Accelerating Broadband Permits Act

Bill: 119-s-866
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]
Introduced: 2025-03-05
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
Latest action: action_date: 2025-03-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (text: CR S1581)

Summaries:
action_date: 2025-03-05
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Accelerating Broadband Permits Act</strong></p><p>This bill makes specified changes to processes for federal review of certain communications and broadband infrastructure projects.&nbsp;</p><p>Specifically, the bill requires executive branch agencies to identify and address factors that contribute to delays in their review of applications for easements, rights-of-way, or leases related to communications infrastructure projects. (Under current law, executive branch agencies with control over buildings or property may grant such easements, rights-of-way, or leases to entities seeking to install, construct, modify, or maintain communications facilities. Generally, agencies must act on such applications within 270 days.)&nbsp;</p><p>Under the bill, agencies must develop controls to ensure accurate tracking of processing times for such applications and take action to address factors contributing to delays as they occur. Agencies must also establish methods to alert employees when the agency is at risk of failing to meet the 270-day deadline with respect to a particular application. (These provisions were recommended by the Government Accountability Office in an April 2024 report to Congress entitled <em>Broadband Deployment: Agencies Should Take Steps to Better Meet Deadline for Processing Permits</em>.)&nbsp;</p><p>Separately, the bill lowers the cost threshold for certain broadband infrastructure projects to qualify as <em>covered projects</em> under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act from $200 million to $5 million. Such projects qualify for expedited federal environmental review.</p>

tv_txt: II 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 866 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 5, 2025 Mr. Thune (for himself, Mr. Luján , and Mr. Barrasso ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To require executive agencies to take steps to better meet the statutory deadline for processing communications use applications, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Accelerating Broadband Permits Act . 2. Tracking and improving processing times for communications use applications 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 by adding at the end the following: (E) Tracking and improving processing times (i) Data controls An executive agency shall develop controls to ensure that data is sufficiently accurate and complete to track the processing time for each application described in subparagraph (A). (ii) Requirement to analyze, address, and report on delay factors With respect to the factors that contribute to delays in processing applications described in subparagraph (A), an executive agency shall— (I) analyze the factors as the delays are occurring; (II) take actions to address the factors; and (III) provide an annual report on the factors to— (aa) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; (bb) the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; (cc) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; (dd) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; and (ee) each committee of Congress with jurisdiction over the executive agency. (iii) Method for alerting staff to at-risk applications An executive agency shall establish a method to alert employees of the executive agency to any application described in subparagraph (A) with respect to which the executive agency is at risk of failing to meet the 270-day deadline under that subparagraph. . 3. Minimum broadband project cost Section 41001(6)(A) of the FAST Act ( 42 U.S.C. 4370m(6)(A) ) is amended— (1) in clause (iii), by striking or at the end; (2) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause (v); and (3) by inserting after clause (iii) the following: (iv) (I) is subject to NEPA; (II) involves the construction of infrastructure for broadband; and (III) is likely to require a total investment of more than $5,000,000; or .