SENATE MEMORIAL 116

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Michael Padilla

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO WORK WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND ITS SUBSIDIARY AGENCIES, THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND ITS SUBSIDIARY AGENCIES, THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TO ESTABLISH UNIFORM REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES ACROSS FEDERAL JURISDICTIONS TO FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICE IN INDIAN AND NON-INDIAN RURAL COMMUNITIES IN NEW MEXICO.

     WHEREAS, many rural areas in New Mexico lack adequate broadband service; and

     WHEREAS, the deployment of broadband service contributes significantly to a community's economic welfare and to its residents' professional, academic and personal growth; and

     WHEREAS, approximately thirty-five percent of the land in New Mexico is federally managed; and

     WHEREAS, it is the expressed intent of the state of New Mexico to have greater broadband coverage accessible to all of its residents whether they live in rural or urban areas or in Indian or non-Indian communities; and

     WHEREAS, on April 26, 2004, President George W. Bush established a national goal for America to achieve "universal, affordable access for broadband technology by the year 2007"; and

     WHEREAS, on June 14, 2012, President Barack H. Obama issued an executive order that stated that "Broadband access is essential to the Nation's global competitiveness in the twenty-first century" and established a broadband deployment on federal lands working group to address rights of way and other issues that contribute to the slow deployment of broadband services on tribal and Indian trust lands; and

     WHEREAS, on January 8, 2018, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order establishing the "policy of the executive branch to use all viable tools to accelerate the deployment and adoption of affordable, reliable, modern high-speed broadband connectivity in rural America, including . . . tribal communities"; and

     WHEREAS, many rural communities, particularly rural Indian communities, in New Mexico continue to lack adequate access to high-speed broadband service; and

     WHEREAS, land use permitting regulations and archaeological review requirements currently vary between the federal land management agencies, including the bureau of land management, the United States forest service, the bureau of Indian affairs and the federal highway administration; and

     WHEREAS, the federal requirements for regulations regarding consultation with tribal governments vary widely; and

     WHEREAS, the United States department of agriculture's rural utilities service and the bureau of Indian affairs require consultation with and agreement from a tribal government for the installation of a telecommunications tower on that tribe's land; however, the federal communications commission may require consultation with up to thirty separate tribal governments, including every tribe in the state and those that have migrated through New Mexico or have traded with New Mexican tribes in the past, prior to installing a telecommunications tower; and

     WHEREAS, the lack of a coherent and efficient set of regulations and rights of way procedures for the placement of broadband infrastructure on federally managed lands is the single greatest impediment to the deployment of broadband service in many areas of New Mexico;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico congressional delegation be requested to work with the federal land management and telecommunications service development agencies and the bureau of Indian affairs to expedite the establishment of uniform regulations and requirements to facilitate the development of broadband infrastructure on and across federally managed and tribal lands in New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the members of the New Mexico congressional delegation, the United States secretary of the interior, the United States secretary of agriculture, the United States secretary of transportation, the chair of the federal communications commission, the United States assistant secretary — Indian affairs and the chief technology officer of the United States.

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