H.R. 5147

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5147 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5147

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to streamline siting processes 
for personal wireless service facilities, including small personal 
wireless service facilities, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

September 4, 2025

Mr. Latta introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to streamline siting processes 
for personal wireless service facilities, including small personal 
wireless service facilities, and for other purposes.

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 ``Winning the International Race for 
Economic Leadership and Expanding Service to Support Leadership Act'' 
or the ``WIRELESS Leadership Act''.

SEC. 2. PRESERVATION OF LOCAL ZONING AUTHORITY.

Section 332(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 332(c)) 
is amended by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the following:
``(7) Preservation of local zoning authority.--
``(A) General authority.--Except as provided in 
this paragraph, nothing in this Act shall limit or 
affect the authority of a State or local government or 
instrumentality thereof over decisions regarding the 
placement, construction, or modification of personal 
wireless service facilities.
``(B) Limitations.--
``(i) In general.--The regulation of the 
placement, construction, or modification of a 
personal wireless service facility by any State 
or local government or instrumentality 
thereof--
``(I) shall not discriminate among 
personal wireless service facilities or 
providers of communications service, 
including by providing exclusive or 
preferential use of facilities to a 
particular provider or class of 
providers of personal wireless service; 
and
``(II) shall not prohibit or have 
the effect of prohibiting the 
provision, improvement, or enhancement 
of personal wireless service.
``(ii) Engineering standards; aesthetic 
requirements.--It is not a violation of clause 
(i) for a State or local government or 
instrumentality thereof to establish for 
personal wireless service facilities, or 
structures that support such facilities, 
objective, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory--
``(I) structural engineering 
standards based on generally applicable 
codes;
``(II) safety requirements; or
``(III) aesthetic or concealment 
requirements (unless such requirements 
prohibit or have the effect of 
prohibiting the installation or 
modification of such facilities or 
structures).
``(iii) Timeframes.--
``(I) In general.--Except in the 
case of an eligible facilities request 
to which section 6409(a) of the Middle 
Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act 
of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(a)) applies, a 
State or local government or 
instrumentality thereof shall grant or 
deny a complete request for 
authorization to place, construct, or 
modify a personal wireless service 
facility not later than--
``(aa) in the case of a 
request for authorization to 
place, construct, or modify a 
personal wireless service 
facility that is not a small 
personal wireless service 
facility--

``(AA) if the 
request is for 
authorization to place, 
construct, or modify 
such facility using an 
existing structure, 
including with respect 
to an area that has not 
previously been zoned 
for personal wireless 
service facilities 
(other than small 
personal wireless 
service facilities), 90 
days after the date on 
which the complete 
request is received by 
the government or 
instrumentality; or

``(BB) if the 
request is for any 
other action relating 
to such facility, 150 
days after the date on 
which the complete 
request is received by 
the government or 
instrumentality; and

``(bb) in the case of a 
request for authorization to 
place, construct, or modify a 
small personal wireless service 
facility--

``(AA) if the 
request is for 
authorization to place, 
construct, or modify 
such facility using an 
existing structure, 60 
days after the date on 
which the complete 
request is received by 
the government or 
instrumentality; or

``(BB) if the 
request is for any 
other action relating 
to such facility, 90 
days after the date on 
which the complete 
request is received by 
the government or 
instrumentality.

``(II) Treatment of batched 
requests.--In the case of complete 
requests described in subclause (I) 
that are submitted as part of a single 
batch and received by the government or 
instrumentality on the same day, the 
applicable timeframe under such 
subclause for each request in the batch 
shall be the longest timeframe under 
such subclause that would be applicable 
to any request in the batch if such 
requests were submitted separately.
``(III) Applicability.--The 
applicable timeframe under subclause 
(I) shall apply collectively to all 
proceedings required by a State or 
local government or instrumentality 
thereof for the approval of the 
request.
``(IV) No tolling.--A timeframe 
under subclause (I) may not be tolled 
by any moratorium, whether express or 
de facto, imposed by a State or local 
government or instrumentality thereof 
on the submission, acceptance, or 
consideration of any request for 
authorization to place, construct, or 
modify a personal wireless service 
facility.
``(iv) Deemed granted.--
``(I) In general.--If a State or 
local government or instrumentality 
thereof fails to take final action to 
grant or deny a complete request within 
the applicable timeframe under 
subclause (I) of clause (iii), the 
request shall be deemed granted on the 
date on which the government or 
instrumentality receives a written 
notice of the failure from the 
requesting party.
``(II) Rule of construction.--In 
the case of a request that is deemed 
granted under subclause (I), the 
placement, construction, or 
modification requested in the request 
shall be considered to be authorized, 
without any further action by the 
government or instrumentality, 
beginning on the date on which the 
request is deemed granted under such 
subclause.
``(v) Written decision and record.--Any 
decision by a State or local government or 
instrumentality thereof to deny a request for 
authorization to place, construct, or modify a 
personal wireless service facility shall be--
``(I) in writing;
``(II) supported by substantial 
evidence contained in a written record; 
and
``(III) publicly released, and 
provided to the requesting party, on 
the same day such decision is made.
``(vi) Environmental effects of radio 
frequency emissions.--No State or local 
government or instrumentality thereof may 
regulate the operation, placement, 
construction, or modification of personal 
wireless service facilities on the basis of the 
environmental effects of radio frequency 
emissions to the extent that such facilities or 
structures comply with the Commission's 
regulations concerning such emissions.
``(vii) Fees.--To the extent permitted by 
law, a State or local government or 
instrumentality thereof may charge a fee to 
consider a request for authorization to place, 
construct, or modify a personal wireless 
service facility or a fee for use of a right-
of-way or a facility in a right-of-way owned or 
managed by the government or instrumentality 
for the placement, construction, or 
modification of a personal wireless service 
facility, if the fee is--
``(I) competitively neutral, 
technology neutral, and 
nondiscriminatory;
``(II) established in advance and 
publicly disclosed;
``(III) calculated--
``(aa) based on actual and 
direct costs for--

``(AA) review and 
processing of requests; 
and

``(BB) repairs and 
replacement of 
components and 
materials resulting 
from and affected by 
the placement, 
construction, or 
modification (including 
the installation or 
improvement) of 
personal wireless 
service facilities or 
repairs and replacement 
of equipment that 
facilitates the 
placement, 
construction, or 
modification (including 
the installation or 
improvement) of such 
facilities; and

``(bb) using, for purposes 
of item (aa), only costs that 
are objectively reasonable; and
``(IV) described to a requesting 
party in a manner that distinguishes 
between--
``(aa) nonrecurring fees 
and recurring fees; and
``(bb) the use of 
facilities on which personal 
wireless service facilities are 
already located and facilities 
on which there are no personal 
wireless service facilities as 
of the date on which the 
complete request is received by 
the government or 
instrumentality.
``(C) Judicial or administrative review.--
``(i) Judicial review.--Any person 
adversely affected by any final action or 
failure to act by a State or local government 
or any instrumentality thereof that is 
inconsistent with this paragraph may, within 30 
days after the action or failure to act, 
commence an action in any court of competent 
jurisdiction, which shall hear and decide the 
action on an expedited basis.
``(ii) Administrative review.--
``(I) In general.--Any person 
adversely affected by any final action 
or failure to act by a State or local 
government or any instrumentality 
thereof that is inconsistent with this 
paragraph may petition the Commission 
to review such action or failure to 
act.
``(II) Timing.--Not later than 120 
days after receiving a petition under 
subclause (I), the Commission shall 
grant or deny such petition.
``(D) When request considered complete; received.--
``(i) When request considered complete.--
``(I) In general.--For the purposes 
of this paragraph, a request to a State 
or local government or instrumentality 
thereof shall be considered complete if 
the requesting party--
``(aa) has taken the first 
procedural step within the 
control of the requesting 
party--

``(AA) to submit 
such request in 
accordance with the 
procedures established 
by the government or 
instrumentality for the 
review and approval of 
such request; or

``(BB) in the case 
of a government or 
instrumentality that 
has not established 
specific procedures for 
the review and approval 
of such request, to 
submit to the 
government or 
instrumentality the 
type of filing that is 
typically required to 
initiate a standard 
review for a similar 
facility or structure; 
and

``(bb) has not received a 
written notice from the 
government or instrumentality 
within 10 days after the date 
on which the request is 
received by the government or 
instrumentality, if the request 
is with respect to a small 
personal wireless service 
facility, or 30 days after such 
date, if the request is with 
respect to any other personal 
wireless service facility--

``(AA) stating that 
all the information 
(including any form or 
other document) 
required by the 
government or 
instrumentality to be 
submitted for the 
request to be 
considered complete has 
not been submitted;

``(BB) identifying 
the information 
required to be 
submitted that was not 
submitted; and

``(CC) citing a 
specific provision of a 
publicly available 
rule, regulation, or 
standard of the 
government or 
instrumentality that 
requires the 
information identified 
under subitem (BB) to 
be submitted.

``(II) Definition.--In this clause, 
the term `the date on which the request 
is received by the government or 
instrumentality' means--
``(aa) in the case of a 
request submitted 
electronically, the date on 
which the request is 
transmitted;
``(bb) in the case of a 
request submitted in person, 
the date on which the request 
is delivered to the individual 
or at the location specified by 
the government or 
instrumentality for in-person 
submission; and
``(cc) in the case of a 
request submitted in any other 
manner, the date determined 
under regulations promulgated 
by the Commission for the 
manner in which the request is 
submitted.
``(ii) When complete request considered 
received.--For the purposes of this paragraph, 
a complete request shall be considered 
received--
``(I) except as provided in 
subclause (II), on the date on which 
the requesting party submits to the 
government or instrumentality all 
information (including any form or 
other document) required by the 
government or instrumentality to be 
submitted for the request to be 
considered complete; or
``(II) in the case of a request 
with respect to which all such 
information is not submitted and that 
is considered complete under clause 
(i)(I) because the requesting party has 
not received a written notice from the 
government or instrumentality within 
the period described in such clause, on 
the day after the last day of such 
period.
``(E) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this 
paragraph may be construed to affect section 6409(a) of 
the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 
2012 (47 U.S.C. 1455(a)).
``(F) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
``(i) Antenna.--The term `antenna' means an 
apparatus designed for the purpose of emitting 
radiofrequency radiation, to be operated or 
operating from a fixed location for the 
transmission of writing, signs, signals, data, 
images, pictures, and sounds of all kinds.
``(ii) Communications network.--The term 
`communications network' means a network used 
to provide a communications service.
``(iii) Communications service.--The term 
`communications service' means each of--
``(I) cable service, as defined in 
section 602;
``(II) information service;
``(III) telecommunications service; 
and
``(IV) personal wireless service.
``(iv) Generally applicable code.--The term 
`generally applicable code' means a uniform 
building, fire, electrical, plumbing, or 
mechanical code adopted by a national code 
organization, or a local amendment to such a 
code, to the extent not inconsistent with this 
Act.
``(v) Network interface device.--The term 
`network interface device' means a 
telecommunications demarcation device and 
cross-connect point that--
``(I) is adjacent or proximate to--
``(aa) a small personal 
wireless service facility; or
``(bb) a structure 
supporting a small personal 
wireless service facility; and
``(II) demarcates the boundary with 
any wireline backhaul facility.
``(vi) Personal wireless service.--The term 
`personal wireless service' means any fixed or 
mobile service (other than a broadcasting 
service) provided via licensed or unlicensed 
frequencies, including--
``(I) commercial mobile service;
``(II) commercial mobile data 
service (as defined in section 6001 of 
the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job 
Creation Act of 2012 (47 U.S.C. 1401));
``(III) unlicensed wireless 
service; and
``(IV) common carrier wireless 
exchange access service.
``(vii) Personal wireless service 
facility.--The term `personal wireless service 
facility' means a facility used to provide or 
support the provision of personal wireless 
service.
``(viii) Small personal wireless service 
facility.--The term `small personal wireless 
service facility' means a personal wireless 
service facility in which each antenna is not 
more than 3 cubic feet in volume (excluding a 
wireline backhaul facility connected to such 
personal wireless service facility).
``(ix) Unlicensed wireless service.--The 
term `unlicensed wireless service'--
``(I) means the offering of 
telecommunications service using a duly 
authorized device that does not require 
an individual license; and
``(II) does not include the 
provision of direct-to-home satellite 
services, as defined in section 303(v).
``(x) Wireline backhaul facility.--The term 
`wireline backhaul facility' means an above-
ground or underground wireline facility used to 
transport communications service or other 
electronic communications from a small personal 
wireless service facility or the adjacent 
network interface device of such facility to a 
communications network.''.
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