Bill Text: IL SB3298 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act. Modifies the definition of "collocate" or "collocation" and adds a definition of "structure". Changes various references of "collocate" or "collocation" to "install" or "installation". Provides that an authority may require in a residential historic district that a small wireless facility be collocated on an existing utility pole or existing wireless support structure within 850 feet of the proposed installation or, if no such existing wireless support structure, the authority may reject the application. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SB3298 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-SB3298-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 SB3298 Introduced 2/11/2020, by Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
50 ILCS 840/10 was 50 ILCS 835/10
50 ILCS 840/15 was 50 ILCS 835/15
Amends the Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act. Modifies the definition of "collocate" or "collocation" and adds a definition of "structure". Changes various references of "collocate" or "collocation" to "install" or "installation". Provides that an authority may require in a residential historic district that a small wireless facility be collocated on an existing utility pole or existing wireless support structure within 850 feet of the proposed installation or, if no such existing wireless support structure, the authority may reject the application. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning local government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act is
amended by changing Sections 10 and 15 as follows:
(50 ILCS 840/10) (was 50 ILCS 835/10)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on June 1, 2021)
Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Antenna" means communications equipment that transmits or
receives electromagnetic radio frequency signals used in the
provision of wireless services.
"Applicable codes" means uniform building, fire,
electrical, plumbing, or mechanical codes adopted by a
recognized national code organization or local amendments to
those codes, including the National Electric Safety Code.
"Applicant" means any person who submits an application and
is a wireless provider.
"Application" means a request submitted by an applicant to
an authority for a permit to collocate small wireless
facilities, and a request that includes the installation of a
new utility pole for such collocation, as well as any
applicable fee for the review of such application.
"Authority" means a unit of local government that has

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jurisdiction and control for use of public rights-of-way as
provided by the Illinois Highway Code for placements within
public rights-of-way or has zoning or land use control for
placements not within public rights-of-way.
"Authority utility pole" means a utility pole owned or
operated by an authority in public rights-of-way.
"Collocate" or "collocation" means either: (i) mounting or
installing an antenna wireless facility on a pre-existing
structure; or (ii) modifying a structure for the purpose of
mounting or installing an antenna wireless facility on that
structure to install, mount, maintain, modify, operate, or
replace wireless facilities on or adjacent to a wireless
support structure or utility pole.
"Communications service" means cable service, as defined
in 47 U.S.C. 522(6), as amended; information service, as
defined in 47 U.S.C. 153(24), as amended; telecommunications
service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. 153(53), as amended; mobile
service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. 153(33), as amended; or
wireless service other than mobile service.
"Communications service provider" means a cable operator,
as defined in 47 U.S.C. 522(5), as amended; a provider of
information service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. 153(24), as
amended; a telecommunications carrier, as defined in 47 U.S.C.
153(51), as amended; or a wireless provider.
"FCC" means the Federal Communications Commission of the
United States.

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"Fee" means a one-time charge.
"Historic district" or "historic landmark" means a
building, property, or site, or group of buildings, properties,
or sites that are either (i) listed in the National Register of
Historic Places or formally determined eligible for listing by
the Keeper of the National Register, the individual who has
been delegated the authority by the federal agency to list
properties and determine their eligibility for the National
Register, in accordance with Section VI.D.1.a.i through
Section VI.D.1.a.v of the Nationwide Programmatic Agreement
codified at 47 CFR Part 1, Appendix C; or (ii) designated as a
locally landmarked building, property, site, or historic
district by an ordinance adopted by the authority pursuant to a
preservation program that meets the requirements of the
Certified Local Government Program of the Illinois State
Historic Preservation Office or where such certification of the
preservation program by the Illinois State Historic
Preservation Office is pending.
"Law" means a federal or State statute, common law, code,
rule, regulation, order, or local ordinance or resolution.
"Micro wireless facility" means a small wireless facility
that is not larger in dimension than 24 inches in length, 15
inches in width, and 12 inches in height and that has an
exterior antenna, if any, no longer than 11 inches.
"Permit" means a written authorization required by an
authority to perform an action or initiate, continue, or

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complete a project.
"Person" means an individual, corporation, limited
liability company, partnership, association, trust, or other
entity or organization, including an authority.
"Public safety agency" means the functional division of the
federal government, the State, a unit of local government, or a
special purpose district located in whole or in part within
this State, that provides or has authority to provide
firefighting, police, ambulance, medical, or other emergency
services to respond to and manage emergency incidents.
"Rate" means a recurring charge.
"Right-of-way" means the area on, below, or above a public
roadway, highway, street, public sidewalk, alley, or utility
easement dedicated for compatible use. "Right-of-way" does not
include authority-owned aerial lines.
"Small wireless facility" means a wireless facility that
meets both of the following qualifications: (i) each antenna is
located inside an enclosure of no more than 6 cubic feet in
volume or, in the case of an antenna that has exposed elements,
the antenna and all of its exposed elements could fit within an
imaginary enclosure of no more than 6 cubic feet; and (ii) all
other wireless equipment attached directly to a utility pole
associated with the facility is cumulatively no more than 25
cubic feet in volume. The following types of associated
ancillary equipment are not included in the calculation of
equipment volume: electric meter, concealment elements,

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telecommunications demarcation box, ground-based enclosures,
grounding equipment, power transfer switch, cut-off switch,
and vertical cable runs for the connection of power and other
services.
"Structure" means a pole, tower, base station, or other
building, whether or not it has an existing antenna wireless
facility that is used or to be used for the provision of
personal wireless service and whether or not owned or
commingled with other types of services.
"Utility pole" means a pole or similar structure that is
used in whole or in part by a communications service provider
or for electric distribution, lighting, traffic control, or a
similar function.
"Wireless facility" means equipment at a fixed location
that enables wireless communications between user equipment
and a communications network, including: (i) equipment
associated with wireless communications; and (ii) radio
transceivers, antennas, coaxial or fiber-optic cable, regular
and backup power supplies, and comparable equipment,
regardless of technological configuration. "Wireless facility"
includes small wireless facilities. "Wireless facility" does
not include: (i) the structure or improvements on, under, or
within which the equipment is installed collocated; or (ii)
wireline backhaul facilities, coaxial or fiber optic cable that
is between wireless support structures or utility poles or
coaxial, or fiber optic cable that is otherwise not immediately

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adjacent to or directly associated with an antenna.
"Wireless infrastructure provider" means any person
authorized to provide telecommunications service in the State
that builds or installs wireless communication transmission
equipment, wireless facilities, wireless support structures,
or utility poles and that is not a wireless services provider
but is acting as an agent or a contractor for a wireless
services provider for the application submitted to the
authority.
"Wireless provider" means a wireless infrastructure
provider or a wireless services provider.
"Wireless services" means any services provided to the
general public, including a particular class of customers, and
made available on a nondiscriminatory basis using licensed or
unlicensed spectrum, whether at a fixed location or mobile,
provided using wireless facilities.
"Wireless services provider" means a person who provides
wireless services.
"Wireless support structure" means a freestanding
structure, such as a monopole; tower, either guyed or
self-supporting; billboard; or other existing or proposed
structure designed to support or capable of supporting wireless
facilities. "Wireless support structure" does not include a
utility pole.
(Source: P.A. 100-585, eff. 6-1-18.)

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(50 ILCS 840/15) (was 50 ILCS 835/15)
(Section scheduled to be repealed on June 1, 2021)
Sec. 15. Regulation of small wireless facilities.
(a) This Section applies to activities of a wireless
provider within or outside rights-of-way.
(b) Except as provided in this Section, an authority may
not prohibit, regulate, or charge for the installation
collocation of small wireless facilities.
(c) Small wireless facilities shall be classified as
permitted uses and subject to administrative review in
conformance with this Act, except as provided in paragraph (5)
of subsection (d) of this Section regarding height exceptions
or variances, but not subject to zoning review or approval if
they are installed collocated (i) in rights-of-way in any zone,
or (ii) outside rights-of-way in property zoned exclusively for
commercial or industrial use.
(d) An authority may require an applicant to obtain one or
more permits to install collocate a small wireless facility. An
authority shall receive applications for, process, and issue
permits subject to the following requirements:
(1) An authority may not directly or indirectly require
an applicant to perform services unrelated to the
installation collocation for which approval is sought,
such as in-kind contributions to the authority, including
reserving fiber, conduit, or utility pole space for the
authority on the wireless provider's utility pole. An

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authority may reserve space on authority utility poles for
future public safety uses or for the authority's electric
utility uses, but a reservation of space may not preclude
the collocation of a small wireless facility unless the
authority reasonably determines that the authority utility
pole cannot accommodate both uses.
(2) An applicant shall not be required to provide more
information to obtain a permit than the authority requires
of a communications service provider that is not a wireless
provider that requests to attach facilities to a structure;
however, a wireless provider may be required to provide the
following information when seeking a permit to install
collocate small wireless facilities on a utility pole or
wireless support structure:
(A) site specific structural integrity and, for an
authority utility pole, make-ready analysis prepared
by a structural engineer, as that term is defined in
Section 4 of the Structural Engineering Practice Act of
1989;
(B) the location where each proposed small
wireless facility or utility pole would be installed
and photographs of the location and its immediate
surroundings depicting the utility poles or structures
on which each proposed small wireless facility would be
mounted or location where utility poles or structures
would be installed;

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(C) specifications and drawings prepared by a
structural engineer, as that term is defined in Section
4 of the Structural Engineering Practice Act of 1989,
for each proposed small wireless facility covered by
the application as it is proposed to be installed;
(D) the equipment type and model numbers for the
antennas and all other wireless equipment associated
with the small wireless facility;
(E) a proposed schedule for the installation and
completion of each small wireless facility covered by
the application, if approved; and
(F) certification that the installation
collocation complies with paragraph (6) to the best of
the applicant's knowledge.
(3) Subject to paragraph (6), an authority may not
require the placement of small wireless facilities on any
specific utility pole, or category of utility poles, or
require multiple antenna systems on a single utility pole;
however: (i) , with respect to an application for the
collocation of a small wireless facility associated with a
new utility pole, an authority may require propose that the
small wireless facility be collocated on an existing
utility pole or existing wireless support structure, when
possible, within 850 100 feet of the proposed installation
collocation, which the applicant shall accept if it has the
right to use the alternate structure on reasonable terms

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and conditions and the alternate location and structure
does not impose technical limits or additional material
costs as determined by the applicant; or (ii) an authority
may require in a residential historic district that the
small wireless facility be collocated on an existing
utility pole or existing wireless support structure within
850 feet of the proposed installation or, if no such
existing wireless support structure, the authority may
reject the application. The authority may require the
applicant to provide a written certification describing
the property rights, technical limits or material cost
reasons the alternate location does not satisfy the
criteria in this paragraph (3).
(4) Subject to paragraph (6), an authority may not
limit the placement of small wireless facilities mounted on
a utility pole or a wireless support structure by minimum
horizontal separation distances.
(5) An authority may limit the maximum height of a
small wireless facility to 10 feet above the utility pole
or wireless support structure on which the small wireless
facility is installed collocated. Subject to any
applicable waiver, zoning, or other process that addresses
wireless provider requests for an exception or variance and
does not prohibit granting of such exceptions or variances,
the authority may limit the height of new or replacement
utility poles or wireless support structures on which small

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wireless facilities are installed collocated to the higher
of: (i) 10 feet in height above the tallest existing
utility pole, other than a utility pole supporting only
wireless facilities, that is in place on the date the
application is submitted to the authority, that is located
within 300 feet of the new or replacement utility pole or
wireless support structure and that is in the same
right-of-way within the jurisdictional boundary of the
authority, provided the authority may designate which
intersecting right-of-way within 300 feet of the proposed
utility pole or wireless support structures shall control
the height limitation for such facility; or (ii) 45 feet
above ground level.
(6) An authority may require that:
(A) the wireless provider's operation of the small
wireless facilities does not interfere with the
frequencies used by a public safety agency for public
safety communications; a wireless provider shall
install small wireless facilities of the type and
frequency that will not cause unacceptable
interference with a public safety agency's
communications equipment; unacceptable interference
will be determined by and measured in accordance with
industry standards and the FCC's regulations
addressing unacceptable interference to public safety
spectrum or any other spectrum licensed by a public

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safety agency; if a small wireless facility causes such
interference, and the wireless provider has been given
written notice of the interference by the public safety
agency, the wireless provider, at its own expense,
shall take all reasonable steps necessary to correct
and eliminate the interference, including, but not
limited to, powering down the small wireless facility
and later powering up the small wireless facility for
intermittent testing, if necessary; the authority may
terminate a permit for a small wireless facility based
on such interference if the wireless provider is not
making a good faith effort to remedy the problem in a
manner consistent with the abatement and resolution
procedures for interference with public safety
spectrum established by the FCC including 47 CFR 22.970
through 47 CFR 22.973 and 47 CFR 90.672 through 47 CFR
90.675;
(B) the wireless provider comply with requirements
that are imposed by a contract between an authority and
a private property owner that concern design or
construction standards applicable to utility poles and
ground-mounted equipment located in the right-of-way;
(C) the wireless provider comply with applicable
spacing requirements in applicable codes and
ordinances concerning the location of ground-mounted
equipment located in the right-of-way if the

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requirements include a waiver, zoning, or other
process that addresses wireless provider requests for
exception or variance and do not prohibit granting of
such exceptions or variances;
(D) the wireless provider comply with local code
provisions or regulations concerning undergrounding
requirements that prohibit the installation of new or
the modification of existing utility poles in a
right-of-way without prior approval if the
requirements include a waiver, zoning, or other
process that addresses requests to install such new
utility poles or modify such existing utility poles and
do not prohibit the replacement of utility poles;
(E) the wireless provider comply with generally
applicable standards that are consistent with this Act
and adopted by an authority for construction and public
safety in the rights-of-way, including, but not
limited to, reasonable and nondiscriminatory wiring
and cabling requirements, grounding requirements,
utility pole extension requirements, and signage
limitations; and shall comply with reasonable and
nondiscriminatory requirements that are consistent
with this Act and adopted by an authority regulating
the location, size, surface area and height of small
wireless facilities, or the abandonment and removal of
small wireless facilities;

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(F) the wireless provider not install collocate
small wireless facilities on authority utility poles
that are part of an electric distribution or
transmission system within the communication worker
safety zone of the pole or the electric supply zone of
the pole; however, the antenna and support equipment of
the small wireless facility may be located in the
communications space on the authority utility pole and
on the top of the pole, if not otherwise unavailable,
if the wireless provider complies with applicable
codes for work involving the top of the pole; for
purposes of this subparagraph (F), the terms
"communications space", "communication worker safety
zone", and "electric supply zone" have the meanings
given to those terms in the National Electric Safety
Code as published by the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers;
(G) the wireless provider comply with the
applicable codes and local code provisions or
regulations that concern public safety;
(H) the wireless provider comply with written
design standards that are generally applicable for
decorative utility poles, or reasonable stealth,
concealment, and aesthetic requirements that are
identified by the authority in an ordinance, written
policy adopted by the governing board of the authority,

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a comprehensive plan, or other written design plan that
applies to other occupiers of the rights-of-way,
including on a historic landmark or in a historic
district; and
(I) subject to subsection (c) of this Section, and
except for facilities excluded from evaluation for
effects on historic properties under 47 CFR
1.1307(a)(4), reasonable, technically feasible and
non-discriminatory design or concealment measures in a
historic district or historic landmark; any such
design or concealment measures, including restrictions
on a specific category of poles, may not have the
effect of prohibiting any provider's technology; such
design and concealment measures shall not be
considered a part of the small wireless facility for
purposes of the size restrictions of a small wireless
facility; this paragraph may not be construed to limit
an authority's enforcement of historic preservation in
conformance with the requirements adopted pursuant to
the Illinois State Agency Historic Resources
Preservation Act or the National Historic Preservation
Act of 1966, 54 U.S.C. Section 300101 et seq., and the
regulations adopted to implement those laws.
(7) Within 30 days after receiving an application, an
authority must determine whether the application is
complete and notify the applicant. If an application is

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incomplete, an authority must specifically identify the
missing information. An application shall be deemed
complete if the authority fails to provide notification to
the applicant within 30 days after when all documents,
information, and fees specifically enumerated in the
authority's permit application form are submitted by the
applicant to the authority. Processing deadlines are
tolled from the time the authority sends the notice of
incompleteness to the time the applicant provides the
missing information.
(8) An authority shall process applications as
follows:
(A) an application to collocate a small wireless
facility on an existing utility pole or wireless
support structure shall be processed on a
nondiscriminatory basis and deemed approved if the
authority fails to approve or deny the application
within 90 days; however, if an applicant intends to
proceed with the permitted activity on a deemed
approved basis, the applicant must notify the
authority in writing of its intention to invoke the
deemed approved remedy no sooner than 75 days after the
submission of a completed application; the permit
shall be deemed approved on the latter of the 90th day
after submission of the complete application or the
10th day after the receipt of the deemed approved

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notice by the authority; the receipt of the deemed
approved notice shall not preclude the authority's
denial of the permit request within the time limits as
provided under this Act; and
(B) an application to install collocate a small
wireless facility that includes the installation of a
new utility pole shall be processed on a
nondiscriminatory basis and deemed approved if the
authority fails to approve or deny the application
within 120 days; however, if an applicant intends to
proceed with the permitted activity on a deemed
approved basis, the applicant must notify the
authority in writing of its intention to invoke the
deemed approved remedy no sooner than 105 days after
the submission of a completed application; the permit
shall be deemed approved on the latter of the 120th day
after submission of the complete application or the
10th day after the receipt of the deemed approved
notice by the authority; the receipt of the deemed
approved notice shall not preclude the authority's
denial of the permit request within the time limits as
provided under this Act.
(9) An authority shall approve an application unless
the application does not meet the requirements of this Act.
If an authority determines that applicable codes, local
code provisions or regulations that concern public safety,

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or the requirements of paragraph (6) require that the
utility pole or wireless support structure be replaced
before the requested installation collocation, approval
may be conditioned on the replacement of the utility pole
or wireless support structure at the cost of the provider.
The authority must document the basis for a denial,
including the specific code provisions or application
conditions on which the denial was based, and send the
documentation to the applicant on or before the day the
authority denies an application. The applicant may cure the
deficiencies identified by the authority and resubmit the
revised application once within 30 days after notice of
denial is sent to the applicant without paying an
additional application fee. The authority shall approve or
deny the revised application within 30 days after the
applicant resubmits the application or it is deemed
approved; however, the applicant must notify the authority
in writing of its intention to proceed with the permitted
activity on a deemed approved basis, which may be submitted
with the resubmitted application. Any subsequent review
shall be limited to the deficiencies cited in the denial.
However, this revised application cure does not apply if
the cure requires the review of a new location, new or
different structure to be installed collocated upon, new
antennas, or other wireless equipment associated with the
small wireless facility.

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(10) The time period for applications may be further
tolled by:
(A) the express agreement in writing by both the
applicant and the authority; or
(B) a local, State, or federal disaster
declaration or similar emergency that causes the
delay.
(11) An applicant seeking to install collocate small
wireless facilities within the jurisdiction of a single
authority shall be allowed, at the applicant's discretion,
to file a consolidated application and receive a single
permit for the installation collocation of up to 25 small
wireless facilities if the installations collocations each
involve substantially the same type of small wireless
facility and substantially the same type of structure. If
an application includes multiple small wireless
facilities, the authority may remove small wireless
facility installations collocations from the application
and treat separately small wireless facility installations
collocations for which incomplete information has been
provided or that do not qualify for consolidated treatment
or that are denied. The authority may issue separate
permits for each installation collocation that is approved
in a consolidated application.
(12) Installation Collocation for which a permit is
granted shall be completed within 180 days after issuance

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of the permit, unless the authority and the wireless
provider agree to extend this period or a delay is caused
by make-ready work for an authority utility pole or by the
lack of commercial power or backhaul availability at the
site, provided the wireless provider has made a timely
request within 60 days after the issuance of the permit for
commercial power or backhaul services, and the additional
time to complete installation does not exceed 360 days
after issuance of the permit. Otherwise, the permit shall
be void unless the authority grants an extension in writing
to the applicant.
(13) The duration of a permit shall be for a period of
not less than 5 years, and the permit shall be renewed for
equivalent durations unless the authority makes a finding
that the small wireless facilities or the new or modified
utility pole do not comply with the applicable codes or
local code provisions or regulations in paragraphs (6) and
(9). If this Act is repealed as provided in Section 90,
renewals of permits shall be subject to the applicable
authority code provisions or regulations in effect at the
time of renewal.
(14) An authority may not prohibit, either expressly or
de facto, the (i) filing, receiving, or processing
applications, or (ii) issuing of permits or other
approvals, if any, for the installation collocation of
small wireless facilities unless there has been a local,

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State, or federal disaster declaration or similar
emergency that causes the delay.
(15) Applicants shall submit applications, supporting
information, and notices by personal delivery or as
otherwise required by the authority. An authority may
require that permits, supporting information, and notices
be submitted by personal delivery at the authority's
designated place of business, by regular mail postmarked on
the date due, or by any other commonly used means,
including electronic mail, as required by the authority.
(e) Application fees are subject to the following
requirements:
(1) An authority may charge an application fee of up to
$650 for an application to collocate a single small
wireless facility on an existing utility pole or wireless
support structure and up to $350 for each small wireless
facility addressed in an application to collocate more than
one small wireless facility on existing utility poles or
wireless support structures.
(2) An authority may charge an application fee of
$1,000 for each small wireless facility addressed in an
application that includes the installation of a new utility
for such installation collocation.
(3) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of State
law or local ordinance, applications pursuant to this
Section must be accompanied by the required application

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fee.
(4) Within 2 months after the effective date of this
Act, an authority shall make available application fees
consistent with this subsection, through ordinance, or in a
written schedule of permit fees adopted by the authority.
(f) An authority shall not require an application,
approval, or permit, or require any fees or other charges, from
a communications service provider authorized to occupy the
rights-of-way, for: (i) routine maintenance; (ii) the
replacement of wireless facilities with wireless facilities
that are substantially similar, the same size, or smaller if
the wireless provider notifies the authority at least 10 days
prior to the planned replacement and includes equipment
specifications for the replacement of equipment consistent
with the requirements of subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of
subsection (d) of this Section; or (iii) the installation,
placement, maintenance, operation, or replacement of micro
wireless facilities that are suspended on cables that are
strung between existing utility poles in compliance with
applicable safety codes. However, an authority may require a
permit to work within rights-of-way for activities that affect
traffic patterns or require lane closures.
(g) Nothing in this Act authorizes a person to install
collocate small wireless facilities on: (1) property owned by a
private party or property owned or controlled by a unit of
local government that is not located within rights-of-way,

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subject to subsection (j) of this Section, or a privately owned
utility pole or wireless support structure without the consent
of the property owner; (2) property owned, leased, or
controlled by a park district, forest preserve district, or
conservation district for public park, recreation, or
conservation purposes without the consent of the affected
district, excluding the placement of facilities on
rights-of-way located in an affected district that are under
the jurisdiction and control of a different unit of local
government as provided by the Illinois Highway Code; or (3)
property owned by a rail carrier registered under Section
18c-7201 of the Illinois Vehicle Code, Metra Commuter Rail or
any other public commuter rail service, or an electric utility
as defined in Section 16-102 of the Public Utilities Act,
without the consent of the rail carrier, public commuter rail
service, or electric utility. The provisions of this Act do not
apply to an electric or gas public utility or such utility's
wireless facilities if the facilities are being used,
developed, and maintained consistent with the provisions of
subsection (i) of Section 16-108.5 of the Public Utilities Act.
For the purposes of this subsection, "public utility" has
the meaning given to that term in Section 3-105 of the Public
Utilities Act. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
relieve any person from any requirement (1) to obtain a
franchise or a State-issued authorization to offer cable
service or video service or (2) to obtain any required

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permission to install, place, maintain, or operate
communications facilities, other than small wireless
facilities subject to this Act.
(h) Agreements between authorities and wireless providers
that relate to the installation collocation of small wireless
facilities in the right-of-way, including the collocation of
small wireless facilities on authority utility poles, that are
in effect on the effective date of this Act remain in effect
for all small wireless facilities collocated on the authority's
utility poles pursuant to applications submitted to the
authority before the effective date of this Act, subject to
applicable termination provisions. Such agreements entered
into after the effective date of the Act shall comply with the
Act.
(i) An authority shall allow the collocation of small
wireless facilities on authority utility poles subject to the
following:
(1) An authority may not enter into an exclusive
arrangement with any person for the right to attach small
wireless facilities to authority utility poles.
(2) The rates and fees for collocations on authority
utility poles shall be nondiscriminatory regardless of the
services provided by the collocating person.
(3) An authority may charge an annual recurring rate to
collocate a small wireless facility on an authority utility
pole located in a right-of-way that equals (i) $200 per

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year or (ii) the actual, direct, and reasonable costs
related to the wireless provider's use of space on the
authority utility pole. Rates for collocation on authority
utility poles located outside of a right-of-way are not
subject to these limitations. In any controversy
concerning the appropriateness of a cost-based rate for an
authority utility pole located within a right-of-way, the
authority shall have the burden of proving that the rate
does not exceed the actual, direct, and reasonable costs
for the applicant's proposed use of the authority utility
pole. Nothing in this paragraph (3) prohibits a wireless
provider and an authority from mutually agreeing to an
annual recurring rate of less than $200 to collocate a
small wireless facility on an authority utility pole.
(4) Authorities or other persons owning or controlling
authority utility poles within the right-of-way shall
offer rates, fees, and other terms that comply with
subparagraphs (A) through (E) of this paragraph (4). Within
2 months after the effective date of this Act, an authority
or a person owning or controlling authority utility poles
shall make available, through ordinance or an authority
utility pole attachment agreement, license or other
agreement that makes available to wireless providers, the
rates, fees, and terms for the collocation of small
wireless facilities on authority utility poles that comply
with this Act and with subparagraphs (A) through (E) of

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this paragraph (4). In the absence of such an ordinance or
agreement that complies with this Act, and until such a
compliant ordinance or agreement is adopted, wireless
providers may install collocate small wireless facilities
and install utility poles under the requirements of this
Act.
(A) The rates, fees, and terms must be
nondiscriminatory, competitively neutral, and
commercially reasonable, and may address, among other
requirements, the requirements in subparagraphs (A)
through (I) of paragraph (6) of subsection (d) of this
Section; subsections (e), (i), and (k) of this Section;
Section 30; and Section 35, and must comply with this
Act.
(B) For authority utility poles that support
aerial facilities used to provide communications
services or electric service, wireless providers shall
comply with the process for make-ready work under 47
U.S.C. 224 and its implementing regulations, and the
authority shall follow a substantially similar process
for make-ready work except to the extent that the
timing requirements are otherwise addressed in this
Act. The good-faith estimate of the person owning or
controlling the authority utility pole for any
make-ready work necessary to enable the pole to support
the requested collocation shall include authority

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utility pole replacement, if necessary.
(C) For authority utility poles that do not support
aerial facilities used to provide communications
services or electric service, the authority shall
provide a good-faith estimate for any make-ready work
necessary to enable the authority utility pole to
support the requested collocation, including pole
replacement, if necessary, within 90 days after
receipt of a complete application. Make-ready work,
including any authority utility pole replacement,
shall be completed within 60 days of written acceptance
of the good-faith estimate by the applicant at the
wireless provider's sole cost and expense.
Alternatively, if the authority determines that
applicable codes or public safety regulations require
the authority utility pole to be replaced to support
the requested collocation, the authority may require
the wireless provider to replace the authority utility
pole at the wireless provider's sole cost and expense.
(D) The authority shall not require more
make-ready work than required to meet applicable codes
or industry standards. Make-ready work may include
work needed to accommodate additional public safety
communications needs that are identified in a
documented and approved plan for the deployment of
public safety equipment as specified in paragraph (1)

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of subsection (d) of this Section and included in an
existing or preliminary authority or public service
agency budget for attachment within one year of the
application. Fees for make-ready work, including any
authority utility pole replacement, shall not exceed
actual costs or the amount charged to communications
service providers for similar work and shall not
include any consultants' fees or expenses for
authority utility poles that do not support aerial
facilities used to provide communications services or
electric service. Make-ready work, including any pole
replacement, shall be completed within 60 days of
written acceptance of the good-faith estimate by the
wireless provider, at its sole cost and expense.
(E) A wireless provider that has an existing
agreement with the authority on the effective date of
the Act may accept the rates, fees, and terms that an
authority makes available under this Act for the
collocation of small wireless facilities or the
installation of new utility poles for the installation
collocation of small wireless facilities that are the
subject of an application submitted 2 or more years
after the effective date of the Act as provided in this
paragraph (4) by notifying the authority that it opts
to accept such rates, fees, and terms. The existing
agreement remains in effect, subject to applicable

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termination provisions, for the small wireless
facilities the wireless provider has collocated on the
authority's utility poles pursuant to applications
submitted to the authority before the wireless
provider provides such notice and exercises its option
under this subparagraph.
(j) An authority shall authorize the collocation of small
wireless facilities on utility poles owned or controlled by the
authority that are not located within rights-of-way to the same
extent the authority currently permits access to utility poles
for other commercial projects or uses. The collocations shall
be subject to reasonable and nondiscriminatory rates, fees, and
terms as provided in an agreement between the authority and the
wireless provider.
(k) Nothing in this Section precludes an authority from
adopting reasonable rules with respect to the removal of
abandoned small wireless facilities. A small wireless facility
that is not operated for a continuous period of 12 months shall
be considered abandoned and the owner of the facility must
remove the small wireless facility within 90 days after receipt
of written notice from the authority notifying the owner of the
abandonment. The notice shall be sent by certified or
registered mail, return receipt requested, by the authority to
the owner at the last known address of the owner. If the small
wireless facility is not removed within 90 days of such notice,
the authority may remove or cause the removal of the such

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facility pursuant to the terms of its pole attachment agreement
for authority utility poles or through whatever actions are
provided for abatement of nuisances or by other law for removal
and cost recovery. An authority may require a wireless provider
to provide written notice to the authority if it sells or
transfers small wireless facilities subject to this Act within
the jurisdictional boundary of the authority. Such notice shall
include the name and contact information of the new wireless
provider.
(l) Nothing in this Section requires an authority to
install or maintain any specific utility pole or to continue to
install or maintain utility poles in any location if the
authority makes a non-discriminatory decision to eliminate
above-ground utility poles of a particular type generally, such
as electric utility poles, in all or a significant portion of
its geographic jurisdiction. For authority utility poles with
collocated small wireless facilities in place when an authority
makes a decision to eliminate above-ground utility poles of a
particular type generally, the authority shall either (i)
continue to maintain the authority utility pole or install and
maintain a reasonable alternative utility pole or wireless
support structure for the collocation of the small wireless
facility, or (ii) offer to sell the utility pole to the
wireless provider at a reasonable cost or allow the wireless
provider to install its own utility pole so it can maintain
service from that location.

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(Source: P.A. 100-585, eff. 6-1-18.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.