Thune, Schatz See Room for Possible Changes to Streamline Small Cell Deployment Act
It's expected there needs to be significant changes to the text of the recently refiled Streamlining the Rapid Evolution and Modernization of Leading-edge Infrastructure Necessary to Enhance (Streamline) Small Cell Deployment Act before S-1699 goes further in either chamber, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. The bill, first filed last Congress, aims to implement a “reasonable process and timeframe guidelines” for state and local small-cell consideration (see 1906030068).
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Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged to us that he and ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, refiled essentially the same Streamline Small Cell Deployment Act text this year as appeared in the original version last year despite localities' objections. “We have worked with [localities] a lot to try and address a lot of concerns they have” but weren't able to reach an agreement last year on a legislative compromise, Thune said.
“This is a process and we'll continue to reach out” to municipalities “in hopes we can find a path forward that lets us advance this out of [Senate Commerce] this year,” Thune said. “We're going to do everything we can to make sure we respect the prerogatives of local governments; obviously, we don't want to step on that.” Thune said he and Schatz “may never get every organization or city on board” in support “but most of them will want to work with us on this because they'll see the benefit of 5G investment.”
The text “is a starting point and we're going to have to address the concerns and state and local governments if we want to” pass it in both houses, Schatz said. “It could very likely move” out of Senate Commerce now “on a party-line vote, but if we want to get cloture, we're going to have to” work with localities to modify some provisions “so we're not running right over them.” Most Senate Democratic caucus members are considered likely to vote no if the National League of Cities and other localities groups continue to object. That would put the measure below the 60-vote threshold needed to invoke cloture.
Thune and Schatz may intend S-1699's current text to act only as a placeholder while they continue working with stakeholders on compromise language, lobbyists said. Neither is “totally wedded to the proposal” and they aren't actively seeking co-sponsors while they continue negotiations, one lobbyist said. There's a need for localities to shift to supporting S-1699 this Congress because Democrats now have a majority in the House and would be unlikely to take up the measure without concessions to those governments, lobbyists said.
Sponsors “are keeping faith with their local government constituents” by trying to “broker an honest conversation” about the bill even though many localities currently object, said Best Best local government attorney Gerard Lederer. “I'm grateful to [the senators] for not shoving legislation down our throat.” Localities' ongoing concerns about the Streamline Small Cell Deployment Act include language on timeline guidelines for state and local consideration of small-cell applications, he said. Lederer cited the divide between the 26 states that have passed small-cells bills in recent years and those remaining that “reserve to state and local governments the right to negotiate the use of rights of way.” Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) last week signed the most recent small-cells pre-emption law (see 1906070046).
S-1699 as written “limits state and local governments to the recovery of their costs when private industry uses our property,” while language from the Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless (Mobile Now) Act included in the FY 2018 omnibus spending bill (see 1803230038) says “the federal government is entitled to be paid full market value when industry uses their property,” Lederer said. “There's a little bit of a discrepancy.”
It's “an important piece of legislation” that all sides should continue to negotiate this Congress, said Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Broadband and Spectrum Policy Director Doug Brake. The bill's fortunes could turn in part on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit's decision on consolidated challenges to FCC infrastructure actions (see 1904180006), Brake said.