H.R. 1631 – Reading Mode

117th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1631

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 8, 2021

Ms. Eshoo (for herself, Mr. Golden, Mr. Neal, Ms. Pingree, Ms. Norton, and Mr. McGovern) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to preserve and protect the ability of State and local governments, public-private partnerships, and cooperatives to provide broadband services.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Community Broadband Act of 2021.

State, local, public-private partnership, and co-op broadband services

Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302) is amended—

(1)

by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e) and inserting after subsection (c) the following:

(d)

State, local, public-Private partnership, and co-Op 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, public-private partnership provider, or cooperatively organized 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

(A)

Public providers

To the extent any public provider regulates competing private providers of advanced telecommunications capability or services that utilize advanced telecommunications capability, such public provider shall apply its ordinances and rules without discrimination in favor of itself or any provider that it owns of services that utilize advanced telecommunications capability.

(B)

Public-private partnership providers

To the extent any State or local entity that is part of a public-private partnership provider regulates competing private providers of advanced telecommunications capability or services that utilize advanced telecommunications capability, such State or local entity shall apply its ordinances and rules without discrimination in favor of such public-private partnership provider or any provider that such State or local entity or public-private partnership provider owns of services that utilize advanced telecommunications capability.

(3)

Savings clause

Nothing in this subsection shall exempt a public provider, public-private partnership provider, or cooperatively organized provider from any Federal or State telecommunications law or regulation that applies to all providers of advanced telecommunications capability or services that utilize such advanced telecommunications capability.

; and

(2)

in subsection (e), as redesignated—

(A)

in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking this subsection and inserting this section;

(B)

by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3);

(C)

by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:

(2)

Cooperatively organized provider

The term cooperatively organized provider means an entity that is treated as a cooperative under Federal tax law and that provides advanced telecommunications capability, or any service that utilizes such advanced telecommunications capability, to any person or public or private entity.

; and

(D)

by adding at the end the following:

(4)

Public provider

The term public provider means a State or local entity that provides advanced telecommunications capability, or any service that utilizes such advanced telecommunications capability, to any person or public or private entity.

(5)

Public-private partnership provider

The term public-private partnership provider means a public-private partnership, between a State or local entity and a private entity, that provides advanced telecommunications capability, or any service that utilizes such advanced telecommunications capability, to any person or public or private entity.

(6)

State or local entity

The term State or local entity 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. 5304(e))).