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DIGITAL Applications Act

Record date · July 9, 2024

Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Would Do

This bill requires the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture to create online portals for submitting and processing applications to place communications equipment on federal land. These portals aim to modernize the current paper-based application process for easements and leases on public lands and National Forest System land.

Why it matters

Telecommunications companies and infrastructure providers seeking to install equipment on federal land will be able to use a digital system instead of traditional paper filings, potentially accelerating the approval timeline for broadband and cellular projects.

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Telecommunications infrastructure providers

These entities will use the new online portals to submit and track applications for placing communications equipment on federal land.

Directly affected

Department of the Interior

The department is mandated to build and maintain an online portal for processing communications use authorizations.

Directly affected

Department of Agriculture

The department, through the Forest Service, is mandated to build and maintain an online portal for processing communications use authorizations.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Form 299?
It is the standard form used to apply for authorization to place communications equipment, such as cell towers or fiber lines, on federal land.
Which agencies are affected by this bill?
The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (specifically the Forest Service).
When will these online portals be available?
If passed, the agencies have one year from the date of enactment to establish the portals.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Where This Stands

Currently filed. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Committee.

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

AARP

$4,110,000

2026

HEALTH ISSUESMEDICARE/MEDICAIDLAW ENFORCEMENT/CRIME/CRIMINAL JUSTICEPHARMACY

“P.L. 119-21, One Big Beautiful Bill Act H.R. 8867, Planning for Long-term Aging Needs (PLAN) Act H.R. 5861, Legacy Act of 2025 H.R. 9393, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. H.R. 9396, the Prior Authorization Accountability Act. S. 4916, the Aging with Artificial Intelligence Act. H.R. 8100, Safe Staffing Saves Lives Act. S. 3886, Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act. H.R. 6766/S. 3492, the Essential Caregivers Act of 2025. H.R. 7966/S. 4118, Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act. S. 2120, the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 H.R. 5575, the Firefighters Assisting Seniors to Emergency Response (FASTER) Act of 2025. H.R. 3954/S. 4641, Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act. H.R.5554/S.2831, Stand Strong for Medicare Act. S. 3439/H.R. 6735, Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act and efforts related to the bill S. 1227/H.R. 2491, Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act S. 668/H.R. 3183, Supporting Access to Falls Education and Prevention and Strengthening Training Efforts and Promoting Safety Initiatives (SAFE STEPS) for Veterans Act of 2025 CMS-1851-P, Hospice Proposed rule. CMS-1843-P, Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed rule. CMS-1844-P, Home Health Proposed rule. No bill number. Health care transparency. No bill number. Discussed use of artificial intelligence and health data technology. No bill number. Discussed health-related policies and activities around the fall respiratory virus season. No bill number. Discussed health insurance affordability proposals. No bill number. Discussed Nursing Home staffing standards, safety, and quality. No bill number. Discussed Nursing home transparency and ownership requirements. No bill number. Discussed home health, hospice, and long-term care. No bill number. Discussed falls prevention. No bill number. Discussed social isolation. No bill number. Discussed HUD Assisted Living Requirements No bill number. Discussed family caregiving. No bill number. Discussed AARP paper on Medicare Caregiver Training Services. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid community engagement interim final rule, including the family caregiver exemption. No bill number. Discussed the paid direct care workforce in long-term care. No bill number. Discussed the unaffordability of long-term care. No bill number. Discussed Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and Medicaid HCBS spousal impoverishment protections. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid fraud and family caregivers, Medicaid self-direction programs. No bill number. Discussed sandwich generation family caregiver hearing and submitted a statement for the record discussing family caregivers and sandwich generation caregivers, programs that support them, AARP caregiving resources, and federal policies to support sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers more broadly. No bill number. Discussed long-term care. No bill number. CMS-2453-NC; Medicaid Program; 2028 Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Quality Measure Set Submitted comments No bill number. Discussed expanding access to home care. No bill number. Discussed the increasing cost of home care No bill number. Discussed HSA use for telehealth chronic care management services/subscriptions. No bill number. Discussed artificial intelligence and technology”

Senate LDAMatched on title words onlyView on LDA.gov →

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Digitization of Land Use Permitting

The bill represents a shift from legacy paper-based application processes to centralized digital portals for federal land infrastructure requests.

Connected Entities

Public lands, Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture and 7 more
locationPublic lands“related to covered land”Map →
OrganizationDepartment of the Interior“responsible for establishing online portal”Map →
OrganizationDepartment of Agriculture“responsible for establishing online portal”Map →
PersonMrs. Cammack“introduced the bill”Map →
bill numberH.R. 3299“bill number”Map →
PersonMs. Matsui“co-sponsored the bill”Map →
locationNational Forest System“related to covered land”Map →
otherForm 299“related to communications use authorizations”Map →
otherMiddle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012“related to communications facility installations”Map →
dateMay 15, 2023“date of introduction”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.congress.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance45
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy10
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz20
    Current news / social attention level

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