House passed legislation Mon. that would limit fees charged by fe...
House passed legislation Mon. that would limit fees charged by federal agencies to telecom companies for rights- of-way (ROW) on federal land. “Reasonable Rights-of-Way Fees Act of 2002” (HR-3258) passed by voice vote Mon. afternoon. It’s unclear how Senate…
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will address issue. Rep. Cubin (R- Wyo.), bill sponsor, said fees charged by Interior Dept.’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have discouraged broadband deployment to rural areas. Cubin said during April hearing of House Resources Public Lands Subcommittee that telecom providers have been specifically targeted for fee increases. She also said that fair market value shouldn’t include federal agencies sharing in revenue associated with facilities crossing federal lands. Cubin said revision of fee schedules by BLM and U.S. Forest Service resulted in some telecom companies being charged 100-150 times their previous annual bill. During that hearing, BLM official said Interior Dept. was concerned HR-3258 would eliminate fee schedules set in 1986 and 1995. He said bill would prevent federal agencies from charging fair market value rates of return for ROW on federal lands and require “time-consuming, multiple appraisal process” for every ROW request. Eric Myers, exec. dir.-Telecom Rights of Way Coalition, said HR-3258 was needed to develop “robust national telecommunications structure.” He said high fees for federal ROW would likely create “economic digital divide” where broadband is only affordable by portion of population.