Joint Letter to House Leadership reiterating opposition to H.R. 3557

The bi-partisan national organizations of local government officials National League of Cities (NLC), the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) sent this letter to House Leadership reiterating their opposition to H.R. 3557, the American Broadband Deployment Act, in response to the recent Industry Trade Association letter sent to House leadership by NCTA, CTIA, US Telecom, WIA, NTCA and INCOMPAS & others. 

NACo, NLC, the USCM and NATOA oppose the heavy-handed federal overreach into local land use, permitting, and franchise negotiation decisions in H.R. 3557, which represents: 

• An unprecedented and dangerous usurpation of local governments’ authority to manage public rights-of-way and land use; 
• Favors cable, wireless and telecommunications providers and, 
• Waives historic preservation (NHPA) and environmental (NEPA) rules

H.R. 3557 runs counter to the recommendations from the new, multi-stakeholder Benton Foundation & Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy white paper: “Permitting Success: Closing the Digital Divide through Local Broadband Permitting,” which recognizes that the main issue for smaller communities is a lack of staff and resources, particularly in that jurisdictions that will get most of the BEAD funding. Further, the Permitting Success white paper reflects the acknowledgement by the industry and other stakeholders that local permitting is important to protect public safety and the diverse values of communities. In addition, the FCC’s Communications Equity and Diversity Council model rules for states and local governments recognized similar values and the need for local involvement (like franchising) to be sure deployment is equitable. H.R. 3557 is at odds with those recommendations.