Title: Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act
This bill directs the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to report to Congress on communications use authorizations (i.e., authorizations to modify or locate communications facilities on public lands).
Specifically, Interior and USDA must (1) provide an assessment on programmatic or administrative barriers to reviewing communications use authorizations, (2) provide an assessment of whether there are rules or regulations that could be revised to improve the efficiency of reviewing communications use authorizations, (3) describe the process for prioritizing the review of communications use authorizations, and (4) provide a plan to ensure adequate staffing to review communications use authorizations in a timely manner.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1038 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1038

     To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
 Agriculture to provide a plan to ensure adequate staffing throughout 
 organizational units of the Department of the Interior and Department 
of Agriculture to review communications use authorizations in a timely 
                                manner.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 15, 2021

Mr. Armstrong introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
 Agriculture to provide a plan to ensure adequate staffing throughout 
 organizational units of the Department of the Interior and Department 
of Agriculture to review communications use authorizations in a timely 
                                manner.

    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 ``Enhancing Administrative Reviews for 
Broadband Deployment Act''.

SEC. 2. ENABLING ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.

    (a) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
                House of Representatives;
                    (B) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 
                of Representatives;
                    (C) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation of the Senate; and
                    (D) the Committee on Environment and Public Works 
                of the Senate.
            (2) Communications facility.--The term ``communications 
        facility'' includes--
                    (A) any infrastructure, including any transmitting 
                device, tower, or support structure, and any equipment, 
                switch, wiring, cabling, power source, shelter, or 
                cabinet, associated with the licensed or permitted 
                unlicensed wireless or wireline transmission of any 
                writing, sign, signal, data, image, picture, and sound 
                of any kind; 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 a 
                        duly authorized device that does not require an 
                        individual license; and
                            (iii) is added to a tower, building, or 
                        other structure.
            (3) Communications site.--The term ``communications site'' 
        means an area of covered land designated for communications 
        uses.
            (4) Communications use.--The term ``communications use'' 
        means the placement and operation of communications facility.
            (5) 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 concerned for the primary purpose of authorizing the 
        occupancy and use of the covered land for communications use.
            (6) Covered land.--The term ``covered land'' means--
                    (A) public land administered by the Secretary of 
                the Interior; and
                    (B) National Forest System land.
            (7) Department concerned.--The term ``Department 
        concerned'' means the Department of the Interior or the 
        Department of Agriculture.
            (8) Organizational unit.--The term ``organizational unit'' 
        means--
                    (A) with respect to public land administered by the 
                Secretary of the Interior--
                            (i) a State office;
                            (ii) a district office; or
                            (iii) a field office; and
                    (B) within the Forest Service--
                            (i) a regional office;
                            (ii) the headquarters;
                            (iii) a management unit; or
                            (iv) a ranger district office.
            (9) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to 
                public land; and
                    (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 
                National Forest System land.
    (b) Study Required.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall submit to the 
appropriate committees of Congress a report that--
            (1) provides an assessment on programmatic or 
        administrative barriers to reviewing communications use 
        authorizations by the Department concerned or organizational 
        units of the Department concerned;
            (2) provides an assessment whether there are rules or 
        regulations of the Department concerned that could be revised 
        to improve the efficiency of reviewing a communications use 
        authorization;
            (3) describes the process for prioritizing the review of a 
        communications use authorization; and
            (4) provides a plan to ensure adequate staffing throughout 
        organizational units of the Department concerned to review 
        communications use authorizations in a timely manner.
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