[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1699 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1699

       To streamline siting processes for small cell deployment.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 3, 2019

 Mr. Thune (for himself and Mr. Schatz) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
       To streamline siting processes for small cell deployment.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Streamlining The Rapid Evolution And 
Modernization of Leading-edge Infrastructure Necessary to Enhance Small 
Cell Deployment Act'' or the ``STREAMLINE Small Cell Deployment Act''.

SEC. 2. PRESERVATION OF LOCAL ZONING AUTHORITY.

    Section 332(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(c)) 
is amended by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the following:
            ``(7) Preservation of local zoning authority.--
                    ``(A) General authority.--Except as provided in 
                this paragraph, nothing in this Act shall limit or 
                affect the authority of a State or local government or 
                instrumentality thereof over decisions regarding the 
                placement, construction, and modification of personal 
                wireless service facilities.
                    ``(B) Limitations.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        subparagraph (C), the regulation of the 
                        placement, construction, or modification of a 
                        personal wireless service facility by any State 
                        or local government or instrumentality 
                        thereof--
                                    ``(I) shall not unreasonably 
                                discriminate among providers of 
                                functionally equivalent services; and
                                    ``(II) shall not prohibit or have 
                                the effect of prohibiting the provision 
                                of personal wireless service.
                            ``(ii) Timeframe.--A State or local 
                        government or instrumentality thereof shall act 
                        on any request for authorization to place, 
                        construct, or modify a personal wireless 
                        service facility within a reasonable period of 
                        time after the request is duly filed with the 
                        government or instrumentality, taking into 
                        account the nature and scope of the request.
                            ``(iii) Written decision and record.--Any 
                        decision by a State or local government or 
                        instrumentality thereof to deny a request to 
                        place, construct, or modify a personal wireless 
                        service facility shall be--
                                    ``(I) in writing; and
                                    ``(II) supported by substantial 
                                evidence contained in a written record.
                            ``(iv) Environmental effects of radio 
                        frequency emissions.--No State or local 
                        government or instrumentality thereof may 
                        regulate the placement, construction, or 
                        modification of personal wireless service 
                        facilities on the basis of the environmental 
                        effects of radio frequency emissions to the 
                        extent that the facilities comply with the 
                        Commission's regulations concerning such 
                        emissions.
                            ``(v) Judicial and administrative review.--
                                    ``(I) Judicial review.--Any person 
                                adversely affected by any final action 
                                or failure to act by a State or local 
                                government or any instrumentality 
                                thereof that is inconsistent with this 
                                subparagraph may, within 30 days after 
                                the action or failure to act, commence 
                                an action in any court of competent 
                                jurisdiction, which shall hear and 
                                decide the action on an expedited 
                                basis.
                                    ``(II) Administrative review.--Any 
                                person adversely affected by an act or 
                                failure to act by a State or local 
                                government or any instrumentality 
                                thereof that is inconsistent with 
                                clause (iv) may petition the Commission 
                                for relief.
                    ``(C) Placement, construction, and modification of 
                small personal wireless service facilities.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In addition to, and not 
                        in derogation of any of, the limitations under 
                        subparagraph (B), the regulation of the 
                        placement, construction, or modification of 
                        small personal wireless service facilities by 
                        any State or local government or 
                        instrumentality thereof--
                                    ``(I) shall not unreasonably 
                                discriminate among providers of the 
                                same service using comparable 
                                equipment, including by providing 
                                exclusive or preferential use of 
                                facilities to a particular provider or 
                                class of providers of personal wireless 
                                service; and
                                    ``(II) shall only permit a State or 
                                local government to approve or deny a 
                                permit or other permission to deploy a 
                                small personal wireless service 
                                facility, including access to a right-
                                of-way or a facility in a right-of-way 
                                owned or managed by the State or local 
                                government, based on publicly available 
                                criteria that are--
                                            ``(aa) reasonable;
                                            ``(bb) objective; and
                                            ``(cc) non-discriminatory.
                            ``(ii) Engineering standards; aesthetic 
                        requirements.--A State or local government or 
                        instrumentality thereof may regulate the 
                        placement, construction, and modification of 
                        small personal wireless service facilities for 
                        reasons of objective and reasonable--
                                    ``(I) structural engineering 
                                standards based on generally applicable 
                                codes;
                                    ``(II) safety requirements; or
                                    ``(III) aesthetic or concealment 
                                requirements.
                            ``(iii) Timeframes.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--A State or local 
                                government or instrumentality thereof 
                                shall act on a complete request for 
                                authorization to place, construct, or 
                                modify a small personal wireless 
                                service facility not later than--
                                            ``(aa)(AA) for collocation 
                                        of a small personal wireless 
                                        service facility, 60 days after 
                                        the date on which the complete 
                                        request is filed, except as 
                                        provided in item (bb); or
                                            ``(BB) for any other action 
                                        relating to a small personal 
                                        wireless service facility, 90 
                                        days after the date on which 
                                        the complete request is filed, 
                                        except as provided in item 
                                        (cc);
                                            ``(bb) for collocation of a 
                                        small personal wireless service 
                                        facility, if the State or the 
                                        area under the jurisdiction of 
                                        the local government has a 
                                        population of fewer than 50,000 
                                        people--

                                                    ``(AA) 90 days 
                                                after the date on which 
                                                the complete request is 
                                                filed, if during the 
                                                30-day period ending on 
                                                that date of filing, 
                                                the applicable wireless 
                                                service provider filed 
                                                fewer than 50 requests 
                                                for collocation of a 
                                                small personal wireless 
                                                service facility with 
                                                the State or local 
                                                government or 
                                                instrumentality 
                                                thereof; or

                                                    ``(BB) 120 days 
                                                after the date on which 
                                                the complete request is 
                                                filed, if during the 
                                                30-day period ending on 
                                                that date of filing, 
                                                the applicable wireless 
                                                service provider filed 
                                                not fewer than 50 
                                                requests for 
                                                collocation of a small 
                                                personal wireless 
                                                service facility with 
                                                the State or local 
                                                government or 
                                                instrumentality 
                                                thereof; or

                                            ``(cc) for any other action 
                                        relating to a small personal 
                                        wireless service facility, if 
                                        the State or the area under the 
                                        jurisdiction of the local 
                                        government has a population of 
                                        fewer than 50,000 people--

                                                    ``(AA) 120 days 
                                                after the date on which 
                                                the complete request is 
                                                filed, if during the 
                                                30-day period ending on 
                                                that date of filing, 
                                                the applicable wireless 
                                                service provider filed 
                                                fewer than 50 requests 
                                                for any other action 
                                                relating to a small 
                                                personal wireless 
                                                service facility with 
                                                the State or local 
                                                government or 
                                                instrumentality 
                                                thereof; or

                                                    ``(BB) 150 days 
                                                after the date on which 
                                                the complete request is 
                                                filed, if during the 
                                                30-day period ending on 
                                                that date of filing, 
                                                the applicable wireless 
                                                service provider filed 
                                                not fewer than 50 
                                                requests for any other 
                                                action relating to a 
                                                small personal wireless 
                                                service facility with 
                                                the State or local 
                                                government or 
                                                instrumentality 
                                                thereof.

                                    ``(II) Applicability.--The 
                                applicable timeframe under subclause 
                                (I) shall apply collectively to all 
                                proceedings required by a State or 
                                local government or instrumentality 
                                thereof for the approval of the 
                                request.
                                    ``(III) No tolling.--A timeframe 
                                under subclause (I) may not be tolled 
                                by any moratorium, whether express or 
                                de facto, imposed by a State or local 
                                government on the consideration of any 
                                request for authorization to place, 
                                construct, or modify a small personal 
                                wireless service facility.
                                    ``(IV) Temporary waiver.--The 
                                Commission may temporarily waive the 
                                applicability of subclause (I) for not 
                                longer than a single 30-day period for 
                                any complete request upon a 
                                demonstration by a State or local 
                                government that the waiver would be 
                                consistent with the public interest, 
                                convenience, and necessity.
                            ``(iv) Deemed granted.--If a State or local 
                        government or instrumentality thereof has 
                        neither granted nor denied a request within the 
                        applicable timeframe under subclause (I) of 
                        clause (iii), including any temporary waiver 
                        granted under subclause (IV) of that clause, 
                        the request shall be deemed granted on the date 
                        that is 31 days after the date on which the 
                        government instrumentality receives a written 
                        notice of the failure from the applicant.
                            ``(v) Fees.--Notwithstanding any other 
                        provision of law, a State or local government 
                        may charge a fee to consider an application for 
                        the placement, construction, or modification of 
                        a small personal wireless facility, or to use a 
                        right-of-way or a facility in a right-of-way 
                        owned or managed by the State or local 
                        government for the placement, construction, or 
                        modification of a small personal wireless 
                        facility, if the fee is--
                                    ``(I) competitively neutral, 
                                technology neutral, and 
                                nondiscriminatory;
                                    ``(II) publicly disclosed; and
                                    ``(III)(aa) except as provided in 
                                item (bb), based on actual and direct 
                                costs, such as costs for--
                                            ``(AA) review and 
                                        processing of applications;
                                            ``(BB) maintenance;
                                            ``(CC) emergency responses;
                                            ``(DD) repairs and 
                                        replacement of components and 
                                        materials resulting from and 
                                        affected by the installation of 
                                        small personal wireless 
                                        facilities, improvements, and 
                                        equipment that facilitates the 
                                        deployment and installation of 
                                        such facilities; or
                                            ``(EE) inspections; or
                                    ``(bb) calculated in accordance 
                                with section 224, in the case of a fee 
                                charged for the placement, 
                                construction, or modification of a 
                                small personal wireless facility on a 
                                pole, in a right-of-way, or on any 
                                other facility that may be established 
                                under that section.
                            ``(vi) Rule of construction.--Nothing in 
                        this subparagraph shall be construed to prevent 
                        any State or local government from imposing any 
                        additional limitation or requirement relating 
                        to consideration by the State or local 
                        government of an application for the placement, 
                        construction, or modification of a small 
                        personal wireless service facility.
                    ``(D) Definitions.--For purposes of this 
                paragraph--
                            ``(i) the term `antenna' means an apparatus 
                        designed for the purpose of emitting 
                        radiofrequency radiation, to be operated or 
                        operating from a fixed location for the 
                        transmission of writing, signs, signals, data, 
                        images, pictures, and sounds of all kinds;
                            ``(ii) the term `communications network' 
                        means a network used to provide a 
                        communications service;
                            ``(iii) the term `communications service' 
                        means--
                                    ``(I) cable service, as defined in 
                                section 602;
                                    ``(II) information service;
                                    ``(III) telecommunications service; 
                                or
                                    ``(IV) personal wireless service;
                            ``(iv) the term `complete request' means a 
                        request for which the applicant has not 
                        received written notice from the State or local 
                        government within 10 business days of 
                        submission--
                                    ``(I) stating in writing that the 
                                request is incomplete; and
                                    ``(II) identifying the information 
                                causing the request to be incomplete;
                            ``(v) the term `generally applicable code' 
                        includes a uniform building, fire, electrical, 
                        plumbing, or mechanical code adopted by a 
                        national code organization, or a local 
                        amendment to such a code, to the extent not 
                        inconsistent with this Act;
                            ``(vi) the term `network interface device' 
                        means a telecommunications demarcation device 
                        and cross-connect point that--
                                    ``(I) is adjacent or proximate to--
                                            ``(aa) a small personal 
                                        wireless service facility; or
                                            ``(bb) a structure 
                                        supporting a small personal 
                                        wireless service facility; and
                                    ``(II) demarcates the boundary with 
                                any wireline backhaul facility;
                            ``(vii) the term `personal wireless 
                        service' means--
                                    ``(I) commercial mobile service;
                                    ``(II) commercial mobile data 
                                service (as that term is defined in 
                                section 6001 of the Middle Class Tax 
                                Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 
                                U.S.C. 1401));
                                    ``(III) unlicensed wireless 
                                service; and
                                    ``(IV) common carrier wireless 
                                exchange access service;
                            ``(viii) the term `personal wireless 
                        service facility' means a facility for the 
                        provision of personal wireless service;
                            ``(ix) the term `small personal wireless 
                        service facility'--
                                    ``(I) means a personal wireless 
                                service facility in which each antenna 
                                is not more than 3 cubic feet in 
                                volume; and
                                    ``(II) does not include a wireline 
                                backhaul facility;
                            ``(x) the term `unlicensed wireless 
                        service'--
                                    ``(I) means the offering of 
                                telecommunications service using a duly 
                                authorized device that does not require 
                                an individual license; and
                                    ``(II) does not include the 
                                provision of direct-to-home satellite 
                                service, as defined in section 303(v); 
                                and
                            ``(xi) the term `wireline backhaul 
                        facility' means an above-ground or underground 
                        wireline facility used to transport 
                        communications service or other electronic 
                        communications from a small personal wireless 
                        service facility or its adjacent network 
                        interface device to a communications 
                        network.''.

SEC. 3. GAO STUDY OF BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT ON TRIBAL LAND AND ON OR NEAR 
              TRUST LAND.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall--
            (1) in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, the 
        Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Federal 
        Communications Commission, study the process for obtaining a 
        grant of a right-of-way to deploy broadband infrastructure on 
        Tribal land or on or near trust land, as defined in section 
        3765 of title 38, United States Code;
            (2) in conducting the study under paragraph (1), consider 
        the unique challenges involved in broadband deployment on 
        Tribal land and on or near trust land; and
            (3) submit to Congress a report on the study conducted 
        under paragraph (1).
                                 <all>