[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2989 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2989

 To provide for the technical integrity of the FM radio band, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 27, 2000

Mr. McCain (for himself and Mr. Kerrey) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the technical integrity of the FM radio band, 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 ``Low Power Radio Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    It is the purpose of this Act to ensure the technical integrity of 
the FM radio band, while permitting the introduction of low power FM 
transmitters into such band without causing harmful interference.

SEC. 3. HARMFUL INTERFERENCE PROHIBITED.

    (a) In General.--Any low-power FM radio licensee determined by the 
Federal Communications Commission to be transmitting a signal causing 
harmful interference to one or more licensed radio services shall, if 
so ordered by the Commission, cease the transmission of the interfering 
signal, and may not recommence transmitting such signal unit it has 
taken whatever action the Commission may prescribe in order to assure 
that the radio licensee that has sustained the interference remains 
able to serve the public interest, convenience and necessity as 
required by the Commission's rules.
    (b) Complaint.--Any radio service licensee may file a complaint 
with the Commission against any low-power FM radio licensee for 
transmitting a signal that is alleged to cause harmful interference.
    (c) Expedited Consideration.--In any complaint filed pursuant to 
the provisions of subsection (b), the Commission shall render a final 
decision no later than 150 calendar days after the date on which the 
complaint was filed.
    (d) Reimbursement of Costs.--In any final decision rendered 
pursuant to this section, the Commission is authorized to order the 
losing party to reimburse the reasonable direct costs incurred in the 
complaint proceeding by the winning party.
    (e) Punitive Damages.--In any final decision rendered pursuant to 
this section, the Commission is authorized to impose punitive damages 
not to exceed 5 times the low-power FM station's costs if the 
Commission finds that the complaint was frivolous and without any merit 
or purpose other than to impede the provision of non-interfering low-
power FM service.
    (f) Section 316(a)(3) of Communications Act.--Section 316(a)(3) of 
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 316(a)(3)) shall not apply to 
a complaint filed pursuant to this section.
    (g) Rules.--The Commission shall adopt rules implementing the 
provisions of this section within 120 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act.
    (h) Harmful Interference Defined.--For purposes of this section, 
the term ``harmful interference'' means interference which endangers 
the functioning of a radio navigation service or of other safety 
services or that seriously degrades, obstructs, or repeatedly 
interrupts a radio service operating in accordance with the rules and 
regulations of the Federal Communications Commission.

SEC. 4. DIGITAL RADIO TRANSITION.

    The Federal Communications Commission shall complete all 
rulemakings necessary to implement the transition to digital radio no 
later than June 1, 2001.
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