Bill > A1116

Introduced Session

This bill provides for the uniform regulation of small wireless facility deployment in this State by local government units (authorities). The bill prohibits an authority from regulating small wireless facilities in a manner that is inconsistent with the bill. An authority may not enter into an exclusive arrangement with any person or entity for the use of the right-of-way for: 1) the collocation of a small wireless facility; 2) the mounting or installation of a small wireless facility on new or replacement poles; 3) the installation of associated antenna equipment adjacent to a structure on which a small wireless facility is or will be collocated, mounted, or installed; or 4) the installation, operation, marketing, modification, maintenance, or replacement of associated poles. The bill provides that a wireless provider, as defined in the bill, is to have the right, as a permitted use not subject to zoning review or approval, and without the need for municipal consent to: 1) collocate small wireless facilities; 2) mount or install small wireless facilities on new or replacement poles; 3) install associated antenna equipment adjacent to a structure on which a small wireless facility is or will be collocated, mounted, or installed; or 4) install, modify, or replace its own poles, or, with the permission of the owner, a third party's poles, associated with a small wireless facility, along, across, upon, and under the right-of-way. The bill provides that each new, replaced, or modified pole installed in the right-of-way for the purpose of collocating, mounting, or installing a small wireless facility is to follow certain height restrictions pursuant to the bill. An authority may adopt aesthetics requirements governing the deployment of small wireless facilities and associated antenna equipment and poles in the right-of-way, subject to certain requirements pursuant to the bill. A wireless provider is to comply with undergrounding requirements that are consistent with the bill. The bill provides that an authority may require a wireless provider to repair all damage to the right-of-way caused by the activities of the wireless provider and to return the right-of-way to its functional equivalence before the damage, pursuant to the competitively neutral, reasonable requirements and specifications of the authority. If the wireless provider fails to make the repairs required by the authority within a reasonable time after written notice, the authority may make those repairs and charge the applicable party the reasonable, documented cost of the repairs. Under the bill, a wireless provider shall not be required to replace or upgrade an existing pole except for reasons of structural necessity or compliance with applicable building codes. A wireless provider may, with the permission of the pole owner, replace or modify the existing pole, but any replacement or modification shall be consistent with the design aesthetics of the pole being modified or replaced. The bill requires wireless provider to notify an authority at least 30 days before the abandonment of a small wireless facility located within the authority's jurisdiction. Following receipt of the notice, the authority is to direct the wireless provider to remove all or any portion of the small wireless facility and associated antenna equipment that the authority determines would be in the best interest of public safety. If the wireless provider fails to remove the abandoned small wireless facility within 90 days after the notice, the authority may undertake to remove the small wireless facility and recover the actual and reasonable expenses of the removal from the wireless provider, its successors, or assigns. The bill allows an authority to require an applicant to obtain a permit for: 1) the collocation of a small wireless facility; 2) mounting or installation of a small wireless facility on a new, modified, or replacement pole; or 3) the installation, modification, or replacement of associated poles or antenna equipment as provided the bill. Each permit issued pursuant to the bill is to be of general applicability and is not to apply exclusively to a small wireless facility. An authority is to receive and process applications following certain requirements pursuant to the bill. Under the bill, the rates, fees, and terms and conditions for any make-ready work to collocate, mount, or install a small wireless facility on an authority pole and to install associated antenna equipment are to be non-discriminatory, competitively neutral, commercially reasonable, and are to comply with the provisions of the bill. The bill further provides that all rates and fees established pursuant to the bill are to be a reasonable approximation of the authority's reasonable costs, and are to be applied by the authority in a non-discriminatory manner. An authority may not require a wireless provider to pay any rates, fees, or compensation to the authority or other person other than what is expressly authorized by the bill for the right to use or occupy the right-of-way for the collocation, mounting, or installation of a small wireless facility on a pole in the right-of-way, or for the installation, maintenance, modification, or replacement of associated antenna equipment or a pole in the right-of-way. Application fees for any permit issued pursuant to the bill are not to exceed certain amounts pursuant to the bill. The bill provides that an authority is not to have or exercise any jurisdiction or authority over the design, engineering, construction, installation, or operation of a small wireless facility located in an interior structure or upon the site of a campus, stadium, or athletic facility not owned or controlled by the authority, other than to require compliance with applicable building codes. Further, except as it relates to small wireless facilities subject to the permit and fee requirements established pursuant the bill or otherwise specifically authorized by State or federal law, an authority is not to adopt or enforce any regulations or requirements on the placement or operation of communications facilities in the right-of-way by a communications service provider authorized by federal, State, or local law to operate in the right-of-way, regulate any communications services, or impose or collect any tax, fee, rate, or charge for the provision of additional communications service over the communications service provider's communications facilities in the right-of-way. The bill allows for an authority to adopt an ordinance that makes available to wireless providers rates, fees, and other terms and conditions that comply with the bill. An ordinance or agreement that does not fully comply with the bill is to apply only to small wireless facilities and any associated poles and antenna equipment that were operational before the effective date the bill and are to be deemed invalid and unenforceable beginning on the 181st day after the effective date of the bill unless amended to fully comply the bill. The bill provides that an authority may adopt reasonable indemnification, insurance, and bonding requirements related to a small wireless facility and associated pole permits and antenna equipment. An authority is not to require a wireless provider to indemnify and hold the authority and its officers and employees harmless against any claims, lawsuits, judgments, costs, liens, losses, expenses, or fees, except when a court of competent jurisdiction has found that the negligence of the wireless provider while installing, repairing, or maintaining a small wireless facility or associated poles and antenna equipment caused the harm that created the claims, lawsuits, judgments, costs, liens, losses, expenses, or fees. The bill provides that an authority may require a wireless provider to have in effect insurance coverage consistent with the bill. The bill also allows an authority to adopt bonding requirements for small wireless facilities if the authority imposes similar requirements in connection with permits issued for other right-of-way users. The bill provides that a court of competent jurisdiction is to have jurisdiction to determine disputes arising pursuant to the bill. A dispute is to be pursued in accordance with accelerated docket or complaint procedures, where available.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Wayne DeAngelo (D)*,  Lou Greenwald (D)*,  Carol Murphy (D)*,  Clinton Calabrese (D),  Robert Karabinchak (D),  Andrew Zwicker (D), 

Received in the Senate without Reference, 2nd Reading (on 06/28/2021)

Official Document