H.R. 4986 — what changed
Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act of 2018
From Reported in House to Engrossed in House. 9 sections amended, 24 added, and 5 removed between Reported in House and Engrossed in House.
Sec. 101 Authorization of appropriations
In general— Section 6 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 156) is amended to read as follows:
“6. Authorization of appropriations
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“(a) Authorization—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission to carry out the functions of the Commission $322,035,000 $333,118,000 for each of the fiscal years year 2019 and $339,610,000 for fiscal year 2020.
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“(b) Offsetting collectionscollections—The sum appropriated in any fiscal year to carry out the activities described in subsection (a), to the extent and in the amounts provided for in Appropriations Acts, shall be derived from fees authorized by section 9.”
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“(1) In general—The sum appropriated in any fiscal year to carry out the activities described in subsection (a), to the extent and in the amounts provided for in advance in Appropriations Acts, shall be derived from fees authorized by section 9.
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“(2) Deposit of collections—Amounts received from fees authorized by section 9 shall be deposited as an offsetting collection in, and credited to, the account through which funds are made available to carry out the activities described in subsection (a).
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“(3) Deposit of excess collections—Any fees collected in excess of the total amount of fees provided for in Appropriations Acts for a fiscal year shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury of the United States for the sole purpose of deficit reduction.”
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Deposits of bidders to To be deposited in Treasury— Section 309(j)(8)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(C)) is amended—
in the first sentence, by striking “an interest bearing account” and all that follows and inserting “the Treasury.”;
in clause (i)—
by striking “paid to the Treasury” and inserting “deposited in the general fund of the Treasury (where such deposits shall be used for the sole purpose of deficit reduction)”; and
by striking the semicolon and inserting “; and”;
in clause (ii), by striking “; and” and inserting “, and payments representing the return of such deposits shall not be subject to administrative offset under section 3716(c) of title 31, United States Code.”; and
by striking clause (iii).
Elimination of duplicative authorization of appropriations—
In general— Section 710 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–104) is repealed.
Conforming amendment— The table of contents in section 2 of such Act is amended by striking the item relating to section 710.
Transfer of funds— On the effective date described in section 103, any amounts in the account providing appropriations to carry out the functions of the Commission that were collected in excess of the amounts provided for in Appropriations Acts in any fiscal year prior to such date shall be transferred to the general fund of the Treasury of the United States for the sole purpose of deficit reduction.
Sec. 102 Application and regulatory fees
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In general—Application fees— Section 9 8 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 159) 158) is amended to read as follows:
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“9. “8. Application and regulatory fees
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“(a) General authority—The authority; establishment of schedule—The Commission shall assess and collect application fees and regulatory at such rates as the Commission shall establish in a schedule of application fees to recover the costs of carrying out the activities described in section 6(a) only Commission to the extent and in the amounts provided for in advance in Appropriations Acts.process applications.
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“(b) Application feesAdjustment of schedule
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“(1) In general—The general—In every even-numbered year, the Commission shall assess and collect review the schedule of application fees at such rates established under this section and, except as the Commission shall establish provided in paragraph (2), set a new amount for each fee in the schedule of application fees that is equal to recover the costs amount of the Commission to process applications.fee on the date when the fee was established or the date when the fee was last amended under subsection (c), whichever is later—
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“(2) Adjustment “(A) increased or decreased by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index during the period beginning on such date and ending on the date of schedulethe review; and
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“(A) In general—In every even-numbered year, the Commission shall review the schedule of application fees established under this subsection and, except as provided in subparagraph (B), set a new amount for each fee in the schedule that is equal “(B) rounded to the amount of the fee on the date when the fee was established or the date when the fee was last amended under paragraph (3), whichever is later—nearest $5 increment.
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“(i) increased or decreased by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index during the period beginning on such date and ending on the date of the review; and“(2) Threshold for adjustment—The Commission may not adjust a fee under paragraph (1) if—
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“(ii) rounded to “(A) in the nearest $5 increment.case of a fee the current amount of which is less than $200, the adjustment would result in a change in the current amount of less than $10; or
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“(B) Threshold for adjustment—The Commission may not adjust in the case of a fee under subparagraph (A) if—the current amount of which is $200 or more, the adjustment would result in a change in the current amount of less than 5 percent.
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“(i) in “(3) Current amount defined—In paragraph (2), the case of term “current amount” means, with respect to a fee fee, the current amount of which is less than $200, the adjustment would result in a change in fee on the current amount of less than $10; ordate when the fee was established, the date when the fee was last adjusted under paragraph (1), or the date when the fee was last amended under subsection (c), whichever is latest.
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“(ii) in “(c) Amendments to schedule—In addition to the case of a fee adjustments required by subsection (b), the current amount Commission shall by rule amend the schedule of which is $200 or more, application fees established under this section if the adjustment would result in a change in Commission determines that the current amount of less than 5 percent.schedule requires amendment—
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“(C) Current amount defined—In subparagraph (B), the term “current amount” means, with respect to a fee, the amount of the fee on the date when the fee was established, the date when the fee was last adjusted under subparagraph (A), “(1) so that such fees reflect increases or decreases in the date when costs of processing applications at the fee was last amended under paragraph (3), whichever is latest.Commission; or
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“(3) Amendments—In addition to the adjustments required by paragraph (2), the Commission shall by rule amend the schedule of application fees established under this subsection if the Commission determines that the schedule requires amendment “(2) so that such fees reflect increases or decreases in the costs of processing applications at the Commission and schedule reflects the consolidation or addition of new categories of applications.
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“(c) Regulatory fees“(d) Exceptions
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“(1) In general—The Commission shall assess and collect regulatory Parties to which fees at such rates as the Commission shall establish in a schedule of regulatory are not applicable—The application fees that will result in the collection, in each fiscal year, of an amount that can reasonably established under this section shall not be expected to equal the difference between—applicable to—
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“(A) the amounts described in subsection (a) with respect to such fiscal year; anda governmental entity;
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“(B) the amount of application fees reasonably expected to be collected a nonprofit entity licensed in such fiscal year.the Local Government, Police, Fire, Highway Maintenance, Forestry-Conservation, Public Safety, or Special Emergency Radio radio services; or
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“(2) Adjustment of schedule“(C) a noncommercial radio station or noncommercial television station.
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“(A) In general—For each fiscal year, “(2) Cost of collection—If, in the Commission shall by rule adjust judgment of the schedule Commission, the cost of regulatory fees collecting an application fee established under this subsection to—section would exceed the amount collected, the Commission may by rule eliminate such fee.
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“(i) reflect unexpected increases or decreases “(e) Deposit of collections—Moneys received from application fees established under this section shall be deposited in the number general fund of units subject to the payment of such fees; andTreasury.”
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Regulatory fees— Section 9 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 159) is amended to read as follows:
added “9. Regulatory fees
added “(a) General authority—The Commission shall assess and collect regulatory fees to recover the costs of carrying out the activities described in section 6(a) only to the extent, and in the total amounts, provided for in Appropriations Acts.
added “(b) Establishment of schedule—The Commission shall assess and collect regulatory fees at such rates as the Commission shall establish in a schedule of regulatory fees that will result in the collection, in each fiscal year, of an amount that can reasonably be expected to equal the amounts described in subsection (a) with respect to such fiscal year.
added “(c) Adjustment of schedule
added “(1) In general—For each fiscal year, the Commission shall by rule adjust the schedule of regulatory fees established under this section to—
added “(A) reflect unexpected increases or decreases in the number of units subject to the payment of such fees; and
added “(B) result in the collection of the amount required by subsection (b).
added “(2) Rounding—In making adjustments under this subsection, the Commission may round fees to the nearest $5 increment.
added “(d) Amendments to schedule—In addition to the adjustments required by subsection (c), the Commission shall by rule amend the schedule of regulatory fees established under this section if the Commission determines that the schedule requires amendment so that such fees reflect the full-time equivalent number of employees within the bureaus and offices of the Commission, adjusted to take into account factors that are reasonably related to the benefits provided to the payor of the fee by the Commission’s activities. In making an amendment under this subsection, the Commission may not change the total amount of regulatory fees required by subsection (b) to be collected in a fiscal year.
added “(e) Exceptions
added “(1) Parties to which fees are not applicable—The regulatory fees established under this section shall not be applicable to—
added “(A) a governmental entity or nonprofit entity;
added “(B) an amateur radio operator licensee under part 97 of the Commission’s rules (47 CFR part 97); or
added “(C) a noncommercial radio station or noncommercial television station.
added “(2) Cost of collection—If, in the judgment of the Commission, the cost of collecting a regulatory fee established under this section from a party would exceed the amount collected from such party, the Commission may exempt such party from paying such fee.
added “(f) Deposit of collections
added “(1) In general—Amounts received from fees authorized by this section shall be deposited as an offsetting collection in, and credited to, the account through which funds are made available to carry out the activities described in section 6(a).
added “(2) Deposit of excess collections—Any regulatory fees collected in excess of the total amount of fees provided for in Appropriations Acts for a fiscal year shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury of the United States for the sole purpose of deficit reduction.”
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Provisions applicable to application and regulatory fees— Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 9 the following:
added “9A. Provisions applicable to application and regulatory fees
added “(a) Judicial review prohibited—Any adjustment or amendment to a schedule of fees under subsection (b) or (c) of section 8 or subsection (c) or (d) of section 9 is not subject to judicial review.
added “(b) Notice to Congress—The Commission shall transmit to Congress notification—
added “(1) of any adjustment under section 8(b) or 9(c) immediately upon the adoption of such adjustment; and
added “(2) of any amendment under section 8(c) or 9(d) not later than 90 days before the effective date of such amendment.
added “(c) Enforcement
added “(1) Penalties for late payment—The Commission shall by rule prescribe an additional penalty for late payment of fees under section 8 or 9. Such additional penalty shall be 25 percent of the amount of the fee that was not paid in a timely manner.
added “(2) Interest on unpaid fees and penalties—The Commission shall charge interest, at a rate determined under section 3717 of title 31, United States Code, on a fee under section 8 or 9 or an additional penalty under this subsection that is not paid in a timely manner. Such section 3717 shall not otherwise apply with respect to such a fee or penalty.
added “(3) Dismissal of applications or filings—The Commission may dismiss any application or other filing for failure to pay in a timely manner any fee under section 8 or 9 or any interest or additional penalty under this subsection.
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“(ii) result in the collection of the amount required by paragraph (1).
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“(B) Rounding—In making adjustments under this paragraph, the Commission may round fees to the nearest $5 increment.
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“(3) Amendments—In addition to the adjustments required by paragraph (2), the Commission shall by rule amend the schedule of regulatory fees established under this subsection if the Commission determines that the schedule requires amendment so that such fees reflect the full-time equivalent number of employees within the bureaus and offices of the Commission, adjusted to take into account factors that are reasonably related to the benefits provided to the payor of the fee by the Commission’s activities. In making an amendment under this paragraph, the Commission may not change the total amount of regulatory fees required by paragraph (1) to be collected in a fiscal year.
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“(d) Judicial review prohibited—An adjustment or amendment to a schedule of fees under subsection (b) or (c) is not subject to judicial review.
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“(e) Notice to Congress—The Commission shall transmit to Congress notification—
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“(1) of any adjustment under subsection (b)(2) or (c)(2) immediately upon the adoption of such adjustment; and
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“(2) of any amendment under subsection (b)(3) or (c)(3) not later than 90 days before the effective date of such amendment.
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“(f) Enforcement
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“(1) Penalties for late payment—The Commission shall by rule prescribe a penalty for late payment of fees under this section. Such penalty shall be 25 percent of the amount of the fee that was not paid in a timely manner.
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“(2) Interest on unpaid fees and penalties—The Commission shall charge interest, at a rate determined under section 3717 of title 31, United States Code, on a fee or penalty under this section that is not paid in a timely manner. Such section 3717 shall not otherwise apply with respect to a fee or penalty under this section.
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“(3) Dismissal of applications or filings—The Commission may dismiss any application or other filing for failure to pay in a timely manner any fee, interest, or penalty under this section.
“(4) Revocations
added “(A) In general—In addition to or in lieu of the penalties and dismissals authorized by this subsection, the Commission may revoke any instrument of authorization held by any licensee that has not paid in a timely manner a regulatory fee assessed under section 9 or any related interest or penalty.
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“(A) In general—In addition to or in lieu of the penalties and dismissals authorized by paragraphs (1) and (3), the Commission may revoke any instrument of authorization held by any licensee that has not paid in a timely manner a regulatory fee assessed under this section or any related interest or penalty.
“(B) Notice—Revocation action may be taken by the Commission under this paragraph after notice of the Commission’s intent to take such action is sent to the licensee by registered mail, return receipt requested, at the licensee’s last known address. The notice shall provide the licensee at least 30 days to either pay the fee, interest, and any penalty or show cause why the fee, interest, or penalty does not apply to the licensee or should otherwise be waived or payment deferred.
“(C) Hearing
“(i) Generally not required—A hearing is not required under this paragraph unless the licensee’s response presents a substantial and material question of fact.
“(ii) Evidence and burdens—In any case where a hearing is conducted under this paragraph, the hearing shall be based on written evidence only, and the burden of proceeding with the introduction of evidence and the burden of proof shall be on the licensee.
“(iii) Costs—Unless the licensee substantially prevails in the hearing, the Commission may assess the licensee for the costs of such hearing.
“(D) Opportunity to pay prior to revocation—Any Commission order adopted under this paragraph shall determine the amount due, if any, and provide the licensee with at least 30 days to pay that amount or have its authorization revoked.
“(E) Finality—No order of revocation under this paragraph shall become final until the licensee has exhausted its right to judicial review of such order under section 402(b)(5).
added “(d) Waiver, Reduction, and Deferment—The Commission may waive, reduce, or defer payment of a fee under section 8 or 9 or an interest charge or penalty under this section in any specific instance for good cause shown, where such action would promote the public interest.
added “(e) Payment rules—The Commission shall by rule permit payment—
added “(1) in the case of fees under section 8 or 9 in large amounts, by installments; and
added “(2) in the case of fees under section 8 or 9 in small amounts, in advance for a number of years not to exceed the term of the license held by the payor.
added “(f) Accounting System—The Commission shall develop accounting systems necessary to make the amendments authorized by sections 8(c) and 9(d).”
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“(g) Waiver, Reduction, and Deferment—The Commission may waive, reduce, or defer payment of a fee, interest charge, or penalty in any specific instance for good cause shown, if such action would promote the public interest.
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“(h) Payment rules—The Commission shall by rule permit payment—
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“(1) in the case of fees in large amounts, by installments; and
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“(2) in the case of fees in small amounts, in advance for a number of years not to exceed the term of the license held by the payor.
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“(i) Exceptions
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“(1) Parties to which fees are not applicable
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“(A) Application fees—The application fees established under this section shall not be applicable to—
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“(i) a governmental entity;
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“(ii) a nonprofit entity licensed in the Local Government, Police, Fire, Highway Maintenance, Forestry-Conservation, Public Safety, or Special Emergency Radio service; or
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“(iii) a noncommercial radio station or noncommercial television station.
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“(B) Regulatory fees—The regulatory fees established under this section shall not be applicable to—
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“(i) a governmental entity or nonprofit entity;
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“(ii) an amateur radio operator licensee under part 97 of the Commission’s rules (47 C.F.R. part 97); or
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“(iii) a noncommercial radio station or noncommercial television station.
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“(2) Cost of collection
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“(A) Application fees—If, in the judgment of the Commission, the cost of collecting an application fee established under this section would exceed the amount collected, the Commission may by rule eliminate such fee.
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“(B) Regulatory fees—If, in the judgment of the Commission, the cost of collecting a regulatory fee established under this section from a party would exceed the amount collected from such party, the Commission may exempt such party from paying such fee.
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“(j) Accounting System—The Commission shall develop accounting systems necessary to make the amendments authorized by subsections (b)(3) and (c)(3).”
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Conforming amendments— The Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended—
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by repealing section 8; and
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in section 309(j)(6)(H), by striking “charges imposed pursuant to section 8 of this Act” and inserting “application fees assessed under section 9”.
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Transitional rules—
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Application fees— An application fee established under section 8 of the Communications Act of 1934, as such section is in effect on the day before the effective date described in section 103 of this Act, shall remain in effect under subsection (b) of section 9 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by subsection (a) of this section, until such time as the Commission adjusts or amends such fee under subsection (b)(2) or (b)(3) of such section 9, as so amended.
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Regulatory fees— A regulatory fee established under section 9 of the Communications Act of 1934, as such section is in effect on the day before the effective date described in section 103 of this Act, shall remain in effect under subsection (c) of section 9 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by subsection (a) of this section, until such time as the Commission adjusts or amends such fee under subsection (c)(2) or (c)(3) of such section 9, as so amended.
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Rulemaking to amend schedule of regulatory fees—Transitional rules—
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In general—Application fees— Not later than 1 year after An application fee established under section 8 of the Communications Act of 1934, as such section is in effect on the day before the effective date described in section 103, the Commission 103 of this Act, shall complete a rulemaking proceeding remain in effect under subsection (c)(3) of section 9 8 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by subsection (a) of this section.section, until such time as the Commission adjusts or amends such fee under subsection (b) or (c) of such section 8, as so amended.
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Regulatory fees— A regulatory fee established under section 9 of the Communications Act of 1934, as such section is in effect on the day before the effective date described in section 103 of this Act, shall remain in effect under section 9 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by subsection (b) of this section, until such time as the Commission adjusts or amends such fee under subsection (c) or (d) of such section 9, as so amended.
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Rulemaking To amend schedule of regulatory fees—
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In general— Not later than 1 year after the effective date described in section 103, the Commission shall complete a rulemaking proceeding under subsection (d) of section 9 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by subsection (b) of this section.
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was (5)(3)
Report to Congress— If the Commission has not completed the rulemaking proceeding required by paragraph (1) by the date that is 6 months after the effective date described in section 103, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report on the progress of such rulemaking proceeding.
Sec. 201 Application of Antideficiency Act to Universal Service Program
added Section 302 of Public Law 108–494 (118 Stat. 3998) is amended by striking “December 31, 2018” each place it appears and inserting “December 31, 2019”.
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In general— Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
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“13. Transparency and efficiency
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“(a) Initial rulemaking and inquiry
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“(1) Rulemaking—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Commission shall complete a rulemaking proceeding and adopt procedural changes to its rules to maximize opportunities for public participation and efficient decisionmaking.
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“(2) Requirements for rulemaking—The rules adopted under paragraph (1) shall—
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“(A) set minimum comment periods for comment and reply comment, subject to a determination by the Commission that good cause exists for departing from such minimum comment periods, for—
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“(i) significant regulatory actions, as defined in Executive Order No. 12866; and
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“(ii) all other rulemaking proceedings;
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“(B) establish policies concerning the submission of extensive new comments, data, or reports towards the end of the comment period in the proceedings described in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A);
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“(C) establish policies regarding treatment of comments, ex parte communications, and data or reports (including statistical reports and reports to Congress) submitted after the comment period in the proceedings described in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) to ensure that the public has adequate notice of and opportunity to respond to such submissions before the Commission relies on such submissions in any order, decision, report, or action;
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“(D) establish procedures for, not later than 14 days after the end of each quarter of a calendar year (or more frequently, as the Commission considers appropriate), publishing on the Internet website of the Commission and submitting to Congress a report that contains—
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“(i) the status of open rulemaking proceedings and proposed orders, decisions, reports, or actions on circulation for review by the Commissioners, including which Commissioners have not cast a vote on an order, decision, report, or action that has been on circulation for more than 60 days;
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“(ii) for the petitions, applications, complaints, and other requests for action by the Commission that were pending at the Commission on the last day of such quarter (or more frequent period, as the case may be)—
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“(I) the number of such requests, broken down by the bureau primarily responsible for action and, for each bureau, the type of request (such as a petition, application, or complaint); and
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“(II) information regarding the amount of time for which such requests have been pending, broken down as described in subclause (I); and
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“(iii) a list of the congressional investigations of the Commission that were pending on the last day of such quarter (or more frequent period, as the case may be) and the cost of such investigations, individually and in the aggregate;
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“(E) establish deadlines (relative to the date of filing) for—
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“(i) in the case of a petition for a declaratory ruling under section 1.2 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, issuing a public notice of such petition;
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“(ii) in the case of a petition for rulemaking under section 1.401 of such title, issuing a public notice of such petition; and
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“(iii) in the case of a petition for reconsideration under section 1.106 or 1.429 of such title or an application for review under section 1.115 of such title, issuing a public notice of a decision on the petition or application by the Commission or under delegated authority (as the case may be);
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“(F) establish guidelines (relative to the date of filing) for the disposition of petitions filed under section 1.2 of such title;
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“(G) establish procedures for the inclusion of the specific language of the proposed rule or the proposed amendment of an existing rule in a notice of proposed rulemaking; and
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“(H) require notices of proposed rulemaking and orders adopting a rule or amending an existing rule that—
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“(i) create (or propose to create) a program activity to contain performance measures for evaluating the effectiveness of the program activity; and
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“(ii) substantially change (or propose to substantially change) a program activity to contain—
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“(I) performance measures for evaluating the effectiveness of the program activity as changed (or proposed to be changed); or
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“(II) a finding that existing performance measures will effectively evaluate the program activity as changed (or proposed to be changed).
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“(3) Inquiry—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Commission shall complete an inquiry to seek public comment on whether and how the Commission should—
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“(A) establish procedures for allowing a bipartisan majority of Commissioners to place an order, decision, report, or action on the agenda of an open meeting;
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“(B) establish procedures for informing all Commissioners of a reasonable number of options available to the Commission for resolving a petition, complaint, application, rulemaking, or other proceeding;
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“(C) establish procedures for ensuring that all Commissioners have adequate time, prior to being required to decide a petition, complaint, application, rulemaking, or other proceeding (including at a meeting held pursuant to section 5(d)), to review the proposed Commission decision document, including the specific language of any proposed rule or any proposed amendment of an existing rule;
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“(D) establish procedures for publishing the text of agenda items to be voted on at an open meeting in advance of such meeting so that the public has the opportunity to read the text before a vote is taken;
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“(E) establish deadlines (relative to the date of filing) for disposition of applications for a license under section 1.913 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations;
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“(F) assign resources needed in order to meet the deadlines described in subparagraph (E), including whether the Commission’s ability to meet such deadlines would be enhanced by assessing a fee from applicants for such a license; and
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“(G) except as otherwise provided in section 4(o), publish each order, decision, report, or action not later than 30 days after the date of the adoption of such order, decision, report, or action.
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“(4) Data for performance measures—The Commission shall develop a performance measure or proposed performance measure required by this subsection to rely, where possible, on data already collected by the Commission.
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“(5) GAO audit—Not less frequently than every 6 months, the Comptroller General of the United States shall audit the cost estimates provided by the Commission under paragraph (2)(D)(iii) during the preceding 6-month period.
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“(b) Periodic review—On the date that is 5 years after the completion of the rulemaking proceeding under subsection (a)(1), and every 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall initiate a new rulemaking proceeding to continue to consider such procedural changes to its rules as may be in the public interest to maximize opportunities for public participation and efficient decisionmaking.
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“(c) Nonpublic collaborative discussions
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“(1) In general—Notwithstanding section 552b of title 5, United States Code, a bipartisan majority of Commissioners may hold a meeting that is closed to the public to discuss official business if—
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“(A) a vote or any other agency action is not taken at such meeting;
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“(B) each person present at such meeting is a Commissioner, an employee of the Commission, a member of a joint board or conference established under section 410, or a person on the staff of such a joint board or conference or of a member of such a joint board or conference; and
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“(C) an attorney from the Office of General Counsel of the Commission is present at such meeting.
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“(2) Disclosure of nonpublic collaborative discussions—Not later than 2 business days after the conclusion of a meeting held under paragraph (1), the Commission shall publish a disclosure of such meeting, including—
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“(A) a list of the persons who attended such meeting; and
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“(B) a summary of the matters discussed at such meeting, except for such matters as the Commission determines may be withheld under section 552b(c) of title 5, United States Code.
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“(3) Preservation of open meetings requirements for agency action—Nothing in this subsection shall limit the applicability of section 552b of title 5, United States Code, with respect to a meeting of Commissioners other than that described in paragraph (1).
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“(d) Access to certain information on Commission’s website—The Commission shall provide direct access from the homepage of its website to—
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“(1) detailed information regarding—
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“(A) the budget of the Commission for the current fiscal year;
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“(B) the appropriations for the Commission for such fiscal year; and
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“(C) the total number of full-time equivalent employees of the Commission; and
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“(2) the performance plan most recently made available by the Commission under section 1115(b) of title 31, United States Code.
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“(e) Internet publication of certain FCC policies and procedures—The chairman of the Commission shall—
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“(1) publish on the Internet website of the Commission any policies or procedures of the Commission that—
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“(A) are established by the chairman; and
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“(B) relate to the functioning of the Commission or the handling of the agenda of the Commission; and
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“(2) update such publication not later than 48 hours after the chairman makes changes to any such policies or procedures.
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“(f) Federal Register publication
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“(1) In general—In the case of any document adopted by the Commission that the Commission is required, under any provision of law, to publish in the Federal Register, the Commission shall, not later than the date described in paragraph (2), complete all Commission actions necessary for such document to be so published.
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“(2) Date described—The date described in this paragraph is the earlier of—
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“(A) the day that is 45 days after the date of the release of the document; or
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“(B) the day by which such actions must be completed to comply with any deadline under any other provision of law.
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“(3) No effect on deadlines for publication in other form—In the case of a deadline that does not specify that the form of publication is publication in the Federal Register, the Commission may comply with such deadline by publishing the document in another form. Such other form of publication does not relieve the Commission of any Federal Register publication requirement applicable to such document, including the requirement of paragraph (1).
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“(g) Consumer complaint database
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“(1) In general—In evaluating and processing consumer complaints, the Commission shall present information about such complaints in a publicly available, searchable database on its website that—
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“(A) facilitates easy use by consumers; and
removed
“(B) to the extent practicable, is sortable and accessible by—
removed
“(i) the date of the filing of the complaint;
removed
“(ii) the topic of the complaint;
removed
“(iii) the party complained of; and
removed
“(iv) other elements that the Commission considers in the public interest.
removed
“(2) Duplicative complaints—In the case of multiple complaints arising from the same alleged misconduct, the Commission shall be required to include only information concerning one such complaint in the database described in paragraph (1) and shall take any other steps the Commission finds prudent to avoid publishing inaccurate or misleading data.
removed
“(h) Form of publication
removed
“(1) In general—In complying with a requirement of this section to publish a document, the Commission shall publish such document on its website, in addition to publishing such document in any other form that the Commission is required to use or is permitted to and chooses to use.
removed
“(2) Exception—The Commission shall by rule establish procedures for redacting documents required to be published by this section so that the published versions of such documents do not contain—
removed
“(A) information the publication of which would be detrimental to national security, homeland security, law enforcement, or public safety; or
removed
“(B) information that is proprietary or confidential.
removed
“(i) Transparency relating to performance in meeting FOIA requirements—The Commission shall take additional steps to inform the public about its performance and efficiency in meeting the disclosure and other requirements of section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), including by doing the following:
removed
“(1) Publishing on the Commission’s website the Commission’s logs for tracking, responding to, and managing requests submitted under such section, including the Commission’s fee estimates, fee categories, and fee request determinations.
removed
“(2) Releasing to the public all decisions made by the Commission (including decisions made by the Commission’s Bureaus and Offices) granting or denying requests filed under such section, including any such decisions pertaining to the estimate and application of fees assessed under such section.
removed
“(3) Publishing on the Commission’s website electronic copies of documents released under such section.
removed
“(4) Presenting information about the Commission’s handling of requests under such section in the Commission’s annual budget estimates submitted to Congress and the Commission’s annual performance and financial reports. Such information shall include the number of requests under such section the Commission received in the most recent fiscal year, the number of such requests granted and denied, a comparison of the Commission’s processing of such requests over at least the previous 3 fiscal years, and a comparison of the Commission’s results with the most recent average for the United States Government as published on www.foia.gov.
removed
“(j) Prompt release of statistical reports and reports to Congress—Not later than January 15th of each year, the Commission shall identify, catalog, and publish an anticipated release schedule for all statistical reports and reports to Congress that are regularly or intermittently released by the Commission and will be released during such year.
removed
“(k) Annual scorecard reports
removed
“(1) In general—For the 1-year period beginning on January 1st of each year, the Commission shall prepare a report on the performance of the Commission in conducting its proceedings and meeting the deadlines established under subsection (a)(2)(E) and the guidelines established under subsection (a)(2)(F).
removed
“(2) Contents—Each report required by paragraph (1) shall contain detailed statistics on such performance, including, with respect to each Bureau of the Commission—
removed
“(A) with respect to each type of filing specified in subsection (a)(2)(E) or (a)(2)(F)—
removed
“(i) the number of filings that were pending on the last day of the period covered by such report;
removed
“(ii) the number of filings described in clause (i) for which each applicable deadline or guideline established under such subsection was not met and the average length of time such filings have been pending; and
removed
“(iii) for filings that were resolved during such period, the average time between initiation and resolution and the percentage for which each applicable deadline or guideline established under such subsection was met;
removed
“(B) with respect to proceedings before an administrative law judge—
removed
“(i) the number of such proceedings completed during such period; and
removed
“(ii) the number of such proceedings pending on the last day of such period; and
removed
“(C) the number of independent studies or analyses published by the Commission during such period.
removed
“(3) Publication and submission—The Commission shall publish and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate each report required by paragraph (1) not later than the date that is 30 days after the last day of the period covered by such report.
removed
“(l) Definitions—In this section:
removed
“(1) Amendment—The term amendment includes, when used with respect to an existing rule, the deletion of such rule.
removed
“(2) Bipartisan majority—The term bipartisan majority means, when used with respect to a group of Commissioners, that such group—
removed
“(A) is a group of three or more Commissioners; and
removed
“(B) includes, for each political party of which any Commissioner is a member, at least one Commissioner who is a member of such political party, and, if any Commissioner has no political party affiliation, at least one unaffiliated Commissioner.
removed
“(3) Performance measure—The term performance measure means an objective and quantifiable outcome measure or output measure (as such terms are defined in section 1115 of title 31, United States Code).
removed
“(4) Program activity—The term program activity has the meaning given such term in section 1115 of title 31, United States Code, except that such term also includes any annual collection or distribution or related series of collections or distributions by the Commission of an amount that is greater than or equal to $100,000,000.
removed
“(5) Other definitions—The terms agency action, ex parte communication, and rule have the meanings given such terms in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.”
removed
Effective dates and implementing rules—
removed
Effective dates—
removed
Nonpublic collaborative discussions— Subsection (c) of section 13 of the Communications Act of 1934, as added by subsection (a), shall apply beginning on the first date on which all of the procedural changes to the rules of the Commission required by subsection (a)(1) of such section have taken effect.
removed
Report release schedules— Subsection (j) of such section 13 shall apply with respect to 2019 and any year thereafter.
removed
Annual scorecard reports— Subsection (k) of such section 13 shall apply with respect to 2018 and any year thereafter.
removed
Internet publication of certain FCC policies and procedures— Subsection (e) of such section 13 shall apply beginning on the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
removed
Rules— Except as otherwise provided in such section 13, the Commission shall promulgate any rules necessary to carry out such section not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Sec. 202 Categorization of TCPA inquiries and complaints in quarterly report
removed
removed
In compiling its quarterly report with respect to informal consumer inquiries and complaints, the Commission may not categorize an inquiry or complaint with respect to section 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227) as being a wireline inquiry or complaint or a wireless inquiry or complaint unless the party whose conduct is the subject of the inquiry or complaint is a wireline carrier or a wireless carrier, respectively.
Sec. 203 Effect on other laws
removed
removed
Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this title shall relieve the Commission from any obligations under title 5, United States Code, except where otherwise expressly provided.
Sec. 204 Application of Antideficiency Act to Universal Service Program
removed
removed
Section 302 of Public Law 108–494 (118 Stat. 3998) is amended by striking “December 31, 2018” each place it appears and inserting “December 31, 2021”.
Sec. 205 Report on improving small business participation in FCC proceedings
removed
removed
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission, in consultation with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, shall submit to Congress a report on—
removed
actions that the Commission will take to improve the participation of small businesses in the proceedings of the Commission; and
removed
recommendations for any legislation that the Commission considers appropriate to improve such participation.
Sec. 206 Timely availability of items adopted by vote of the Commission
removed
removed
Amendment— Section 4 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 154) is amended by adding at the end the following:
removed
“(o) In the case of any item that is adopted by vote of the Commission, the Commission shall publish on the Internet website of the Commission the text of such item not later than 7 days after the Secretary of the Commission has received dissenting statements from all Commissioners wishing to submit such a statement with respect to such item.”
removed
Effective date— The amendment made by this section shall apply with respect to an item that is adopted after the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Sec. 302 Access to essential service providers during federally declared emergencies
Section 427(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5189e(a)) is amended—
in paragraph (1)—
in subparagraph (A), by striking “telecommunications service” and inserting “wireline or mobile telephone service, Internet access service, radio or television broadcasting, cable service, or direct broadcast satellite service”;
changed
in subparagraph (E), by striking the semicolon and inserting “; or”;or”; and
by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through (E) as clauses (i) through (v), respectively; and
removed
by adding at the end the following:
removed
“(B) is a tower owner or operator;”
by striking “(1) provides” and inserting “(1)(A) provides”.
Sec. 401 Communications marketplace report
changed
Title I of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by section 201(a), 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is further amended by adding at the end the following:
changed
“14. “13. Communications marketplace report
“(a) In general—In the last quarter of every even-numbered year, the Commission shall publish on its website and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the state of the communications marketplace.
“(b) Contents—Each report required by subsection (a) shall—
“(1) assess the state of competition in the communications marketplace, including competition to deliver voice, video, audio, and data services among providers of telecommunications, providers of commercial mobile service (as defined in section 332), multichannel video programming distributors (as defined in section 602), broadcast stations, providers of satellite communications, Internet service providers, and other providers of communications services;
changed
“(2) assess the state of deployment of communications capabilities, including advanced telecommunications capability (as defined in section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302)), regardless of the technology used for such deployment, including whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion;deployment;
changed
“(3) assess whether laws, regulations, or regulatory practices (whether those of the Federal Government, States, political subdivisions of States, Indian tribes or tribal organizations (as such terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)), or foreign governments) governments), or demonstrated marketplace practices pose a barrier to competitive entry into the communications marketplace or to the competitive expansion of existing providers of communications services;
“(4) describe the agenda of the Commission for the next 2-year period for addressing the challenges and opportunities in the communications marketplace that were identified through the assessments under paragraphs (1) through (3); and
“(5) describe the actions that the Commission has taken in pursuit of the agenda described pursuant to paragraph (4) in the previous report submitted under this section.
“(c) Extension—If the President designates a Commissioner as Chairman of the Commission during the last quarter of an even-numbered year, the portion of the report required by subsection (b)(4) may be published on the website of the Commission and submitted to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate as an addendum during the first quarter of the following odd-numbered year.
“(d) Special requirements
“(1) Assessing competition—In assessing the state of competition under subsection (b)(1), the Commission shall consider all forms of competition, including the effect of intermodal competition, facilities-based competition, and competition from new and emergent communications services, including the provision of content and communications using the Internet.
“(2) Assessing deployment—In assessing the state of deployment under subsection (b)(2), the Commission shall compile a list of geographical areas that are not served by any provider of advanced telecommunications capability.
changed
“(3) International comparisons Considering small businesses—In assessing the state of competition under subsection (b)(1) and demographic information—The Commission may use readily available data to draw appropriate comparisons between regulatory barriers under subsection (b)(3), the United States communications marketplace Commission shall consider market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and other small businesses in the international communications marketplace and to correlate its assessments in accordance with demographic information.the national policy under section 257(b).”
removed
“(4) Considering small businesses—In assessing the state of competition under subsection (b)(1) and regulatory barriers under subsection (b)(3), the Commission shall consider market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and other small businesses in the communications marketplace in accordance with the national policy under section 257(b).
removed
“(5) Considering cable rates—In assessing the state of competition under subsection (b)(1), the Commission shall include in each report required by subsection (a) the aggregate average total amount paid by cable systems in compensation under section 325 during the period covered by such report.”
Sec. 402 Consolidation of redundant reports; conforming amendments
ORBIT Act Report— Section 646 of the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 (47 U.S.C. 765e; 114 Stat. 57) is repealed.
Satellite Competition Report— Section 4 of Public Law 109–34 (47 U.S.C. 703) is repealed.
changed
International Broadband Data Report— Section 103 103(b)(1) of the Broadband Data Improvement Act (47 U.S.C. 1303) 1303(b)(1)) is amended—amended by striking “the assessment and report” and all that follows through “Federal Communications Commission” and inserting “its report under section 13 of the Communications Act of 1934, the Federal Communications Commission”.
removed
by striking subsection (b); and
removed
by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) as subsections (b) through (d), respectively.
Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Programming Report— Section 628 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 548) is amended—
by striking subsection (g);
by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (g); and
by transferring subsection (g) (as redesignated) so that it appears after subsection (f).
added
Report on Cable Industry Prices— Section 623(k) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 543(k)) is amended—
removed
Report on Cable Industry Prices—
removed
In general— Section 623 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 543) is amended—
removed
by striking subsection (k); and
removed
by redesignating subsections (l) through (o) as subsections (k) through (n), respectively.
changed
Conforming amendment— Section 613(a)(3) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 533(a)(3)) is amended in paragraph (1), by striking “623(l)” “annually publish” and inserting “623(k)”.“publish with its report under section 13”; and
added
in the heading of paragraph (2), by striking “annual”.
Triennial Report Identifying and Eliminating Market Entry Barriers for Entrepreneurs and Other Small Businesses— Section 257 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 257) is amended by striking subsection (c).
removed
Section 706 Report— Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302) is amended—
removed
by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
removed
“(b) Determination—If the Commission determines in its report under section 14 of the Communications Act of 1934, after considering the availability of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans (including, in particular, elementary and secondary schools and classrooms), that advanced telecommunications capability is not being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion, the Commission shall take immediate action to accelerate deployment of such capability by removing barriers to infrastructure investment and by promoting competition in the telecommunications market.”
removed
by striking subsection (c);
removed
in subsection (d), by striking “this subsection” and inserting “this section”; and
removed
by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (c).
renumbered
was (9)
State of Competitive Market Conditions with respect to Commercial Mobile Radio Services— Section 332(c)(1)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(c)(1)(C)) is amended by striking the first and second sentences.
added
Previously eliminated annual report—
added
In general— Section 4 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 154) is amended—
added
by striking subsection (k); and
added
by redesignating subsections (l) through (o) as subsections (k) through (n), respectively.
removed
Previously eliminated annual report—
removed
In general— Section 4 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 154), as amended by section 206(a), is further amended—
removed
by striking subsection (k);
removed
by redesignating subsections (l) through (n) as subsections (k) through (m), respectively; and
removed
by redesignating the first subsection (o) (relating to use of radio and wire communications in connection with safety of life and property) as subsection (n).
renumbered
was (10)(3)
Conforming amendment— Section 309(j)(8)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(B)) is amended by striking the last sentence.
renumbered
was (11)
Additional outdated reports— The Communications Act of 1934 is further amended—
renumbered
was (11)(3)
in section 4—
renumbered
was (11)(3)(2)
in subsection (b)(2)(B)(ii), by striking “and shall furnish notice of such action” and all that follows through “subject of the waiver”; and
renumbered
was (11)(3)(3)
in subsection (g), by striking paragraph (2);
renumbered
was (11)(4)
in section 215—
renumbered
was (11)(4)(2)
by striking subsection (b); and
renumbered
was (11)(4)(3)
by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (b);
renumbered
was (11)(5)
in section 227(e), by striking paragraph (4);
renumbered
was (11)(6)
in section 309(j)—
renumbered
was (11)(6)(2)
by striking paragraph (12); and
renumbered
was (11)(6)(3)
in paragraph (15)(C), by striking clause (iv);
renumbered
was (11)(7)
in section 331(b), by striking the last sentence;
renumbered
was (11)(8)
in section 336(e), by amending paragraph (4) to read as follows:
“(4) Report—The Commission shall annually advise the Congress on the amounts collected pursuant to the program required by this subsection.”
renumbered
was (11)(9)
in section 339(c), by striking paragraph (1);
renumbered
was (11)(10)
in section 396—
renumbered
was (11)(10)(2)
by striking subsection (i);
renumbered
was (11)(10)(3)
in subsection (k)—
renumbered
was (11)(10)(3)(2)
in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraph (F); and
renumbered
was (11)(10)(3)(3)
in paragraph (3)(B)(iii), by striking subclause (V);
renumbered
was (11)(10)(4)
in subsection (l)(1)(B), by striking “shall be included” and all that follows through “The audit report”; and
renumbered
was (11)(10)(5)
by striking subsection (m);
renumbered
was (11)(11)
in section 398(b)(4), by striking the third sentence;
renumbered
was (11)(12)
in section 624A(b)(1)—
renumbered
was (11)(12)(2)
by striking “Report; regulations” and inserting “Regulations”;
renumbered
was (11)(12)(3)
by striking “Within 1 year after” and all that follows through “on means of assuring” and inserting “The Commission shall issue such regulations as are necessary to assure”; and
renumbered
was (11)(12)(4)
by striking “Within 180 days after” and all that follows through “to assure such compatibility.”; and
renumbered
was (11)(13)
in section 713, by striking subsection (a).
Sec. 506 Accuracy of dispatchable location for 9–1–1 calls
changed
Proceeding required— Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall conclude a proceeding to consider adopting rules to ensure that the dispatchable location is conveyed with a 9-1-1 9–1–1 call, regardless of the technological platform used and including with calls from multi-line telephone systems (as defined in section 6502 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1471)).
changed
Relationship to other proceedings— In conducting the proceeding required by subsection (a), the Commission may consider information and conclusions from other Commission proceedings regarding the accuracy of the dispatchable location for a 9-1-1 9–1–1 call, but nothing in this section shall be construed to require the Commission to reconsider any information or conclusion from a proceeding regarding the accuracy of the dispatchable location for a 9-1-1 9–1–1 call in which the Commission has adopted rules or issued an order before the date of the enactment of this Act.
Definitions— In this section:
changed
9-1-1 9–1–1 call— The term “9-1-1 “9–1–1 call” means a voice call that is placed, or a message that is sent by other means of communication, to a public safety answering point (as defined in section 222 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222)) for the purpose of requesting emergency services.
Dispatchable location— The term “dispatchable location” means the street address of the calling party, and additional information such as room number, floor number, or similar information necessary to adequately identify the location of the calling party.
Sec. 508 Tribal digital access
Tribal broadband data report—
In general— Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report evaluating broadband coverage in Indian country (as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code) and on land held by a Native Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
Required assessments— The report required by paragraph (1) shall include the following:
An assessment of areas of Indian country (as so defined) and land held by a Native Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act that have adequate broadband coverage.
An assessment of unserved areas of Indian country (as so defined) and land held by a Native Corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
changed
Tribal broadband rulemaking—proceeding— Not later than 30 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall complete a proceeding to address the unserved areas identified in the report under subsection (a).
Sec. 509 Terms of office and vacancies
addedadded Section 4(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 154(c)) is amended to read as follows:
added “(c)
added “(1) A commissioner—
added “(A) shall be appointed for a term of 5 years;
added “(B) except as provided in subparagraph (C), may continue to serve after the expiration of the fixed term of office of the commissioner until a successor is appointed and has been confirmed and taken the oath of office; and
added “(C) may not continue to serve after the expiration of the session of Congress that begins after the expiration of the fixed term of office of the commissioner.
added “(2) Any person chosen to fill a vacancy in the Commission—
added “(A) shall be appointed for the unexpired term of the commissioner that the person succeeds;
added “(B) except as provided in subparagraph (C), may continue to serve after the expiration of the fixed term of office of the commissioner that the person succeeds until a successor is appointed and has been confirmed and taken the oath of office; and
added “(C) may not continue to serve after the expiration of the session of Congress that begins after the expiration of the fixed term of office of the commissioner that the person succeeds.
added “(3) No vacancy in the Commission shall impair the right of the remaining commissioners to exercise all the powers of the Commission.”
Sec. 510 Submission of copy of certain documents to Congress
addedadded Section 4 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by section 402(h), is further amended by adding at the end the following:
added “(o) Budget estimates and requests; legislative recommendations, testimony, and comments on legislation; semiannual reports
added “(1) Budget estimates and requests—If the Commission submits any budget estimate or request to the President or the Office of Management and Budget, the Commission shall concurrently transmit a copy of that estimate or request to Congress.
added “(2) Legislative recommendations, testimony, and comments on legislation
added “(A) In general—If the Commission submits any legislative recommendations, testimony, or comments on legislation to the President or the Office of Management and Budget, the Commission shall concurrently transmit a copy thereof to Congress.
added “(B) Prohibition—No officer or agency of the United States may require the Commission to submit legislative recommendations, testimony, or comments on legislation to any officer or agency of the United States for approval, comments, or review prior to the submission of the recommendations, testimony, or comments to Congress.
added “(3) Office of Inspector General semiannual reports
added “(A) In general—Notwithstanding section 5(b) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.), the Inspector General of the Commission shall concurrently submit each semiannual report required under such section 5(b) to the Commission and to the appropriate committees or subcommittees of Congress.
added “(B) Rule of construction—Nothing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to modify the requirement for the Commission to submit to the appropriate committees or subcommittees of Congress each such semiannual report together with a report by the Commission under such section 5(b).”
Sec. 511 Joint board recommendation
addedadded The Commission may not modify, amend, or change its rules or regulations for universal service support payments to implement the February 27, 2004, recommendations of the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service regarding single connection or primary line restrictions on universal service support payments.
Sec. 512 Disclaimer for press releases regarding notices of apparent liability
addedadded The Commission shall include in any press release regarding the issuance of a notice of apparent liability under section 503(b)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(4)) a disclaimer informing consumers that—
added
the issuance of a notice of apparent liability should be treated only as allegations; and
added
the amount of any forfeiture penalty proposed in a notice of apparent liability represents the maximum penalty that the Commission may impose for the violations alleged in the notice of apparent liability.
Sec. 513 Reports related to spectrum auctions
added
added
Estimate of upcoming auctions— Section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
added “(18) Estimate of upcoming auctions
added “(A) Not later than September 30, 2018, and annually thereafter, the Commission shall make publicly available an estimate of what systems of competitive bidding authorized under this subsection may be initiated during the upcoming 12-month period.
added “(B) The estimate under subparagraph (A) shall, to the extent possible, identify the bands of frequencies the Commission expects to be included in each such system of competitive bidding.”
added
Auction expenditure justification report— Not later than April 1, 2019, and annually thereafter, the Commission shall provide to the appropriate committees of Congress a report containing a detailed justification for the use of proceeds retained by the Commission under section 309(j)(8)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(B)) for the costs of developing and implementing the program required by section 309(j) of that Act.
added
Definition— For purposes of this section, the term appropriate committees of Congress means—
added
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate;
added
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
added
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; and
added
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
Sec. 603 Payment of relocation costs of FM broadcast stations
Payment required—
In general— From amounts made available under subsection (b)(2), the Commission shall reimburse costs reasonably incurred by an FM broadcast station for facilities necessary for such station to reasonably minimize disruption of service as a result of the reorganization of broadcast television spectrum under subsection (b) of section 6403 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1452).
Limitation— The Commission may not make reimbursements under paragraph (1) for lost revenues.
Duplicative payments prohibited— If an FM broadcast station has received a payment for interim facilities from the licensee of a television broadcast station that was reimbursed for such payment under subsection (b)(4)(A)(i) of such section 6403 (including from amounts made available under section 601 of this title), or from any other source, such FM broadcast station may not receive any reimbursements under paragraph (1).
Funding—
Establishment of fund— There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the FM Broadcast Station Relocation Fund.
Availability of funds—
In general— Amounts in the FM Broadcast Station Relocation Fund shall be available to the Commission to make payments required by subsection (a)(1).
Availability after April 13, 2020— Amounts in the FM Broadcast Station Relocation Fund shall not be available to the Commission to make payments required by subsection (a)(1) after April 13, 2020, unless, before making any such payments after such date, the Commission submits to Congress a certification that such payments are necessary to reimburse costs reasonably incurred by an FM broadcast station for facilities necessary for such station to reasonably minimize disruption of service as a result of the reorganization of broadcast television spectrum under subsection (b) of section 6403 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1452).
Unused funds rescinded and deposited into the general fund of the Treasury—
Rescission and deposit— If any unobligated amounts remain in the FM Broadcast Station Relocation Fund after the date described in subparagraph (B), such amounts shall be rescinded and deposited into the general fund of the Treasury, where such amounts shall be dedicated for the sole purpose of deficit reduction.
Date described— The date described in this subparagraph is the earlier of—
the date of a certification by the Commission under subparagraph (C) that all reimbursements pursuant to subsection (a)(1) have been made; or
July 3, 2022.
Certification— If all reimbursements pursuant to subsection (a)(1) have been made before July 3, 2022, the Commission shall submit to the Secretary of the Treasury a certification that all such reimbursements have been made.
Administrative costs— The amount of auction proceeds that the salaries and expenses account of the Commission is required to retain under section 309(j)(8)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(B)), including from the proceeds of the forward auction under section 6403 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1452), shall be sufficient to cover the administrative costs incurred by the Commission in making any reimbursements out of the FM Broadcast Station Relocation Fund.
changed
FM broadcast station defined— In this section, the term “FM broadcast station” has the meaning given such term in section 73.310 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations.Regulations, and, for an FM translator, has the meaning given the term “FM translator” in section 74.1201 of such title.
Sec. 701 Short title
addedadded This title may be cited as the “Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act” or the “MOBILE NOW Act”.
Sec. 702 Definitions
addedadded In this title:
added
Appropriate committees of Congress— The term appropriate committees of Congress means—
added
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate;
added
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; and
added
each committee of the Senate or of the House of Representatives with jurisdiction over a Federal entity affected by the applicable section in which the term appears.
added
Commission— The term Commission means the Federal Communications Commission.
added
Federal entity— The term Federal entity has the meaning given the term in section 113(l) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(l)).
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NTIA— The term NTIA means the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the Department of Commerce.
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OMB— The term OMB means the Office of Management and Budget.
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Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce.
Sec. 703 Identifying 255 megahertz
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Requirements—
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In general— Not later than December 31, 2022, the Secretary, working through the NTIA, and the Commission shall identify a total of at least 255 megahertz of Federal and non-Federal spectrum for mobile and fixed wireless broadband use.
added
Unlicensed and licensed use— Of the spectrum identified under paragraph (1), not less than—
added
100 megahertz below the frequency of 8000 megahertz shall be identified for use on an unlicensed basis;
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100 megahertz below the frequency of 6000 megahertz shall be identified for use on an exclusive, licensed basis for commercial mobile use, pursuant to the Commission’s authority to implement such licensing in a flexible manner, and subject to potential continued use of such spectrum by incumbent Federal entities in designated geographic areas indefinitely or for such length of time stipulated in transition plans approved by the Technical Panel under section 113(h) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(h)) for those incumbent entities to be relocated to alternate spectrum; and
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55 megahertz below the frequency of 8000 megahertz shall be identified for use on either a licensed or unlicensed basis, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed.
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Non-eligible spectrum— For purposes of satisfying the requirement under paragraph (1), the following spectrum shall not be counted:
added
The frequencies between 1695 and 1710 megahertz.
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The frequencies between 1755 and 1780 megahertz.
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The frequencies between 2155 and 2180 megahertz.
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The frequencies between 3550 and 3700 megahertz.
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Spectrum that the Commission determines had more than de minimis mobile or fixed wireless broadband operations within the band on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.
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Treatment of certain other spectrum— Spectrum identified pursuant to this section may include eligible spectrum, if any, identified after the date of enactment of this Act pursuant to title X of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (Public Law 114–74).
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Spectrum made available on and after February 11, 2016— Any spectrum that has been made available for licensed or unlicensed use on and after February 11, 2016, and that otherwise satisfies the requirements of this section may be counted towards the requirements of this subsection.
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Relocation prioritized over sharing— This section shall be carried out in accordance with section 113(j) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(j)).
added
Considerations— In identifying spectrum for use under this section, the Secretary, working through the NTIA, and Commission shall consider—
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the need to preserve critical existing and planned Federal Government capabilities;
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the impact on existing State, local, and tribal government capabilities;
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the international implications;
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the need for appropriate enforcement mechanisms and authorities; and
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the importance of the deployment of wireless broadband services in rural areas of the United States.
added
Rules of construction— Nothing in this section shall be construed—
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to impair or otherwise affect the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals;
added
to require the disclosure of classified information, law enforcement sensitive information, or other information that must be protected in the interest of national security; or
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to affect any requirement under section 156 of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 921 note), as added by section 1062(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, or any other relevant statutory requirement applicable to the reallocation of Federal spectrum.
Sec. 704 Millimeter wave spectrum
added
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FCC proceeding— Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to consider service rules to authorize mobile or fixed terrestrial wireless operations, including for advanced mobile service operations, in the radio frequency band between 42000 and 42500 megahertz.
added
Considerations— In conducting a rulemaking under subsection (a), the Commission shall—
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consider how the band described in subsection (a) may be used to provide commercial wireless broadband service, including whether—
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such spectrum may be best used for licensed or unlicensed services, or some combination thereof; and
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to permit additional licensed operations in such band on a shared basis; and
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include technical characteristics under which the band described in subsection (a) may be employed for mobile or fixed terrestrial wireless operations, including any appropriate coexistence requirements.
added
Spectrum made available on and after February 11, 2016— Any spectrum that has been made available for licensed or unlicensed use on or after February 11, 2016, and that otherwise satisfies the requirements of section 703 may be counted towards the requirements of section 703(a).
Sec. 705 3 gigahertz spectrum
added
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Between 3100 megahertz and 3550 megahertz— Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and in consultation with the Commission and the head of each affected Federal agency (or a designee thereof), the Secretary, working through the NTIA, shall submit to the Commission and the appropriate committees of Congress a report evaluating the feasibility of allowing commercial wireless services, licensed or unlicensed, to share use of the frequencies between 3100 megahertz and 3550 megahertz.
added
Between 3700 megahertz and 4200 megahertz— Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, after notice and an opportunity for public comment, and in consultation with the Secretary, working through the NTIA, and the head of each affected Federal agency (or a designee thereof), the Commission shall submit to the Secretary and the appropriate committees of Congress a report evaluating the feasibility of allowing commercial wireless services, licensed or unlicensed, to use or share use of the frequencies between 3700 megahertz and 4200 megahertz.
added
Requirements— A report under subsection (a) or (b) shall include the following:
added
An assessment of the operations of Federal entities that operate Federal Government stations authorized to use the frequencies described in that subsection.
added
An assessment of the possible impacts of such sharing on Federal and non-Federal users already operating on the frequencies described in that subsection.
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The criteria that may be necessary to ensure shared licensed or unlicensed services would not cause harmful interference to Federal or non-Federal users already operating in the frequencies described in that subsection.
added
If such sharing is feasible, an identification of which of the frequencies described in that subsection are most suitable for sharing with commercial wireless services through the assignment of new licenses by competitive bidding, for sharing with unlicensed operations, or through a combination of licensing and unlicensed operations.
added
Commission action— The Commission, in consultation with the NTIA, shall seek public comment on the reports required under subsections (a) and (b), including regarding the bands identified in such report as feasible pursuant to subsection (c)(4).
Sec. 706 Broadband infrastructure deployment
added
added
Definitions— In this section:
added
Appropriate state agency— The term appropriate State agency means a State governmental agency that is recognized by the executive branch of the State as having the experience necessary to evaluate and carry out projects relating to the proper and effective installation and operation of broadband infrastructure.
added
Broadband infrastructure— The term broadband infrastructure means any buried, underground, or aerial facility, and any wireless or wireline connection, that enables users to send and receive voice, video, data, graphics, or any combination thereof.
added
Broadband infrastructure entity— The term broadband infrastructure entity means any entity that—
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installs, owns, or operates broadband infrastructure; and
added
provides broadband services in a manner consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity, as determined by the State.
added
State— The term State means—
added
a State;
added
the District of Columbia; and
added
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
added
Broadband infrastructure deployment— To facilitate the installation of broadband infrastructure, the Secretary of Transportation shall promulgate regulations to ensure that each State that receives funds under chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, meets the following requirements:
added
Broadband consultation— The State department of transportation, in consultation with appropriate State agencies, shall—
added
identify a broadband utility coordinator, that may have additional responsibilities, whether in the State department of transportation or in another State agency, that is responsible for facilitating the broadband infrastructure right-of-way efforts within the State;
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establish a process for the registration of broadband infrastructure entities that seek to be included in those broadband infrastructure right-of-way facilitation efforts within the State;
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establish a process to electronically notify broadband infrastructure entities identified under subparagraph (B) of the State transportation improvement program on an annual basis and provide additional notifications as necessary to achieve the goals of this section; and
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coordinate initiatives carried out under this section with other statewide telecommunication and broadband plans and State and local transportation and land use plans, including strategies to minimize repeated excavations that involve the installation of broadband infrastructure in a right-of-way.
added
Priority— If a State chooses to provide for the installation of broadband infrastructure in the right-of-way of an applicable Federal-aid highway project under this subsection, the State department of transportation shall carry out any appropriate measures to ensure that any existing broadband infrastructure entities are not disadvantaged, as compared to other broadband infrastructure entities, with respect to the program under this subsection.
added
Effect of section— This section applies only to activities for which Federal obligations or expenditures are initially approved on or after the date regulations under subsection (b) become effective. Nothing in this section establishes a mandate or requirement that a State install or allow the installation of broadband infrastructure in a highway right-of-way. Nothing in this section authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to withhold or reserve funds or approval of a project under title 23, United States Code.
Sec. 707 Reallocation incentives
added
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In general— Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, in consultation with the Commission, the Director of OMB, and the head of each affected Federal agency (or a designee thereof), after notice and an opportunity for public comment, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes legislative or regulatory recommendations to incentivize a Federal entity to relinquish, or share with Federal or non-Federal users, Federal spectrum for the purpose of allowing commercial wireless broadband services to operate on that Federal spectrum.
added
Post-Auction payments—
added
Report— In preparing the report under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information shall—
added
consider whether permitting eligible Federal entities that are implementing a transition plan submitted under section 113(h) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(h)) to accept payments could result in access to the eligible frequencies that are being reallocated for exclusive non-Federal use or shared use sooner than would otherwise occur without such payments; and
added
include the findings under subparagraph (A), including the analysis under paragraph (2) and any recommendations for legislation, in the report.
added
Analysis— In considering payments under paragraph (1)(A), the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information shall conduct an analysis of whether and how such payments would affect—
added
bidding in auctions conducted under section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) of such eligible frequencies; and
added
receipts collected from the auctions described in subparagraph (A).
added
Definitions— In this subsection:
added
Payment— The term payment means a payment in cash or in-kind by any auction winner, or any person affiliated with an auction winner, of eligible frequencies during the period after eligible frequencies have been reallocated by competitive bidding under section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) but prior to the completion of relocation or sharing transition of such eligible frequencies per transition plans approved by the Technical Panel.
added
Eligible frequencies— The term eligible frequencies has the meaning given the term in section 113(g)(2) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 923(g)(2)).
Sec. 708 Bidirectional sharing study
added
added
In general— Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, including an opportunity for public comment, the Commission, in collaboration with the NTIA, shall—
added
conduct a bidirectional sharing study to determine the best means of providing Federal entities flexible access to non-Federal spectrum on a shared basis across a range of short-, mid-, and long-range timeframes, including for intermittent purposes like emergency use; and
added
submit to Congress a report on the study under paragraph (1), including any recommendations for legislation or proposed regulations.
added
Considerations— In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Commission shall—
added
consider the regulatory certainty that commercial spectrum users and Federal entities need to make longer-term investment decisions for shared access to be viable; and
added
evaluate any barriers to voluntary commercial arrangements in which non-Federal users could provide access to Federal entities.
Sec. 709 Unlicensed services in guard bands
added
added
In general— After public notice and comment, and in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and the head of each affected Federal agency (or a designee thereof), with respect to frequencies allocated for Federal use, the Commission shall adopt rules that permit unlicensed services where feasible to use any frequencies that are designated as guard bands to protect frequencies allocated after the date of enactment of this Act by competitive bidding under section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)), including spectrum that acts as a duplex gap between transmit and receive frequencies.
added
Limitation— The Commission may not permit any use of a guard band under this section that would cause harmful interference to a licensed service or a Federal service.
added
Rule of construction— Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the Commission or the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information from otherwise making spectrum available for licensed or unlicensed use in any frequency band in addition to guard bands, including under section 703, consistent with their statutory jurisdictions.
Sec. 710 Amendments to the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015
addedadded Section 1008 of the Spectrum Pipeline Act of 2015 (Public Law 114–74; 129 Stat. 584) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by inserting “, after notice and an opportunity for public comment,” after “the Commission”.
Sec. 711 GAO assessment of unlicensed spectrum and Wi-Fi use in low-income neighborhoods
added
added
Study—
added
In general— The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study to evaluate the availability of broadband Internet access using unlicensed spectrum and wireless networks in low-income neighborhoods.
added
Requirements— In conducting the study under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall consider and evaluate—
added
the availability of wireless Internet hot spots and access to unlicensed spectrum in low-income neighborhoods, particularly for elementary and secondary school-aged children in such neighborhoods;
added
any barriers preventing or limiting the deployment and use of wireless networks in low-income neighborhoods;
added
how to overcome any barriers described in subparagraph (B), including through incentives, policies, or requirements that would increase the availability of unlicensed spectrum and related technologies in low-income neighborhoods; and
added
how to encourage home broadband adoption by households with elementary and secondary school-age children that are in low-income neighborhoods.
added
Report— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report that—
added
summarizes the findings of the study conducted under subsection (a); and
added
makes recommendations with respect to potential incentives, policies, and requirements that could help achieve the goals described in subparagraphs (C) and (D) of subsection (a)(2).
Sec. 712 Rulemaking related to partitioning or disaggregating licenses
added
added
Definitions— In this section:
added
Covered small carrier— The term covered small carrier means a carrier (as defined in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153)) that—
added
has not more than 1,500 employees (as determined under section 121.106 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto); and
added
offers services using the facilities of the carrier.
added
Rural area— The term rural area means any area other than—
added
a city, town, or incorporated area that has a population of more than 20,000 inhabitants; or
added
an urbanized area contiguous and adjacent to a city or town that has a population of more than 50,000 inhabitants.
added
Rulemaking—
added
In general— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to assess whether to establish a program, or modify existing programs, under which a licensee that receives a license for the exclusive use of spectrum in a specific geographic area under section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301) may partition or disaggregate the license by sale or long-term lease—
added
in order to—
added
provide services consistent with the license; and
added
make unused spectrum available to—
added
an unaffiliated covered small carrier; or
added
an unaffiliated carrier to serve a rural area; and
added
if the Commission finds that such a program would promote—
added
the availability of advanced telecommunications services in rural areas; or
added
spectrum availability for covered small carriers.
added
Considerations— In conducting the rulemaking proceeding under paragraph (1), the Commission shall consider, with respect to the program proposed to be established under that paragraph—
added
whether reduced performance requirements with respect to spectrum obtained through the program would facilitate deployment of advanced telecommunications services in the areas covered by the program;
added
what conditions may be needed on transfers of spectrum under the program to allow covered small carriers that obtain spectrum under the program to build out the spectrum in a reasonable period of time;
added
what incentives may be appropriate to encourage licensees to lease or sell spectrum, including—
added
extending the term of a license granted under section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301); or
added
modifying performance requirements of the license relating to the leased or sold spectrum; and
added
the administrative feasibility of—
added
the incentives described in subparagraph (C); and
added
other incentives considered by the Commission that further the goals of this section.
added
Forfeiture of spectrum— If a party fails to meet any build out requirements set by the Commission for any spectrum sold or leased under this section, the right to the spectrum shall be forfeited to the Commission unless the Commission finds that there is good cause for the failure of the party.
added
Requirement— The Commission may offer a licensee incentives or reduced performance requirements under this section only if the Commission finds that doing so would likely result in increased availability of advanced telecommunications services in a rural area.
Sec. 713 Unlicensed spectrum policy
added
added
Statement of policy— It is the policy of the United States—
added
to maximize the benefit to the people of the United States of the spectrum resources of the United States;
added
to advance innovation and investment in wireless broadband services; and
added
to promote spectrum policy that makes available on an unlicensed basis radio frequency bands to address consumer demand for unlicensed wireless broadband operations.
added
Commission responsibilities— The Commission shall ensure that the efforts of the Commission related to spectrum allocation and assignment made available on an unlicensed basis radio frequency bands to address demand for unlicensed wireless broadband operations if doing so is, after taking into account the future needs of homeland security, national security, and other spectrum users—
added
reasonable; and
added
in the public interest.
added
Rule of construction— Nothing in this section confers any additional rights on unlicensed users or users licensed by rule under part 96 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, to protection from harmful interference.
Sec. 714 National plan for unlicensed spectrum
added
added
Definitions— In this section:
added
Spectrum relocation fund— The term “Spectrum Relocation Fund” means the Fund established under section 118 of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 928).
added
Unlicensed or licensed by rule operations— The term “unlicensed or licensed by rule operations” means the use of spectrum on a non-exclusive basis under—
added
part 15 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations; or
added
licensing by rule under part 96 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations.
added
National plan— Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission, in consultation with the NTIA, shall develop a national plan for making additional radio frequency bands available for unlicensed or licensed by rule operations.
added
Requirements— The plan developed under this section shall—
added
identify an approach that ensures that consumers have access to additional spectrum to conduct unlicensed or licensed by rule operations in a range of radio frequencies to meet consumer demand;
added
recommend specific actions by the Commission and the NTIA to permit unlicensed or licensed by rule operations in additional radio frequency ranges that the Commission finds—
added
are consistent with the statement of policy under section 713(a);
added
will—
added
expand opportunities for unlicensed or licensed by rule operations in a spectrum band; or
added
otherwise improve spectrum utilization and intensity of use of bands where unlicensed or licensed by rule operations are already permitted;
added
will not cause harmful interference to Federal or non-Federal users of such bands; and
added
will not significantly impact homeland security or national security communications systems; and
added
examine additional ways, with respect to existing and planned databases or spectrum access systems designed to promote spectrum sharing and access to spectrum for unlicensed or licensed by rule operations—
added
to improve accuracy and efficacy;
added
to reduce burdens on consumers, manufacturers, and service providers; and
added
to protect sensitive Government information.
added
Spectrum relocation fund— To be included as an appendix as part of the plan developed under this section, the NTIA, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall share with the Commission recommendations about how to reform the Spectrum Relocation Fund—
added
to address costs incurred by Federal entities related to sharing radio frequency bands with radio technologies conducting unlicensed or licensed by rule operations; and
added
to ensure the Spectrum Relocation Fund has sufficient funds to cover—
added
the costs described in paragraph (1); and
added
other expenditures allowed of the Spectrum Relocation Fund under section 118 of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 928).
added
Report required—
added
In general— Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that describes the plan developed under this section, including any recommendations for legislative change.
added
Publication on commission website— Not later than the date on which the Commission submits the report under paragraph (1), the Commission shall make the report publicly available on the website of the Commission.
added
Rule of construction— Nothing in this section confers any additional rights on unlicensed users or users licensed by rule under part 96 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, to protection from harmful interference.
Sec. 715 Spectrum challenge prize
added
added
Short title— This section may be cited as the “Spectrum Challenge Prize Act”.
added
Definition of prize competition— In this section, the term prize competition means a prize competition conducted by the Secretary under subsection (c)(1).
added
Spectrum challenge prize—
added
In general— The Secretary, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, shall, subject to the availability of funds for prize competitions under this section—
added
conduct prize competitions to dramatically accelerate the development and commercialization of technology that improves spectrum efficiency and is capable of cost-effective deployment; and
added
define a measurable set of performance goals for participants in the prize competitions to demonstrate their solutions on a level playing field while making a significant advancement over the current state of the art.
added
Authority of Secretary— In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary may—
added
enter into a grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or other agreement with a private sector for-profit or nonprofit entity to administer the prize competitions;
added
invite the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Commission, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, or any other Federal agency to provide advice and assistance in the design or administration of the prize competitions; and
added
award not more than $5,000,000, in the aggregate, to the winner or winners of the prize competitions.
added
Criteria— Not later than 180 days after the date on which funds for prize competitions are made available pursuant to this section, the Commission shall publish a technical paper on spectrum efficiency providing criteria that may be used for the design of the prize competitions.
added
Authorization of appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
Sec. 716 Wireless telecommunications tax and fee collection fairness
added
added
Short title— This section may be cited as the “Wireless Telecommunications Tax and Fee Collection Fairness Act”.
added
Definitions— In this section:
added
Financial transaction— The term financial transaction means a transaction in which the purchaser or user of a wireless telecommunications service upon whom a tax, fee, or surcharge is imposed gives cash, credit, or any other exchange of monetary value or consideration to the person who is required to collect or remit the tax, fee, or surcharge.
added
Local jurisdiction— The term local jurisdiction means a political subdivision of a State.
added
State— The term State means any of the several States, the District of Columbia, and any territory or possession of the United States.
added
State or local jurisdiction— The term State or local jurisdiction includes any governmental entity or person acting on behalf of a State or local jurisdiction that has the authority to assess, impose, levy, or collect taxes or fees.
added
Wireless telecommunications service— The term wireless telecommunications service means a commercial mobile radio service, as defined in section 20.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto.
added
Financial transaction requirement—
added
In general— A State, or a local jurisdiction of a State, may not require a person who is neither a resident of such State or local jurisdiction nor an entity having its principal place of business in such State or local jurisdiction to collect from, or remit on behalf of, any other person a State or local tax, fee, or surcharge imposed on a purchaser or user with respect to the purchase or use of any wireless telecommunications service within the State unless the collection or remittance is in connection with a financial transaction.
added
Rule of construction— Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect the right of a State or local jurisdiction to require the collection of any tax, fee, or surcharge in connection with a financial transaction.
added
Enforcement—
added
Private right of action— Any person aggrieved by a violation of subsection (c) may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States for equitable relief in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection.
added
Jurisdiction of district courts— Notwithstanding section 1341 of title 28, United States Code, or the constitution or laws of any State, the district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction, without regard to the amount in controversy or citizenship of the parties, to grant such mandatory or prohibitive injunctive relief, interim equitable relief, and declaratory judgments as may be necessary to prevent, restrain, or terminate any acts in violation of subsection (c).
Sec. 717 Rules of construction
added
added
Ranges of frequencies— Each range of frequencies described in this title shall be construed to be inclusive of the upper and lower frequencies in the range.
added
Assessment of electromagnetic spectrum reallocation— Nothing in this title shall be construed to affect any requirement under section 156 of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 921 note), as added by section 1062(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000.
Sec. 718 Relationship to Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012
addedadded Nothing in this title shall be construed to limit, restrict, or circumvent in any way the implementation of the nationwide public safety broadband network defined in section 6001 of title VI of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401) or any rules implementing that network under title VI of that Act (47 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.).
Sec. 719 No additional funds authorized
addedadded No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title, or the amendment made by this title. This title, and the amendment made by this title, shall be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized.