Florida Senate - 2017                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 596
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì9049062Î904906                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  03/07/2017           .                                
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       The Committee on Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities
       (Hutson) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Subsection (7) is added to section 337.401,
    6  Florida Statutes, to read:
    7         337.401 Use of right-of-way for utilities subject to
    8  regulation; permit; fees.—
    9         (7)(a) This subsection may be cited as the “Advanced
   10  Wireless Infrastructure Deployment Act.”
   11         (b) As used in this subsection, the term:
   12         1. “Antenna” means communications equipment that transmits
   13  or receives electromagnetic radio frequency signals used in
   14  providing wireless services.
   15         2. “Applicable codes” means uniform building, fire,
   16  electrical, plumbing, or mechanical codes adopted by a
   17  recognized national code organization, or local amendments to
   18  those codes, enacted solely to address threats of destruction of
   19  property or injury to persons. The term includes local
   20  government historic preservation zoning regulations consistent
   21  with the preservation of local zoning authority under 47 U.S.C
   22  s. 332(c)(7), the requirements for facility modifications under
   23  47 U.S.C. s. 1455(a), or the National Historic Preservation Act
   24  of 1966, as amended, and the regulations adopted to implement
   25  these laws.
   26         3. “Applicant” means a person who submits an application
   27  and is a wireless provider.
   28         4. “Application” means a request submitted by an applicant
   29  to an authority for a permit to collocate small wireless
   30  facilities.
   31         5. “Authority utility pole” means a utility pole owned by
   32  an authority in the right-of-way. The term does not include a
   33  utility pole owned by a municipal electric company.
   34         6. “Collocate” or “collocation” means to install, mount,
   35  maintain, modify, operate, or replace one or more wireless
   36  facilities on, under, within, or adjacent to a wireless support
   37  structure or utility pole.
   38         7. “FCC” means the Federal Communications Commission.
   39         8.“Micro wireless facility” means a small wireless
   40  facility having dimensions no larger than 24 inches in length,
   41  15 inches in width, and 12 inches in height and an exterior
   42  antenna, if any, no longer than 11 inches.
   43         9. “Small wireless facility” means a wireless facility that
   44  meets the following qualifications:
   45         a.Each antenna associated with the facility is located
   46  inside an enclosure of no more than 6 cubic feet in volume or,
   47  in the case of antennas that have exposed elements, each antenna
   48  and all of its exposed elements could fit within an enclosure of
   49  no more than 6 cubic feet in volume; and
   50         b.All other wireless equipment associated with the
   51  facility is cumulatively no more than 28 cubic feet in volume.
   52  The following types of associated ancillary equipment are not
   53  included in the calculation of equipment volume: electric
   54  meters, concealment elements, telecommunications demarcation
   55  boxes, ground-based enclosures, grounding equipment, power
   56  transfer switches, cutoff switches, vertical cable runs for the
   57  connection of power and other services, and utility poles or
   58  other support structures.
   59         10.“Utility pole” means a pole or similar structure that
   60  is used in whole or in part to provide communications services
   61  or for electric distribution, lighting, traffic control,
   62  signage, or a similar function.
   63         11. “Wireless facility” means equipment at a fixed location
   64  which enables wireless communications between user equipment and
   65  a communications network, including radio transceivers,
   66  antennas, wires, coaxial or fiber-optic cable or other cables,
   67  regular and backup power supplies, and comparable equipment,
   68  regardless of technological configuration, and equipment
   69  associated with wireless communications. The term includes small
   70  wireless facilities. The term does not include:
   71         a. The structure or improvements on, under, within, or
   72  adjacent to the structure on which the equipment is collocated;
   73         b. Wireline backhaul facilities; or
   74         c. Coaxial or fiber-optic cable that is between wireless
   75  structures or utility poles or that is otherwise not immediately
   76  adjacent to or directly associated with a particular antenna.
   77         12. “Wireless infrastructure provider” means a person who
   78  is certificated to provide telecommunications service in the
   79  state and who builds or installs wireless communication
   80  transmission equipment, wireless facilities, or wireless support
   81  structures, but is not a wireless services provider.
   82         13. “Wireless provider” means a wireless infrastructure
   83  provider or a wireless services provider.
   84         14. “Wireless services” means any services provided using
   85  licensed or unlicensed spectrum, whether at a fixed location or
   86  mobile, using wireless facilities.
   87         15. “Wireless services provider” means a person who
   88  provides wireless services.
   89         16. “Wireless support structure” means a freestanding
   90  structure, such as a monopole, a guyed or self-supporting tower,
   91  a billboard, or another existing or proposed structure designed
   92  to support or capable of supporting wireless facilities. The
   93  term does not include a utility pole.
   94         (c) Except as provided in this subsection, an authority may
   95  not prohibit, regulate, or charge for the collocation of small
   96  wireless facilities in the public rights-of-way.
   97         (d) An authority may require permit fees only in accordance
   98  with subsection (3). An authority shall accept applications for
   99  permits and shall process and issue permits subject to the
  100  following requirements:
  101         1. An authority may not directly or indirectly require an
  102  applicant to perform services unrelated to the collocation for
  103  which approval is sought, such as in-kind contributions to the
  104  authority, including reserving fiber, conduit, or pole space for
  105  the authority.
  106         2. An applicant may not be required to provide more
  107  information to obtain a permit than is required of electric
  108  service providers and other communications service providers
  109  that are not wireless services providers.
  110         3. An authority may not require the placement of small
  111  wireless facilities on any specific utility pole or category of
  112  poles or require multiple antenna systems on a single utility
  113  pole.
  114         4. An authority may not limit the placement of small
  115  wireless facilities by minimum separation distances or a maximum
  116  height limitation; however, an authority may limit the height of
  117  a small wireless facility to no more than 10 feet above the
  118  tallest existing utility pole, measured from grade in place
  119  within 500 feet of the proposed location of the small wireless
  120  facility. If there is no utility pole within 500 feet, the
  121  authority may limit the height of the small wireless facility to
  122  no more than 60 feet. The height limitations do not apply to the
  123  placement of any small wireless facility on a utility pole or
  124  wireless support structure constructed on or before June 30,
  125  2017, if the small wireless facility does not extend more than
  126  10 feet above the structure.
  127         5. Within 10 days after receiving an application, an
  128  authority must determine and notify the applicant by electronic
  129  mail as to whether the application is complete. If an
  130  application is deemed incomplete, the authority must
  131  specifically identify the missing information. An application is
  132  deemed complete if the authority fails to provide notification
  133  to the applicant within 10 days or when all documents,
  134  information, and fees specifically enumerated in the authority’s
  135  permit application form are submitted by the applicant to the
  136  authority.
  137         6. An application must be processed on a nondiscriminatory
  138  basis. A complete application is deemed approved if an authority
  139  fails to approve or deny the application within 60 days after
  140  receipt of the application.
  141         7.An authority must notify the applicant of approval or
  142  denial by electronic mail. An authority shall approve a complete
  143  application unless it does not meet the authority’s applicable
  144  codes. If the application is denied, the authority must specify
  145  in writing the basis for denial, including the specific code
  146  provisions on which the denial was based, and send the
  147  documentation to the applicant by electronic mail on the day the
  148  authority denies the application. The applicant may cure the
  149  deficiencies identified by the authority and resubmit the
  150  application within 30 days after notice of the denial is sent to
  151  the applicant. The authority shall approve or deny the revised
  152  application within 30 days after receipt or the application is
  153  deemed approved. Any subsequent review shall be limited to the
  154  deficiencies cited in the denial.
  155         8. An applicant seeking to collocate small wireless
  156  facilities within the jurisdiction of a single authority may, at
  157  the applicant’s discretion, file a consolidated application and
  158  receive a single permit for the collocation of multiple small
  159  wireless facilities.
  160         (e)An authority may not require approval or require fees
  161  or other charges for:
  162         1. Routine maintenance;
  163         2. Replacement of existing wireless facilities with
  164  wireless facilities that are substantially similar or of the
  165  same or smaller size; or
  166         3. Installation, placement, maintenance, or replacement of
  167  micro wireless facilities that are suspended on cables strung
  168  between existing utility poles in compliance with applicable
  169  codes by a communications service provider authorized to occupy
  170  the rights-of-way and who is remitting taxes under chapter 202.
  171         (f) An authority shall approve the collocation of small
  172  wireless facilities on authority utility poles, subject to the
  173  following requirements:
  174         1. An authority may not enter into an exclusive arrangement
  175  with any person for the right to attach equipment to authority
  176  utility poles.
  177         2. The rates and fees for collocations on authority utility
  178  poles must be nondiscriminatory, regardless of the services
  179  provided by the collocating person.
  180         3. The rate to collocate equipment on authority utility
  181  poles may not exceed the lesser of the annual recurring rate
  182  that would be permitted under rules adopted by the FCC under 47
  183  U.S.C. s. 224(d) if the collocation rate were regulated by the
  184  FCC or $15 per year per authority utility pole.
  185         4.If an authority has an existing pole attachment rate,
  186  fee, or other term that does not comply with this subsection,
  187  the authority shall, no later than January 1, 2018, revise such
  188  rate, fee, or term to be in compliance with this subsection.
  189         5. A person owning or controlling an authority utility pole
  190  shall offer rates, fees, and other terms that comply with this
  191  subsection. By the later of January 1, 2018, or 3 months after
  192  receiving a request to collocate its first small wireless
  193  facility on a utility pole owned or controlled by an authority,
  194  the person owning or controlling the authority utility pole
  195  shall make available, through ordinance or otherwise, rates,
  196  fees, and terms for the collocation of small wireless facilities
  197  on the authority utility pole which comply with this subsection.
  198         a. The rates, fees, and terms must be nondiscriminatory,
  199  competitively neutral, and commercially reasonable and must
  200  comply with this subsection.
  201         b. For an authority utility pole that supports an aerial
  202  facility used to provide communications services or electric
  203  service, the parties shall comply with the process for make
  204  ready work under 47 U.S.C. s. 224 and implementing regulations.
  205  The good faith estimate of the person owning or controlling the
  206  pole for any make-ready work necessary to enable the pole to
  207  support the requested collocation must include pole replacement
  208  if necessary.
  209         c. For an authority utility pole that does not support an
  210  aerial facility used to provide communications services or
  211  electric service, the authority shall provide a good faith
  212  estimate for any make-ready work necessary to enable the pole to
  213  support the requested collocation, including necessary pole
  214  replacement, within 60 days after receipt of a complete
  215  application. Make-ready work, including any pole replacement,
  216  must be completed within 60 days after written acceptance of the
  217  good faith estimate by the applicant.
  218         d.An authority may not require more make-ready work than
  219  is required to meet applicable codes or industry standards. Fees
  220  for make-ready work may not include costs related to preexisting
  221  damage or prior noncompliance. Fees for make-ready work,
  222  including any pole replacement, may not exceed actual costs or
  223  the amount charged to communications service providers other
  224  than wireless services providers for similar work and may not
  225  include any consultant fee or expense.
  226         (g) Except as provided in this chapter or specifically
  227  required by state law, an authority may not adopt or enforce any
  228  regulation on the placement or operation of communications
  229  facilities in the rights-of-way by a provider authorized by
  230  state law to operate in the rights-of-way and may not regulate
  231  any communications services or impose or collect any tax, fee,
  232  or charge not specifically authorized under state law.
  233         (h) This subsection does not authorize a person to
  234  collocate small wireless facilities on a privately owned utility
  235  pole, a privately owned wireless support structure, or other
  236  private property without the consent of the property owner.
  237         (i) This subsection may not be construed to limit local
  238  governments’ authority to enforce historic preservation zoning
  239  regulations consistent with the preservation of local zoning
  240  authority under 47 U.S.C s. 332(c)(7), the requirements for
  241  facility modifications under 47 U.S.C. s.1455(a), or the
  242  National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, and the
  243  regulations adopted to implement these laws.
  244         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.
  245  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  246  And the title is amended as follows:
  247         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  248  and insert:
  249                        A bill to be entitled                      
  250         An act relating to utilities; amending s. 337.401,
  251         F.S.; providing a short title; defining terms;
  252         prohibiting the Department of Transportation and
  253         certain local governmental entities, collectively
  254         referred to as the “authority,” from prohibiting,
  255         regulating, or charging for the collocation of small
  256         wireless facilities in public rights-of-way under
  257         certain circumstances; authorizing an authority to
  258         require permit fees only under certain circumstances;
  259         requiring an authority to receive and process
  260         applications for permits, and to issue such permits,
  261         subject to specified requirements; providing that
  262         height limitations do not apply to the placement of
  263         small wireless facilities on or before a specified
  264         date under certain circumstances; prohibiting an
  265         authority from requiring approval or charges for
  266         routine maintenance, the replacement of certain
  267         wireless facilities, or the installation, placement,
  268         maintenance, or replacement of certain micro wireless
  269         facilities; requiring an authority to approve the
  270         collocation of small wireless facilities on authority
  271         utility poles, subject to certain requirements;
  272         providing requirements for rates, fees, and other
  273         terms related to authority utility poles; prohibiting
  274         an authority from adopting or enforcing any regulation
  275         on the placement or operation of certain
  276         communications facilities and from regulating any
  277         communications services or imposing or collecting any
  278         tax, fee, or charge not specifically authorized under
  279         state law; providing construction; providing an
  280         effective date.