[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1626 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1626

 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to ensure equity for all full-
   service television broadcasters and ensure the benefits of local 
  programming for communities served by class A television broadcast 
   stations by providing cable carriage rights for qualified class A 
              television stations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 3, 2003

Mr. Peterson of Minnesota (for himself, Mr. Gonzalez, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, 
   Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida, and Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart of 
   Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to ensure equity for all full-
   service television broadcasters and ensure the benefits of local 
  programming for communities served by class A television broadcast 
   stations by providing cable carriage rights for qualified class A 
              television stations, 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 ``Local Voices on TV Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The newly created class A television service provides 
        valuable local and specialized television service to unserved 
        and underserved audiences throughout the United States, and for 
        that reason Congress enacted the Community Broadcasters 
        Protection Act of 1999 to provide permanent broadcast licenses 
        to television stations providing such service.
            (2) It was the purpose of the Community Broadcasters 
        Protection Act of 1999 to provide continuing opportunities for 
        low power television broadcast stations to qualify for and be 
        granted class A licenses, especially where those licenses could 
        provide local programming and local voices to underserved urban 
        and rural communities.
            (3) This new television service was created seven years 
        after the enactment of the Cable Television Consumer Protection 
        and Competition Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-385), and while 
        that Act includes licenses for class A television service under 
        the provisions relating to low power broadcast television, it 
        does not reflect the fact that such stations operate as full-
        service, commercial broadcast television stations under part 73 
        of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (the rules of the 
        Federal Communications Commission for full power television 
        stations) and provide significant local programming to their 
        underserved communities often equaling in duration that 
        provided by the major networks in other small markets.
            (4) Thirteen of the largest 25 Hispanic markets in the 
        United States receive Spanish language network programming 
        through low power television stations. The provisions of the 
        Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 
        1992 that exclude from mandatory carriage on cable television 
        any low power television broadcast station within the largest 
        160 Metropolitan Statistical Areas deny equitable cable 
        carriage opportunities for such television stations and other 
        television stations serving specialized and other underserved 
        urban communities.
            (5) In 1992, Congress believed that requirements for 
        mandatory carriage on cable television were necessary to ensure 
        the benefits of the local origination of programming. Today, 
        such provisions are also necessary to ensure the benefits of 
        the local programming provided by qualified class A television 
        stations.
            (6) Must-carry rights are often challenged on issues of 
        signal quality and strength. If qualified class A television 
        broadcast stations and other low power television stations use 
        industry standard equipment in delivering signals to the cable 
        headends, cable operators should accept any equipment provided 
        and paid for by such television stations so long as acceptance 
        of such equipment does not negatively impact the operation of 
        cable systems.

SEC. 3. CABLE TELEVISION CARRIAGE REQUIREMENTS REGARDING CLASS A LOCAL 
              TELEVISION SERVICE.

    (a) In General.--Section 614 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 534) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(2)(A)--
                    (A) by inserting ``or qualified class A station'' 
                after ``qualified low power station''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``full power analog or digital'' 
                after ``in lieu of a'';
            (2) in subsection (b)(4), by inserting ``and qualified low 
        power stations'' after ``local commercial television stations'' 
        each place it appears in subparagraphs (A) and (B);
            (3) in subsection (c)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) by inserting ``or one qualified class A 
                        station'' after ``qualified low power 
                        station''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``and'' at the end;
                    (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 
                following new subparagraphs (B) and (C):
                    ``(B) a cable operator of a cable system with a 
                capacity of more than 35 usable activated 6 mHz 
                channels, but fewer than 72 such channels, shall be 
                required to carry two stations that are either 
                qualified class A stations or other qualified low power 
                stations; and
                    ``(C) a cable operator of a cable system with a 
                capacity of 72 or more usable activated 6 mHz channels 
                shall be required to carry three stations that are 
                either qualified class A stations or other qualified 
                low power stations.''; and
                            (iii) by adding after subparagraph (C), as 
                        so added, the following new flush matter:
        ``If there are three or fewer commercial full power stations 
        serving a designated market area that do not substantially 
        retransmit the signal of another broadcast station, all 
        qualified class A stations in the designated market area shall 
        be granted carriage rights, except that the number of class A 
        stations that a cable operator is required to carry under this 
        sentence shall not exceed the national average number of 
        broadcast stations that a cable operator is required to carry 
        in television markets in the United States.''; and
            (4) in subsection (h)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)--
                                    (I) by inserting ``or qualified 
                                class A station'' after ``full power 
                                television broadcast station''; and
                                    (II) by inserting ``or granted'' 
                                after ``assigned to its community''; 
                                and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)--
                                    (I) in clause (i), by inserting 
                                ``(other than qualified class A 
                                stations)'' after ``low power 
                                television stations''; and
                                    (II) in clauses (ii) and (iii), by 
                                inserting ``or qualified low power 
                                station'' after ``television broadcast 
                                station''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(3) Qualified class a station.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `qualified class A 
                station' means a class A television station, or a 
                station certified as a class A television station under 
                section 336(f)(1)(B), that--
                            ``(i) operates in accordance with part 73 
                        of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as 
                        prescribed for class A licensed stations;
                            ``(ii) regularly broadcasts--
                                    ``(I) a minimum of 3 hours per week 
                                in the first year after the date of 
                                enactment of the Local Voices on TV Act 
                                of 2003, 5 hours per week in the second 
                                year after such date of enactment, and 
                                8 hours per week in the third year 
                                after such date of enactment and 
                                thereafter, of local programming 
                                produced within the Grade B contour of 
                                such station; or
                                    ``(II) for a group of commonly 
                                controlled class A stations, a minimum 
                                of 3 hours per week in the first year 
                                after such date of enactment, 5 hours 
                                per week in the second year after such 
                                date of enactment, and 8 hours per week 
                                in the third year after such date of 
                                enactment and thereafter, of local 
                                programming produced within the grade B 
                                contour of the stations in such a 
                                group, but not to exceed the designated 
                                market area of the main studio of such 
                                a group;
                            ``(iii) meets all obligations and 
                        requirements applicable to television broadcast 
                        stations under part 73 of title 47, Code of 
                        Federal Regulations, with respect to the 
                        broadcast of nonentertainment programming; 
                        programming and rates involving political 
                        candidates, election issues, controversial 
                        issues of public importance, editorials, and 
                        personal attacks; programming for children; and 
                        equal employment opportunity; and
                            ``(iv) maintains a fully operational amber 
                        alert system, as part of a national missing 
                        person broadcast emergency response.
                    ``(B) Main studio.--For purposes of subparagraph 
                (A), the main studio of a qualified class A station, or 
                group of stations, shall be located within the grade B 
                contour of the qualified class A station, or group of 
                stations, or within 15 miles of the city or cities of 
                license, whichever is greater.
                    ``(C) Market determinations.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A), the market of a qualified class A 
                station shall be determined by the grade B contour of 
                such station or 35 miles from the cable system's 
                headend, whichever is greater. However, the market of 
                such a station shall be further adjusted to ensure 
                cable carriage rights where 15 percent or more of the 
                station's grade B contour is on a cable system's 
                headend outside the grade B contour of that station or 
                where previous service to a community was lost through 
                digital television displacements or other spectrum 
                reallocations since January 1, 1996.''.
    (b) Construction.--Nothing in the amendments to section 614 of the 
Communications Act of 1934 made by subsection (a) of this section shall 
diminish the must-carry rights of any class A or other low power 
television broadcast station outside the largest 160 Metropolitan 
Statistical Areas of the United States as of June 30, 1990.

SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNITY BROADCASTERS PROTECTION ACT OF 
              1999.

    (a) Regulations for Treatment of Low-Power Television Broadcast 
Stations as Class A Stations.--
            (1) Deadline for regulations.--Not later than 12 months 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal 
        Communications Commission shall prescribe regulations to 
        implement the provisions of section 336(f)(2)(B) of the 
        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 336(f)(2)(B)) that 
        provide for the application and granting of new class A 
        television licenses. Such regulations shall provide class A 
        eligibility standards for low power stations that had valid 
        licenses for such stations on December 29, 1999.
            (2) Satisfaction of public interest, convenience, and 
        necessity.--The regulations under paragraph (1) shall require 
        that the Commission consider, in determining whether the 
        treatment of a low-power television station as a class A 
        station would meet the public interest, convenience, and 
        necessity, the extent to which the low-power television station 
        would--
                    (A) advance the benefits of free over-the-air 
                broadcast television; and
                    (B) promote the widespread dissemination of 
                information from a multiplicity of sources.
    (b) Acceptance of Applications of Advanced Television Services.--
Section 336(f)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
336(f)(4)) is amended by inserting after the first sentence the 
following new sentence: ``The Commission shall promptly review each 
such license application, and if the Commission determines that the 
proposed facilities meet the requirements of the preceding sentence 
shall grant such license application not later than 60 days after the 
date of such determination.''.
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