Sponsors
The bill speeds deployment and gives providers clearer timelines and more transparency, but it shifts costs and decision pressure onto local governments and can weaken local bargaining power and consumer protections.
Residents and consumers in urban and rural communities receive faster broadband and cable service deployment because statutory deadlines force quicker franchise/video approvals, letting providers start service or upgrades sooner.
Broadband and cable applicants (including small providers and utilities) gain regulatory certainty from a clear 120‑day timeline and defined submission/receipt rules, reducing delay risk and planning uncertainty.
Local stakeholders and the public benefit from improved transparency because denials must be written, publicly released, and provided to the requester promptly.
Residents in urban and rural communities may lose negotiated consumer protections or local benefits because rushed or automatic approvals reduce local authorities' ability to bargain franchise terms.
Local governments risk approving complex franchise applications without adequate oversight if they cannot complete thorough reviews within the 120‑day deadline, potentially producing poorer outcomes for communities.
Smaller or under‑resourced franchising authorities may incur increased administrative costs and legal exposure from stricter procedural rules and immediate public disclosure requirements.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires franchising authorities to approve or deny new cable franchise requests within 120 days of a complete submission, with requests deemed granted if no action is taken.
Introduced September 8, 2025 by Troy Balderson · Last progress September 8, 2025
Sets a 120-day deadline for local franchising authorities to approve or deny new cable franchise (non-renewal) requests after they receive a "complete" application; if the authority does not act within 120 days the request is automatically deemed granted. The bill defines when a request is "complete," how receipt dates are set for different filing methods, bars tolling by moratoria, requires written denials supported by substantial evidence with immediate public release, and directs the federal commission to issue rules for certain receipt methods.