Michigan Lawmakers Pass 5G Small-Cells Bill in Lame Duck
Michigan small-cells legislation is heading to the governor’s desk after the House voted 74-35 Wednesday for SB-637 and 77-32 for SB-894. Like bills passed in 20 other states, industry-supported SB-637 aims to speed deployment of 5G wireless facilities by pre-empting local government authority in the right of way. SB-894 was needed to ensure zoning code reflects SB-637’s provisions because one can’t amend the zoning code by reference there. It's the first state to pass such a bill since the FCC’s September order setting review shot clocks and national rate ceilings.
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The Senate was expected to have transmitted the bill to the governor Thursday, said Michigan Municipal League Assistant Director-State and Federal Affairs John LaMacchia in an interview. He expects Gov. Rick Snyder (R), who won't return next year due to term limits, will sign before Gretchen Whitmer (D) takes office. The Senate Thursday ordered the bill enrolled, a final legislative sign-off. Snyder will have two weeks to sign after he gets the bills.
"Gov. Snyder is very interested in these bills as they relate to his efforts to increase broadband connectivity across Michigan," a spokesperson said. "He will not make a decision on whether to sign the bills until he has a chance to give them a closer review."
The House made no changes to the bill since Senate passage in March, before the FCC cleared its September infrastructure order, LaMacchia said. FCC declaratory ruling entered the conversation but had no effect on the bill, he said.
“This bill has been in the legislative process way before the FCC issued its ruling,” so “the bill does not incorporate the specific fees or other provisions that the FCC adopted,” said Wireless Infrastructure Association State Government Affairs Counsel Arturo Chang. “The bill will help with 5G deployment and we count this as a significant step.” Snyder should sign as soon as possible, said WIA CEO Jonathan Adelstein, applauding the bipartisan passage. “This balanced legislation will help usher in next generation wireless broadband throughout the state.”
The state municipal league ended up neutral on the bills after 50-80 hours of negotiation, LaMacchia said. “We had felt we made a significant amount of progress … to protect our members as best we could.” Municipalities got additions including language on insurance and indemnification, protections for historic districts and requirements that providers make operational any facilities they put up and remove any facilities that become nonoperational, he said.
Michigan legislation provides 60 days to review collocations on existing poles and 90 days for new poles, like the FCC order. Unlike that order, the state bill includes a deemed granted remedy. SB-637 sets annual rate limits below the rate ceilings in the September order but appears to set maximum application fees higher than the federal standards. The FCC limited annual fees to $270 per facility. For applications, it allowed a one-time $500 fee for a batch with up to five small cells, plus $100 for each additional facility, up to $1,000 for nonrecurring fees for a new pole. The FCC let municipalities charge higher fees in limited circumstances if they could show they were a reasonable approximation of reasonable costs and were nondiscriminatory.
Local governments may not charge more than $20 in annual ROW charges for existing poles, or $125 for new structures, and no more than $30 per year for collocation for each pole, under the bill. SB-637 allows application fees of $200 to collocate on an existing pole and $300 to collocate on a new pole. Application fees for zoning approvals may not exceed $1,000 for a new wireless support structure or $500 for a new small-cell facility or modification of an existing facility. The FCC didn’t comment Thursday.
Poles owned by municipal electrics may charge no more than $50 annually for collocation on non-authority poles, and no more than $100 for processing, the bill said. Maximum rates would increase 10 percent every five years.