Broadband Permitting Modernization Act
Latest action · Jul 13, 2021 Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.
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.
- IntroducedMay 20, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Broadband Permitting Modernization Act
This bill modifies, and requires reports about, permitting requirements for broadband activities on federal lands.
Specifically, the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) must report on communication use authorizations (i.e., authorizations to modify or locate communications facilities on public land administered by Interior or National Forest System land). Among other topics, the report must assess barriers to reviewing the authorizations and describe the process for prioritizing reviews.
Interior and USDA must also each establish an online portal to manage the Form 299 (used to apply for rights to install, modify, or maintain a communications facility on federal real property) approval process. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration must (1) report to Congress every 60 days on the status of the portals until they are established, and (2) publish links to each established portal on its website.
The bill also authorizes the delegation of federal environmental compliance for certain broadband projects to states and Indian tribes. Interior and USDA must establish a voluntary program whereby states or Indian tribes may conduct (subject to specified terms) environmental reviews for broadband projects within an operational right-of-way (i.e., all real property interests acquired for the construction or operation of a project) on land managed by Interior, National Forest System land, or Indian land.
USDA and Interior shall also establish broadband permit streamlining teams to coordinate and expedite permitting decisions for broadband projects.
Cosponsors 7
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 20, 2021 to Apr 14, 2022; 5 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AR | Bruce Westerman | Original | May 20, 2021 |
| R-WV | David B. McKinley | Original | May 20, 2021 |
| R-MI | Fred Upton | Original | May 20, 2021 |
| R-ND | Kelly Armstrong | Original | May 20, 2021 |
| R-VA | Robert J. Wittman | Original | May 20, 2021 |
| R-NY | Elise M. Stefanik | Jun 23, 2021 | |
| R-UT | Burgess Owens | Apr 14, 2022 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred May 20, 2021 |
| Federal Lands Subcommittee | Referred Jul 13, 2021 | |
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred May 20, 2021 |
| Forestry and Horticulture Subcommittee | Referred Jul 13, 2021 | |
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred May 20, 2021 |
| Communications and Technology Subcommittee | Referred May 21, 2021 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 13, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands.
- Jul 13, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.
- May 21, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
- May 20, 2021Introduced in House
- May 20, 2021Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Energy and Commerce, 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.
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 Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 88, May 20, 2021, page H2652.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R46780 | Overview of the Universal Service Fund and Selected Federal Broadband Programs Archived | Report | Jun 25, 2021 |
Related bills 4
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 1038 | Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act | Related bill | Mar 18, 2021 |
| HR 1047 | Rural Broadband Permitting Efficiency Act of 2021 | Related bill | Mar 25, 2021 |
| HR 1156 | Facilitating DIGITAL Applications Act | Related bill | Mar 25, 2021 |
| HR 1525 | DIGITAL Applications Act | Related bill | Apr 28, 2021 |
Titles 8
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To streamline the broadband permitting process for broadband services, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Broadband Permitting Modernization Act
- Short Title(s) as Introduced for portions of this bill
- Facilitating the Deployment of Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions And Legacy Applications Act
- Deploying Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions And Legacy Applications Act
- Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act
- Rural Broadband Permitting Efficiency Act of 2021
- DIGITAL Applications Act
- Facilitating DIGITAL Applications Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 20, 2021Introduced 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.
