HR 3281 IH
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3281
To promote competition, to preserve the ability of local governments to provide broadband capability and services, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 1, 2007
Mr. BOUCHER (for himself and Mr. UPTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To promote competition, to preserve the ability of local governments to provide broadband capability and services, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
SEC. 2. LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROVISION OF ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITY AND SERVICES.
No State or local government statute, regulation, or other State or local government legal requirement may prohibit, or have the effect of prohibiting, any public provider from providing advanced communications capability or services to any person or to any public or private entity.
SEC. 3. SAFEGUARDS.
(a) Competition Neutrality- A public provider shall not grant any regulatory preference to itself or to any provider of advanced communications capability or service that it owns or with which it is affiliated. Such public provider shall apply its ordinances, rules, and policies, including those relating to the use of public rights-of-way, permitting, performance bonding, procurement, and reporting, without discrimination in favor of any such provider as compared to other providers of such services.
(b) Application of General Laws- Except as provided in section 2 and subsection (a) of this section, nothing in this Act affects any obligation or benefit that a public provider has under any other Federal or State law or regulation.
SEC. 4. PUBLIC INPUT.
(a) Notice and Opportunity To Be Heard- Before a public provider may provide advanced communications capability or services to the public, either directly or through a public-private partnership, such public provider shall--
(1) publish notice of its intention to do so;
(2) generally describe the capability or services to be provided and the proposed coverage area for such capability or services;
(3) identify any special capabilities or services to be provided in low-income areas or other demographically or geographically defined areas; and
(4) provide local citizens and private-sector entities with an opportunity to be heard on the costs and benefits of the project and potential alternatives to it.
(b) Application to Existing Projects and Pending Proposals- Subsection (a) does not apply to--
(1) any contract or other arrangement under which a public provider is providing advanced communications capability or services to the public as of the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) any public provider proposal to provide advanced communications capability or services to the public that, as of the date of enactment--
(A) is in the request-for-proposals process;
(B) is in the process of being built; or
(C) has been approved by referendum.
SEC. 5. EXEMPTIONS.
The requirements of sections 3 and 4 do not apply--
(1) to a public provider's provision of advanced communications capabilities or services to itself or to another public entity; or
(2) during an emergency declared by the President, the Governor of the State in which the public provider is located, or any other elected local official authorized by law to declare a state or emergency in the jurisdiction in which the public provider is located.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITY OR SERVICES- The term `advanced communications capability or services' means a capability that enables, or services that enable, users to originate or receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, video or other communications using any broadband technology.
(2) PUBLIC PROVIDER- The term `public provider' means a State or political subdivision thereof, any agency, authority, or instrumentality of a State or political subdivision thereof, or any entity that is owned, controlled, or otherwise affiliated with a State, political subdivision thereof, or its agency, authority, or instrumentality.
(3) STATE- The term `State' has the meaning provided in section 3(a)(40) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153(a)(40)).
U.S. Congress - Text of H.R.3281 as Introduced in House Community Broadband Act of 2007
