Gigabit Opportunity 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 Communications and Technology.
Gigabit Opportunity Act
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the designation of qualified gigabit opportunity zones in low-income communities and to provide tax incentives for investments in the zones.
Governors may submit nominations for a limited number of qualified gigabit opportunity zones in low-income communities to the Department of the Treasury for certification and designation. Governors must give particular consideration to areas that
are facing obstacles to economic development due to a lack of geographic broadband coverage or speed;
are the focus of mutually reinforcing state, local, or private economic development initiatives;
are poised for economic growth that requires access to high speed broadband for commercial purposes; and
represent the areas of a state where such service would result in the highest return on investment.
For eligible taxpayers who sell certain broadband services, the bill allows (1) deferrals, reductions, or exemptions from taxes on capital gains invested in certain property used to provide broadband services in a zone (depending on how long the property is held); and (2) immediate expensing of the costs of the property.
The bill also allows tax-exempt private activity bonds to be used for certain broadband projects in the zones.
Within one year of enactment of this bill, the Federal Communications Commission must publish a Uniform Model Broadband Deployment Act containing laws for the state regulation of the deployment of broadband services. Qualified zones must either adopt the Act or laws comparable to the Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on November 14, 2019. 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 November 15, 2019: Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
- 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 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 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?
Doug Collins (R-GA) introduced it on November 14, 2019, and 10 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 9 Republicans.
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 November 14, 2019, 2492 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2491 days ago, on November 15, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 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