Broadband Incentives for Communities Grant Program

(a) Establishment The Assistant Secretary shall establish a program to make grants on a competitive basis to covered entities to assist such entities in providing efficient review and approval of covered applications. (b) Eligibility The Assistant Secretary may only make a grant under this section to a covered entity that does the following: (1) The covered entity submits to the Assistant Secretary an application at such time, in such form, and accompanied by such information and assurances as the Assistant Secretary may require. (2) The covered entity demonstrates readiness for the deployment of broadband infrastructure (including fifth-generation wireless communications infrastructure) in the jurisdiction of the covered entity, including through the following: (A) Adoption and implementation of efficient processes, which comply with applicable Federal standards and regulations, for reviewing covered applications that facilitate wireless and fiber deployment, including those applications relating to projects that make efficient use of existing infrastructure. (B) Adoption and implementation of written policies, ordinances, or guidance that allows the use of expedited processes, such as micro-trenching, for the deployment of broadband infrastructure. (C) With respect to fees for the processing of covered applications— (i) in the case of a covered application described in subparagraph (A), adoption and implementation of fees that are limited to the actual, objectively reasonable costs incurred by the covered entity to process the application and (if applicable) provide access to the right-of-way to which the application relates; and (ii) in the case of any other covered application, adoption and implementation of uniform and objectively reasonable fees, which shall be published in advance of the date on which such fees begin to apply to any such application. (c) Use of funds A covered entity that receives a grant under this section shall use the grant for one or more of the following: (1) Capacity-building for the covered entity to facilitate the processing of covered applications, including employee training and hiring. (2) The purchase of technology, software, and equipment to facilitate the processing of covered applications, including in a remote work environment.