3.0.0 604 2023-01-11T13:36:17Z 2023-01-11T13:36:17Z Senate S 2017-03-09 115 ssev00 Environment and Public Works Committee Senate Standing Referred to 2017-03-09T21:44:47Z Rural Broadband Permitting Efficiency Act of 2018 115 4824 HR 2018-09-17 Received in the Senate. Related bill CRS 2017-03-09 ssev00 Environment and Public Works Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. IntroReferral 2017-03-09 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress H000338 Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT] ORRIN HATCH R UT GRANT N D000618 Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] Steve Daines R MT 2017-03-09 True F000463 Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] Deb Fischer R NE 2017-03-09 True C001047 Sen. Capito, Shelley Moore [R-WV] Shelley Capito R WV Moore 2017-03-23 False E000295 Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA] Joni Ernst R IA 2017-04-04 False Transportation and Public Works Environmental assessment, monitoring, research Forests, forestry, trees Intergovernmental relations Internet and video services Internet, web applications, social media Land use and conservation Licensing and registrations Roads and highways State and local government operations Telephone and wireless communication Transportation and Public Works 00 2017-03-09 Introduced in Senate 2017-05-03T20:18:07Z Highway Rights-of-Way Permitting Efficiency Act of 2017

This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to National Forest System land, and the Department of the Interior, with respect to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, to establish a program to enter into memoranda of understanding with states to allow for the permitting of broadband within an operational right-of-way to enable broadband providers to install infrastructure that allows users to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video telecommunications.

The "operational right-of-way" is defined as all real property interests (including easements) acquired for the construction or operation of a project.

A state's governor, or a state's top-ranking transportation official in charge of highway construction, may enter into such a memorandum for a term not to exceed 10 years if the state consents to: (1) federal court jurisdiction, (2) federal environmental review procedures, (3) judicial review of decisions regarding the public availability of documents, (4) maintenance of necessary financial resources, and (5) the provision of any information that USDA or Interior needs to ensure that the state is carrying out its responsibilities.

USDA and Interior must designate projects within an existing operational right-of-way as actions categorically excluded from federal regulations relating to environmental assessments or environmental impact statements.

Interior must establish a Federal Permit Streamlining Project in each BLM field office with responsibility for issuing permits for broadband projects. Under the program, Interior acts as the lead agency for the issuance of a single permit on behalf of all other federal agencies involved in a broadband project through a memorandum of understanding with USDA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Highway Administration, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

]]> Highway Rights-of-Way Permitting Efficiency Act of 2017 Display Title Highway Rights-of-Way Permitting Efficiency Act of 2017 Official Title as Introduced A bill to allow certain State permitting authority to encourage expansion of broadband service to rural communities, and for other purposes. Introduced in Senate IS Short Titles as Introduced Highway Rights-of-Way Permitting Efficiency Act of 2017 Introduced in Senate 2017-03-09T05:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-115s604is/xml/BILLS-115s604is.xml 2017-03-09 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.