Title: Broadband Deployment Streamlining Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Broadband Deployment Streamlining Act
This bill directs the Department of the Interior to (1) streamline the process for applications to locate or modify communications facilities on public lands administered by Interior, and (2) require that such applications be considered and granted on a neutral and nondiscriminatory basis.
The Department of the Treasury shall establish a special account for the deposit of fees collected by Interior for communications use authorizations granted, issued, or executed with respect to the public lands Interior administers. Amounts collected and deposited into the account shall be available to Interior to cover the costs incurred by it in considering and granting applications.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7334 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7334

  To streamline the process for consideration of applications for the 
    placement of communications facilities on certain Federal lands.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 25, 2020

    Mrs. Brooks of Indiana introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To streamline the process for consideration of applications for the 
    placement of communications facilities on certain Federal lands.

    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 ``Broadband Deployment Streamlining 
Act''.

SEC. 2. STREAMLINING DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PROCESSES FOR 
              CONSIDERATION OF COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY LOCATION 
              APPLICATIONS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Communications facility.--The term ``communications 
        facility'' includes--
                    (A) any infrastructure, including any transmitting 
                device, tower, or support structure, and any equipment, 
                switches, wiring, cabling, power sources, shelters, or 
                cabinets, associated with the licensed or permitted 
                unlicensed wireless or wireline transmission of 
                writings, signs, signals, data, images, pictures, and 
                sounds of all kinds; and
                    (B) any antenna or apparatus that--
                            (i) is designed for the purpose of emitting 
                        radio frequency;
                            (ii) is designed to be operated, or is 
                        operating, from a fixed location pursuant to 
                        authorization by the Commission or is using 
                        duly authorized devices that do not require 
                        individual licenses; and
                            (iii) is added to a tower, building, or 
                        other structure.
            (2) Communications site.--The term ``communications site'' 
        means an area of covered land designated for communications 
        uses.
            (3) Communications use.--The term ``communications use'' 
        means the placement and operation of a communications facility.
            (4) Communications use authorization.--The term 
        ``communications use authorization'' means an easement, right-
        of-way, lease, license, or other authorization to locate or 
        modify a communications facility on covered land by the 
        Department for the primary purpose of authorizing the occupancy 
        and use of the covered land for communications use.
            (5) Covered land.--The term ``covered land'' means public 
        land administered by the Secretary of the Interior.
            (6) Organizational unit.--The term ``organizational unit'' 
        means with respect to public land administered by the Secretary 
        of the Interior--
                    (A) a State office;
                    (B) a district office; or
                    (C) a field office.
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, with respect to public land.
    (b) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations--
            (1) to streamline the process for considering applications 
        to locate or modify communications facilities on covered land 
        of the Department of the Interior;
            (2) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the 
        process is uniform and standardized across the organizational 
        units of the Department of the Interior;
            (3) to require that the applications described in paragraph 
        (1) be considered and granted on a competitively neutral, 
        technology neutral, and non-discriminatory basis;
            (4) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that any 
        analyses required under the National Environmental Policy Act 
        or National Historic Preservation Act may be completed 
        concurrently;
            (5) to allow for the use of categorical exclusions funded 
        the National Environmental Policy Act from another department 
        or agency for covered land of the Department of the Interior;
            (6) to revise land use designations for covered land of the 
        Department of the Interior;
            (7) to provide that discrete reviews in considering an 
        application described in paragraph (1) shall be conducted 
        simultaneously to the maximum extent practicable, rather than 
        sequentially, by any organizational units of the Department of 
        the Interior that must approve the location or modification; 
        and
            (8) to eliminate overlapping requirements among the 
        organizational units of the Department of the Interior with 
        respect to the location or modification of a communications 
        facility on covered land administered by those organizational 
        units.
    (c) Requirements.--The regulations issued under subsection (b) 
shall include the following:
            (1) Procedures for the tracking of applications described 
        in subsection (b)(1), including--
                    (A) identifying the number of applications--
                            (i) received;
                            (ii) approved; and
                            (iii) denied;
                    (B) in the case of an application that is denied, 
                describing the reasons for the denial; and
                    (C) describing the amount of time between the 
                receipt of an application and the issuance of a final 
                decision on an application.
            (2) Provision for minimum lease terms of not less than 15 
        years for leases with respect to the location of communications 
        facilities on covered land.
            (3) A policy under which a communications use authorization 
        renews automatically on expiration, unless the communications 
        use authorization is revoked for good cause.
            (4) A structure of fees for--
                    (A) submitting an application described in 
                subsection (b)(1), based on the cost to the Department 
                of the Interior of considering such an application; and
                    (B) issuing communications use authorizations, 
                based on the cost to the Department of the Interior of 
                any maintenance or other activities required to be 
                performed by the Department of the Interior as a result 
                of the location or modification of the communications 
                facility.
    (d) Communication of Streamlined Process to Organizational Units.--
The Secretary shall, with respect to the regulations issued under 
subsection (b)--
            (1) communicate the regulations to the organizational units 
        of the Department of the Interior; and
            (2) ensure that the organizational units of the Department 
        of the Interior follow the regulations.
    (e) Deposit and Availability of Fees.--
            (1) Special account.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        establish a special account in the Treasury for the Department 
        of the Interior for the deposit of fees collected by the 
        Department under subsection (c)(4) for communications use 
        authorizations on covered land granted, issued, or executed by 
        the Department of the Interior.
            (2) Requirements for fees collected.--Fees collected by the 
        Department of the Interior under subsection (c)(4) shall be--
                    (A) based on the costs described in subsection 
                (c)(4); and
                    (B) competitively neutral, technology neutral, and 
                nondiscriminatory with respect to other users of the 
                communications site.
            (3) Deposit of fees.--Fees collected by the Department of 
        the Interior under subsection (c)(4) shall be deposited in the 
        special account established for that Department under paragraph 
        (1).
            (4) Availability of fees.--Amounts deposited in the special 
        account for a Department of the Interior shall be available, to 
        the extent and in such amounts as are provided in advance in 
        appropriation Acts, to the Secretary to cover costs incurred by 
        the Department of the Interior described in subsection (c)(4), 
        including the following:
                    (A) Preparing needs assessments or other 
                programmatic analyses necessary to designate 
                communications sites and issue communications use 
                authorizations.
                    (B) Developing management plans for communications 
                sites.
                    (C) Training for management of communications 
                sites.
                    (D) Obtaining or improving access to communications 
                sites.
            (5) No additional appropriations authorized.--Except as 
        provided in paragraph (4), no other amounts are authorized to 
        be appropriated to carry out this section.
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