Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011
Latest action · Feb 28, 2011 Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 10, 2011
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to increase the electromagnetic spectrum allocation for public safety services by 10 megahertz and reduce such allocation for commercial use by the same amount.
Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to: (1) allocate the paired electromagnetic spectrum bands of 758-763 megahertz and 788-793 megahertz (referred to as D Block) for public safety broadband communications and license such paired bands to public safety; (2) establish rules to permit a public safety broadband licensee to authorize public safety service providers to construct and operate a wireless public safety broadband network in the licensee's spectrum if such authorization would expedite public safety broadband communications; (3) require that any wireless public safety broadband network be fully interoperable, provide for user roaming, be disaster survivable, have the appropriate level of cyber security, and be consistent with the Statewide Interoperable Communications Plans and the National Emergency Communications Plan; (4) establish regulations to authorize the shared use of the public safety broadband spectrum and network infrastructure by entities that are not defined as public safety services; (5) establish regulations to allow use of the public safety broadband spectrum by emergency response providers; and (6) develop a public safety agency statement of requirements that enables nationwide interoperability and roaming across any communications system using public safety broadband spectrum.
Specifies organizations that shall be included in the Board of Directors of the Public Safety Broadband Licensee.
Establishes in the Treasury: (1) the Public Safety Interoperable Broadband Network Construction Fund, and (2) the Public Safety Interoperable Broadband Network Maintenance and Operation Fund.
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) establish a grant program to assist public safety entities to establish a nationwide public safety interoperable broadband network in the 700 megahertz band, and (2) administer a program through which not more than 50% of maintenance and operational expenses associated with the public safety interoperable broadband network may be reimbursed from the Maintenance and Operation Fund.
Directs: (1) the Assistant Secretary of Commerce to reallocate for commercial use electromagnetic spectrum at 1755-1780 megahertz, and (2) the FCC, within 18 months after enactment of this Act, to establish rules for pairing electromagnetic spectrum bands at 1755-1780 megahertz and 2155-2180 megahertz, inclusive, and auction the licenses for such paired spectrum.
Requires each public safety entity, within 8 years, to migrate from a specified range of radio spectrum to an alternative radio spectrum that is licensed to public safety services in the 700 and 800 megahertz bands. Directs each federal law enforcement agency, within 10 years, to move all noncommercial network communications to spectrum in such bands.
Directs the FCC to auction, through an appropriate competitive bidding system, certain paired electromagnetic spectrum bands recovered from public safety entities under a specified FCC migration plan.
Extends the FCC's authority to grant a license or permit under applicable competitive bidding provisions to September 30, 2020.
Cosponsors 53
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 10, 2011 to Mar 20, 2012; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MS | Bennie G. Thompson | Original | Feb 10, 2011 |
| R-MO | Billy Long | Original | Feb 10, 2011 |
| R-MI | Candice S. Miller | Original | Feb 10, 2011 |
| R-NY | Michael G. Grimm | Original | Feb 10, 2011 |
| R-AL | Mike Rogers | Original | Feb 10, 2011 |
| D-NY | Yvette D. Clarke | Original | Feb 10, 2011 |
| D-CA | Laura Richardson | Feb 14, 2011 | |
| D-NV | Shelley Berkley | Feb 14, 2011 | |
| D-RI | James R. Langevin | Feb 17, 2011 | |
| D-MN | Keith Ellison | Feb 17, 2011 | |
| D-IA | Leonard L. Boswell | Mar 3, 2011 | |
| D-ME | Michael H. Michaud | Mar 29, 2011 | |
| R-IA | Tom Latham | Mar 29, 2011 | |
| D-NY | Carolyn McCarthy | Mar 30, 2011 | |
| D-TX | Eddie Bernice Johnson | Mar 30, 2011 | |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Mar 30, 2011 | |
| R-MN | Chip Cravaack | Apr 6, 2011 | |
| D-NC | Heath Shuler | Apr 6, 2011 | |
| R-AK | Don Young | Apr 12, 2011 | |
| R-PA | Jim Gerlach | Apr 12, 2011 | |
| D-NY | Nita M. Lowey | Apr 12, 2011 | |
| D-IA | David Loebsack | Apr 14, 2011 | |
| D-GA | John Barrow | Apr 14, 2011 | |
| R-WA | David G. Reichert | May 10, 2011 | |
| R-FL | John L. Mica | May 10, 2011 | |
| R-VA | Robert J. Wittman | May 10, 2011 | |
| R-FL | Vern Buchanan | May 10, 2011 | |
| R-MN | Erik Paulsen | May 13, 2011 | |
| D-NY | Edolphus Towns | May 23, 2011 | |
| D-IL | Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. | May 23, 2011 | |
| D-TX | Lloyd Doggett | May 25, 2011 | |
| R-VA | J. Randy Forbes | May 26, 2011 | |
| D-CA | Loretta Sanchez | May 31, 2011 | |
| D-NJ | Steven R. Rothman | May 31, 2011 | |
| D-NY | Gregory W. Meeks | Jun 13, 2011 | |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Jun 13, 2011 | |
| D-OH | Dennis J. Kucinich | Jun 14, 2011 | |
| R-FL | Jeff Miller | Jun 16, 2011 | |
| D-NJ | Bill Pascrell, Jr. | Jun 21, 2011 | |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Jun 23, 2011 | |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Jul 6, 2011 | |
| D-CA | John Garamendi | Jul 11, 2011 | |
| R-PA | Lou Barletta | Jul 11, 2011 | |
| D-IA | Bruce L. Braley | Jul 13, 2011 | |
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | Jul 15, 2011 | |
| D-MA | William R. Keating | Sep 9, 2011 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Oct 6, 2011 | |
| R-VA | Frank R. Wolf | Oct 12, 2011 | |
| D-CA | Janice Hahn | Oct 12, 2011 | |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Nov 15, 2011 | |
| D-VI | Donna M. Christensen | Jan 18, 2012 | |
| D-PA | Mark S. Critz | Jan 18, 2012 | |
| R-NJ | Jon Runyan | Mar 20, 2012 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Feb 10, 2011 |
| Communications and Technology Subcommittee | Referred Feb 28, 2011 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 28, 2011Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
- Feb 10, 2011Introduced in House
- Feb 10, 2011Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H681.
Printed hearings 7
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 112-76 | LEGISLATIVE HEARING TO ADDRESS SPECTRUM AND PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES287 pages | Energy and Commerce Committee | Jul 15, 2011 |
| Serial No. 112-33 | EXAMINING THE HOMELAND SECURITY IMPACT OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S CYBERSECURITY PROPOSAL73 pages | Homeland Security Committee | Jun 24, 2011 |
| Serial No. 112-51 | CREATING AN INTEROPERABLE PUBLIC SAFETY NETWORK214 pages | Energy and Commerce Committee | May 25, 2011 |
| Serial No. 112-36 | USING SPECTRUM TO ADVANCE PUBLIC SAFETY, PROMOTE BROADBAND, CREATE JOBS, AND REDUCE THE DEFICIT376 pages | Energy and Commerce Committee | Apr 12, 2011 |
| Serial No. 112-13 | PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS: ARE THE NEEDS OF OUR FIRST RESPONDERS BEING MET?53 pages | Homeland Security Committee | Mar 30, 2011 |
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 28 | Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act | Related bill | Jan 25, 2011 |
| S 1040 | Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011 | Related bill | May 19, 2011 |
| HR 2482 | Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act | Related bill | Aug 15, 2011 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To enhance public safety by making more spectrum available to public safety agencies, to facilitate the development of a wireless public safety broadband network, to provide standards for the spectrum needs of public safety agencies, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Emergency communications systems
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- First responders and emergency personnel
- Government studies and investigations
- Government trust funds
- Internet and video services
- Internet, web applications, social media
- Licensing and registrations
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Telephone and wireless communication
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 10, 2011Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.