[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4821 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4821

    To require executive agencies to take steps to better meet the 
statutory deadline for processing communications use applications, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 29, 2024

  Mr. Thune (for himself, Mr. Lujan, and Mr. Barrasso) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
               Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To require executive agencies to take steps to better meet the 
statutory deadline for processing communications use applications, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 ``Accelerating Broadband Permits 
Act''.

SEC. 2. TRACKING AND IMPROVING PROCESSING TIMES FOR COMMUNICATIONS USE 
              APPLICATIONS.

    Section 6409(b)(3) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation 
Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
                    ``(E) Tracking and improving processing times.--
                            ``(i) Data controls.--An executive agency 
                        shall develop controls to ensure that data is 
                        sufficiently accurate and complete to track the 
                        processing time for each application described 
                        in subparagraph (A).
                            ``(ii) Requirement to analyze, address, and 
                        report on delay factors.--With respect to the 
                        factors that contribute to delays in processing 
                        applications described in subparagraph (A), an 
                        executive agency shall--
                                    ``(I) analyze the factors as the 
                                delays are occurring;
                                    ``(II) take actions to address the 
                                factors; and
                                    ``(III) provide an annual report on 
                                the factors to--
                                            ``(aa) the Committee on 
                                        Commerce, Science, and 
                                        Transportation of the Senate;
                                            ``(bb) the Committee on 
                                        Energy and Natural Resources of 
                                        the Senate;
                                            ``(cc) the Committee on 
                                        Energy and Commerce of the 
                                        House of Representatives;
                                            ``(dd) the Committee on 
                                        Natural Resources of the House 
                                        of Representatives; and
                                            ``(ee) each committee of 
                                        Congress with jurisdiction over 
                                        the executive agency.
                            ``(iii) Method for alerting staff to at-
                        risk applications.--An executive agency shall 
                        establish a method to alert employees of the 
                        executive agency to any application described 
                        in subparagraph (A) with respect to which the 
                        executive agency is at risk of failing to meet 
                        the 270-day deadline under that 
                        subparagraph.''.

SEC. 3. MINIMUM BROADBAND PROJECT COST.

    Section 41001(6)(A) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m(6)(A)) is 
amended--
            (1) in clause (iii), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause (v); and
            (3) by inserting after clause (iii) the following:
                            ``(iv)(I) is subject to NEPA;
                            ``(II) involves the construction of 
                        infrastructure for broadband; and
                            ``(III) is likely to require a total 
                        investment of more than $5,000,000; or''.
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