FCC Expected to Move on Wireline and Wireless Infrastructure by June
FCC action on its proposed wireline and wireless infrastructure proceedings will likely come by June at the latest, with court challenges starting shortly thereafter, Best Best localities lawyer Cheryl Leanza said Tuesday during a webinar hosted by the National Association of Telecom Officers and Advisors. Given FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's prioritization of permitting reform and efforts to preempt local rules and regulations that slow down permitting, he will move as quickly as possible, she predicted.
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Angelina Panettieri, the National League of Cities' legislative director, warned that the American Broadband Deployment Act (HR-2289) promises "nothing good" for states and localities. Advanced by the House Commerce Committee in December (see 2601090064), the sweeping set of preemptions would, among other things, expand and codify the shot clocks that the FCC already requires in broadband permitting, she said. It would also broaden the categories of facilities that are exempt from state and local review and would deem granted any application that runs past the shot clock, despite any safety implications. In addition, Panettieri cited provisions that would expand the categories of infrastructure that are exempt from local oversight and largely eliminate any local leverage in cable franchise negotiations.
There's no companion bill in the Senate, which is good, as HR-2289 is unlikely to get through the Senate on its own, Panettieri said. But with relatively few bills getting passed this year, that raises the chance that the American Broadband Deployment Act could end up attached to something else and not need separate Senate action, she noted.
Leanza also discussed USF, arguing that since the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals already ruled USF unconstitutional, the Consumers' Research challenge of the E-rate program in that court "could be a very bad thing." The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately overturned the 5th Circuit's USF decision (see 2507020049).
AI Executive Order
A big forthcoming date on states' calendars is March 11, when the Commerce Department is expected to put out a list of states with AI regulations that it believes are inconsistent with the White House's December AI executive order, Leanza said. Commerce's NTIA has a lot of authority over non-deployment use of BEAD funds, which gives the administration major leverage over states on that list, she said.
The AI order also said the administration will draft its own proposed AI legislation, which won't preempt state child safety protections or data center infrastructure laws, Leanza noted, adding that it's unclear when that legislation will come.
Also looming is the expiration at the end of the month of the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, said Seamus Dowdall, legislative director at the National Association of Counties. He said there's hope it will get reauthorized.
In addition, Dowdall said he expects a lot of discussions this year around the future of FirstNet, since its authorization expires in February 2027 (see 2601200065). One priority for counties and first responders is getting a longer time period for future authorizations, which would provide for more predictability, he said.
Panettieri said that with new accessibility rules going into effect this and next April for local government websites and social media accounts, local governments need to be discussing the technical details internally now.