To amend the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to preserve and protect the ability of local governments to provide broadband capability and services.

June 23, 2005

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself and Mr. MCCAIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

To amend the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to preserve and protect the ability of local governments to provide broadband capability and services.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Community Broadband Act of 2005'.

SEC. 2. COMMUNITY BROADBAND CAPABILITY AND SERVICES.

Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 157 note) is amended--

(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d) and inserting after subsection (b) the following:

`(c) LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROVISION OF ADVANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITY AND SERVICES-

`(1) IN GENERAL- No State statute, regulation, or other State legal requirement may prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting any public provider from providing, to any person or any public or private entity, advanced telecommunications capability or any service that utilizes the advanced telecommunications capability provided by such provider.

`(2) ANTIDISCRIMINATION SAFEGUARDS- To the extent any public provider regulates competing private providers of advanced telecommunications capability or services, it shall apply its ordinances and rules without discrimination in favor of itself or any advanced telecommunications services provider that it owns.

`(3) SAVINGS CLAUSE- Nothing in this section shall exempt a public provider from any Federal or State telecommunications law or regulation that applies to all providers of advanced telecommunications capability or services using such advanced telecommunications capability.'; and

(2) by adding at the end of subsection (d), as redesignated, the following:

`(3) PUBLIC PROVIDER- The term `public provider' means a State or political subdivision thereof, any agency, authority, or instrumentality of a State or political subdivision thereof, or an Indian tribe (as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)), that provides advanced telecommunications capability, or any service that utilizes such advanced telecommunications capability, to any person or public or private entity.'.

END