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Federal Regulation of Wireless Siting in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, cont. The Act requires approval for all eligible facilities requests that do not substantially change the physical dimensions of such tower or base station and: Applies despite section 704 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which preserves the authority of a state or local government or instrumentality thereof over decisions regarding the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities;"' Preempts zoning review and conditional approvals of eligible facilities requests;"" Requires eligible facilities requests only be subject to administrative review processes and not discretionary review processes that allow a state or local government to deny or condition an eligible facilities request. Requires that eligible facilities requests for the modification of legal, non-conforming towers must be approved. The FCC's Wireless Facility Siting"Shot Clock" applies to eligible facilities request for collocation: State and local governments have 90 days to act on an application to collocate wireless facilities on existing structures."' Under the Act, state and local governments must approve within 60 days any eligible facilities requests for collocation or replacement of transmission equipment on existing towers that do not substantially change the physical dimensions of such tower. For the full text of the Act and its legislative history,see Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Pub. L. No.112-96, §6409(2012),available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hr3630enr/pdf/BILLS-112hr3630enr.pdf;see also H.R. Rep. No. 112-399 at 132-33(2012) (Conf, Rep.), available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-112hrpt399/pdf/CRPT-112hrpt399.pdf. "Nationwide Programmatic Agreement for the Collocation of Wireless Antennas(2001),47 C.F.R. Part I,Appendix B,available at http://wireless,fcc.gov/releases/da010691a.pdf("Collocation Agreement");see also Petition for Declaratory Ruling To Clarify Provisions of Section 332(C)(7)(B)To Ensure Timely Siting Review and To Preempt Under Section 253 State and Local Ordinances That Classify All Wireless Siting Proposals as Requiring a Variance,Declaratory Ruling,24 FCC Rcd 13994, 14021$ 71(2009)("Shot Clock Ruling"),recon.denied,25 FCC Rcd 11157(2010),off d, City of Arlington,Tex.,et al.v.FCC,2012 U.S.App. LEXIS 1252(5th Cir.2012), available at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-99A1_Rcd.pdf;see also Wireless Telecommunications Bureau&Mass Media Bureau Announce the Release of a Fact sheet Regarding the March 16,2001 Antenna Collocation Programmatic Agreement, Public Notice, 17 FCC Rcd 508(2002),available at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-02-28A1.pdf. "Collocation Agreement. '"Id. "See,e.g.,47 C.F.R.§§24.5,90.7. "'47 U.S.C.§332(c)(7)(A).The Telecommunications Act of 1996 defines"personal wireless service facilities"as facilities for the provision of personal wireless services,including commercial mobile services,unlicensed wireless services,and common carrier wireless exchange access services.47 U.S.C.§332(c)(7)(C). ""See 158 LONG.REC. E2.37-239(daily ed. Feb.24,2012)(statement of Rep.Upton), available of http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2012-02-24/pdf/CREC-2012-02-24-pt1-PgE237-5.pdf.Zoning review and/or conditional approvals of eligible facilities request can have the effect of denying such requests as a conditional approval is not an approval per se;therefore it is a denial and a violation of the Act. ""'Shot Clock Ruling. For more information, please contact PCIA's Government Affairs Department: advocacy@pcia.com PCIA Updated 4/20/2012 "��