CABLE Expansion Act

This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to preserve local cable franchising authority while setting new rules for how quickly local governments must decide on requests to place, build, or modify cable facilities.

Sec. 2, Request regarding placement, construction, or modification of certain facilities: This section adds a new subsection to the Communications Act. It says that generally, local franchising authorities keep their power over decisions about placing, building, or modifying cable facilities in their area. However, there are two limits. First, the local authority cannot prohibit or effectively prohibit a cable operator from providing or improving cable service under its franchise. Second, the local authority must approve or deny a complete request within a set time: 90 days if the facility goes on existing support infrastructure (like a pole or conduit that already holds wire communication lines), or 150 days for other requests. This timeframe covers all required proceedings and cannot be extended by any local moratorium. If the local authority denies a request, it must give a written decision supported by evidence in a written record and release it publicly at the same time. A request is considered complete if the local authority does not tell the applicant in writing within 10 business days what information is missing. The bill defines "eligible support infrastructure" as infrastructure that already supports or is designed to support wire communication facilities at the time of the request, and "covered facility" as a facility for providing cable service that uses an easement or public right-of-way.