[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1260 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1260

 To direct the Federal Communications Commission to revise and update 
   its sponsorship identification rules applicable to commercial and 
                         political advertising.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 7, 2015

 Mr. Nelson (for himself, Ms. Warren, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
 Wyden, Mrs. McCaskill, and Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Federal Communications Commission to revise and update 
   its sponsorship identification rules applicable to commercial and 
                         political advertising.

    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 ``Sunshine in Sponsorship 
Identification Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Federal law has required broadcasters to identify the 
        sponsors of broadcast content since the Radio Act of 1927 (47 
        U.S.C. 81 et seq.).
            (2) The Federal Communications Commission has had the 
        authority to adopt and enforce rules requiring the disclosure 
        of the sponsors of commercial and political broadcasts since 
        the passage of section 317 of the Communications Act of 1934 
        (47 U.S.C. 317).
            (3) Section 317 of the Communications Act of 1934 requires 
        the full and fair disclosure of the true identity of the 
        sponsors of all on-air commercial and political broadcasts.
            (4) In 1944, the Federal Communications Commission adopted 
        rules implementing section 317 of the Communications Act of 
        1934. Those rules remain largely in place today.
            (5) While the Federal Communications Commission has 
        periodically issued updated rules and guidance regarding its 
        application of section 317 and its rules promulgated under that 
        section, the Commission has not engaged in a thorough review of 
        those rules in many decades.
            (6) In a 2013 report, the Government Accountability Office 
        recommended that the Federal Communications Commission engage 
        in a comprehensive review of its sponsorship identification 
        rules to ensure that such rules are reflective of the current 
        practices of commercial and political advertisers.
            (7) Given the dramatic changes in technology in the many 
        years since the Federal Communications Commission put forth 
        formal guidance on these issues, the Commission should review 
        its sponsorship identification policies to make sure that 
        American citizens are fully apprised of the identity of 
        entities seeking to influence them.

SEC. 3. MODERNIZATION OF SPONSORSHIP IDENTIFICATION RULES.

    (a) Rulemaking Required.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall 
commence a rulemaking to update its rules and guidance promulgated 
under section 317 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 317).
    (b) Considerations.--As part of the rulemaking required under 
subsection (a), the Federal Communications Commission shall, at a 
minimum--
            (1) update and modernize its sponsorship identification 
        rules and guidance to reflect current technologies and 
        commercial and political advertising practices;
            (2) ensure that political broadcasts include disclosures 
        containing more detailed information about the identity of the 
        true sponsors of such broadcasts; and
            (3) consider how best to require the disclosure of 
        sponsorship identification information, including by requiring 
        that more detailed sponsorship identification information be 
        placed online or in another form more readily accessible to the 
        public.
    (c) Timeframe.--The Federal Communications Commission shall 
complete the rulemaking required by subsection (a) not later than 270 
days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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