Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act

IIB 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3343 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 17 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation AN ACT To require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Commu- nications and Information to submit to Congress a plan for the Assistant Secretary to track the acceptance, proc- essing, and disposal of certain Form 299s, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Dec 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3343.RFS H3343 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 HR 3343 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Broadband 2 Deployment Tracking Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. PLAN FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY TO TRACK THE 4 ACCEPTANCE, PROCESSING, AND DISPOSAL 5 OF CERTAIN FORM 299S. 6 (a) PLAN.—Not later than 180 days after the date 7 of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall 8 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a plan 9 containing a description of— 10 (1) the process by which the Assistant Sec- 11 retary proposes to— 12 (A) track the acceptance, processing, and 13 disposal of each Form 299 for communications 14 use authorization; 15 (B) provide applicants additional trans- 16 parency with respect to the status of the appli- 17 cable Form 299 for communications use au- 18 thorization; and 19 (C) most expeditiously implement the plan; 20 and 21 (2) any potential barriers to implementing the 22 plan that are identified by the Assistant Secretary. 23 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Dec 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3343.RFS H3343 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 HR 3343 RFS (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 1 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 2 mittees’’ means— 3 (A) the Committee on Energy and Com- 4 merce of the House of Representatives; and 5 (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 6 and Transportation of the Senate. 7 (2) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 8 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 9 Commerce for Communications and Information. 10 (3) COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY.—The term 11 ‘‘communications facility’’ has the meaning given the 12 term communications facility installation in section 13 6409(d) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job 14 Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(d)). 15 (4) COMMUNICATIONS USE.—The term ‘‘com- 16 munications use’’ means the placement and oper- 17 ation of a communications facility. 18 (5) COMMUNICATIONS USE AUTHORIZATION.— 19 The term ‘‘communications use authorization’’ 20 means an easement, right-of-way, lease, license, or 21 other authorization— 22 (A) provided by the Secretary of the Inte- 23 rior or the Secretary of Agriculture; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Dec 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3343.RFS H3343 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 HR 3343 RFS (B) to locate or modify a communications 1 facility on covered land; and 2 (C) for the primary purpose of authorizing 3 the occupancy and use of such covered land for 4 communications use. 5 (6) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 6 means— 7 (A) public lands; and 8 (B) National Forest System land. 9 (7) FORM 299.—The term ‘‘Form 299’’ means 10 the form established under section 6409(b)(2)(A) of 11 the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act 12 of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(b)(2)(A)), or any successor 13 form. 14 (8) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 15 ‘‘National Forest System’’ has the meaning given 16 the term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range- 17 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 18 U.S.C. 1609(a)). 19 (9) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’ 20 means land under the management of— 21 (A) the Bureau of Land Management; 22 (B) the National Park Service; 23 (C) the United States Fish and Wildlife 24 Service; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Dec 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3343.RFS H3343 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 HR 3343 RFS (D) the Bureau of Reclamation. 1 Passed the House of Representatives December 16, 2024. Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:39 Dec 18, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3343.RFS H3343 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS