‘small per-
sonal wireless service facility’ means a per-
sonal wireless service facility in which each 
antenna is not more than 3 cubic feet in 
volume (excluding a wireline backhaul facil-
ity connected to such personal wireless serv-
ice facility). 
‘‘(ix) UNLICENSED
WIRELESS
SERV-
ICE.—The term ‘unlicensed wireless serv-
ice’— 
‘‘(I) means the offering of tele-
communications service or information 
service using a duly authorized device 
that does not require an individual li-
cense; and 
‘‘(II) does not include the provi-
sion of direct-to-home satellite services, 
as defined in section 303(v). 
‘‘(x) WIRELINE BACKHAUL FACILITY.— 
The term ‘wireline backhaul facility’ means 
an above-ground or underground wireline 
facility used to transport communications 
service or other electronic communications 
from a small personal wireless service facil-
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ity or the adjacent network interface device 
of such facility to a communications net-
work.’’. 
SEC. 102. REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO ENTRY. 
Section 253 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 253) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 253. REMOVAL OF BARRIERS TO ENTRY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No State or local statute or regu-
lation, or other State or local legal requirement, may pro-
hibit or have the effect of prohibiting the ability of any enti-
ty to provide, improve, or enhance the provision of any 
interstate or intrastate telecommunications service. 
‘‘(b) PLACEMENT, CONSTRUCTION, OR MODIFICATION 
OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE FACILITIES.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION
ON
DISCRIMINATION.—The 
regulation of the placement, construction, or modifica-
tion of a telecommunications service facility by a 
State or local government or instrumentality thereof 
may not discriminate— 
‘‘(A) among telecommunications service fa-
cilities— 
‘‘(i) based on the technology used to 
provide services; or 
‘‘(ii) based on the services provided; or 
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‘‘(B) against telecommunications service fa-
cilities, as compared to the regulation of the 
placement, construction, or modification of other 
facilities. 
‘‘(2) TIMEFRAME
TO
GRANT
OR
DENY
RE-
QUESTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State or local govern-
ment or instrumentality thereof shall grant or 
deny a request for authorization to place, con-
struct, or modify a telecommunications service 
facility not later than— 
‘‘(i) if the request is for authorization 
to place, construct, or modify such facility 
in or on eligible support infrastructure, 90 
days after the date on which the request is 
submitted by the requesting party to the 
government or instrumentality; or 
‘‘(ii) for any other action relating to 
such facility, 150 days after the date on 
which the request is submitted by the re-
questing party to the government or instru-
mentality. 
‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—The applicable time-
frame under subparagraph (A) shall apply col-
lectively to all proceedings, including permits 
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and authorizations, required by a State or local 
government or instrumentality thereof for the ap-
proval of the request. 
‘‘(C) NO MORITORIA.—A timeframe under 
subparagraph (A) may not be tolled by any mor-
atorium, whether express or de facto, imposed by 
a State or local government or instrumentality 
thereof on the submission, acceptance, or consid-
eration of requests for authorization to place, 
construct, or modify a telecommunications serv-
ice facility. 
‘‘(D) TOLLING DUE TO INCOMPLETENESS.— 
‘‘(i) INITIAL REQUEST INCOMPLETE.— 
If, not later than 30 days after the date on 
which a requesting party submits to a State 
or local government or instrumentality 
thereof a request for authorization to place, 
construct, or modify a telecommunications 
service facility, the government or instru-
mentality provides to the requesting party a 
written notice described in clause (iii) with 
respect to the request, the timeframe de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) is tolled with 
respect to the request until the date on 
which the requesting party submits to the 
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government or instrumentality a supple-
mental submission in response to the notice. 
‘‘(ii) SUPPLEMENTAL SUBMISSION IN-
COMPLETE.—If, not later than 10 days after 
the date on which a requesting party sub-
mits to a State or local government or in-
strumentality thereof a supplemental sub-
mission in response to a written notice de-
scribed in clause (iii), the government or in-
strumentality provides to the requesting 
party a written notice described in clause 
(iii) with respect to the supplemental sub-
mission, the timeframe under subparagraph 
(A) is further tolled until the date on which 
the requesting party submits to the govern-
ment or instrumentality a subsequent sup-
plemental submission in response to the no-
tice. 
‘‘(iii) WRITTEN NOTICE DESCRIBED.— 
The written notice described in this clause 
is, with respect to a request described in 
subparagraph (A) or a supplemental sub-
mission described in clause (i) or (ii) sub-
mitted to a State or local government or in-
strumentality thereof by a requesting party, 
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a written notice from the government or in-
strumentality to the requesting party— 
‘‘(I) stating that all of the infor-
mation (including any form or other 
document) required by the government 
or instrumentality to be submitted for 
the request to be considered complete 
has not been submitted; 
‘‘(II) identifying the information 
described in subclause (I) that was not 
submitted; and 
‘‘(III) including a citation to a 
specific provision of a publicly avail-
able rule, regulation, or standard 
issued by the government or instru-
mentality requiring that such informa-
tion be submitted with such a request. 
‘‘(iv) LIMITATION
ON
SUBSEQUENT 
WRITTEN NOTICE.—If a written notice pro-
vided by a State or local government or in-
strumentality thereof to a requesting party 
under clause (ii) with respect to a supple-
mental submission identifies as not having 
been submitted any information that was 
not identified as not having been submitted 
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in the prior written notice under this sub-
paragraph in response to which the supple-
mental submission was submitted, the subse-
quent written notice shall be treated as not 
having been provided to the requesting 
party. 
‘‘(E) TOLLING BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT.— 
The timeframe under subparagraph (A) may be 
tolled by mutual agreement between the State or 
local government or instrumentality thereof and 
the requesting party. 
‘‘(3) DEEMED GRANTED.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a State or local gov-
ernment or instrumentality thereof has neither 
granted nor denied a request within the applica-
ble timeframe under paragraph (2), the request 
shall be deemed granted on the date on which the 
government or instrumentality receives a written 
notice of the failure to grant or deny from the 
requesting party. 
‘‘(B) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—In the case 
of a request that is deemed granted under sub-
paragraph (A), the placement, construction, or 
modification requested in such request shall be 
considered to be authorized, without any further 
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action by the government or instrumentality, be-
ginning on the date on which such request is 
deemed granted under such subparagraph. 
‘‘(4) WRITTEN DECISION AND RECORD.—A deci-
sion by a State or local government or instrumen-
tality thereof to deny a request to place, construct, or 
modify a telecommunications service facility shall 
be— 
‘‘(A) in writing; 
‘‘(B) supported by substantial evidence con-
tained in a written record; and 
‘‘(C) publicly released, and provided to the 
requesting party, on the same day such decision 
is made. 
‘‘(5) FEES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To the extent permitted 
by law, a State or local government or instru-
mentality thereof may charge a fee that meets the 
requirements under subparagraph (B)— 
‘‘(i) to consider a request for author-
ization to place, construct, or modify a tele-
communications service facility; or 
‘‘(ii) for use of a right-of-way or a fa-
cility in a right-of-way owned or managed 
by the government or instrumentality for 
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the placement, construction, or modification 
of a telecommunications service facility. 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—A fee charged under 
subparagraph (A) shall be— 
‘‘(i) competitively neutral, technology 
neutral, and nondiscriminatory; 
‘‘(ii) established in advance and pub-
licly disclosed; 
‘‘(iii) calculated— 
‘‘(I) based on actual and direct 
costs for— 
‘‘(aa) review and processing 
of requests; and 
‘‘(bb) repairs and replace-
ment of— 
‘‘(AA) components and 
materials directly resulting 
from and affected by the 
placement, construction, or 
modification (including the 
installation or improvement) 
of telecommunications service 
facilities; or 
‘‘(BB) equipment that 
facilitates 
the 
placement, 
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construction, or modification 
(including the installation or 
improvement) of such facili-
ties; and 
‘‘(II) using, for purposes of sub-
clause (I), only costs that are objec-
tively reasonable; and 
‘‘(iv) described to a requesting party in 
a manner that distinguishes between— 
‘‘(I) nonrecurring fees and recur-
ring fees; and 
‘‘(II) the use of facilities on which 
telecommunications service facilities or 
infrastructure for compatible uses are 
already located and facilities on which 
there are no telecommunications service 
facilities or infrastructure for compat-
ible uses as of the date on which the re-
quest is submitted by the requesting 
party to the government or instrumen-
tality. 
‘‘(6) TRANSPORTATION CROSSINGS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An authorization by a 
State or local government or instrumentality 
thereof to place, construct, or modify a tele-
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communications service facility in a right-of- 
way owned or managed by the government or in-
strumentality shall be treated, without further 
action, as sufficient authority to place, construct, 
or modify such facility (as the case may be) 
above or under a transportation crossing that 
intersects such right-of-way. 
‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, 
the Commission, in coordination with the Sec-
retary of Transportation, shall promulgate regu-
lations to implement subparagraph (A) in a 
manner that— 
‘‘(i) ensures safety; 
‘‘(ii) prevents interference with trans-
portation crossings and related transpor-
tation operations; 
‘‘(iii) allows for the timely and effi-
cient placement, construction, and modi-
fication of telecommunications service fa-
cilities; and 
‘‘(iv) 
establishes 
requirements 
and 
standards for just and reasonable compensa-
tion to private owners of transportation 
crossings affected by such subparagraph, in-
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cluding compensation for costs related to the 
deployment of such facilities. 
‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph (A) 
shall apply to authorizations granted on and 
after the date on which regulations are promul-
gated under subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person adversely affected 
by a State or local statute, regulation, or other legal 
requirement, or by a final action or failure to act by 
a State or local government or instrumentality there-
of, that is inconsistent with this section may com-
mence an action in any court of competent jurisdic-
tion. 
‘‘(2) TIMING.— 
‘‘(A) EXPEDITED
BASIS.—A court shall 
hear and decide an action commenced under 
paragraph (1) on an expedited basis. 
‘‘(B) FINAL ACTION OR FAILURE TO ACT.— 
An action may only be commenced under para-
graph (1) on the basis of a final action or failure 
to act by a State or local government or instru-
mentality thereof, if commenced not later than 
30 days after such action or failure to act. 
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‘‘(d) PRESERVATION OF STATE REGULATORY AUTHOR-
ITY.—Nothing in this section shall affect the ability of a 
State to impose, on a competitively neutral and non-
discriminatory basis and consistent with section 254, re-
quirements necessary to preserve and advance universal 
service, protect the public safety and welfare, ensure the con-
tinued quality of telecommunications services, and safe-
guard the rights of consumers. 
‘‘(e) PRESERVATION OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERN-
MENT AUTHORITY.—Except as explicitly set forth in this 
section, nothing in this section affects the authority of a 
State or local government or instrumentality thereof to 
manage, on a competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory 
basis, the public rights-of-way or to require, on a competi-
tively neutral and nondiscriminatory basis, fair and rea-
sonable compensation from telecommunications providers 
for use of public rights-of-way, if the compensation required 
meets the requirements of subsection (b)(5). 
‘‘(f) PREEMPTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, after notice and an op-
portunity for public comment, the Commission deter-
mines that a State or local government or instrumen-
tality thereof has permitted or imposed a statute, reg-
ulation, or legal requirement that violates or is incon-
sistent with this section, the Commission shall pre-
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empt the enforcement of such statute, regulation, or 
legal requirement to the extent necessary to correct 
such violation or inconsistency. 
‘‘(2) TIMING.—Not later than 120 days after re-
ceiving a petition for preemption of the enforcement 
of a statute, regulation, or legal requirement as de-
scribed in paragraph (1), the Commission shall grant 
or deny the petition. 
‘‘(g) COMMERCIAL
MOBILE
SERVICE
PROVIDERS; 
CABLE OPERATORS.—Nothing in this section shall affect 
the application of section 332(c)(3) to commercial mobile 
service providers or section 621 to cable operators. 
‘‘(h) RURAL MARKETS.—It shall not be a violation of 
this section for a State to require a telecommunications car-
rier that seeks to provide telephone exchange service or ex-
change access in a service area served by a rural telephone 
company to meet the requirements in section 214(e)(1) for 
designation as an eligible telecommunications carrier for 
that area before being permitted to provide such service. 
This subsection shall not apply— 
‘‘(1) to a service area served by a rural telephone 
company that has obtained an exemption, suspension, 
or modification of section 251(c)(4) that effectively 
prevents a competitor from meeting the requirements 
of section 214(e)(1); and 
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‘‘(2) to a provider of commercial mobile services. 
‘‘(i) WHEN REQUEST CONSIDERED SUBMITTED.—For 
the purposes of this section, a request to a State or local 
government or instrumentality thereof shall be considered 
submitted on the date on which the requesting party takes 
the first procedural step within the control of the requesting 
party— 
‘‘(1) to submit such request in accordance with 
the procedures established by the government or in-
strumentality for the review and approval of such a 
request; or 
‘‘(2) in the case of a government or instrumen-
tality that has not established specific procedures for 
the review and approval of such a request, to submit 
to the government or instrumentality the type of fil-
ing that is typically required to initiate a standard 
review for a similar facility or structure. 
‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE
SUPPORT
INFRASTRUCTURE.— 
The term ‘eligible support infrastructure’ means in-
frastructure that supports or houses a telecommuni-
cations service facility (or that is designed for or ca-
pable of supporting or housing such a facility) at the 
time when a request to a State or local government 
or instrumentality thereof for authorization to place, 
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construct, or modify a telecommunications service fa-
cility in or on the infrastructure is submitted by the 
requesting party to the government or instrumen-
tality. 
‘‘(2) TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICE
FACIL-
ITY.—The term ‘telecommunications service facil-
ity’— 
‘‘(A) means a facility that is designed or 
used to provide or facilitate the provision of any 
interstate or intrastate telecommunications serv-
ice; and 
‘‘(B) includes a facility described in sub-
paragraph (A) that is used to provide other serv-
ices.’’. 
SEC. 103. REQUESTS FOR MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN EX-
ISTING 
WIRELESS 
AND 
TELECOMMUNI-
CATIONS SERVICE FACILITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6409 of the Middle Class 
Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455) 
is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘WIRELESS’’ 
and inserting ‘‘COMMUNICATIONS’’; and 
(2) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a State 
or local government’’ and all that follows and in-
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serting the following: ‘‘a State or local govern-
ment or instrumentality thereof may not deny, 
and shall approve— 
‘‘(A) any eligible facilities request for a 
modification of an existing wireless tower, base 
station, or eligible support structure that does 
not substantially change the physical dimensions 
of such wireless tower, base station, or eligible 
support structure; and 
‘‘(B) any eligible telecommunications facili-
ties request for a modification of an existing tele-
communications service facility in or on eligible 
support infrastructure that does not substan-
tially change the physical dimensions of such fa-
cility.’’; 
(B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(2) TIMEFRAME.— 
‘‘(A) DEEMED APPROVAL.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a State or local 
government or instrumentality thereof does 
not, before or on the date that is 60 days 
after the date on which a requesting party 
submits to the government or instrumen-
tality a request as an eligible facilities re-
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quest or an eligible telecommunications fa-
cilities request (as the case may be), ap-
prove the request or make the determination 
and provide the written notice described in 
subparagraph (B) with respect to the re-
quest, the request is deemed approved on the 
day after the date that is 60 days after the 
date on which the requesting party submits 
the request. 
‘‘(ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—In the 
case of a request that is deemed approved 
under clause (i), the modification requested 
in the request shall be authorized, without 
any further action by the government or in-
strumentality, beginning on the date on 
which the request is deemed approved under 
such clause. 
‘‘(B) DETERMINATION REQUEST IS NOT AN 
ELIGIBLE REQUEST.— 
‘‘(i) DETERMINATION
DESCRIBED.— 
The determination described in this sub-
paragraph is a determination by a State or 
local government or instrumentality thereof 
that a request described in subparagraph 
(A)(i) is not an eligible facilities request or 
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an eligible telecommunications facilities re-
quest (as the case may be). 
‘‘(ii) WRITTEN NOTICE DESCRIBED.— 
The written notice described in this sub-
paragraph is a written notice of the deter-
mination described in clause (i) provided 
by the government or instrumentality to the 
requesting party that clearly describes the 
reasons why the request is not an eligible 
facilities request or an eligible telecommuni-
cations facilities request (as the case may 
be) and includes a citation to a specific 
provision of this subsection or the regula-
tions promulgated under this subsection re-
lied upon for the determination. 
‘‘(C) TOLLING DUE TO INCOMPLETENESS.— 
‘‘(i) INITIAL REQUEST INCOMPLETE.— 
If, not later than 30 days after the date on 
which a requesting party submits to a State 
or local government or instrumentality 
thereof a request described in subparagraph 
(A)(i), the government or instrumentality 
provides to the requesting party a written 
notice described in clause (iii) with respect 
to the request, the 60-day timeframe under 
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(A)(i) may be tolled by mutual agreement be-
tween the State or local government or instru-
mentality thereof and the requesting party.’’; 
and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) 
WHEN
REQUEST
CONSIDERED
SUB-
MITTED.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of this 
subsection, a request described in paragraph 
(2)(A)(i) shall be considered submitted on the 
date on which the requesting party takes the first 
procedural step within the control of the request-
ing party— 
‘‘(i) to submit such request in accord-
ance with the procedures established by the 
government or instrumentality for the re-
view and approval of such a request; or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a government or in-
strumentality that has not established spe-
cific procedures for the review and approval 
of such a request, to submit to the govern-
ment or instrumentality the type of filing 
that is typically required to initiate a 
standard review for a similar facility or 
structure. 
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‘‘(B) 
NO
PRE-APPLICATION
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—A State or local government or instru-
mentality thereof may not require a requesting 
party to undertake any process, meeting, or other 
step prior to or as a prerequisite to a request 
being considered submitted. 
‘‘(5) LIMITATION
ON
REQUIRED
DOCUMENTA-
TION.—A State or local government or instrumen-
tality thereof may require a requesting party submit-
ting a request as an eligible facilities request or an 
eligible telecommunications facilities request to sub-
mit information (including a form or other docu-
ment) with such request only to the extent that such 
information is reasonably related to determining 
whether such request is an eligible facilities request or 
an eligible telecommunications facilities request (as 
the case may be) and is identified in a publicly avail-
able rule, regulation, or standard issued by the gov-
ernment or instrumentality requiring that such infor-
mation be submitted with such a request. A State or 
local government or instrumentality thereof may not 
require a requesting party to submit any other docu-
mentation or information with such a request. 
‘‘(6) ENFORCEMENT.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A requesting party 
may bring an action in any district court of the 
United States to enforce the provisions of this 
subsection. 
‘‘(B) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—A district court 
of the United States shall consider an action 
under subparagraph (A) on an expedited basis. 
‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE FACILITIES REQUEST.—The 
term ‘eligible facilities request’ means any re-
quest for a modification of an existing wireless 
tower, base station, or eligible support structure 
that does not substantially change the physical 
dimensions of such wireless tower, base station, 
or eligible support structure and that involves— 
‘‘(i) collocation of new transmission 
equipment; 
‘‘(ii) removal of transmission equip-
ment; 
‘‘(iii) 
replacement 
of 
transmission 
equipment; or 
‘‘(iv) placement, construction, or modi-
fication of equipment that— 
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‘‘(I) improves the resiliency of the 
wireless tower, base station, or eligible 
support structure; and 
‘‘(II) provides a direct benefit to 
public safety, such as— 
‘‘(aa) 
providing 
backup 
power for the wireless tower, base 
station, or eligible support struc-
ture; 
‘‘(bb) hardening the wireless 
tower, base station, or eligible 
support structure; or 
‘‘(cc) providing more reliable 
connection capability using the 
wireless tower, base station, or eli-
gible support structure. 
‘‘(B) 
ELIGIBLE
SUPPORT
INFRASTRUC-
TURE.—The term ‘eligible support infrastruc-
ture’ means infrastructure that supports or 
houses a telecommunications service facility at 
the time when an eligible telecommunications fa-
cilities request for a modification of such facility 
is submitted to a State or local government or 
instrumentality thereof. 
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‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE SUPPORT STRUCTURE.—The 
term ‘eligible support structure’ means a struc-
ture that, at the time when an eligible facilities 
request for a modification of such structure is 
submitted to a State or local government or in-
strumentality thereof, supports or could support 
transmission equipment. 
‘‘(D) ELIGIBLE TELECOMMUNICATIONS FA-
CILITIES
REQUEST.—The term ‘eligible tele-
communications facilities request’ means any re-
quest for a modification of an existing tele-
communications service facility in or on eligible 
support infrastructure that does not substan-
tially change the physical dimensions of such fa-
cility and that involves— 
‘‘(i) collocation of new telecommuni-
cations service facility equipment; 
‘‘(ii) removal of telecommunications 
service facility equipment; or 
‘‘(iii) replacement of telecommuni-
cations service facility equipment. 
‘‘(E) TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICE
FA-
CILITY.—The term ‘telecommunications service 
facility’— 
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‘‘(i) means a facility that is designed 
or used to provide or facilitate the provision 
of any interstate or intrastate telecommuni-
cations service; and 
‘‘(ii) includes a facility described in 
clause (i) that is used to provide other serv-
ices. 
‘‘(F) TRANSMISSION EQUIPMENT.—The term 
‘transmission equipment’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 1.6100(b)(8) of title 47, 
Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 
date of the enactment of this paragraph).’’. 
(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Commu-
nications Commission shall issue final rules to implement 
the amendments made by subsection (a). 
(c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub-
section (a) shall apply with respect to any eligible facilities 
request or eligible telecommunications facilities request de-
scribed in paragraph (1) of section 6409(a) of the Middle 
Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 
1455(a)) that is submitted (as determined under paragraph 
(4) of such section, as added by subsection (a)) by a request-
ing party on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
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TITLE II—CABLE 
SEC. 201. REQUEST FOR NEW FRANCHISE. 
Section 621 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 541) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) TIMING OF DECISION ON REQUEST FOR FRAN-
CHISE.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 
after the date on which a requesting party submits to 
a franchising authority a request for the grant of a 
franchise (other than a renewal thereof), the fran-
chising authority shall approve or deny such request. 
‘‘(2) DEEMED GRANT OF NEW FRANCHISE.—If 
the franchising authority does not approve or deny a 
request under paragraph (1) by the day after the date 
on which the time period ends under such paragraph, 
such request shall be deemed granted on such day. 
‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.—Notwithstanding any pro-
vision of this title, the timeframe under paragraph 
(1) shall apply collectively to all proceedings required 
by a franchising authority for the approval of the re-
quest. 
‘‘(4) NO MORITORIA.—A timeframe under para-
graph (1) may not be tolled by any moratorium, 
whether express or de facto, imposed by a franchising 
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authority on the consideration of any request for a 
franchise. 
‘‘(5) TOLLING DUE TO INCOMPLETENESS.— 
‘‘(A) INITIAL
REQUEST
INCOMPLETE.—If, 
not later than 30 days after the date on which 
a requesting party provides to a franchising au-
thority a written notice described in subpara-
graph (C) with respect to the request, the time-
frame described in paragraph (1) is tolled with 
respect to the request until the date on which the 
requesting party submits to the franchising au-
thority a supplemental submission in response to 
the notice. 
‘‘(B) SUPPLEMENTAL
SUBMISSION
INCOM-
PLETE.—If, not later than 10 days after the date 
on which a requesting party submits to the fran-
chising authority a supplemental submission in 
response to a written notice described in sub-
paragraph (A), the franchising authority pro-
vides to the requesting party a written notice de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) with respect to the 
supplemental submission, the timeframe under 
paragraph (1) is further tolled until the date on 
which the requesting party submits to the fran-
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chising authority a subsequent supplemental sub-
mission in response to the notice. 
‘‘(C) WRITTEN
NOTICE
DESCRIBED.—The 
written notice described in this paragraph is, 
with respect to a request described in paragraph 
(1) or a supplemental submission described in 
subparagraph (A) or (B) submitted to a fran-
chising authority by a requesting party, a writ-
ten notice from the franchising authority to the 
requesting party— 
‘‘(i) stating that all of the information 
(including any form or other document) re-
quired by the franchising authority to be 
submitted for the request to be considered 
complete has not been submitted; 
‘‘(ii) identifying the information de-
scribed in clause (i) that was not submitted; 
and 
‘‘(iii) including a citation to a specific 
provision of a publicly available rule, regu-
lation, or standard issued by the fran-
chising authority requiring that such infor-
mation be submitted with such a request. 
‘‘(D) LIMITATION ON SUBSEQUENT WRITTEN 
NOTICE.—If a written notice provided by a fran-
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chising authority to a requesting party under 
subparagraph (A) with respect to a supplemental 
submission identifies as not having been sub-
mitted any information that was not identified 
as not having been submitted in the prior writ-
ten notice under this subparagraph in response 
to which the supplemental submission was sub-
mitted, the subsequent written notice shall be 
treated as not having been provided to the re-
questing party. 
‘‘(6) TOLLING
BY
MUTUAL
AGREEMENT.—The 
timeframe under paragraph (1) may be tolled by mu-
tual agreement between the franchising authority and 
the requesting party. 
‘‘(7) WRITTEN DECISION AND RECORD.—Any de-
cision by a franchising authority to deny a request 
for a franchise shall be— 
‘‘(A) in writing; 
‘‘(B) supported by substantial evidence con-
tained in a written record; and 
‘‘(C) publicly released, and provided to the 
requesting party, on the same day such decision 
is made. 
‘‘(8) 
WHEN
REQUEST
CONSIDERED
SUB-
MITTED.—For the purposes of this subsection, a re-
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quest to a franchising authority shall be considered 
submitted on the date on which the requesting party 
takes the first procedural step within the control of 
the requesting party— 
‘‘(A) to submit such request in accordance 
with the procedures established by the fran-
chising authority for the review and approval of 
such a request; or 
‘‘(B) in the case of a franchising authority 
that has not established specific procedures for 
the review and approval of such a request, to 
submit to the franchising authority the type of 
filing that is typically required to initiate a 
standard review for a request related to a fran-
chise.’’. 
SEC. 202. REQUEST REGARDING PLACEMENT, CONSTRUC-
TION, OR MODIFICATION OF CABLE EQUIP-
MENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 624 of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 544) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(j) REQUEST REGARDING PLACEMENT, CONSTRUC-
TION, OR MODIFICATION OF FACILITIES.— 
‘‘(1) NO EFFECT ON AUTHORITY OF CERTAIN EN-
TITIES.—Except as provided in this subsection, noth-
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ing in this title shall limit or affect the authority of 
a covered entity over— 
‘‘(A) decisions regarding the placement, con-
struction, or modification of covered equipment 
within the jurisdiction of such covered entity; or 
‘‘(B) safety standards for the placement, 
construction, or modification of such covered 
equipment. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) ABILITY
TO
PROVIDE
OR
ENHANCE 
SERVICE.—With respect to the regulation by a 
covered entity of the placement, construction, or 
modification of covered equipment, the covered 
entity shall not prohibit or have the effect of pro-
hibiting the ability of a cable operator to pro-
vide, improve, or enhance the provision of service 
using covered equipment under a franchise 
granted by such covered entity, or within the ju-
risdiction of such covered entity, as so may be 
the case. 
‘‘(B) TIMING OF DECISIONS ON REQUESTS 
FOR AUTHORIZATIONS TO PLACE, CONSTRUCT, OR 
MODIFY FACILITY.— 
‘‘(i) TIMEFRAME.—A covered entity 
shall approve or deny a request for author-
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ization to place, construct, or modify cov-
ered equipment not later than— 
‘‘(I) if the request is for author-
ization to place, construct, or modify 
covered equipment in or on a covered 
easement or eligible support infrastruc-
ture, 90 days after the date on which 
requesting party submits the request to 
the covered entity; or 
‘‘(II) if the request is not for au-
thorization to place, construct, or mod-
ify covered equipment in or on a cov-
ered easement or eligible support infra-
structure, 150 days after the date on 
which the requesting party submits the 
request to the covered entity. 
‘‘(ii) DEEMED GRANTED.—If a covered 
entity fails to grant or deny a request by 
the applicable timeframe under clause (i), 
the request shall be deemed granted and au-
thorized on the date on which the covered 
entity receives written notice of the failure 
from the requesting party. 
‘‘(iii) 
APPLICABILITY.—Notwith-
standing any provision of this title, the ap-
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plicable timeframe under clause (i) shall 
apply collectively to all proceedings required 
by a covered entity for the approval of the 
request. 
‘‘(iv) NO
MORITORIA.—A timeframe 
under clause (i) may not be tolled by any 
moratorium, whether express or de facto, 
imposed by a covered entity on the consider-
ation of any request for authorization to 
place, construct, or modify covered equip-
ment. 
‘‘(v) TOLLING
DUE
TO
INCOMPLETE-
NESS.— 
‘‘(I) INITIAL
REQUEST
INCOM-
PLETE.—If, not later than 30 days 
after the date on which a requesting 
party submits to a covered entity a re-
quest for authorization to place, con-
struct, or modify covered equipment, 
the covered entity provides to the re-
questing party a written notice de-
scribed in subclause (III) with respect 
to the request, the timeframe described 
in clause (i) is tolled with respect to 
the request until the date on which the 
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requesting party submits to the covered 
entity a supplemental submission in 
response to the notice. 
‘‘(II) SUPPLEMENTAL SUBMISSION 
INCOMPLETE.—If, not later than 10 
days after the date on which a request-
ing party submits to the covered entity 
a supplemental submission in response 
to a written notice described in sub-
clause (III), the covered entity provides 
to the requesting party a written notice 
described in subclause (III) with re-
spect to the supplemental submission, 
the timeframe under clause (i) is fur-
ther tolled until the date on which the 
requesting party submits to the covered 
entity a subsequent supplemental sub-
mission in response to the notice. 
‘‘(III) 
WRITTEN
NOTICE
DE-
SCRIBED.—The 
written 
notice 
de-
scribed in this subclause is, with re-
spect to a request described in clause 
(i) or a supplemental submission de-
scribed in subclause (I) or (II) sub-
mitted to a covered entity by a request-
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ing party, a written notice from the re-
questing party to the covered entity— 
‘‘(aa) stating that all of the 
information (including any form 
or other document) required by 
the covered entity to be submitted 
for the request to be considered 
complete has not been submitted; 
‘‘(bb) identifying the infor-
mation described in item (aa) 
that was not submitted; and 
‘‘(cc) including a citation to 
a specific provision of a publicly 
available 
rule, 
regulation, 
or 
standard issued by the covered en-
tity requiring that such informa-
tion be submitted with such a re-
quest. 
‘‘(IV) LIMITATION
ON
SUBSE-
QUENT WRITTEN NOTICE.—If a written 
notice provided by covered entity to a 
requesting party under subclause (I) 
with respect to a supplemental submis-
sion identifies as not having been sub-
mitted any information that was not 
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identified as not having been submitted 
in the prior written notice under this 
subparagraph in response to which the 
supplemental 
submission 
was 
sub-
mitted, the subsequent written notice 
shall be treated as not having been pro-
vided to the requesting party. 
‘‘(vi) TOLLING
BY
MUTUAL
AGREE-
MENT.—The timeframe under clause (i) 
may be tolled by mutual agreement between 
the covered entity and the requesting party. 
‘‘(vii) 
WRITTEN
DECISION
AND 
RECORD.—Any decision by a covered entity 
to deny a request for authorization to place, 
construct, or modify covered equipment 
shall be— 
‘‘(I) in writing; 
‘‘(II) supported by substantial 
evidence contained in a written record; 
and 
‘‘(III) publicly released, and pro-
vided to the requesting party, on the 
same day such decision is made. 
‘‘(viii) WHEN
REQUEST
CONSIDERED 
SUBMITTED.—For the purposes of this sub-
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paragraph, a request to a covered entity 
shall be considered submitted on the date on 
which the requesting party takes the first 
procedural step within the control of the re-
questing party— 
‘‘(I) to submit such request in ac-
cordance with the procedures estab-
lished by the covered entity for the re-
view and approval of such a request; or 
‘‘(II) in the case of a covered enti-
ty that has not established specific pro-
cedures for the review and approval of 
such a request, to submit to the covered 
entity the type of filing that is typi-
cally required to initiate a standard 
review for a similar request in a juris-
diction that has not established specific 
procedures for the relevant review and 
approval of such a request. 
‘‘(3) FEES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity may 
charge a fee that meets the requirements under 
subparagraph (B) to consider a request for au-
thorization to place, construct, or modify covered 
equipment. 
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‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—A fee charged under 
subparagraph (A) shall be— 
‘‘(i) competitively neutral, technology 
neutral, and nondiscriminatory; 
‘‘(ii) established and publicly disclosed 
in advance; 
‘‘(iii) calculated— 
‘‘(I) based on actual and direct 
costs for— 
‘‘(aa) review and processing 
of requests; and 
‘‘(bb) repairs and replace-
ment of— 
‘‘(AA) components and 
materials directly resulting 
from and affected by the 
placement, construction, or 
modification of the covered 
equipment (including compo-
nents and materials directly 
resulting from and affected 
by the installation of covered 
equipment or, with respect to 
the placement, construction, 
or modification of the covered 
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equipment, the improvement 
of an eligible support infra-
structure); or 
‘‘(BB) equipment that 
facilitates the repair and re-
placement of such compo-
nents and materials; 
‘‘(II) using, for purposes of sub-
clause (I), only costs that are objec-
tively reasonable; and 
‘‘(III) described to a requesting 
party in a manner that distinguishes 
between nonrecurring fees and recur-
ring fees. 
‘‘(C) NO RELATION TO FRANCHISE FEES.— 
A fee charged under this paragraph to consider 
a request for authorization to place, construct, or 
modify covered equipment may not be considered 
a franchise fee under section 622. 
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) COVERED EASEMENT.—The term ‘cov-
ered easement’ means an easement or public 
right-of-way that exists at the time when a re-
quest to a covered entity for authorization to 
place, construct, or modify the covered equipment 
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in or on the easement or public right-of-way is 
submitted to the covered entity. 
‘‘(B) COVERED
EQUIPMENT.—The term 
‘covered equipment’ means equipment used in or 
attached to a cable system to provide service 
through such system. 
‘‘(C) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘covered 
entity’ means: 
‘‘(i) A State. 
‘‘(ii) A local government. 
‘‘(iii) An instrumentality of a State or 
a local government. 
‘‘(iv) A franchising authority. 
‘‘(D) 
ELIGIBLE
SUPPORT
INFRASTRUC-
TURE.—The term ‘eligible support infrastruc-
ture’ means infrastructure that supports or 
houses a facility for communication by wire (or 
that is designed for or capable of supporting or 
housing such a facility) at the time when a re-
quest to a covered entity for authorization to 
place, construct, or modify covered equipment in 
or on the infrastructure is submitted to the cov-
ered entity.’’. 
(b) ACTION ON PENDING REQUESTS.— 
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(1) APPLICATION.—Paragraphs (2)(B) and (4) 
of section 624(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 544(j)), as added by subsection (a), shall 
apply to a— 
(A) request submitted to a covered entity (as 
such term is defined in section 624(j) of the 
Communications Act of 1934)— 
(i) before the date of the enactment of 
this Act; and 
(ii) has not been approved or denied by 
the covered entity on or before such date; 
and 
(B) a request submitted to a covered entity 
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(2) DATE OF RECEIPT.—The date of receipt by 
a covered entity of a request described under sub-
section (a)(1) shall be deemed to be the date of the en-
actment of this Act. 
SEC. 203. CABLE FRANCHISE TERM AND TERMINATION. 
(a) ELIMINATION OR MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENT 
IN FRANCHISE.—Section 625 of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 545) is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘SEC. 625. ELIMINATION OR MODIFICATION OF REQUIRE-
MENT IN FRANCHISE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—During the period in which a 
franchise is in effect, the cable operator may obtain the 
elimination or modification of any requirement in the fran-
chise by submitting to the franchising authority a request 
for the elimination or modification of such requirement. 
‘‘(b) ELIMINATION OR MODIFICATION OF REQUIRE-
MENT IN FRANCHISE.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—The franchising authority 
shall eliminate or modify a requirement in accord-
ance with a request submitted under subsection (a) 
not later than 120 days after the cable operator sub-
mits the request to the franchising authority if the 
cable operator demonstrates in the request— 
‘‘(A) good cause for the elimination or 
modification of the requirement, including the 
need to eliminate or modify the requirement— 
‘‘(i) to conform to an applicable Fed-
eral or State law; 
‘‘(ii) to address changes in technology; 
or 
‘‘(iii) in the case of a requirement ap-
plicable to the cable operator, due to com-
mercial impracticability; and 
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‘‘(B) that the mix, quality, and level of 
cable services required by the franchise at the 
time the franchise was granted will be main-
tained notwithstanding the elimination or modi-
fication of the requirement; 
‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 
‘commercial impracticability’ means that it is com-
mercially impracticable for the operator to comply 
with the requirement as a result of a change in condi-
tions which is beyond the control of the operator and 
the nonoccurrence of which was a basic assumption 
on which the requirement was based. 
‘‘(c) DEEMED ELIMINATION OR MODIFICATION.—Ex-
cept in the case of a request for the elimination or modifica-
tion of a requirement for services relating to public, edu-
cational, or governmental access, if the franchising author-
ity fails to approve or deny the request submitted under 
subsection (a) by the date described under subsection (b), 
the requirement shall be deemed eliminated or modified in 
accordance with the request on the day after such date. 
‘‘(d) APPEAL.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any cable operator whose re-
quest for elimination or modification of a require-
ment in a franchise under subsection (a) has been de-
nied by a final decision of a franchising authority 
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may seek judicial review of the decision pursuant to 
the provisions of section 635. 
‘‘(2) GRANT OF REQUEST.—In the case of any 
proposed elimination or modification of a require-
ment in a franchise under subsection (a), the court 
shall grant such elimination or modification only if 
the cable operator demonstrates to the court that the 
standards in subsection (b) have been met. 
‘‘(e) WHEN REQUEST CONSIDERED SUBMITTED.—For 
the purposes of this section, a request to a franchising au-
thority shall be considered submitted on the date on which 
the requesting party takes the first procedural step within 
the control of the requesting party— 
‘‘(1) to submit such request in accordance with 
the procedures established by the franchising author-
ity for the review and approval of such a request; or 
‘‘(2) in the case of a franchising authority that 
has not established specific procedures for the review 
and approval of such a request, to submit to the fran-
chising authority the type of filing that is typically 
required to initiate a standard review for a request 
related to a franchise.’’. 
(b) IN GENERAL.—Section 626 of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 546) is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘SEC. 626. FRANCHISE TERM AND TERMINATION. 
‘‘(a) FRANCHISE TERM.—A franchise shall continue in 
effect (without any requirement for renewal) until the date 
on which the franchise is revoked or terminated in accord-
ance with subsection (b). 
‘‘(b) LIMITS.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION AGAINST REVOCATION; TERMI-
NATION.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 
franchise may not be— 
‘‘(A) revoked by a franchising authority; 
‘‘(B) terminated by a cable operator; or 
‘‘(C) revoked or terminated by operation of 
law, including by a term in a franchise that re-
vokes or terminates such franchise on a specific 
date, after a period of time, or upon the occur-
rence of an event. 
‘‘(2) WHEN
TERMINATION
OR
REVOCATION
OF 
FRANCHISE PERMITTED.— 
‘‘(A) TERMINATION BY CABLE OPERATOR.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—A cable operator 
may terminate a franchise by submitting to 
the franchising authority a written request 
for the franchising authority to revoke such 
franchise. 
‘‘(ii) TIME
OF
REVOCATION.—If the 
cable operator submits a written request 
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under clause (i), the franchising authority 
shall revoke the franchise on the date that is 
90 days after the request is submitted to the 
franchising authority. 
‘‘(iii) DEEMED TO BE REVOKED.—If a 
franchising authority does not approve a re-
quest by the date required under clause (ii), 
the franchise is deemed revoked on the day 
after such date. 
‘‘(B) TERMINATION
BY
FRANCHISING
AU-
THORITY.—A franchising authority may revoke 
a franchise if the franchising authority— 
‘‘(i) finds that the cable operator has 
knowingly and willfully failed to substan-
tially meet a material requirement imposed 
by the franchise; 
‘‘(ii) provides the cable operator a rea-
sonable opportunity to cure such failure, 
after which the cable operator fails to cure 
such failure; and 
‘‘(iii) does not waive the material re-
quirement or acquiesce with the failure to 
substantially meet such requirement. 
‘‘(c) REVIEW
OF REVOCATION
OF FRANCHISE
BY 
FRANCHISING AUTHORITY.— 
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‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE OR JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 
With respect to a determination by a franchising au-
thority to revoke a franchise under subsection 
(b)(2)(B), a cable operator may— 
‘‘(A) petition the Commission for review of 
such determination; or 
‘‘(B) seek judicial review of such determina-
tion pursuant to the provisions of section 635. 
‘‘(2) COMMISSION REVIEW.—With respect to a 
petition for the review of a determination brought 
under paragraph (1)(A), the Commission shall— 
‘‘(A) review the determination de novo; and 
‘‘(B) invalidate the determination if, based 
on the evidence presented during the review, the 
Commission determines that the franchising au-
thority has not demonstrated by a preponderance 
of the evidence that the franchising authority re-
voked the franchise in accordance with subsection 
(b)(2)(B). 
‘‘(3) STAY OF DETERMINATION TO REVOKE FRAN-
CHISE.—A revocation of a franchise under subsection 
(b)(2)(B) may be stayed— 
‘‘(A) in the case the cable operator petitions 
the Commission for review of the determination 
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on which such revocation is based, by the Com-
mission; and 
‘‘(B) in the case the cable operator seeks ju-
dicial review of the determination on which such 
revocation is based, by the court in which the 
cable operator seeks judicial review of the deter-
mination.’’. 
(c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is 
amended— 
(1) in section 601— 
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking the semi-
colon at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 
(B) by striking paragraph (5); and 
(C) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 
paragraph (5); 
(2) in section 602(9)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘initial’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘, or renewal thereof (in-
cluding a renewal of an authorization which has 
been granted subject to section 626),’’; 
(3) in section 611(b), by striking ‘‘and may re-
quire as part of a cable operator’s proposal for a 
franchise renewal, subject to section 626,’’; 
(4) in section 612(b)(3)— 
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(A) by striking ‘‘or as part of a proposal for 
renewal, subject to section 626,’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘, or proposal for renewal 
thereof,’’; 
(5) in section 621(b)(3)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking ‘‘or 
franchise renewal’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (D)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘initial’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘, a franchise re-
newal,’’; 
(6) in section 624— 
(A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘(in-
cluding requests for renewal proposals, subject to 
section 626)’’; and 
(B) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘or re-
newal thereof’’; 
(7) in section 635A(a), by striking ‘‘renewal,’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.— 
(1) EFFECTIVE
DATE.—This section, and the 
amendments made by this section, shall take effect 6 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(2) APPLICATION.—This section, and the amend-
ments made by this section, shall apply to a franchise 
granted— 
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(A) on or after the effective date established 
by paragraph (1); or 
(B) before such date, if— 
(i) such franchise (including, any re-
newal thereof before the date of the enact-
ment of this Act) is in effect on such date; 
or 
(ii) such franchise is expired and the 
cable operator has continued to perform 
under the provisions of such franchise as if 
such franchise were not expired. 
SEC. 204. SALES OF CABLE SYSTEMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 627 of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 547) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 627. CONDITIONS OF SALE OR TRANSFER. 
‘‘(a) VALUE OF CABLE SYSTEM AFTER REVOCATION 
OF FRANCHISE.—If a franchise held by a cable operator 
is revoked under section 626(b)(2)(B) and the franchising 
authority acquires ownership of the cable system or effects 
a transfer of ownership of the system to another person, any 
such acquisition or transfer shall be at fair market value. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY OF FRANCHISING 
AUTHORITY WITH RESPECT
TO TRANSFER
OF FRAN-
CHISE.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A franchising authority may 
not preclude a cable operator from transferring a 
franchise to any person— 
‘‘(A) to which such franchise was not ini-
tially granted; and 
‘‘(B) with respect to the terms of the fran-
chise that apply to the cable operator, who agrees 
to accept all such terms in effect at the time of 
the transfer. 
‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—In the case of the transfer 
of a franchise to a person to which such franchise was 
not originally granted, a franchising authority may 
require a cable operator to which a franchise was ini-
tially granted to, not later than 15 days before the 
transfer of the franchise, notify the franchising au-
thority in writing of such transfer. 
‘‘(3) TRANSFER OF A FRANCHISE DEFINED.—In 
this subsection, the term ‘transfer of a franchise’ 
means the transfer or assignment of any rights under 
a franchise through any transaction, including 
through— 
‘‘(A) a merger involving the cable operator 
or cable system; 
‘‘(B) a sale of the cable operator or cable 
system; 
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‘‘(C) an assignment of the cable operator or 
a cable system; 
‘‘(D) a restructuring of a cable operator or 
a cable system; or 
‘‘(E) the transfer of control of a cable oper-
ator or a cable system.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section, and the amend-
ment made by subsection (a), shall take effect 6 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) APPLICATION.—This section, and the amendment 
made by subsection (a), shall apply to a franchise grant-
ed— 
(1) on or after the effective date established by 
subsection (b); or 
(2) before such date, if— 
(A) such franchise (including any renewal 
term thereof) is in effect on such date; or 
(B) such franchise is expired and cable op-
erator has continued to perform under the provi-
sions of such franchise as if such franchise were 
not expired. 
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TITLE 
III—ENVIRONMENTAL 
AND 
HISTORIC 
PRESERVA-
TION REVIEWS 
SEC. 301. APPLICATION OF NEPA AND NHPA TO CERTAIN 
COMMUNICATIONS PROJECTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) NEPA EXEMPTION.—A Federal authoriza-
tion with respect to a covered project may not be con-
sidered a major Federal action under section 
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). 
(2) NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT EX-
EMPTION.—A covered project may not be considered 
an undertaking under section 300320 of title 54, 
United States Code. 
(b) GRANT OF EASEMENT ON FEDERAL PROPERTY.— 
(1) NEPA EXEMPTION.—A Federal authoriza-
tion with respect to a covered easement for a commu-
nications facility may not be considered a major Fed-
eral action under section 102(2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C)), if— 
(A) a covered easement has previously been 
granted for another communications facility or a 
utility facility with respect to the same building 
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or other property owned by the Federal Govern-
ment; or 
(B) the covered easement is for a commu-
nications facility in a public right-of-way. 
(2) NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT EX-
EMPTION.—A covered easement for a communications 
facility may not be considered an undertaking under 
section 300320 of title 54, United States Code, if— 
(A) a covered easement has previously been 
granted for another communications facility or a 
utility facility with respect to the same building 
or other property owned by the Federal Govern-
ment; or 
(B) the covered easement is for a commu-
nications facility in a public right-of-way. 
(c) REQUESTS FOR MODIFICATION OF CERTAIN EXIST-
ING WIRELESS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE FA-
CILITIES.—Section 6409(a)(3) of the Middle Class Tax Re-
lief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(a)(3)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF NEPA; NHPA.— 
‘‘(A) NEPA EXEMPTION.—A Federal au-
thorization with respect to an eligible facilities 
request or an eligible telecommunications facili-
ties request may not be considered a major Fed-
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eral action under section 102(2)(C) of the Na-
tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). 
‘‘(B) NATIONAL
HISTORIC
PRESERVATION 
ACT EXEMPTION.—An eligible facilities request or 
an eligible telecommunications facilities request 
may not be considered an undertaking under sec-
tion 300320 of title 54, United States Code. 
‘‘(C) FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION DEFINED.— 
In this paragraph, the term ‘Federal authoriza-
tion’— 
‘‘(i) means any authorization required 
under Federal law with respect to an eligi-
ble facilities request or an eligible tele-
communications facilities request; and 
‘‘(ii) includes any permits, special use 
authorizations, certifications, opinions, or 
other approvals as may be required under 
Federal law with respect to an eligible fa-
cilities request or an eligible telecommuni-
cations facilities request.’’. 
SEC. 302. PRESUMPTION WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN COM-
PLETE FCC FORMS. 
(a) PRESUMPTION.—If an Indian Tribe is shown to 
have received a complete FCC Form 620 or FCC Form 621 
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(or any successor form), or can be reasonably expected to 
have received a complete FCC Form 620 or FCC Form 621 
(or any successor form), and has not acted on a request 
contained in such complete form by the date that is 45 days 
after the date of such receipt or reasonably expected re-
ceipt— 
(1) the Commission and a court of competent ju-
risdiction (as the case may be) shall presume the ap-
plicant with respect to such complete form has made 
a good faith effort to provide the information reason-
ably necessary for such Indian Tribe to ascertain 
whether historic properties of religious or cultural sig-
nificance to such Indian Tribe may be affected by the 
undertaking related to such complete form; and 
(2) such Indian Tribe shall be presumed to have 
disclaimed interest in such undertaking. 
(b) OVERCOMING PRESUMPTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An Indian Tribe may over-
come a presumption under subsection (a) upon mak-
ing, to the Commission or a court of competent juris-
diction, a favorable demonstration with respect to 1 
or more of the factors described in paragraph (2). 
(2) FACTORS CONSIDERED.—In making a deter-
mination regarding a presumption under subsection 
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(a), the Commission or court of competent jurisdic-
tion shall give substantial weight to— 
(A) whether the applicant with respect to 
the relevant complete form failed to make a rea-
sonable attempt to follow up with the applicable 
Indian Tribe not earlier than 30 days, and not 
later than 50 days, after the applicant submitted 
a complete FCC Form 620 or FCC Form 621 (as 
the case may be) to such Indian Tribe; and 
(B) whether the rules of the Commission, or 
FCC Form 620 or FCC Form 621, are found to 
be in violation of a Nationwide Programmatic 
Agreement of the Commission. 
SEC. 303. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this title or any amendment made by this 
title may be construed to affect the obligation of the Com-
mission to evaluate radiofrequency exposure under the Na-
tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 
et seq.). 
SEC. 304. DEFINITIONS. 
In this title: 
(1) CHIEF EXECUTIVE.—The term ‘‘Chief Execu-
tive’’ means the person who is the Chief, Chairman, 
Governor, President, or similar executive official of 
an Indian tribal government. 
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(2) 
COMMISSION.—The 
term 
‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Communications Commission. 
(3) 
COMMUNICATIONS
FACILITY.—The 
term 
‘‘communications facility’’ has the meaning given the 
term ‘‘communications facility installation’’ in sec-
tion 6409(d) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job 
Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(d)). 
(4) COVERED
EASEMENT.—The term ‘‘covered 
easement’’ means an easement, right-of-way, or lease 
with respect to a building or other property owned by 
the Federal Government, excluding Tribal land held 
in trust by the Federal Government (unless the In-
dian tribal government with respect to such land re-
quests that the Commission not exclude the land for 
purposes of this definition), for the right to install, 
construct, modify, or maintain a communications fa-
cility or a utility facility. 
(5) COVERED
PROJECT.—The term ‘‘covered 
project’’ means any of the following: 
(A) A project— 
(i) for— 
(I) the mounting or installation of 
a personal wireless service facility with 
another personal wireless service facil-
ity that exists at the time at which a 
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request 
for 
authorization 
of 
such 
mounting or installation is submitted 
to a State or local government or in-
strumentality thereof or to an Indian 
tribal government; or 
(II) the modification of a personal 
wireless service facility; and 
(ii) for which a permit, license, or ap-
proval from the Commission is required or 
that is otherwise subject to the jurisdiction 
of the Commission. 
(B) A project— 
(i) for the placement, construction, or 
modification of a telecommunications serv-
ice facility in or on eligible support infra-
structure; and 
(ii) for which a permit, license, or ap-
proval from the Commission is required or 
that is otherwise subject to the jurisdiction 
of the Commission. 
(C) A project to deploy a small personal 
wireless service facility. 
(D) A project— 
(i) for the deployment or modification 
of a communications facility that is to be 
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carried out entirely within a floodplain (as 
defined in section 9.4 of title 44, Code of 
Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date 
of the enactment of this Act); and 
(ii) for which a permit, license, or ap-
proval from the Commission is required or 
that is otherwise subject to the jurisdiction 
of the Commission. 
(E) A project— 
(i) for the deployment or modification 
of a communications facility that is to be 
carried out entirely within a brownfield site 
(as defined in section 101 of the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Com-
pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
U.S.C. 9601)); and 
(ii) for which a permit, license, or ap-
proval from the Commission is required or 
that is otherwise subject to the jurisdiction 
of the Commission. 
(F) A project to permanently remove cov-
ered communications equipment or services (as 
defined in section 9 of the Secure and Trusted 
Communications Networks Act of 2019 (47 
U.S.C. 1608)) and to replace such covered com-
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munications equipment or services with commu-
nications equipment or services (as defined in 
such section) that are not covered communica-
tions equipment or services (as so defined). 
(G) A project that— 
(i) is to be carried out entirely within 
an area for which the President, the Gov-
ernor of a State, or the Chief Executive of 
an Indian tribal government has declared a 
major disaster or an emergency; 
(ii) is to be carried out not later than 
5 years after the date on which the Presi-
dent, Governor, or Chief Executive made 
such declaration; and 
(iii) replaces a communications facil-
ity damaged by such disaster or emergency 
or makes improvements to a communica-
tions facility in such area that could rea-
sonably be considered as necessary for recov-
ery from such disaster or emergency or to 
prevent or mitigate any future disaster or 
emergency. 
(H) A project for the placement and instal-
lation of a new communications facility if— 
(i) such new facility— 
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(I) will be located within a public 
right-of-way; and 
(II) is not more than 50 feet tall 
or 10 feet taller than any existing 
structure in the public right-of-way, 
whichever is higher; 
(ii) such new facility is— 
(I) a replacement for an existing 
communications facility; and 
(II) the same as, or substantially 
similar to (as such term is defined by 
the Commission), the existing commu-
nications facility that such new com-
munications facility is replacing; 
(iii) such new facility is a type of com-
munications facility that— 
(I) 
is 
described 
in 
section 
6409(d)(1)(B) of the Middle Class Tax 
Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 
(47 U.S.C. 1455(d)(1)(B)); and 
(II) meets the size limitation of a 
small antenna established by the Com-
mission; or 
(iv) the placement and installation of 
such new facility involves the expansion of 
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the site of an existing communications facil-
ity not more than 30 feet in any direction. 
(6) ELIGIBLE SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE.—The 
term ‘‘eligible support infrastructure’’ means infra-
structure that supports or houses a facility for com-
munication by wire (or that is designed for or capa-
ble of supporting or housing such a facility) at the 
time when a request to a State or local government 
or instrumentality thereof, or to an Indian tribal gov-
ernment, for authorization to place, construct, or 
modify a telecommunications service facility in or on 
the infrastructure is submitted to the government or 
instrumentality. 
(7) 
EMERGENCY.—The 
term 
‘‘emergency’’ 
means— 
(A) in the case of an emergency declared by 
the President, an emergency declared by the 
President under section 501 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191); and 
(B) in the case of an emergency declared by 
the Governor of a State or the Chief Executive of 
an Indian tribal government, any occasion or 
instance with respect to which the Governor or 
Chief Executive declares that an emergency exists 
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(or makes a similar declaration) under State or 
Tribal law (as the case may be). 
(8) FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION.—The term ‘‘Fed-
eral authorization’’— 
(A) means any authorization required 
under Federal law with respect to a covered 
project or a covered easement; and 
(B) includes any permits, special use au-
thorizations, certifications, opinions, or other ap-
provals as may be required under Federal law 
with respect to a covered project or a covered 
easement. 
(9) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 
the chief executive of any State. 
(10) INDIAN
TRIBAL
GOVERNMENT.—The term 
‘‘Indian tribal government’’ means the governing 
body of an Indian Tribe. 
(11) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 
has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ under 
section 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 
List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130). 
(12) MAJOR DISASTER.—The term ‘‘major dis-
aster’’ means— 
(A) in the case of a major disaster declared 
by the President, a major disaster declared by 
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the President under section 401 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); and 
(B) in the case of a major disaster declared 
by the Governor of a State or the Chief Executive 
of an Indian tribal government, any occasion or 
instance with respect to which the Governor or 
Chief Executive declares that a disaster exists (or 
makes a similar declaration) under State or 
Tribal law (as the case may be). 
(13) PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICE FACILITY.— 
The term ‘‘personal wireless service facility’’ has the 
meaning given such term in subparagraph (F) of sec-
tion 332(c)(7) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 332(c)(7)), as amended by this Act. 
(14) PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY.—The term ‘‘public 
right-of-way’’— 
(A) means— 
(i) the area on, below, or above a pub-
lic roadway, highway, street, sidewalk, 
alley, or similar property (whether cur-
rently or previously used in such manner); 
and 
(ii) any land immediately adjacent to 
and contiguous with property described in 
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clause (i) that is within the right-of-way 
grant; and 
(B) does not include a portion of the Inter-
state System (as such term is defined in section 
101(a) of title 23, United States Code). 
(15) SMALL PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICE FA-
CILITY.—The term ‘‘small personal wireless service fa-
cility’’ means a personal wireless service facility in 
which each antenna is not more than 3 cubic feet in 
volume (excluding a wireline backhaul facility con-
nected to such personal wireless service facility). 
(16) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each 
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
and each territory or possession of the United States. 
(17) TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE.—The term 
‘‘telecommunications service’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 
(18) TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICE
FACIL-
ITY.—The term ‘‘telecommunications service facil-
ity’’— 
(A) means a facility that is designed or 
used to provide or facilitate the provision of any 
interstate or intrastate telecommunications serv-
ice; and 
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(B) includes a facility described in subpara-
graph (A) that is used to provide other services. 
(19) UTILITY FACILITY.—The term ‘‘utility facil-
ity’’ means any privately, publicly, or cooperatively 
owned line, facility, or system for producing, trans-
mitting, or distributing power, electricity, light, heat, 
gas, oil, crude products, water, steam, waste, storm 
water not connected with highway drainage, or any 
other similar commodity, including any fire or police 
signal system or street lighting system, that directly 
or indirectly serves the public. 
(20) WIRELINE BACKHAUL FACILITY.—The term 
‘‘wireline backhaul facility’’ means an above-ground 
or underground wireline facility used to transport 
communications service or other electronic commu-
nications from a small personal wireless service facil-
ity or its adjacent network interface device to a com-
munications network. 
TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS 
SEC. 401. TIMELY CONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR 
FEDERAL EASEMENTS, RIGHTS-OF-WAY, AND 
LEASES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6409(b)(3) of the Middle 
Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 
1455(b)(3)) is amended— 
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(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘an execu-
tive agency receives a duly filed application’’ and in-
serting ‘‘an application is submitted to an executive 
agency’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(E) DEEMED GRANTED.—If an executive 
agency fails to grant or deny an application 
under subparagraph (A) within the timeframe 
under such subparagraph, the application shall 
be deemed granted on the day after the last day 
of such timeframe. 
‘‘(F) TOLLING DUE TO INCOMPLETENESS.— 
‘‘(i) 
INITIAL
APPLICATION
INCOM-
PLETE.—If, not later than 30 days after the 
date on which an applicant submits to an 
executive agency an application under sub-
paragraph (A), the executive agency pro-
vides to the applicant a written notice de-
scribed in clause (iii) with respect to the 
application, the timeframe described in sub-
paragraph (A) is tolled with respect to the 
application until the date on which the ap-
plicant submits to the executive agency a 
supplemental submission in response to the 
notice. 
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‘‘(ii) SUPPLEMENTAL SUBMISSION IN-
COMPLETE.—If, not later than 10 days after 
the date on which an applicant submits to 
an executive agency a supplemental submis-
sion in response to a written notice de-
scribed in clause (iii), the executive agency 
provides to the applicant a written notice 
described in clause (iii) with respect to the 
supplemental submission, the timeframe 
under subparagraph (A) is further tolled 
until the date on which the applicant sub-
mits to the executive agency a subsequent 
supplemental submission in response to the 
notice. 
‘‘(iii) WRITTEN NOTICE DESCRIBED.— 
The written notice described in this clause 
is, with respect to an application under 
subparagraph (A) or a supplemental sub-
mission described in clause (i) or (ii) sub-
mitted to an executive agency by an appli-
cant, a written notice from the executive 
agency to the applicant— 
‘‘(I) stating that all of the infor-
mation (including any form or other 
document) required by the executive 
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agency to be submitted for the applica-
tion to be considered complete has not 
been submitted; 
‘‘(II) identifying the information 
described in subclause (I) that was not 
submitted; and 
‘‘(III) including a citation to a 
specific provision of a publicly avail-
able rule, regulation, or standard 
issued by the executive agency requir-
ing that such information be submitted 
with such an application. 
‘‘(iv) LIMITATION
ON
SUBSEQUENT 
WRITTEN NOTICE.—If a written notice pro-
vided by an executive agency to an appli-
cant under clause (ii) with respect to a sup-
plemental submission identifies as not hav-
ing been submitted any information that 
was not identified as not having been sub-
mitted in the prior written notice under 
this subparagraph in response to which the 
supplemental submission was submitted, the 
subsequent written notice shall be treated as 
not having been provided to the applicant. 
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‘‘(G) TOLLING BY MUTUAL AGREEMENT.— 
The timeframe under subparagraph (A) may be 
tolled by mutual agreement between the executive 
agency and the applicant. 
‘‘(H) 
WHEN
APPLICATION
CONSIDERED 
SUBMITTED.—For the purposes of this para-
graph, an application shall be considered sub-
mitted to an executive agency on the date on 
which the applicant takes the first procedural 
step within the control of the applicant to submit 
such application in accordance with the proce-
dures established by the executive agency for the 
review and approval of such an application.’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub-
section (a) shall apply with respect to any application 
under subsection (b) of section 6409 of the Middle Class Tax 
Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455) that 
is submitted (as determined under subsection (b)(3)(H) of 
such section) to an executive agency (as defined in sub-
section (d) of such section) on or after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
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SEC. 402. STREAMLINING OF CERTAIN FEES RELATING TO 
BROADBAND 
INFRASTRUCTURE 
DEPLOYED 
USING GRANT FUNDS UNDER BEAD PRO-
GRAM. 
Section 60102(e)(4) of the Infrastructure Investment 
and Jobs Act (47 U.S.C. 1702(e)(4)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(F) CERTIFICATION REGARDING STREAM-
LINING
OF
CERTAIN
FEES
RELATING
TO 
BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE.—An eligible en-
tity that submits a final proposal under this 
paragraph shall certify in such final proposal 
that any fee charged by the eligible entity, or 
any political subdivision of the eligible entity, to 
consider a request for authorization to place, 
construct, or modify, using (in whole or in part) 
grant funds received under this paragraph, in-
frastructure for the provision of broadband serv-
ice, and any fee for use of a right-of-way or in-
frastructure in a right-of-way owned or managed 
by the entity or political subdivision for the 
placement, construction, or modification, using 
(in whole or in part) grant funds received under 
this paragraph, of infrastructure for the provi-
sion of broadband service, will be— 
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‘‘(i) competitively neutral, technology 
neutral, and nondiscriminatory; 
‘‘(ii) established in advance and pub-
licly disclosed; 
‘‘(iii) calculated— 
‘‘(I) based on actual and direct 
costs, such as costs for— 
‘‘(aa) review and processing 
of requests; and 
‘‘(bb) repairs and replace-
ment of— 
‘‘(AA) components and 
materials directly resulting 
from and affected by the 
placement, construction, or 
modification (including the 
installation or improvement) 
of infrastructure for the pro-
vision of broadband service; 
or 
‘‘(BB) equipment that 
facilitates 
the 
placement, 
construction, or modification 
(including the installation or 
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improvement) of such infra-
structure; and 
‘‘(II) using, for purposes of sub-
clause (I), only costs that are objec-
tively reasonable; and 
‘‘(iv) described to a requesting party in 
a manner that distinguishes between— 
‘‘(I) nonrecurring fees and recur-
ring fees; and 
‘‘(II) the use of infrastructure on 
which infrastructure for the provision 
of broadband service is already located 
and infrastructure on which there is no 
infrastructure for the provision of 
broadband service as of the date on 
which the request is submitted to the 
eligible entity or political subdivi-
sion.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 192 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 3557 
[Report No. 118–240, Part I] 
A BILL 
To streamline Federal, State, and local permitting 
and regulatory reviews to expedite the deploy-
ment of communications facilities, and for other 
purposes. 
OCTOBER 2, 2023 
Reported from the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
with an amendment 
OCTOBER 2, 2023 
Committees on Natural Resources and Transportation 
and Infrastructure discharged; committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 
and ordered to be printed 
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