Local Leaders Oppose Broadband Permitting Bill
The bill's opposers argue it threatens the work of local governments and ISPs in preparation for BEAD.
WASHINGTON, September 20, 2024 – Mayors and other city leaders on Thursday opposed a House bill on telecom permitting, arguing that it jeopardizes historic preservation and environmental regulations in favor of broadband providers.
A coalition of bipartisan local government representatives from the National League of Cities, the United States Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Counties, and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors expressed opposition to the American Broadband Deployment Act of 2023, in a letter sent to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
The bill, H.R. 3557, introduced by Rep. Earl Carter, R-Georgia, in May 2023, has sparked concern among local leaders of counties, cities, and towns, who represent millions of U.S. residents, and argue that the bill threatens local governments' ability to manage public rights-of-way and land use.
These government officials claim the bill would waive key historic preservation and environmental rules, despite recent federal progress in reforming the National Environmental Policy Act and permitting processes.
The local leaders also said that the bill undermines the collaborative work between municipalities and the telecommunications industry, in preparation for efficient deployment of broadband infrastructure under the $42.5 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program.
The coalition’s letter said that the bill would constrain local input on executing federal broadband initiatives.
The bill has sat idle after being narrowly approved on a 27-23 vote following its markup in the Energy and Commerce Committee in May.
However, on September 5, this month, a coalition of telecom, broadband, and wireless industry stakeholders—including INCOMPAS, USTelecom, CTIA, and WISPA—urged Speaker Johnson and Leader Jeffries to push the bill forward.
“H.R. 3557 was voted out of committee on partisan lines,” said the city representatives. “Because we are and have always been, bipartisan, we are troubled by party-line legislation addressing issues that are bipartisan in nature.”
