S. 866 — Accelerating Broadband Permits Act

This section requires executive agencies to track and improve processing times for applications for easements, rights-of-way, or leases on federal property to install, construct, modify, or maintain communications facilities (which must be processed within 270 days under current law). Specifically, agencies must (i) develop data controls to ensure accurate tracking of each application's processing time; (ii) analyze delay factors in real time, take actions to address them, and submit annual reports on those factors to the Senate Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and on Energy and Natural Resources, the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and on Natural Resources, and each committee of Congress with jurisdiction over the agency; and (iii) establish a method to alert staff to applications at risk of missing the 270-day deadline.

This section expands the definition of covered project under the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 4370m) to include, as a new category, broadband infrastructure construction projects subject to NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) that require a total investment of more than $5 million (previously limited to $200 million under the general infrastructure threshold). (Thus, smaller broadband projects qualify for the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council's coordinated environmental reviews and permitting timelines, which aim to expedite authorizations for major infrastructure.)