3.0.0 4208 2023-03-08T19:58:48Z 2023-03-08T19:58:48Z House HR 2021-06-28 117 [Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 112 (Monday, June 28, 2021)][House]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. PASCRELL:H.R. 4208.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article 1[Page H3240]]]> hsif00 Energy and Commerce Committee House Standing hsif16 Communications and Technology Subcommittee Referred to 2021-06-29T19:47:35Z Referred to 2021-06-28T16:00:35Z Section 331 Obligation Clarification Act 117 2220 S 2021-06-24 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Identical bill CRS 2021-06-29 hsif16 Communications and Technology Subcommittee 1 House committee actions Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Committee 2021-06-28 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hsif00 Energy and Commerce Committee 2021-06-28 Introduced in House IntroReferral Intro-H 9 Library of Congress 2021-06-28 Introduced in House IntroReferral 1000 9 Library of Congress P000096 Rep. Pascrell, Bill, Jr. [D-NJ-9] WILLIAM PASCRELL D NJ J. 9 N S001165 Rep. Sires, Albio [D-NJ-8] Albio Sires D NJ 8 2021-06-28 True V000133 Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2] Jefferson Van Drew R NJ 2 2021-06-28 True Science, Technology, Communications Science, Technology, Communications 00 2021-06-28 Introduced in House 2022-08-30T17:41:18Z Section 331 Obligation Clarification Act

This bill specifies that certain service obligations owed by the licensee of a commercial television broadcast station apply regardless of the broadcast frequency used by the licensee.

Specifically, the bill provides that a licensee making a change from a very high frequency (VHF) broadcast station to an ultrahigh frequency (UHF) broadcast station must ensure the change does not affect its obligation to provide service to its customers. The bill also requires such a licensee to (1) broadcast at least 14 hours of common local programming per week, (2) include a substantial amount of particularized local content, and (3) maintain a studio in the station's community.

The bill further provides for the reallocation of a station to a community where there is no VHF or UHF station.

The Government Accountability Office must examine and report on the process used by the Federal Communications Commission for renewing broadcast television licenses to determine if that process meets specified obligations. In particular, the GAO must review how the process relates to television broadcast stations with specific obligations to serve the needs of their local communities.

]]> Section 331 Obligation Clarification Act Official Title as Introduced To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify the obligations of licensees under section 331 of that Act, and for other purposes. Introduced in House IH Display Title Section 331 Obligation Clarification Act Short Title(s) as Introduced Section 331 Obligation Clarification Act Introduced in House IH Introduced in House 2021-06-28T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-117hr4208ih/xml/BILLS-117hr4208ih.xml 2021-06-29 Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.