Our Policy Experts

Becca McCuaig
Chief Legal Counsel
[email protected]
317-237-6200 x 225

June 29, 2026

Transportation

The House shared their draft bill – the BUILD America 250 Act – We are still reviewing all of the changes but so far these are the positive highlights:

• Local governments have retained access to federal funding with Surface Transportation Block growth,
• Locals will have 25% access to a historic increase to the bridge program and Safe Streets is continued and given funding certainty.
• Several discretionary grants like Rail Crossing Elimination and PROTECT grants also are included and there are new programs like a Surface Transportation Accelerator Grant (STAG) program with urban and rural set asides.

Members from Indiana on the House Transportation committee will be important as this bill moves forward.

2026 ARPA Report Update

Regardless of whether funds have been fully expended, all municipalities must submit their 2026 ARPA SLFRF (Rescue Plan) report to remain in compliance, unless they have been directly invited by the U.S. Treasury Department to complete the closeout process and have already submitted a closeout report.

The reporting deadline was April 30. Treasury has not yet announced a firm closing date for the reporting portal but important that communities complete this reporting.

Treasury is offering a series of Live Office Hours for noncompliant municipalities on Thursday, June 11, and 18 at 2pm ET at the following link: https://ustreasury.zoomgov.com/j/1655896522. You can find Treasury’s Office Hours listed here: https://www.nlc.org/events/arpa-office-hours/

The National League of Cities is also holding office hours to assist noncompliant municiplaities on via Microsoft Teams:
Friday, June 12 at 12pm ET
Thursday, June 18 at 4pm ET
Tuesday, June 23 at 1pm ET

Telecommunications

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is considering new rules that could significantly limit how cities manage wire telecommunications infrastructure in public rights-of-way. The FCC says that it will reduce barriers to broadband construction. Notice of the propsed rulemaking Build American: Eliminating Barriers to Wireline Deployments can be found here.

 Important items:

 120-Day Shot Clock

A city would be presumed to have effectively prohibited service if it does not act within 120 days on all authorizations required for a deployment in a particular right-of-way.

Limits on Local Fees

The FCC proposes limiting fees to a reasonable approximation of a city’s actual, direct and objectively reasonable costs tied to a particular authorization.

Restrictions on In-Kind Compensation

The value of requirements — such as spare conduit, dark fiber, free or discounted service or work beyond the immediate construction footprint — could count toward the FCC’s fee limits. The Rule making even asks when road, curb or accessibility improvements should be treated as compensation rather than legitimate restoration or mitigation.

Rules for Commingled Facilities

Cities could not impose additional requirements simply because the same fiber facilities also carry broadband or other non-telecommunications services. Because modern networks routinely support multiple services, this provision could give the proposed timeline and fee standards broad reach.

Comments are due Sept. 21, 2026, and reply comments are due Nov. 5, 2026. Cities can file electronically through the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS).

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H.R. 2289 -The American Broadband Deployment Act, would enact preemptions of local authority over communications infrastructure siting, permitting, and franchising. Due to initial concerns expressed the Act was removed from the U.S. House Rules Committee agenda after strong opposition from local government groups, including national partners. The Act would:

• Change the compensation localities are entitled to assess for use of public rights of way from “fair and reasonable” to limited to “actual and direct costs”, effectively forcing local residents to subsidize private business through a new unfunded mandate. At a time when there are several fiscal deficits hitting municipalities in Indiana.
• Impose a “deemed granted” penalty for exceeding these shot clocks, effectively allowing providers to conduct construction or excavation without local oversight.
• Weakens the effectiveness and enforceability of local cable franchises by allowing providers to unilaterally alter the terms of the agreement.
• Move dispute resolution to the FCC, instead of courts, structurally disadvantaging localities relative to providers in these disputes.
• H.R. 2289 will force local governments to subsidize highly profitable companies, while overriding residents’ concerns about safety and unsightly or sloppy construction.
• It will create confusion, delay, and increased conflict around communications infrastructure deployment.
• Local governments are not barriers to broadband deployment, and are in fact key partners in closing the digital divide.
• H.R. 2289 would fundamentally hamstring the ability of local governments to engage in responsible, efficient planning and permitting.

While removing H.R. 2289 from the schedule is a win, federal permitting reform remains a high priority in Congress. Aim will continue to monitor federal legislative developments and stay in contact with congressional representatives. As you have conversations with federal leadership, please voice your concerns.

Housing

The Housing for the 21st Century Act in the House and the ROAD to Housing Act in the Senate, have been combined into a single bill — the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. The bill aims to boost housing supply through improving existing programs, unlocking private capital, and reducing federal regulatory barriers. The bill in current form does not preempt local land-use or zoning authority and avoids unfunded mandates.

These are positive movements and unlock needed dollars for demolition in CDBG and other important tools for local government. We are monitoring some of the regulations and oversight outlined in the Act. We will continue to update you on the potential of the Act moving forward.

Update: The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act passed into law on July 11, with broad bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress.

New Office of Management and Budget Proposed Rule

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a proposed rule rewriting the Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR Part 200, which is the federal regulation governing every federal grant, cooperative agreement and pass-through award. Published as a joint rulemaking by OMB together with every federal grantmaking agency, the proposed rule represents the most substantial revision to federal grants administration since the 2013 promulgation of the Uniform Guidance.

 The wide-ranging proposal would significantly impact many domains of local government responsibility — including public safety, public health, transportation, infrastructure, housing, workforce development and emergency management.

 Several provisions in the proposed rule could unintentionally limit local governments’ ability to access, administer and effectively use federal funding. As OMB revises the federal grants framework, it should ensure that new requirements strengthen accountability without creating barriers that undermine local governments’ ability to serve residents and deliver essential services.

What’s Happening Now

The 45-day comment period closed on July 13, 2026. There were 496,775 submitted comments.

 OMB is now required to review and respond to comments received before issuing a final rule. If OMB wants to meet the proposed Oct. 1 implementation date, it will need to publish the final rule by Sept. 1.

 Congress is also actively engaged on this issue. Over the coming weeks, the House and Senate will be negotiating the terms of a government funding deal. 

 On Sunday, Aug. 2, the Senate Appropriations Committee released the text (PDF) for a government funding bill that includes a provision delaying implementation of the proposed changes until after December 11. This bill needs to pass both the Senate and House before being signed by the President – a process that remains uncertain as negotiations continue.

How Communities Can Stay Engaged

• Contact Congress: We encourage you to continue reaching out to your Senate and House offices to share how the proposed changes could impact your communities and to urge support for the provision that delays implementation. Members of Congress will be returning to their districts and states in August, providing an opportunity to meet directly with Members and their district staff. 

Please reach out if you have any questions or would like to set up meetings and need assistance.