[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1987 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1987

To prohibit pay-per-view charges for entertainment events that receive 
    public financial support whether or including private entities, 
           nonprofit organizations or governmental entities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 1993

 Mr. Lipinski introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit pay-per-view charges for entertainment events that receive 
    public financial support whether or including private entities, 
           nonprofit organizations or governmental entities.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Taxpayer's Right To View Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Federal Communications Commission predicts a 
        diminished role for broadcast television and a more prominent 
        role for cable television including pay-per-view.
            (2) Roughly 18,800,000 American homes are equipped to 
        receive pay-per-view and this number is expected to increase to 
        35,900,000 by 1996. Overall pay-per-view revenue is expected to 
        reach $1,100,000,000 by 1996.
            (3) There is a growing trend toward making events available 
        exclusively on pay-per-view.
            (4) As this trend develops, whether the consumer has access 
        to these events will be determined by the ability of the 
        consumer to pay.
            (5) Professional sports leagues are beginning to see pay-
        per-view as a new revenue source to keep pace with escalating 
        player salaries.
            (6) As a result, some media analysts predict that several 
        of broadcast television's premier sports attractions eventually 
        will migrate to pay-per-view.
            (7) Limited access to viewing such events as the ``Super 
        Bowl'' or ``World Series'' would deprive citizens of the 
        ability to enjoy these events which are inherent in the 
        American tradition.
            (8) The majority of facilities in which such events are 
        held are funded through taxpayer money.
            (9) It is unfair that taxpayers, who subsidize the 
        construction and maintenance of many of these facilities, 
        should have to pay an additional pay-per-view charge for 
        viewing these events.
            (10) Nonprofit and public organizations including public 
        and private educational institutions and their athletic 
        organizations are exempt from the corporate income tax.
            (11) Furthermore, corporations can deduct their donations 
        to college sporting events as charitable contributions.
            (12) Tax exempt status is granted to these nonprofit and 
        public organizations by the Federal Government and it is unfair 
        to allow those who use this status to engage in pay-per-view 
        telecasting--thus forcing taxpayers to pay again.
            (13) It is unfair that taxpayers, who subsidize the 
        construction and maintenance of many of these facilities, 
        should have to pay an additional pay-per-view charge for 
        viewing these events.
            (14) Therefore, Congress should ensure that all taxpaying 
        citizens have free access to events that are sponsored by 
        organizations with nonprofit tax exempt status and those events 
        held in taxpayer subsidized facilities.

SEC. 3. PAY-PER-VIEW CHARGES PROHIBITED.

    Section 623 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 543) is 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:
    ``(i)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, a cable 
operator may not assess or collect any separate charges for any video 
programming of a sporting, theatrical, or other entertainment event if 
that event is performed at a facility constructed, renovated, or 
maintained with tax revenues or by an organization that receives public 
financial support.
    ``(2) The Commission and local franchising authorities are 
authorized to make determinations concerning the applicability of the 
prohibition contained in paragraph (1). In making such determinations--
            ``(A) a facility shall be considered to have been 
        constructed, maintained, or renovated with tax revenues if--
                    ``(i) tax exempt financing was used to construct, 
                maintain, or renovate the facility,
                    ``(ii) the facility was constructed on land donated 
                by a government, or leased by a government at below 
                market rates, or
                    ``(iii) public infrastructure or public service for 
                the facility are provided by the government at below 
                market rates, with the exception of police, fire, and 
                rescue services;
            ``(B) an event is performed by a nonprofit or public 
        organization that receives tax subsidies if the event is 
        sponsored by, or includes the participation of a team that is a 
        part of, an organization--
                    ``(i) that is exempt from Federal income taxes 
                under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 
                or
                    ``(ii) that is exempt from Federal income taxes 
                under section 115 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 
                and to which donations are tax deductible under such 
                Code; and
            ``(C) notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a facility shall 
        not be considered to have been constructed with tax revenues if 
        the government has been reimbursed, through the proceeds of a 
        sale of the facility or otherwise, for the total amount of the 
        tax revenues that were used to construct the facility, as 
        determined under subparagraph (A), but in this section shall be 
        construed to exempt facilities from this subsection if the 
        facility is receiving current financial support.
    ``(3) The Commission shall prescribe, by regulation, procedures for 
the administration of this subsection.''.

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