Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in House · May 15, 2023
Broadband Expansion And Deployment Fee Equity and Efficiency Act of 2023 or the BEAD FEE Act of 2023
This bill restricts recipients of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants from charging fees related to the deployment of broadband infrastructure. The BEAD Program provides funds to states and territories for broadband deployment, connectivity, mapping, and adoption projects.
Generally, the bill prohibits grant recipients from charging fees for (1) considering requests for deploying broadband infrastructure; or (2) using or accessing land, or existing infrastructure on land, that is owned or managed by a state, territory, or locality (i.e., a right-of-way) to deploy broadband infrastructure.
However, the bill permits recipients to charge fees if they are nondiscriminatory, publicly disclosed, and based on actual and direct costs. Additionally, recipients must describe the fees in a manner that distinguishes between (1) recurring and nonrecurring fees, and (2) using a right-of-way with and without existing infrastructure.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jul 24, 2024. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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