Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3288 To provide that a project for the collocation of a telecommunications service facility is not subject to requirements to prepare certain environmental or historical preservation reviews. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 15, 2023 Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources, 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 provide that a project for the collocation of a tele- communications service facility is not subject to require- ments to prepare certain environmental or historical preservation reviews. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Broadband Competi- 4 tion and Efficient Deployment Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 May 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3288.IH H3288 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3288 IH SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF NEPA AND NHPA TO COLLOCA- 1 TION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE 2 FACILITIES. 3 (a) NEPA EXEMPTION.—A Federal authorization 4 with respect to a covered project may not be considered 5 a major Federal action under section 102(2)(C) of the Na- 6 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 7 4332(2)(C)). 8 (b) NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT EX- 9 EMPTION.—A covered project may not be considered an 10 undertaking under section 300320 of title 54, United 11 States Code. 12 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 13 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 14 means the Federal Communications Commission. 15 (2) COVERED PROJECT.—The term ‘‘covered 16 project’’ means a project— 17 (A) for the placement, construction, or 18 modification of a telecommunications service fa- 19 cility in or on eligible support infrastructure; 20 and 21 (B) for which a permit, license, or approval 22 from the Commission is required or that is oth- 23 erwise subject to the jurisdiction of the Com- 24 mission. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 May 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3288.IH H3288 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3288 IH (3) ELIGIBLE SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE.— 1 The term ‘‘eligible support infrastructure’’ means in- 2 frastructure that supports or houses a facility for 3 communication by wire (or is designed to or capable 4 of supporting or housing such a facility) at the time 5 when a complete request to a State or local govern- 6 ment or instrumentality thereof, or to an Indian 7 Tribe, for authorization to place, construct, or mod- 8 ify a telecommunications service facility in or on the 9 infrastructure is received by the government, instru- 10 mentality, or Indian Tribe. 11 (4) FEDERAL AUTHORIZATION.—The term 12 ‘‘Federal authorization’’— 13 (A) means any authorization required 14 under Federal law with respect to a covered 15 project; and 16 (B) includes any permits, special use au- 17 thorizations, certifications, opinions, or other 18 approvals as may be required under Federal law 19 with respect to a covered project. 20 (5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 21 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 22 under section 102 of the Federally Recognized In- 23 dian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5130). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 May 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3288.IH H3288 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3288 IH (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each 1 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 2 and each territory or possession of the United 3 States. 4 (7) TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE.—The 5 term ‘‘telecommunications service’’ has the meaning 6 given such term in section 3 of the Communications 7 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 8 (8) TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE FACIL- 9 ITY.—The term ‘‘telecommunications service facil- 10 ity’’— 11 (A) means a facility that is designed or 12 used to provide or facilitate the provision of any 13 interstate or intrastate telecommunications 14 service; and 15 (B) includes a facility described in sub- 16 paragraph (A) that is used to provide other 17 services. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 May 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3288.IH H3288 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS