H.R. 4596 would modify certain regulatory policies adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the obligation of small broadband providers to give consumers information about the performance and cost of their services. Under the FCC’s current rules, broadband providers with 100,000 or fewer subscribers are exempt from certain reporting requirements until December 16, 2016, at which time the Commission plans to adopt final regulations on those requirements. H.R. 4596 would apply the exemption to providers with 250,000 or fewer subscribers and would keep the exemption in place for five years after the date of enactment. Finally, the bill would direct the FCC to submit recommendations to the Congress on those policies within six months of enactment.
Based on information from the FCC, CBO estimates that the rulemaking activities needed to implement the provisions of H.R. 4596 would not have a significant effect on the agency’s costs relative to current policies. Moreover, under current law, the FCC is authorized to collect fees sufficient to offset the cost of its regulatory activities each year. Therefore, CBO estimates that the net cost to implement H.R. 4596 would be negligible, assuming annual appropriation actions consistent with the agency’s authorities. Because enacting H.R. 4596 would not affect direct spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4596 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
H.R. 4596 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
