[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1823 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
103d CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1823
To provide for the establishment of the Interactive Entertainment
Rating Commission, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 3 (legislative day, January 25), 1994
Mr. Lieberman (for himself, Mr. Kohl, and Mr. Dorgan) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the establishment of the Interactive Entertainment
Rating Commission, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSE.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Video Game Rating
Act of 1994''.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide parents with
information about the nature of video games which are used in homes or
public areas, including arcades or family entertainment centers.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act--
(1) the terms ``video games'' and ``video devices'' mean
any interactive computer game, including all software,
framework and hardware necessary to operate a game, placed in
interstate commerce; and
(2) the term ``video game industry'' means all
manufacturers of video games and related products.
SEC. 3. THE INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT RATING COMMISSION.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the Interactive
Entertainment Rating Commission (hereafter in this Act referred to as
the ``Commission'') which shall be an independent establishment in the
executive branch as defined under section 104 of title 5, United States
Code.
(b) Members of the Commission.--(1)(A) The Commission shall be
composed of 5 members. No more than 3 members shall be affiliated with
any 1 political party.
(B) The members shall be appointed by the President, by and with
the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall designate 1
member as the Chairman of the Commission.
(2) All members shall be appointed within 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(c) Terms.--Each member shall serve until the termination of the
Commission.
(d) Vacancies.--A vacancy on the Commission shall be filled in the
same manner as the original appointment.
(e) Compensation of Members.--(1) The Chairman shall be paid at a
rate equal to the daily equivalent of the minimum annual rate of basic
pay payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5314
of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including traveltime)
during which the Chairman is engaged in the performance of duties
vested in the Commission.
(2) Except for the Chairman who shall be paid as provided under
subparagraph (A), each member of the Commission shall be paid at a rate
equal to the daily equivalent of the minimum annual rate of basic pay
payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of
title 5, United States Code, for each day (including traveltime) during
which the member is engaged in the performance of duties vested in the
Commission.
(3) The amendments made by this subsection are repealed effective
on the date of termination of the Commission.
(f) Staff.--(1) The Chairman of the Commission may, without regard
to the civil service laws and regulations, appoint and terminate an
executive director and such other additional personnel as may be
necessary to enable the Commission to perform its duties. The
employment of an executive director shall be subject to confirmation by
the Commission.
(2) The Chairman of the Commission may fix the compensation of the
executive director and other personnel without regard to the provisions
of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United
States Code, relating to classification of positions and General
Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the executive
director and other personnel may not exceed the rate payable for level
V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.
(g) Consultants.--The Commission may procure by contract, to the
extent funds are available, the temporary or intermittent services of
experts or consultants under section 3109 of title 5, United States
Code. The Commission shall give public notice of any such contract
before entering into such contract.
(h) Funding.--(1) There are authorized to be appropriated to the
Commission such sums as are necessary to enable the Commission to carry
out its duties under this Act, such sums to remain available until
December 31, 1996.
(2) The Commission shall set a reasonable user fee which shall be
calculated to be sufficient to reimburse the United States for all sums
appropriated under subparagraph (1).
(i) Termination.--The Commission shall terminate on the earlier
of--
(1) December 31, 1996; or
(2) 90 days after the Commission submits a written
determination to the President that voluntary standards are
established that are adequate to warn purchasers of the violent
or sexually explicit content of video games.
SEC. 4. AUTHORITY AND FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) Voluntary Standards.--(1) The Commission shall--
(A) during the 1-year period beginning on the date of the
enactment of this Act, and to the greatest extent practicable,
coordinate with the video game industry in the development of a
voluntary system for providing information concerning the
contents of video games to purchasers and users; and
(B) 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act--
(i) evaluate whether any voluntary standards
proposed by the video game industry are adequate to
warn purchasers and users about the violence or
sexually explicit content of video games; and
(ii) determine whether the voluntary industry
response is sufficient to adequately warn parents and
users of the violence or sex content of video games.
(2) If before the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Commission makes a determination of
adequate industry response under paragraph (1)(B)(ii) and a
determination that sufficient voluntary standards are established, the
Commission shall--
(A) submit a report of such determinations and the reasons
therefor to the President and the Congress; and
(B) terminate in accordance with section 3(i)(2).
(b) Regulatory Authority.--Effective on and after the date
occurring 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act the
Commission may promulgate regulations requiring manufacturers and
sellers of video games to provide adequate information relating to
violence or sexually explicit content of such video games to purchasers
and users.
SEC. 5. ANTITRUST EXEMPTION.
The antitrust laws as defined in subsection (a) of the first
section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 45) and the law of unfair
competition under section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15
U.S.C. 45) shall not apply to any joint discussion, consideration,
review, action, or agreement by or among persons in the video game
industry for the purpose of, and limited to, developing and
disseminating voluntary guidelines designed to provide appropriate
information regarding the sex or violence content of video games to
purchasers of video games at the point of sale or initial use or other
users of such video games. The exemption provided for in this
subsection shall not apply to any joint discussion, consideration,
review, action, or agreement which results in a boycott of any person.
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