Facilitating DIGITAL Applications Act

The "Facilitating DIGITAL Applications Act" mandates that the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information submit regular reports to Congress. These reports will detail whether the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture have successfully established online portals for handling Form 299s. The primary purpose of these portals is to accept, process, and dispose of applications for communications use authorizations on federal lands. Specifically, the Assistant Secretary must report every 90 days initially, then every 60 days, until notified by the respective Secretaries that their online portals are operational. The reports must also identify any barriers hindering the establishment of these digital systems. Form 299s are critical for obtaining easements, rights-of-way, or licenses to locate or modify communications facilities on public lands and National Forest System lands. This legislation aims to streamline the authorization process for infrastructure deployment by addressing obstacles to digital application management.