Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act
Officially: “Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act” Read the full text
What it does
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1Short title
This section states that the Act may be referred to as the Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act .
2Ensuring timely review of communications use authorizations
This section would require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through the Chief of the Forest Service) to each study, for their own department, whether there are programmatic or administrative barriers to timely review of requests for communications use authorizations, whether rules or regulations could be revised to make that review more efficient, and whether processes exist for prioritizing review of those requests. Not later than 1 year after the Act is enacted, the two Secretaries would have to jointly submit a report to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the House Committee on Natural Resources, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. That report would have to describe the results of each study, including any barriers, rule or regulation revisions, and prioritization processes identified, and would have to include a plan for giving the organizational units of each department the staffing needed to ensure timely review of communications use authorizations. Those organizational units are, for the Department of the Interior, the state, regional, district, and field offices of the Bureau of Land Management, and, for the Department of Agriculture, the regional offices, management units, and ranger district offices of the Forest Service. A communications use authorization means an easement, right-of-way, lease, license, or other authorization that the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture provides to locate or modify a communications facility on covered land, where the main purpose of the authorization is to allow that land to be occupied and used for communications use. Covered land means public lands, as defined in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, and National Forest System land, as defined in the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974. Communications use means placing and operating a communications facility, and communications facility has the meaning given to communications facility installation in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.
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2. Ensuring timely review of communications use authorizations (a) Study and report (1) Study The Secretaries concerned shall each conduct, with respect to the relevant covered department, a study to determine— (A) if there are programmatic or administrative barriers to the timely review of requests for communications use authorizations; (B) if there are revisions to rules or regulations that could be implemented to improve efficiency with respect to reviewing requests for communications use authorizations; and (C) if there are processes for prioritizing the review of requests for communications use authorizations. (2) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretaries concerned shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that— (A) describes the results of the studies conducted under paragraph (1), including any barriers, revisions, or processes identified under subparagraphs (A) through (C) of such paragraph; and (B) includes a plan for providing, with respect to the organizational units of the relevant covered departments, the staffing necessary to ensure timely review of communications use authorizations. (b) Definitions In this section: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; (B) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives; (C) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and (D) the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate. (2) Communications facility The term communications facility has the meaning given the term communications facility installation in section 6409(d) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 ( 47 U.S.C. 1455(d) ). (3) Communications use The term communications use means the placement and operation of a communications facility. (4) Communications use authorization The term communications use authorization means an easement, right-of-way, lease, license, or other authorization— (A) provided by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture; (B) to locate or modify a communications facility on covered land; and (C) for the primary purpose of authorizing the occupancy and use of such covered land for communications use. (5) Covered land The term covered land means— (A) public lands; and (B) National Forest System land. (6) National Forest System The term National Forest System has the meaning given that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 ( 16 U.S.C. 1609(a) ). (7) Organizational unit The term organizational unit means— (A) with respect to the Department of the Interior— (i) a State office of the Bureau of Land Management; (ii) a regional office of the Bureau of Land Management; (iii) a district office of the Bureau of Land Management; or (iv) a field office of the Bureau of Land Management; and (B) with respect to the Department of Agriculture— (i) a regional office of the Forest Service; (ii) a management unit of the Forest Service; or (iii) a ranger district office of the Forest Service. (8) Public lands The term public lands has the meaning given that term in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1702 ). (9) Relevant covered department The term relevant covered department means— (A) with respect to the Secretary of the Interior, the Department of the Interior; and (B) with respect to the Secretary of Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture. (10) Secretaries concerned The term Secretaries concerned means— (A) the Secretary of the Interior; and (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.
Where it is
In the House.