Community Broadband Act of 2018

Bill: 115-hr-4814
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Eshoo, Anna G. [D-CA-18]
Introduced: 2018-01-17
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Subjects: Internet and video services

Internet, web applications, social media

State and local government operations

Telephone and wireless communication
Latest action: action_date: 2018-01-19
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

Summaries:
action_date: 2018-01-17
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Community Broadband Act of 2018</b></p> <p>This bill amends the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to bar states from prohibiting their state government, a political subdivision, or an Indian tribe from providing (i.e., serving as a "public provider" of) high-speed broadband telecommunications capabilities or services to persons or public or private entities.</p> <p>A public provider that regulates competing private providers of such telecommunications services may not discriminate in favor of itself or a provider that it owns.</p>

tv_txt: I 115th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 4814 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 17, 2018 Ms. Eshoo (for herself, Mr. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania , Mr. Ellison , Mr. Khanna , Mr. O'Rourke , Mr. Pocan , and Mr. Polis ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to preserve and protect the ability of local governments to provide broadband capability and services.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Community Broadband Act of 2018 . 2. Community broadband capability and services Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 ( 47 U.S.C. 1302 ) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e) and inserting after subsection (c) the following: (d) Local government provision of advanced telecommunications capability and services (1) In general No State statute, regulation, or other State legal requirement may prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting any public provider from providing, to any person or any public or private entity, advanced telecommunications capability or any service that utilizes the advanced telecommunications capability provided by such provider. (2) Antidiscrimination safeguards To the extent any public provider regulates competing private providers of advanced telecommunications capability or services that utilize advanced telecommunications capability, it shall apply its ordinances and rules without discrimination in favor of itself or any provider that it owns of services that utilize advanced telecommunications capability. (3) Savings clause Nothing in this subsection shall exempt a public 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 (2) in subsection (e), as redesignated— (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking this subsection and inserting this section ; and (B) by adding at the end the following: (3) Public provider The term public provider means a State or political subdivision thereof, any agency, authority, or instrumentality of a State or political subdivision thereof, or an Indian tribe (as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304(e) )), that provides advanced telecommunications capability, or any service that utilizes such advanced telecommunications capability, to any person or public or private entity. .