[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 486 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 486

    To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal 
  Communications Commission to preserve low-power television stations 
      that provide community broadcasting, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 2, 1999

 Mr. Norwood (for himself, Mr. Klink, Mr. Deal of Georgia, Mr. Oxley, 
Mr. Burr of North Carolina, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Bishop, Mr. Condit, and 
 Mr. Weygand) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal 
  Communications Commission to preserve low-power television stations 
      that provide community broadcasting, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Community Broadcasters Protection 
Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Since the creation of low-power television licenses by 
        the Federal Communications Commission, a small number of 
        license holders have operated their stations in a manner 
        beneficial to the public good providing broadcasting to their 
        communities that would not otherwise be available.
            (2) These low-power broadcasters have operated their 
        stations in a manner consistent with the programming objectives 
        and hours of operation of full-power broadcasters providing 
        worthwhile services to their respective communities while under 
        severe license limitations compared to their full-power 
        counterparts.
            (3) License limitations, particularly the temporary nature 
        of the license, have blocked many low-power broadcasters from 
        having access to capital, and have severely hampered their 
        ability to continue to provide quality broadcasting, 
        programming, or improvements.
            (4) The passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has 
        added to the uncertainty of the future status of these stations 
        by the lack of specific provisions regarding the permanency of 
        their licenses, or their treatment during the transition to 
        high definition, digital television.

SEC. 3. PRESERVATION OF LOW-POWER COMMUNITY TELEVISION BROADCASTING.

    (a) Amendment.--Section 336 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 336) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections 
        (g) and (h), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(f) Preservation of Low-Power Community Television 
Broadcasting.--
            ``(1) Creation of class a licenses.-- Within 120 days after 
        the date of enactment of the Community Broadcasters Protection 
        Act of 1999, the Commission shall prescribe regulations to 
        establish a class A television license to be available to 
        licensees of qualifying low-power television stations. Such 
        license shall be subject to the same license terms and renewal 
        standards as the licenses for full-power television stations 
        except as provided in this section, and each such class A 
        licensee shall be accorded primary status as a television 
        broadcaster as long as the station continues to meet the 
        requirements for a qualifying low-power station in paragraph 
        (2). Within 30 days after the enactment of the Community 
        Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999, the Commission shall send 
        a notice to the licensees of all low-power televisions licenses 
        that describes the requirements for class A designation. Within 
        30 days after receipt of the notice, licensees intending to 
        seek class A designation shall submit to the Commission a 
        certification of eligibility based on the qualification 
        requirements of this subsection. Absent a material deficiency, 
        the Commission shall grant certification of eligibility to 
        apply for class A status. The Commission shall act to preserve 
        the contours of low-power television licensees pending the 
        final resolution of a class A application. Consistent with the 
        requirements set forth in paragraphs (2)(A), (2)(B), and (6) of 
        this subsection, a licensee may submit an application for class 
        A designation under this paragraph within 30 days after final 
        regulations are adopted. The Commission shall, within 30 days 
        after receipt of an application that is acceptable for filing, 
        award such a class A television station license to any licensee 
        of a qualifying low-power television station.
            ``(2) Qualifying low-power television stations.--For 
        purposes of this subsection, a station is a qualifying low-
        power television station if--
                    ``(A) during the 90 days preceding the date of 
                enactment of the Community Broadcasters Protection Act 
                of 1999--
                            ``(i) such station broadcast a minimum of 
                        18 hours per day;
                            ``(ii) such station broadcast an average of 
                        at least 3 hours per week of programming that 
                        was produced within the market area served by 
                        such station, or the market area served by a 
                        group of commonly controlled stations that 
                        carry common local programming not otherwise 
                        available to their communities; and
                            ``(iii) such station was in compliance with 
                        the Commission's requirements applicable to 
                        low-power television stations; and
                    ``(B) from and after the date of its application 
                for a class A license, the station is in compliance 
                with the Commission's operating rules for full power 
                television stations; or
                    ``(C) the Commission determines that the public 
                interest, convenience, and necessity would be served by 
                treating the station as a qualifying low-power 
                television station for purposes of this section, or for 
                other reasons determined by the Commission.
            ``(3) Common ownership.--No low-power television station 
        shall be disqualified for a class A license based on common 
        ownership with any other medium of mass communication.
            ``(4) Issuance of licenses for advanced television services 
        to qualifying low-power television stations.--The Commission is 
        not required to issue any additional licenses for advanced 
        television services to the licensees of the class A television 
        stations under this subsection but shall accept such license 
        applications proposing facilities that will not cause 
        interference to any other broadcast facility authorized on the 
        date of filing of the class A advanced television application. 
        In reviewing such applications, the Commission shall consider 
        the impact of such a grant on the primary television viewing 
        audience of the applicant. Such new license or the original 
        license of the applicant shall be forfeited after the date on 
        which the digital television service transition period 
        terminated, as determined by the Commission. Low-power 
        television station licensees may, at the option of licensee, 
        elect to convert to the provision of advanced television 
        services on its analog channel, but shall not be required to 
        convert to digital operation until the end of the DTV 
        transition.
            ``(5) No preemption of section 337.--Nothing in this 
        section preempts section 337 of this Act.
            ``(6) Interim qualification.--
                    ``(A) Stations operating within certain 
                bandwidth.--The Commission may not grant a class A 
                license to a low-power television station operating 
                between 698 and 806 megahertz, but the Commission shall 
                provide to low-power television stations assigned to 
                and temporarily operating in that bandwidth the 
                opportunity to meet the qualification requirements for 
                a class A license. When such a qualified applicant for 
                a class A license is assigned a channel within the core 
                spectrum (as such term is defined in MM Docket 87-286, 
                February 17, 1998), the Commission shall simultaneously 
                issue a class A license.
                    ``(B) Certain channels off-limits.--The Commission 
                may not grant a class A license to a low-power 
                television station operating on a channel within the 
                core spectrum under this subsection that includes any 
                of the 175 additional channels referenced in paragraph 
                45 of its February 23, 1998, Memorandum Opinion and 
                Order on Reconsideration of the Sixth Report and Order 
                (MM Docket No. 87-268). Within 18 months after the date 
                of enactment of the Community Broadcasters Protection 
                Act of 1999, the Commission shall identify by channel, 
                location, and applicable technical parameters those 175 
                channels.
            ``(7) No interference requirement.--The Commission may not 
        grant a class A license nor approve a modification of a class A 
        license unless the applicant or licensee shows that the class A 
        station for which the license or modification is sought will 
        not cause--
                    ``(A) interference within the Grade B contour of 
                any television station (as of the date of enactment of 
                the Community Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999, or 
                as proposed in a minor change application filed on or 
                before such date) or the DTV service areas provided in 
                the DTV Table of Allotments, or subsequently granted by 
                the Commission prior to the filing of a class A 
                application;
                    ``(B) interference within the protected contour of 
                any low-power television station or low-power 
                television translator station licensed, authorized by 
                construction permit, or with a pending displacement 
                application submitted prior to the date on which the 
                application for a class A license, or for the 
                modification of such a license, was filed; or
                    ``(C) interference within the protected contour of 
                80 miles from the geographic center of the areas listed 
                in section 22.625(b)(1) or 90.303 of the Commission's 
                regulations (47 C.F.R. 22.625(b)(1) and 90.303) for 
                frequencies in--
                            ``(i) the 470-512 megahertz band identified 
                        in section 22.621 or 90.303 of such 
                        regulations; or
                            ``(ii) the 482-488 megahertz band in New 
                        York.''.
    (b) Amendment.--Section 309(j)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 309(j)(2)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph (B);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(D) for low-power television and TV translator 
                stations where one or more of the mutually exclusive 
                applicants is a qualified class A licensee or a 
                translator rebroadcasting the signal of a primary 
                service station within its designated market area, 
                except that--
                            ``(i) in cases where more than one 
                        applicant qualifies, the Commission shall 
                        notify affected parties and provide them no 
                        fewer than 60 days to develop an engineering 
                        solution so that the applications are not 
                        mutually exclusive; and
                            ``(ii) in the absence of an engineering 
                        solution, the Commission shall devise a system 
                        of selection for awarding licenses, other than 
                        competitive bidding, which maintains equal 
                        opportunities for both class A and translator 
                        applicants but encourages, to the extent 
                        possible, localism, diversity of ownership in 
                        the broadcast service, and programming not 
                        otherwise available for underserved 
                        communities.''.
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