[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1294 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1294
To amend the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to preserve and protect the
ability of local governments to provide broadband capability and
services.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 23, 2005
Mr. Lautenberg (for himself and Mr. McCain) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to preserve and protect the
ability of local governments to provide broadband capability and
services.
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 ``Community Broadband Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. COMMUNITY BROADBAND CAPABILITY AND SERVICES.
Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 157
note) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d) and
inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Local Government Provision of Advanced Telecommunications
Capability and Services.--
``(1) In general.--No State statute, regulation, or other
State legal requirement may prohibit or have the effect of
prohibiting any public provider from providing, to any person
or any public or private entity, advanced telecommunications
capability or any service that utilizes the advanced
telecommunications capability provided by such provider.
``(2) Antidiscrimination safeguards.--To the extent any
public provider regulates competing private providers of
advanced telecommunications capability or services, it shall
apply its ordinances and rules without discrimination in favor
of itself or any advanced telecommunications services provider
that it owns.
``(3) Savings clause.--Nothing in this section shall exempt
a public provider from any Federal or State telecommunications
law or regulation that applies to all providers of advanced
telecommunications capability or services using such advanced
telecommunications capability.''; and
(2) by adding at the end of subsection (d), as
redesignated, the following:
``(3) Public provider.--The term `public provider' means a
State or political subdivision thereof, any agency, authority,
or instrumentality of a State or political subdivision thereof,
or an Indian tribe (as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
450b(e)), that provides advanced telecommunications capability,
or any service that utilizes such advanced telecommunications
capability, to any person or public or private entity.''.
<all>D23/