HR5419-119

What This Bill Does

This bill targets delays in federal review of requests to place or modify communications facilities on covered federal land. The Secretaries concerned must study whether programmatic or administrative barriers slow review of communications use authorizations or broadband land-use authorizations. They must also examine whether rule or regulatory revisions could improve review efficiency and whether there are processes for prioritizing applications.

Within one year, the Secretaries must jointly report to congressional committees on the barriers, revisions, and prioritization processes they identify. The report must also include a staffing plan for the covered departments' organizational units so those units can review communications or broadband land-use authorizations on time. The reported version focuses on Interior and Agriculture land-use authorizations such as easements, rights-of-way, leases, licenses, or other approvals for communications facilities on covered land.

Who Benefits and How

Telecommunications companies seeking communications-facility sites on federal land benefit from a required review of bottlenecks and staffing gaps. Broadband providers serving rural and remote areas benefit if Interior and Agriculture create faster authorization processes. Rural broadband users benefit if faster federal reviews help deploy infrastructure. BLM field offices and Forest Service offices benefit from a staffing plan that identifies what they need for timely reviews. Congressional energy, natural-resources, commerce, and public-works committees benefit from a one-year report on barriers and fixes.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Interior and Agriculture land-management staff must conduct studies, identify barriers, review rules, assess prioritization processes, and prepare the joint report. BLM and Forest Service permitting offices must document staffing needs and review practices. Environmental review staff may face pressure to accelerate communications-facility approvals. Telecommunications applicants may still bear application documentation burdens while the agencies study the process. Congressional committee staff must evaluate whether the staffing plan and proposed process changes are credible.

Key Provisions

• Requires each Secretary concerned to study barriers to timely review of communications or broadband land-use authorizations.
• Directs the study to evaluate rule and regulatory changes that could improve review efficiency.
• Requires review of processes for prioritizing communications or broadband authorization requests.
• Requires a joint report to congressional committees within one year.
• Requires the report to include a staffing plan for timely review by covered department organizational units.