[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2862 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2862

 To amend the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 to provide 
 residents of States with single network affiliate stations to receive 
  the signals of such stations via satellite, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 24, 2003

Mr. Bradley of New Hampshire (for himself and Mr. Bass) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 to provide 
 residents of States with single network affiliate stations to receive 
  the signals of such stations via satellite, 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 ``North Country Access Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Under the provisions set forth in section 122 of title 
        17, United States Code, a satellite carrier retransmitting to 
        its subscribers an over-the-air television broadcast station 
        within the local market of that station may make a secondary 
        transmission under the statutory license of the programming 
        contained on that broadcast signal.
            (2) Under the section 119 of title 17, United States Code, 
        a satellite carrier retransmitting to its subscribers an over-
        the-air television broadcast station from a distant market may 
        make a secondary transmission under the statutory license of 
        the programming contained on that broadcast signal. However, 
        the statutory license under section 119 does not permit 
        retransmission of a distant network television station to 
        subscribers who reside within the local market of a television 
        station owned by or affiliated with the same network and who 
        receive an over-the-air signal of Grade B intensity, as defined 
        by the Federal Communications Commission, using a conventional 
        rooftop antenna.
            (3) Within some States of the United States, there is only 
        one licensed commercial network television station of any 
        network. Nevertheless, there can be more than one television 
        market within the State, as defined by the Federal 
        Communications Commission, resulting in the commercial network 
        station being a distant signal to satellite subscribers who are 
        located outside the local market of the station but who reside 
        within the geographic borders of the State. As a result, many 
        of these satellite subscribers outside the local market are not 
        eligible to receive the commercial network station under either 
        the section 119 or section 122 statutory license.
            (4) Such a commercial television network station serves a 
        strong public interest in the State by providing regional and 
        local news, weather, and other information. There is an 
        important interest in assuring that all citizens of that State 
        be eligible to receive satellite service of that commercial 
        network station under the copyright laws.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF LOCAL MARKET TO INCLUDE ENTIRE STATE.

    Section 122(j)(2) of title 17, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D); 
        and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new 
        subparagraph:
                    ``(D) States with single commercial network 
                station.--In addition to the areas described in 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B), a commercial network 
                station's local market shall include all communities 
                within the geographic borders of the State in which the 
                commercial network station is licensed, if that 
                commercial network station is the only commercial 
                network station of any network licensed within the 
                State. ''.
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