H.R. 278 — BROADBAND Leadership Act

This section revises section 253 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 253), which preempts state and local laws prohibiting or effectively prohibiting telecommunications service provision, by (1) expanding subsection (a) to also bar prohibitions on enhancing such provision; and (2) replacing subsections (b) through (f)—which preserved certain state regulatory authority (e.g., for universal service and public rights-of-way), provided for FCC preemption, and allowed rural exemptions—with a new subsection (b) regulating state and local approval of telecommunications service facilities. New subsection (b) (1) prohibits discrimination in regulating facility placement, construction, or modification among such facilities (based on technology or services provided) or against them compared to other facilities; (2) requires state or local governments to grant or deny requests within 90 days (for eligible support infrastructure, i.e., existing poles, structures, and conduits) or 150 days (otherwise), applied collectively to all required proceedings, without tolling for moratoria but with tolling for application incompleteness (initial notice within 30 days; supplemental within 10 days, limited to newly identified deficiencies) or by mutual agreement; (3) deems requests granted if no action is taken, authorizing the facility without further approval; and (4) requires written denial decisions with records. (Thus, the revision shifts emphasis from general market entry preemption to streamlined facilities deployment, eliminating prior FCC preemption and state authority preservations.)