Pennsylvania Panel Scraps Small-Cells Vote as Localities Keep Up Fight
Facing continuing local opposition, a Pennsylvania House committee canceled a Tuesday vote on the latest version of a small-cells bill that failed for the past three years. HB-1400 aims to streamline 5G wireless infrastructure deployment by pre-empting localities in the…
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right of way (see 1906180060). The Consumer Affairs Committee and Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Frank Farry (R) want to "work with some of the stakeholders over the next weeks to smooth out some of the language," emailed Dawn Pelletier, legislative assistant for bill author Farry. "I don’t expect anything to happen on the bill before March." Three state associations for boroughs, municipalities and township commissioners remained opposed, in a Monday letter to House Consumer Affairs Chairman Brad Roae (R) and Minority Chairman Robert Matzie (D). The latest amendment aligns with FCC rules “on the size and height of the facilities and makes improvements to the indemnification and restoration provisions, as well as the addition of a rural broadband component,” the groups wrote. “These issues are secondary in nature, however, compared to our central issue, which is the preemption of local zoning authority over the management of wireless facilities in the public rights-of-way.” Local governments could become “neutral with concerns” if legislators further amend the bill by lengthening shot clocks on approving applications, preserving local zoning authority for new poles and allowing some municipalities to charge more than $270 as allowed by the FCC wireless infrastructure order.