[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6533 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6533

    To implement the recommendations of the Federal Communications 
 Commission report to the Congress regarding low-power FM service, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 16, 2010

 Mr. Doyle (for himself and Mr. Terry) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To implement the recommendations of the Federal Communications 
 Commission report to the Congress regarding low-power FM service, 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 Community Radio Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT.

    Section 632 of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the 
Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 
106-553; 114 Stat. 2762A-111), is amended to read as follows:
    ``Sec. 632. (a) The Federal Communications Commission shall modify 
the rules authorizing the operation of low-power FM radio stations, as 
proposed in MM Docket No. 99-25, to--
            ``(1) prescribe protection for co-channels and first- and 
        second-adjacent channels; and
            ``(2) prohibit any applicant from obtaining a low-power FM 
        license if the applicant has engaged in any manner in the 
        unlicensed operation of any station in violation of section 301 
        of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301).
    ``(b) Any license that was issued by the Federal Communications 
Commission to a low-power FM station prior to April 2, 2001, and that 
does not comply with the modifications adopted by the Commission in MM 
Docket No. 99-25 on April 2, 2001, shall remain invalid.''.

SEC. 3. MINIMUM DISTANCE SEPARATION REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Federal Communications Commission shall modify 
its rules to eliminate third-adjacent minimum distance separation 
requirements between--
            (1) low-power FM stations; and
            (2) full-service FM stations, FM translator stations, and 
        FM booster stations.
    (b) Restriction.--
            (1) In general.--The Federal Communications Commission 
        shall not amend its rules to reduce the minimum co-channel and 
        first- and second-adjacent channel distance separation 
        requirements in effect on the date of enactment of this Act 
        between--
                    (A) low-power FM stations; and
                    (B) full-service FM stations.
            (2) Waiver.--
                    (A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the 
                Federal Communications Commission may grant a waiver of 
                the second-adjacent channel distance separation 
                requirement to low-power FM stations that establish, 
                using methods of predicting interference taking into 
                account all relevant factors, including terrain-
                sensitive propagation models, that their proposed 
                operations will not result in interference to any 
                authorized radio service.
                    (B) Requirements.--
                            (i) Suspension.--Any low-power FM station 
                        that receives a waiver under subparagraph (A) 
                        shall be required to suspend operation 
                        immediately upon notification by the Federal 
                        Communications Commission that it is causing 
                        interference to the reception of an existing or 
                        modified full-service FM station without regard 
                        to the location of the station receiving 
                        interference.
                            (ii) Elimination of interference.--A low-
                        power FM station described in clause (i) shall 
                        not resume operation until such interference 
                        has been eliminated or it can demonstrate to 
                        the Federal Communications Commission that the 
                        interference was not due to emissions from the 
                        low-power FM station, except that such station 
                        may make short test transmissions during the 
                        period of suspended operation to check the 
                        efficacy of remedial measures.
                            (iii) Notification.--Upon receipt of a 
                        complaint of interference from a low-power FM 
                        station operating pursuant to a waiver 
                        authorized under subparagraph (A), the Federal 
                        Communications Commission shall notify the 
                        identified low-power FM station by telephone or 
                        other electronic communication within 1 
                        business day.

SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF RADIO READING SERVICES.

    The Federal Communications Commission shall comply with its 
existing minimum distance separation requirements for full-service FM 
stations, FM translator stations, and FM booster stations that 
broadcast radio reading services via an analog subcarrier frequency to 
avoid potential interference by low-power FM stations.

SEC. 5. ENSURING AVAILABILITY OF SPECTRUM FOR LOW-POWER FM STATIONS.

    The Federal Communications Commission, when licensing new FM 
translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-power FM stations, 
shall ensure that--
            (1) licenses are available to FM translator stations, FM 
        booster stations, and low-power FM stations;
            (2) such decisions are made based on the needs of the local 
        community; and
            (3) FM translator stations, FM booster stations, and low-
        power FM stations remain equal in status and secondary to 
        existing and modified full-service FM stations.

SEC. 6. PROTECTION OF TRANSLATOR INPUT SIGNALS.

    The Federal Communications Commission shall modify its rules to 
address the potential for predicted interference to FM translator input 
signals on third-adjacent channels set forth in section 2.7 of the 
technical report entitled ``Experimental Measurements of the Third-
Adjacent Channel Impacts of Low-Power FM Stations, Volume One--Final 
Report (May 2003)''.

SEC. 7. ENSURING EFFECTIVE REMEDIATION OF INTERFERENCE.

    The Federal Communications Commission shall modify the interference 
complaint process described in section 73.810 of its rules (47 CFR 
73.810) as follows:
            (1) With respect to those low-power FM stations licensed at 
        locations that do not satisfy third-adjacent channel spacing 
        requirements under section 73.807 of the Commission's rules (47 
        CFR 73.807), the Federal Communications Commission shall 
        provide the same interference protections that FM translator 
        stations and FM booster stations are required to provide as set 
        forth in section 74.1203 of its rules (47 CFR 74.1203) as in 
        effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
            (2) For a period of 1 year after a new low-power FM station 
        is constructed on a third-adjacent channel, such low-power FM 
        station shall be required to broadcast periodic announcements 
        that alert listeners that interference that they may be 
        experiencing could be the result of the operation of such low-
        power FM station on a third-adjacent channel and shall instruct 
        affected listeners to contact such low-power FM station to 
        report any interference. The Federal Communications Commission 
        shall require all newly constructed low-power FM stations on 
        third-adjacent channels to--
                    (A) notify the Federal Communications Commission 
                and all affected stations on third-adjacent channels of 
                an interference complaint by electronic communication 
                within 48 hours after the receipt of such complaint; 
                and
                    (B) cooperate in addressing any such interference.
            (3) Low-power FM stations on third-adjacent channels shall 
        be required to address complaints of interference within the 
        protected contour of an affected station and shall be 
        encouraged to address all other interference complaints, 
        including complaints to the Federal Communications Commission 
        based on interference to a full-service FM station, an FM 
        translator station, or an FM booster station by the transmitter 
        site of a low-power FM station on a third-adjacent channel at 
        any distance from the full-service FM station, FM translator 
        station, or FM booster station. The Federal Communications 
        Commission shall provide notice to the licensee of a low-power 
        FM station of the existence of such interference within 7 
        calendar days of the receipt of a complaint from a listener or 
        another station.
            (4) To the extent possible, the Federal Communications 
        Commission shall grant low-power FM stations on third-adjacent 
        channels the technical flexibility to remediate interference 
        through the colocation of the transmission facilities of the 
        low-power FM station and any stations on third-adjacent 
        channels.
            (5) The Federal Communications Commission shall--
                    (A) permit the submission of informal evidence of 
                interference, including any engineering analysis that 
                an affected station may commission;
                    (B) accept complaints based on interference to a 
                full-service FM station, FM translator station, or FM 
                booster station by the transmitter site of a low-power 
                FM station on a third-adjacent channel at any distance 
                from the full-service FM station, FM translator 
                station, or FM booster station; and
                    (C) accept complaints of interference to mobile 
                reception.
            (6) The Federal Communications Commission shall for full-
        service FM stations that are licensed in significantly 
        populated States with more than 3,000,000 population and a 
        population density greater than 1,000 people per one square 
        mile land area, require all low-power FM stations licensed 
        after the date of enactment of this Act and located on third-
        adjacent, second-adjacent, first-adjacent, or co-channels to 
        such full-service FM stations, to provide the same interference 
        remediation requirements to complaints of interference, without 
        regard to whether such complaints of interference occur within 
        or outside of the protected contour of such stations, under the 
        same interference complaint and remediation procedures that FM 
        translator stations and FM booster stations are required to 
        provide to full-service stations as set forth in section 
        74.1203 of its rules (47 C.F.R. 74.1203) as in effect on the 
        date of enactment of this Act. Notwithstanding the provisions 
        of section 74.1203, no interference that arises outside the 
        relevant distance for the full-service station class specified 
        in the first column titled ``required'' for ``Co-channel 
        minimum separation (km)'' in the table listed in section 
        73.807(a)(1) of the Commission's rules (47 C.F.R. 73.807(a)(1)) 
        shall require remediation.

SEC. 8. FCC STUDY ON IMPACT OF LOW-POWER FM STATIONS ON FULL-SERVICE 
              COMMERCIAL FM STATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Federal Communications Commission shall 
conduct an economic study on the impact that low-power FM stations will 
have on full-service commercial FM stations.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall submit a report 
to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
Representatives on the study conducted under subsection (a).
    (c) Licensing Not Affected by Study.--Nothing in this section shall 
affect the licensing of new low-power FM stations as otherwise 
permitted under this Act.
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