Community Broadband Act of 2021
Bill: S.1460 | Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. (D-NJ)
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Community Broadband Act of 2021
This bill prohibits states from blocking the provision of broadband by public providers, public-private partnership providers, or cooperatively organized providers. Further, public providers and state or local entities participating in a partnership must administer applicable ordinances and rules without discrimination against competing private providers.

To amend the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to preserve and protect the 
 ability of State and local governments, public-private partnerships, 
            and cooperatives to provide broadband services.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Community Broadband Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. STATE, LOCAL, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, AND CO-OP BROADBAND 
              SERVICES.

    Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e);
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) State, Local, Public-Private Partnership, and Co-Op Advanced 
Telecommunications Capability and Services.--
            ``(1) In general.--No statute, regulation, or other legal 
        requirement of a State may prohibit or have the effect of 
        prohibiting any public provider, public-private partnership 
        provider, or cooperatively organized provider from providing, 
        to any person or public or private entity, advanced 
        telecommunications capability or any service that utilizes the 
        advanced telecommunications capability provided by that 
        provider.
            ``(2) Antidiscrimination safeguards.--
                    ``(A) Public providers.--To the extent any public 
                provider regulates competing private providers of 
                advanced telecommunications capability or services that 
                utilize advanced telecommunications capability, the 
                public provider shall apply its ordinances and rules 
                without discrimination in favor of--
                            ``(i) the public provider; or
                            ``(ii) any entity owned by the public 
                        provider that provides services that utilize 
                        advanced telecommunications capability.
                    ``(B) Public-private partnership providers.--To the 
                extent any State or local entity that is part of a 
                public-private partnership provider regulates competing 
                private providers of advanced telecommunications 
                capability or services that utilize advanced 
                telecommunications capability, the State or local 
                entity shall apply its ordinances and rules without 
                discrimination in favor of--
                            ``(i) the public-private partnership 
                        provider; or
                            ``(ii) any entity owned by the State or 
                        local entity or public-private partnership 
                        provider that provides services that utilize 
                        advanced telecommunications capability.
            ``(3) Savings clause.--Nothing in this subsection shall 
        exempt a public provider, public-private partnership provider, 
        or cooperatively organized provider from any Federal or State 
        telecommunications law or regulation that applies to all 
        providers of advanced telecommunications capability or services 
        that utilize such advanced telecommunications capability.''; 
        and
            (3) in subsection (e), as redesignated--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``this subsection'' and inserting ``this 
                section'';
                    (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph 
                (3);
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) Cooperatively organized provider.--The term 
        `cooperatively organized provider' means an entity that is 
        treated as a cooperative under Federal tax law and that 
        provides advanced telecommunications capability, or any service 
        that utilizes such advanced telecommunications capability, to 
        any person or public or private entity.''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Public provider.--The term `public provider' means a 
        State or local entity that provides advanced telecommunications 
        capability, or any service that utilizes such advanced 
        telecommunications capability, to any person or public or 
        private entity.
            ``(5) Public-private partnership provider.--The term 
        `public-private partnership provider' means a public-private 
        partnership, between a State or local entity and a private 
        entity, that provides advanced telecommunications capability, 
        or any service that utilizes such advanced telecommunications 
        capability, to any person or public or private entity.
            ``(6) State or local entity.--The term `State or local 
        entity' means--
                    ``(A) a State or political subdivision thereof;
                    ``(B) any agency, authority, or instrumentality of 
                a State or political subdivision thereof; or
                    ``(C) an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 4(e) 
                of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
                Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e))).''.
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