,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gcfc ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #be1 #bjbj,mr4 ,long introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to prohibit a ,state or political subdivision thereof from providing or offering for sale to the public retail or wholesale broadband internet access service1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,communities ,overregulating ,networks ,need ,economic ,competition ,today ,act or the ,,connect ,act4 #b4 ,prohibition on government owned broadband networks 7a7 ,in general ,except as provided in subsections 7b77#a7 and 7c71 a ,state or political subdivision thereof may not provide or offer for sale to the public1 a telecommunications provider1 or to a commercial provider of broadband internet access service1 retail or wholesale broadband internet access service4 7b7 ,transitional rule ,any ,state or political subdivision thereof providing or offering for sale1 either to the public1 a telecommunications provider1 or to a provider of broadband internet access service1 retail or wholesale broadband internet access service1 before the date of the enactment of this section-- 7#a7 notwithstanding subsection 7a71 may continue to provide or offer for sale such service if the ,commission finds there is no more than one other commercial provider of broadband internet access that provides competition for that service in a particular area2 7#b7 shall notify each subscriber of the ,state or political subdivision if a commercial provider of retail broadband internet access enters the market2 and 7#c7 may not construct or extend facilities used to deliver broadband internet access service beyond the geographic area in which the ,state or political subdivision thereof lawfully operates4 7c7 ,exception ,notwithstanding subsection 7a71 this section does not apply to the ,tennessee ,valley ,authority4 7d7 ,rules of construction 7#a7 ,in general ,this section may not be construed to restrict a ,state or political subdivision thereof1 from allowing the nondiscriminatory use of its rights-of-way1 including access to utility poles1 conduits1 ducts1 or similar support structures used for the deployment of facilities necessary to deliver broadband internet access service4 7#b7 ,public safety ,this section may not be construed to restrict a ,state or political subdivision thereof1 from providing broadband facilities or services for #i-a-a1 enhanced #i-a-a service1 or ,next ,generation #i-a-a4 7e7 ,limitation of ,commission authority ,notwithstanding any provision of law1 including section #gjf of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #gjf71 the ,commission may not pre-empt ,state laws to permit a ,state or political subdivision thereof to provide or offer for sale to the public retail or wholesale broadband internet access service4 7f7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 #i-a-a request for emergency assistance ,the term #i-a-a request for emergency assistance means a communication1 such as voice1 text1 picture1 multimedia1 or any other type of data that is sent to an emergency communications center for the purpose of requesting emergency assistance4 7#b7 ,broadband internet access service ,the term broadband internet access service has the meaning given that term in section #h4a7;b7 of title #dg1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or any successor regulation4 7#c7 ,commonly accepted standards ,the term commonly accepted standards means-- 7,a7 the technical standards followed by the communications industry for network1 device1 and ,internet ,protocol connectivity1 including standards developed by the ,third ,generation ,partnership ,project1 the ,institute of ,electrical and ,electronics ,engineers1 the ,alliance for ,telecommunications ,industry ,solutions1 the ,internet ,engineering ,taskforce1 and the ,international ,telecommunications ,union2 and 7,b7 standards that are accredited by a recognized authority such as the ,american ,national ,standards ,institute4 7#d7 ,emergency communications center ,the term emergency communications center means a facility that is designated to receive a #i-a-a request for emergency assistance and perform one or more of the following functions3 7,a7 ,process and analyze #i-a-a requests for emergency assistance and other gathered information4 7,b7 ,dispatch appropriate emergency response providers4 7,c7 ,transfer or exchange #i-a-a requests for emergency assistance and other gathered information with other emergency communications centers and emergency response providers4 7,d7 ,analyze any communications received from emergency response providers4 7,e7 ,support incident command functions4 7#e7 ,emergency response provider ,the term emergency response provider-- 7,a7 has the meaning given that term under section #b of the ,homeland ,security ,act 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #aja72 and 7,b7 includes ,federal1 ,state1 and local governmental and nongovernmental emergency public safety1 fire1 law enforcement1 emergency response1 emergency medical 7including hospital emergency facilities71 and related personnel1 agencies1 and authorities4 7#f7 ,enhanced #i-a-a service ,the term enhanced #i-a-a service has the meaning given that term in section #g7aj7 of the ,wireless ,communications and ,public ,safety ,act of #aiii 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #fae;b7#aj774 7#g7 ,interoperable ,the term interoperable means the capability of emergency communications centers to receive #i-a-a requests for emergency assistance and related data such as location information and callback numbers from the public1 then process and share the #i-a-a requests for emergency assistance and related data with other emergency communications centers and emergency response providers1 regardless of jurisdiction1 equipment1 device1 software1 service provider1 or other relevant factors1 and without the need for proprietary interfaces4 7#h7 ,next ,generation #i-a-a ,the term ,next ,generation #i-a-a means an interoperable1 secure1 ,internet ,protocol-based system that-- 7,a7 employs commonly accepted standards2 7,b7 enables the appropriate emergency communications centers to receive1 process1 and analyze all types of #i-a-a requests for emergency assistance2 7,c7 acquires and integrates additional information useful to handling #i-a-a requests for emergency assistance2 and 7,d7 supports sharing information related to #i-a-a requests for emergency assistance among emergency communications centers and emergency response providers4 7#i7 ,state ,the term ,state means any ,state of the ,united ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 ,puerto ,rico1 ,american ,samoa1 ,guam1 the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 the ,northern ,mariana ,islands1 and any other territory or possession of the ,united ,states4 7#aj7 ,telecommunications provider ,the term telecommunications provider means an eligible telecommunications carrier as designated under section #bad7;e77#b7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bad7;e77#b774