Public safety trust Fund

Part A of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

106.

Public safety trust Fund

(a)

Establishment

(1)

Fund established

There is hereby established, as a separate Fund in the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund (established by section 309(j)(8)(E) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(E)), the Public Safety Communications Trust Fund. (2)

Deposits

The Fund shall consist of— (A)any amounts deposited in the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund that remain after— (i)the payments required to be made from the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund pursuant to sections 3005 through 3012 of the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005; and (ii)the transfer to the general fund of the Treasury required by section 309(j)(8)(E)(iii) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(E)(iii)); (B)the amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (f); and (C)50 percent of the proceeds of any auction conducted after the date of enactment of the Public Safety Interoperability Implementation Act pursuant to section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 for any bands of frequencies other than those described in paragraph (3), except that such percentage may be reduced in accordance with paragraph (4). (3)

Excepted frequencies

The bands of frequencies described in this paragraph are the following: (A)the 216–220 megahertz band, the 1432–1435 megahertz band, the 1710–1755 megahertz band, and the 2385–2390 megahertz band of frequencies; (B)any other band of frequencies reallocated from Federal use to non-Federal use after January 1, 2003, that is assigned by competitive bidding pursuant to section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)), except for bands of frequencies previously identified by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the Spectrum Reallocation Final Report, NTIA Special Publication 95–32 (1995); and (C)the recovered analog spectrum, as such term is defined in section 309(j)(15)(C)(vi) of the Communications Act of 1934. (4)

Reduction of percentage

If the board of directors submits to the Congress a statement that— (A)projects that the future needs for grants under subsection (c) has been reduced to the extent that the percentage specified in paragraph (2) is likely to yield a surplus in the Fund beyond the amounts needed to meet such needs, and (B)specifies a lower percentage that the board estimates to be sufficient to meet such needs (without yielding a surplus),

paragraph (2) shall be applied to any auction subject to such paragraph that is conducted after the date of submission of such statement by substituting such lower percentage for 50 percent.

(5)

Fund availability

(A)

Appropriation

There are hereby appropriated from the Fund such sums as are authorized by the board to be disbursed for grants under this section. (B)

Reversion of unused Funds

Any grant proceeds that remain unexpended at the end of the grant period as determined under subsection (c)(3) shall revert to and be deposited in the Fund. (b)

Board of directors

(1)

Establishment

The Fund shall be administered by the Administrator of the NTIA, in consultation with a board of directors comprised of 5 members, appointed by the Secretary, with experience in one or more of the following fields: grant and investment management; communications equipment and software applications; and public safety and emergency response. The board shall consult with, or include a member or members from, the Department of Homeland Security. (2)

Functions

The board shall— (A)establish the reasonable and prudent criteria for the selection of the grant recipients under this section; (B)determine the amount of the grants awarded; and (C)review the use of funds made by such grant recipients. (3)

Compensation prohibited; expenses provided

The members of the board shall serve without compensation, but may, from appropriated funds available for the administrative expenses of the NTIA, receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. (c)

Purpose and activities of the trust

(1)

Grant purposes

In order to achieve the objectives and carry out the purposes of this part, the Administrator is authorized to make grants, from amounts deposited pursuant to subsection (a)(2) and from the interest or other income on the Fund, to implement interoperability and modernization (including equipment upgrades) for the communications needs of public safety, fire, emergency, law enforcement, and crisis management by State and local government agencies and instrumentalities and nonprofit organizations. (2)

Grant preference for broader scope of interoperability

In making grants from the Fund, the Administrator shall give preference to eligible entities that are proposing inter-agency or regional and multi-jurisdictional interoperability. (3)

Grant availability

Grants from the Fund shall be made available on a single or multi-year basis to facilitate long term planning and training. (d)

Eligible entities

The following organizations and entities are eligible to apply for funds under this section: (1)an agency or instrumentality of a State or local government of the United States (including an agency or instrumentality of a territory or possession of the United States); and (2)a nonprofit agency or organization that is exempt from taxes under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and that performs a public safety function, as determined by the Administrator. (e)

Permissible uses of Funds

Amounts made available by grant from the Fund may be used by eligible entities for equipment, training, planning, and research for the purposes of upgrading communications and the interoperability of communications used in public safety, fire, emergency, law enforcement, and crisis management. (f)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each of the 2 succeeding fiscal years. (g)

Reports

(1)

By grant recipients

Each grant recipient shall submit to the Administrator and the board a report on the use of the funds provided by the grant, and on the progress made with respect to the improvement of the grant recipient’s communications capabilities. (2)

By Administrator

The Administrator shall annually submit to the Congress a report on the operations of the Fund and the grants made by the Funds. Such report shall include— (A)an identification of the grants made, the recipients thereof, and the planned uses of the amounts made available; (B)a financial report on the operations and condition of the Fund; and (C)a description of the results of the use of funds provided by grants under this section, including the status of interoperability implementation by the grant recipients. (h)

Regulations

The Administrator may prescribe such regulations as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out this section. (i)

Definitions

As used in this section— (1)the term the Fund means the Public Safety Communications Trust Fund established pursuant to subsection (a); and (2)the term the board means the board of directors established pursuant to subsection (b).