[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3216 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3216

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to permit the retransmission of 
     signals of local television broadcast stations in an adjacent 
              underserved county, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 2009

  Mr. Ross (for himself, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mrs. Lummis, Mr. 
Herger, Mr. Boren, Mr. Tanner, Mr. Childers, Mr. Smith of Nebraska, Mr. 
Berry, Mr. McGovern, and Mr. Hill) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 
   Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to permit the retransmission of 
     signals of local television broadcast stations in an adjacent 
              underserved county, 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 Television Freedom Act of 
2009''.

SEC. 2. CARRIAGE OF STATIONS IN AN ADJACENT UNDERSERVED COUNTY UNDER 
              THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.

    (a) Retransmission Consent.--Section 325(b) of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (D);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (E) and inserting ``; or'';
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the 
                following new subparagraph:
                    ``(F) to retransmission of the signals of a 
                television broadcast station by a multichannel video 
                programming distributor to a subscriber located in the 
                station's adjacent underserved county, unless the 
                station certifies to the multichannel video programming 
                distributor that it is under no legal obligation 
                restricting its ability to grant retransmission consent 
                to such multichannel video programming distributor.''; 
                and
                    (D) in the last sentence, by striking ``the term 
                `local market' has the meaning given that term'' and 
                inserting ``the terms `local market' and `adjacent 
                underserved county' have the meanings given such 
                terms''; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(8) A television broadcast station that elects 
        retransmission consent may not request as a condition to 
        receiving retransmission consent that a multichannel video 
        programming distributor not exercise its right to carry any 
        other broadcast station in the station's adjacent underserved 
        county.''.
    (b) Certification Rulemaking Required.--Within 120 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission 
(in this Act referred to as the ``Commission'') shall complete all 
actions necessary to promulgate rules governing the certification 
provided by the television broadcast station under section 325(b)(2)(F) 
of the Communications Act of 1934 (as added by subsection (a)(1)(C) of 
this Act).
    (c) Carriage of Distant Signals.--Section 339(a)(1)(B) of such Act 
(47 U.S.C. 339(a)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting ``or adjacent 
underserved county'' after ``local market''.
    (d) Rulemaking Required.--
            (1) In general.--Within 90 days after the date of enactment 
        of this Act, the Commission shall commence a proceeding to 
        revise the regulations concerning network nonduplication 
        protection, syndicated exclusivity protection, and sports 
        blackout protection (part 76 of title 47, Code of Federal 
        Regulations) against the retransmission by a multichannel video 
        programming distributor of signals of television broadcast 
        stations to permit such retransmission if the subscriber 
        receiving the signals is located in the station's adjacent 
        underserved county, as such term is defined in section 
        122(j)(6) of title 17, United States Code (as added by section 
        3(a)(5) of this Act).
            (2) Contents of regulations.--Regulations issued pursuant 
        to paragraph (1) shall prohibit a multichannel video 
        programming distributor from retransmitting the signal of a 
        television broadcast station in the station's adjacent 
        underserved county unless the multichannel video programming 
        distributor offers service in such county pursuant to sections 
        338, 614, or 615 of the Communications Act of 1934 and carries 
        the signals of any station required to be carried in such 
        county under such sections.
            (3) Deadline for action.--The Commission shall complete all 
        actions necessary to prescribe the revised regulations required 
        by paragraph (1) within 180 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act.

SEC. 3. CARRIAGE OF STATIONS IN AN ADJACENT UNDERSERVED COUNTY UNDER 
              THE COPYRIGHT ACT.

    (a) Satellite Carriers.--Section 122 of title 17, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by inserting ``or adjacent underserved county'' after 
        ``station's local market'';
            (2) in subsections (d) and (e), by inserting ``or adjacent 
        underserved county'' after ``into the local market'';
            (3) in subsection (f), by inserting ``or adjacent 
        underserved county'' after ``station's local market'' in 
        paragraphs (1) and (2);
            (4) in subsection (g), by inserting ``or adjacent 
        underserved county'' after ``station's local market''; and
            (5) in subsection (j), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) Adjacent underserved county.--The term `adjacent 
        underserved county', in the case of both commercial and 
        noncommercial television broadcast stations, means a county 
        within the station's adjacent market that is both--
                    ``(A) located in the same State as the station's 
                community of license; and
                    ``(B) not within the local market of any other 
                station that is both affiliated with the same network 
                and located in the same State as such other station's 
                community of license.
            ``(7) Adjacent market.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `adjacent market', in 
                the case of both commercial and noncommercial 
                television broadcast stations, means any local market 
                adjacent to, and partially but not entirely in the same 
                State as, the local market in which the station's 
                community of license is located.
                    ``(B) Treatment of certain counties.--A county that 
                is in a local market containing no in-State network 
                stations, but which is not located in the adjacent 
                market (as defined under subparagraph (A)) of any in-
                State network station, shall be considered to be the 
                adjacent market of the nearest local market located in 
                whole or in part within the State in which the county 
                is located.''.
    (b) Cable Systems.--Section 111(a) of title 17, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``or'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) the secondary transmission is to a subscriber in a 
        broadcast station's adjacent underserved county, in accordance 
        with the same terms, conditions, and definitions as apply under 
        section 122.''.
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