(7)(a) This subsection may be cited as the “Advanced Wireless Infrastructure Deployment Act.”
(b) As used in this subsection, the term:1. “Antenna” means communications equipment that transmits or receives electromagnetic radio frequency signals used in providing wireless services.
2. “Applicable codes” means uniform building, fire, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical codes adopted by a recognized national code organization or local amendments to those codes enacted solely to address threats of destruction of property or injury to persons, and includes the National Electric Safety Code and the 2017 edition of the Florida Department of Transportation Utility Accommodation Manual.
3. “Applicant” means a person who submits an application and is a wireless provider.
4. “Application” means a request submitted by an applicant to an authority for a permit to collocate small wireless facilities or to place a new utility pole used to support a small wireless facility.
5. “Authority” means a county or municipality having jurisdiction and control of the rights-of-way of any public road. The term does not include the Department of Transportation. Rights-of-way under the jurisdiction and control of the department are excluded from this subsection.
6. “Authority utility pole” means a utility pole owned by an authority in the right-of-way. The term does not include a utility pole owned by a municipal electric utility, a utility pole used to support municipally owned or operated electric distribution facilities, or a utility pole located in the right-of-way within:a. A retirement community that:(I) Is deed restricted as housing for older persons as defined in s. 760.29(4)(b); (II) Has more than 5,000 residents; and
(III) Has underground utilities for electric transmission or distribution.
b. A municipality that:(I) Is located on a coastal barrier island as defined in s. 161.053(1)(b)3.; (II) Has a land area of less than 5 square miles;
(III) Has less than 10,000 residents; and
(IV) Has, before July 1, 2017, received referendum approval to issue debt to finance municipal-wide undergrounding of its utilities for electric transmission or distribution.
7. “Collocate” or “collocation” means to install, mount, maintain, modify, operate, or replace one or more wireless facilities on, under, within, or adjacent to a wireless support structure or utility pole. The term does not include the installation of a new utility pole or wireless support structure in the public rights-of-way.
8. “FCC” means the Federal Communications Commission.
9. “Micro wireless facility” means a small wireless facility having dimensions no larger than 24 inches in length, 15 inches in width, and 12 inches in height and an exterior antenna, if any, no longer than 11 inches.
10. “Small wireless facility” means a wireless facility that meets the following qualifications:a. Each antenna associated with the facility is located inside an enclosure of no more than 6 cubic feet in volume or, in the case of antennas that have exposed elements, each antenna and all of its exposed elements could fit within an enclosure of no more than 6 cubic feet in volume; and
b. All other wireless equipment associated with the facility is cumulatively no more than 28 cubic feet in volume. The following types of associated ancillary equipment are not included in the calculation of equipment volume: electric meters, concealment elements, telecommunications demarcation boxes, ground-based enclosures, grounding equipment, power transfer switches, cutoff switches, vertical cable runs for the connection of power and other services, and utility poles or other support structures.
11. “Utility pole” means a pole or similar structure that is used in whole or in part to provide communications services or for electric distribution, lighting, traffic control, signage, or a similar function. The term includes the vertical support structure for traffic lights but does not include a horizontal structure to which signal lights or other traffic control devices are attached and does not include a pole or similar structure 15 feet in height or less unless an authority grants a waiver for such pole.
12. “Wireless facility” means equipment at a fixed location which enables wireless communications between user equipment and a communications network, including radio transceivers, antennas, wires, coaxial or fiber-optic cable or other cables, regular and backup power supplies, and comparable equipment, regardless of technological configuration, and equipment associated with wireless communications. The term includes small wireless facilities. The term does not include:a. The structure or improvements on, under, within, or adjacent to the structure on which the equipment is collocated;
b. Wireline backhaul facilities; or
c. Coaxial or fiber-optic cable that is between wireless structures or utility poles or that is otherwise not immediately adjacent to or directly associated with a particular antenna.
13. “Wireless infrastructure provider” means a person who has been certificated under chapter 364 to provide telecommunications service or under chapter 610 to provide cable or video services in this state, or that person’s affiliate, and who builds or installs wireless communication transmission equipment, wireless facilities, or wireless support structures but is not a wireless services provider.
14. “Wireless provider” means a wireless infrastructure provider or a wireless services provider.
15. “Wireless services” means any services provided using licensed or unlicensed spectrum, whether at a fixed location or mobile, using wireless facilities.
16. “Wireless services provider” means a person who provides wireless services.
17. “Wireless support structure” means a freestanding structure, such as a monopole, a guyed or self-supporting tower, or another existing or proposed structure designed to support or capable of supporting wireless facilities. The term does not include a utility pole, pedestal, or other support structure for ground-based equipment not mounted on a utility pole and less than 5 feet in height.
(c) Except as provided in this subsection, an authority may not prohibit, regulate, or charge for the collocation of small wireless facilities in the public rights-of-way or for the installation, maintenance, modification, operation, or replacement of utility poles used for the collocation of small wireless facilities in the public rights-of-way.
(d) An authority may require a registration process and permit fees in accordance with subsection (3). An authority shall accept applications for permits and shall 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 collocation for which approval is sought, such as in-kind contributions to the authority, including reserving fiber, conduit, or pole space for the authority.
2. An applicant may not be required to provide more information to obtain a permit than is necessary to demonstrate the applicant’s compliance with applicable codes for the placement of small wireless facilities in the locations identified in the application. An applicant may not be required to provide inventories, maps, or locations of communications facilities in the right-of-way other than as necessary to avoid interference with other at-grade or aerial facilities located at the specific location proposed for a small wireless facility or within 50 feet of such location.
3. An authority may not:a. Require the placement of small wireless facilities on any specific utility pole or category of poles;
b. Require the placement of multiple antenna systems on a single utility pole;
c. Require a demonstration that collocation of a small wireless facility on an existing structure is not legally or technically possible as a condition for granting a permit for the collocation of a small wireless facility on a new utility pole except as provided in paragraph (i);
d. Require compliance with an authority’s provisions regarding placement of small wireless facilities or a new utility pole used to support a small wireless facility in rights-of-way under the control of the department unless the authority has received a delegation from the department for the location of the small wireless facility or utility pole, or require such compliance as a condition to receive a permit that is ancillary to the permit for collocation of a small wireless facility, including an electrical permit;
e. Require a meeting before filing an application;
f. Require direct or indirect public notification or a public meeting for the placement of communication facilities in the right-of-way;
g. Limit the size or configuration of a small wireless facility or any of its components, if the small wireless facility complies with the size limits in this subsection;
h. Prohibit the installation of a new utility pole used to support the collocation of a small wireless facility if the installation otherwise meets the requirements of this subsection; or
i. Require that any component of a small wireless facility be placed underground except as provided in paragraph (i).
4. Subject to paragraph (r), an authority may not limit the placement, by minimum separation distances, of small wireless facilities, utility poles on which small wireless facilities are or will be collocated, or other at-grade communications facilities. However, within 14 days after the date of filing the application, an authority may request that the proposed location of a small wireless facility be moved to another location in the right-of-way and placed on an alternative authority utility pole or support structure or placed on a new utility pole. The authority and the applicant may negotiate the alternative location, including any objective design standards and reasonable spacing requirements for ground-based equipment, for 30 days after the date of the request. At the conclusion of the negotiation period, if the alternative location is accepted by the applicant, the applicant must notify the authority of such acceptance and the application shall be deemed granted for any new location for which there is agreement and all other locations in the application. If an agreement is not reached, the applicant must notify the authority of such nonagreement and the authority must grant or deny the original application within 90 days after the date the application was filed. A request for an alternative location, an acceptance of an alternative location, or a rejection of an alternative location must be in writing and provided by electronic mail.
5. An authority shall limit the height of a small wireless facility to 10 feet above the utility pole or structure upon which the small wireless facility is to be collocated. Unless waived by an authority, the height for a new utility pole is limited to the tallest existing utility pole as of July 1, 2017, located in the same right-of-way, other than a utility pole for which a waiver has previously been granted, measured from grade in place within 500 feet of the proposed location of the small wireless facility. If there is no utility pole within 500 feet, the authority shall limit the height of the utility pole to 50 feet.
6. The installation by a communications services provider of a utility pole in the public rights-of-way, other than a utility pole used to support a small wireless facility, is subject to authority rules or regulations governing the placement of utility poles in the public rights-of-way.
7. Within 14 days after receiving an application, an authority must determine and notify the applicant by electronic mail as to whether the application is complete. If an application is deemed incomplete, the authority must specifically identify the missing information. An application is deemed complete if the authority fails to provide notification to the applicant within 14 days.
8. An application must be processed on a nondiscriminatory basis. A complete application is deemed approved if an authority fails to approve or deny the application within 60 days after receipt of the application. If an authority does not use the 30-day negotiation period provided in subparagraph 4., the parties may mutually agree to extend the 60-day application review period. The authority shall grant or deny the application at the end of the extended period. A permit issued pursuant to an approved application shall remain effective for 1 year unless extended by the authority.
9. An authority must notify the applicant of approval or denial by electronic mail. An authority shall approve a complete application unless it does not meet the authority’s applicable codes. If the application is denied, the authority must specify in writing the basis for denial, including the specific code provisions on which the denial was based, and send the documentation to the applicant by electronic mail on the day the authority denies the application. The applicant may cure the deficiencies identified by the authority and resubmit the application within 30 days after notice of the denial is sent to the applicant. The authority shall approve or deny the revised application within 30 days after receipt or the application is deemed approved. The review of a revised application is limited to the deficiencies cited in the denial. If an authority provides for administrative review of the denial of an application, the review must be complete and a written decision issued within 45 days after a written request for review is made. A denial must identify the specific code provisions on which the denial is based. If the administrative review is not complete within 45 days, the authority waives any claim regarding failure to exhaust administrative remedies in any judicial review of the denial of an application.
10. An applicant seeking to collocate small wireless facilities within the jurisdiction of a single authority may, at the applicant’s discretion, file a consolidated application and receive a single permit for the collocation of up to 30 small wireless facilities. If the application includes multiple small wireless facilities, an authority may separately address small wireless facility collocations for which incomplete information has been received or which are denied.
11. An authority may deny an application to collocate a small wireless facility or place a utility pole used to support a small wireless facility in the public rights-of-way if the proposed small wireless facility or utility pole used to support a small wireless facility:a. Materially interferes with the safe operation of traffic control equipment.
b. Materially interferes with sight lines or clear zones for transportation, pedestrians, or public safety purposes.
c. Materially interferes with compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar federal or state standards regarding pedestrian access or movement.
d. Materially fails to comply with the 2017 edition of the Florida Department of Transportation Utility Accommodation Manual.
e. Fails to comply with applicable codes.
f. Fails to comply with objective design standards authorized under paragraph (r).
12. An authority may adopt by ordinance provisions for insurance coverage, indemnification, force majeure, abandonment, authority liability, or authority warranties. Such provisions must be reasonable and nondiscriminatory. An authority may require a construction bond to secure restoration of the postconstruction rights-of-way to the preconstruction condition. However, such bond must be time-limited to not more than 18 months after the construction to which the bond applies is completed. For any financial obligation required by an authority allowed under this section, the authority shall accept a letter of credit or similar financial instrument issued by any financial institution that is authorized to do business within the United States, provided that a claim against the financial instrument may be made by electronic means, including by facsimile. A provider of communications services may add an authority to any existing bond, insurance policy, or other relevant financial instrument, and the authority must accept such proof of coverage without any conditions other than consent to venue for purposes of any litigation to which the authority is a party. An authority may not require a communications services provider to indemnify it for liabilities not caused by the provider, including liabilities arising from the authority’s negligence, gross negligence, or willful conduct.
13. Collocation of a small wireless facility on an authority utility pole does not provide the basis for the imposition of an ad valorem tax on the authority utility pole.
14. An authority may reserve space on authority utility poles for future public safety uses. However, a reservation of space may not preclude collocation of a small wireless facility. If replacement of the authority utility pole is necessary to accommodate the collocation of the small wireless facility and the future public safety use, the pole replacement is subject to make-ready provisions and the replaced pole shall accommodate the future public safety use.
15. A structure granted a permit and installed pursuant to this subsection shall comply with chapter 333 and federal regulations pertaining to airport airspace protections.
(e) An authority may not require any permit or other approval or require fees or other charges, costs, or other exactions for:1. Routine maintenance, the performance of service restoration work on existing facilities, or repair work, including, but not limited to, emergency repairs of existing facilities or extensions of such facilities for providing communications services to customers;
2. Replacement of existing wireless facilities with wireless facilities that are substantially similar or of the same or smaller size; or
3. Installation, placement, maintenance, or replacement of micro wireless facilities that are suspended on cables strung between existing utility poles in compliance with applicable codes by or for a communications services provider authorized to occupy the rights-of-way and who is remitting taxes under chapter 202. An authority may require an initial letter from or on behalf of such provider, which is effective upon filing, attesting that the micro wireless facility dimensions comply with the limits of this subsection. The authority may not require any additional filing or other information as long as the provider is deploying the same, a substantially similar, or a smaller size micro wireless facility equipment.
Notwithstanding this paragraph, an authority may require a right-of-way permit for work that involves excavation, closure of a sidewalk, or closure of a vehicular lane or parking lane, unless the provider is performing service restoration on an existing facility and the work is done in compliance with the 2017 edition of the Florida Department of Transportation Utility Accommodation Manual. An authority may require notice of such work within 30 days after restoration and may require an after-the-fact permit for work which would otherwise have required a permit.
(f) Collocation of small wireless facilities on authority utility poles is subject to the following requirements:1. An authority may not enter into an exclusive arrangement with any person for the right to attach equipment to authority utility poles.
2. The rates and fees for collocations on authority utility poles must be nondiscriminatory, regardless of the services provided by the collocating person.
3. The rate to collocate small wireless facilities on an authority utility pole may not exceed $150 per pole annually.
4. Agreements between authorities and wireless providers that are in effect on July 1, 2017, and that relate to the collocation of small wireless facilities in the right-of-way, including the collocation of small wireless facilities on authority utility poles, remain in effect, subject to applicable termination provisions. The wireless provider may accept the rates, fees, and terms established under this subsection for small wireless facilities and utility poles that are the subject of an application submitted after the rates, fees, and terms become effective.
5. A person owning or controlling an authority utility pole shall offer rates, fees, and other terms that comply with this subsection. By the later of January 1, 2018, or 3 months after receiving a request to collocate its first small wireless facility on a utility pole owned or controlled by an authority, the person owning or controlling the authority utility pole shall make available, through ordinance or otherwise, rates, fees, and terms for the collocation of small wireless facilities on the authority utility pole which comply with this subsection.a. The rates, fees, and terms must be nondiscriminatory and competitively neutral and must comply with this subsection.
b. For an authority utility pole that supports an aerial facility used to provide communications services or electric service, the parties shall comply with the process for make-ready work under 47 U.S.C. s. 224 and implementing regulations. The good faith estimate of the person owning or controlling the pole for any make-ready work necessary to enable the pole to support the requested collocation must include pole replacement if necessary.
c. For an authority utility pole that does not support an aerial facility 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 pole to support the requested collocation, including necessary pole replacement, within 60 days after receipt of a complete application. Make-ready work, including any pole replacement, must be completed within 60 days after written acceptance of the good faith estimate by the applicant. Alternatively, an authority may require the applicant seeking to collocate a small wireless facility to provide a make-ready estimate at the applicant’s expense for the work necessary to support the small wireless facility, including pole replacement, and perform the make-ready work. If pole replacement is required, the scope of the make-ready estimate is limited to the design, fabrication, and installation of a utility pole that is substantially similar in color and composition. The authority may not condition or restrict the manner in which the applicant obtains, develops, or provides the estimate or conducts the make-ready work subject to usual construction restoration standards for work in the right-of-way. The replaced or altered utility pole shall remain the property of the authority.
d. An authority may not require more make-ready work than is required to meet applicable codes or industry standards. Fees for make-ready work may not include costs related to preexisting damage or prior noncompliance. Fees for make-ready work, including any pole replacement, may not exceed actual costs or the amount charged to communications services providers other than wireless services providers for similar work and may not include any consultant fee or expense.
(g) For any applications filed before the effective date of ordinances implementing this subsection, an authority may apply current ordinances relating to placement of communications facilities in the right-of-way related to registration, permitting, insurance coverage, indemnification, force majeure, abandonment, authority liability, or authority warranties. Permit application requirements and small wireless facility placement requirements, including utility pole height limits, that conflict with this subsection must be waived by the authority. An authority may not institute, either expressly or de facto, a moratorium, zoning-in-progress, or other mechanism that would prohibit or delay the filing, receiving, or processing of registrations, applications, or issuing of permits or other approvals for the collocation of small wireless facilities or the installation, modification, or replacement of utility poles used to support the collocation of small wireless facilities.
(h) Except as provided in this section or specifically required by state law, an authority may not adopt or enforce any regulation on the placement or operation of communications facilities in the rights-of-way by a provider authorized by state law to operate in the rights-of-way and may not regulate any communications services or impose or collect any tax, fee, or charge not specifically authorized under state law. This paragraph does not alter any law regarding an authority’s ability to regulate the relocation of facilities.
(i)1. In an area where an authority has required all public utility lines in the rights-of-way to be placed underground, a wireless provider must comply with written, objective, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory requirements that prohibit new utility poles used to support small wireless facilities if:a. The authority, at least 90 days prior to the submission of an application, has required all public utility lines to be placed underground;
b. Structures that the authority allows to remain above ground are reasonably available to wireless providers for the collocation of small wireless facilities and may be replaced by a wireless provider to accommodate the collocation of small wireless facilities; and
c. A wireless provider may install a new utility pole in the designated area in the right-of-way that otherwise complies with this subsection and it is not reasonably able to provide wireless service by collocating on a remaining utility pole or other structure in the right-of-way.
2. For small wireless facilities installed before an authority adopts requirements that public utility lines be placed underground, an authority adopting such requirements must:a. Allow a wireless provider to maintain the small wireless facilities in place subject to any applicable pole attachment agreement with the pole owner; or
b. Allow the wireless provider to replace the associated pole within 50 feet of the prior location in accordance with paragraph (r).
(j) A wireless infrastructure provider may apply to an authority to place utility poles in the public rights-of-way to support the collocation of small wireless facilities. The application must include an attestation that small wireless facilities will be collocated on the utility pole or structure and will be used by a wireless services provider to provide service within 9 months after the date the application is approved. The authority shall accept and process the application in accordance with subparagraph (d)6. and any applicable codes and other local codes governing the placement of utility poles in the public rights-of-way.
(k) This subsection does not limit a local government’s authority to enforce historic preservation zoning regulations consistent with the preservation of local zoning authority under 47 U.S.C. s. 332(c)(7), the requirements for facility modifications under 47 U.S.C. s. 1455(a), or the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, and the regulations adopted to implement such laws. An authority may enforce local codes, administrative rules, or regulations adopted by ordinance in effect on April 1, 2017, which are applicable to a historic area designated by the state or authority. An authority may enforce pending local ordinances, administrative rules, or regulations applicable to a historic area designated by the state if the intent to adopt such changes has been publicly declared on or before April 1, 2017. An authority may waive any ordinances or other requirements that are subject to this paragraph.
(l) This subsection does not authorize a person to collocate or attach wireless facilities, including any antenna, micro wireless facility, or small wireless facility, on a privately owned utility pole, a utility pole owned by an electric cooperative or a municipal electric utility, a privately owned wireless support structure, or other private property without the consent of the property owner.
(m) The approval of the installation, placement, maintenance, or operation of a small wireless facility pursuant to this subsection does not authorize the provision of any voice, data, or video communications services or the installation, placement, maintenance, or operation of any communications facilities other than small wireless facilities in the right-of-way.
(n) This subsection does not affect provisions relating to pass-through providers in subsection (6).
(o) This subsection does not authorize a person to collocate or attach small wireless facilities or micro wireless facilities on a utility pole, unless otherwise permitted by federal law, or erect a wireless support structure in the right-of-way located within a retirement community that:1. Is deed restricted as housing for older persons as defined in s. 760.29(4)(b); 2. Has more than 5,000 residents; and
3. Has underground utilities for electric transmission or distribution.
This paragraph does not apply to the installation, placement, maintenance, or replacement of micro wireless facilities on any existing and duly authorized aerial communications facilities, provided that once aerial facilities are converted to underground facilities, any such collocation or construction shall be only as provided by the municipality’s underground utilities ordinance.
(p) This subsection does not authorize a person to collocate or attach small wireless facilities or micro wireless facilities on a utility pole, unless otherwise permitted by federal law, or erect a wireless support structure in the right-of-way located within a municipality that:1. Is located on a coastal barrier island as defined in s. 161.053(1)(b)3.; 2. Has a land area of less than 5 square miles;
3. Has fewer than 10,000 residents; and
4. Has, before July 1, 2017, received referendum approval to issue debt to finance municipal-wide undergrounding of its utilities for electric transmission or distribution.
This paragraph does not apply to the installation, placement, maintenance, or replacement of micro wireless facilities on any existing and duly authorized aerial communications facilities, provided that once aerial facilities are converted to underground facilities, any such collocation or construction shall be only as provided by the municipality’s underground utilities ordinance.
(q) This subsection does not authorize a person to collocate small wireless facilities or micro wireless facilities on an authority utility pole or erect a wireless support structure in a location subject to covenants, conditions, restrictions, articles of incorporation, and bylaws of a homeowners’ association. This paragraph does not apply to the installation, placement, maintenance, or replacement of micro wireless facilities on any existing and duly authorized aerial communications facilities.
(r) An authority may require wireless providers to comply with objective design standards adopted by ordinance. The ordinance may only require:1. A new utility pole that replaces an existing utility pole to be of substantially similar design, material, and color;
2. Reasonable spacing requirements concerning the location of a ground-mounted component of a small wireless facility which does not exceed 15 feet from the associated support structure; or
3. A small wireless facility to meet reasonable location context, color, camouflage, and concealment requirements, subject to the limitations in this subsection; and
4. A new utility pole used to support a small wireless facility to meet reasonable location context, color, and material of the predominant utility pole type at the proposed location of the new utility pole.
Such design standards under this paragraph may be waived by the authority upon a showing that the design standards are not reasonably compatible for the particular location of a small wireless facility or utility pole or are technically infeasible or that the design standards impose an excessive expense. The waiver must be granted or denied within 45 days after the date of the request.