Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Strategic Forces.
Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act - Increases the allocation of electromagnetic spectrum for public safety entities by: (1) directing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reallocate to such entities specified frequencies of the 700 MHz D block spectrum; (2) amending the Communications Act of 1934 to increase public safety services allocation and reduce commercial use allocation by 10 megahertz within a specified range; and (3) authorizing flexible use of narrowband spectrum, including for public safety broadband communications, subject to exceptions.
Authorizes the establishment of the Public Safety Broadband Corporation as a private, nonprofit corporation required to: (1) hold the single public safety wireless license (a license to be reallocated and granted by the FCC for an initial 10-year term renewable, upon application, for subsequent terms, each term a maximum of 10 years) for the 700 MHz D block and existing public safety broadband spectrums; and (2) build, deploy, and operate a nationwide public safety interoperable broadband network.
Extends, until September 30, 2021, the FCC's authority to grant a license or permit under applicable competitive bidding provisions.
Directs: (1) the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to identify for reallocation at least 15 megahertz of certain contiguous spectrum from the October 2010 National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) report on wireless broadband systems, and (2) the FCC to auction various specified spectrum ranges.
Requires: (1) the FCC to reallocate spectrum between the 3550 and 3650 megahertz frequencies for competitive bidding, or (2) the President to identify alternative federal agency bands (totaling more than 20 and up to a maximum of 100 megahertz) for such reallocation.
Directs proceeds of the respective auctions to be deposited with the Public Safety Trust Fund established by this Act.
Amends competitive bidding system design requirements.
Authorizes the FCC, if it is consistent with the public interest in spectrum utilization for a licensee to voluntarily relinquish licensed spectrum usage rights in order to permit the assignment of new initial licenses through a competitive bidding process subject to new service rules, or to permit the designation of new spectrum for unlicensed use, to disburse to that licensee a portion of any auction proceeds attributable to the licensee's relinquished spectrum usage rights. Conditions such relinquishment upon the retention of the appropriate carriage rights applicable at the shared location by television broadcast stations required to be carried that voluntarily elect to share a channel.
The summary continues for 3 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 11, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on August 15, 2011: Referred to the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JOHN DINGELL (D-MI) introduced it on July 11, 2011, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 4 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 11, 2011, 5540 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5505 days ago, on August 15, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers