[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5035 Engrossed in House (EH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5035

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to extend expiring provisions 
   relating to the retransmission of signals of television broadcast 
                   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 ``Television Viewer Protection Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.

    Section 325(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``December 31, 2019'' 
        and inserting ``the expiration date, if any, described in 
        section 119(h) of title 17, United States Code''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking ``until January 1, 
        2020,'' each place it appears.

SEC. 3. SATISFACTION OF GOOD FAITH NEGOTIATION REQUIREMENT BY 
              MULTICHANNEL VIDEO PROGRAMMING DISTRIBUTORS.

    (a) Satisfaction of Good Faith Negotiation Requirement.--Section 
325(b)(3)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)) 
is amended--
            (1) in clause (iv), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (2) in clause (v), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(vi) not later than 90 days after the date of the 
        enactment of the Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019, 
        specify that--
                    ``(I) a multichannel video programming distributor 
                may satisfy its obligation to negotiate in good faith 
                under clause (iii) with respect to a negotiation for 
                retransmission consent under this section with a large 
                station group by designating a qualified MVPD buying 
                group to negotiate on its behalf, so long as the 
                qualified MVPD buying group itself negotiates in good 
                faith in accordance with such clause;
                    ``(II) it is a violation of the obligation to 
                negotiate in good faith under clause (iii) for the 
                qualified MVPD buying group to disclose the prices, 
                terms, or conditions of an ongoing negotiation or the 
                final terms of a negotiation to a member of the 
                qualified MVPD buying group that is not intending, or 
                is unlikely, to enter into the final terms negotiated 
                by the qualified MVPD buying group; and
                    ``(III) a large station group has an obligation to 
                negotiate in good faith under clause (ii) with respect 
                to a negotiation for retransmission consent under this 
                section with a qualified MVPD buying group.''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 325(b)(7) of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(7)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``; and'' and 
        inserting a semicolon;
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(C) `qualified MVPD buying group' means an entity that, 
        with respect to a negotiation with a large station group for 
        retransmission consent under this section--
                    ``(i) negotiates on behalf of two or more 
                multichannel video programming distributors--
                            ``(I) none of which is a multichannel video 
                        programming distributor that serves more than 
                        500,000 subscribers nationally; and
                            ``(II) that do not collectively serve more 
                        than 25 percent of all households served by a 
                        multichannel video programming distributor in 
                        any single local market in which the applicable 
                        large station group operates; and
                    ``(ii) negotiates agreements for such 
                retransmission consent--
                            ``(I) that contain standardized contract 
                        provisions, including billing structures and 
                        technical quality standards, for each 
                        multichannel video programming distributor on 
                        behalf of which the entity negotiates; and
                            ``(II) under which the entity assumes 
                        liability to remit to the applicable large 
                        station group all fees received from the 
                        multichannel video programming distributors on 
                        behalf of which the entity negotiates;
            ``(D) `large station group' means a group of television 
        broadcast stations that--
                    ``(i) are directly or indirectly under common de 
                jure control permitted by the regulations of the 
                Commission;
                    ``(ii) generally negotiate agreements for 
                retransmission consent under this section as a single 
                entity; and
                    ``(iii) include only television broadcast stations 
                that have a national audience reach of more than 20 
                percent;
            ``(E) `local market' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 122(j) of title 17, United States Code; and
            ``(F) `multichannel video programming distributor' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 602.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--Section 325(b) of the Communications 
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by inserting ``and'' after ``1992,''; and
                    (B) by striking ``, and the term `local market' has 
                the meaning given that term in section 122(j) of such 
                title''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking ``(as defined in 
        section 122(j) of title 17, United States Code)'' each place it 
        appears.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section, and the 
regulations promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission under 
such amendments, shall not take effect before January 1 of the calendar 
year after the calendar year in which this Act is enacted.

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CHARGES FOR COVERED SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--Part IV of title VI of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 551 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 642. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CHARGES FOR COVERED SERVICES.

    ``(a) Consumer Rights in Sales.--
            ``(1) Right to transparency.--Before entering into a 
        contract with a consumer for the provision of a covered 
        service, a provider of a covered service shall provide the 
        consumer, by phone, in person, online, or by other reasonable 
        means, the total monthly charge for the covered service, 
        whether offered individually or as part of a bundled service, 
        selected by the consumer (explicitly noting the amount of any 
        applicable promotional discount reflected in such charge and 
        when such discount will expire), including any related 
        administrative fees, equipment fees, or other charges, a good 
        faith estimate of any tax, fee, or charge imposed by the 
        Federal Government or a State or local government (whether 
        imposed on the provider or imposed on the consumer but 
        collected by the provider), and a good faith estimate of any 
        fee or charge that is used to recover any other assessment 
        imposed on the provider by the Federal Government or a State or 
        local government.
            ``(2) Right to formal notice.--A provider of a covered 
        service that enters into a contract described in paragraph (1) 
        shall, not later than 24 hours after entering into the 
        contract, send the consumer, by email, online link, or other 
        reasonably comparable means, a copy of the information 
        described in such paragraph.
            ``(3) Right to cancel.--A provider of a covered service 
        that enters into a contract described in paragraph (1) shall 
        permit the consumer to cancel the contract, without paying 
        early cancellation fees or other disconnection fees or 
        penalties, during the 24-hour period beginning when the 
        provider of the covered service sends the copy required by 
        paragraph (2).
    ``(b) Consumer Rights in e-billing.--If a provider of a covered 
service provides a bill to a consumer in an electronic format, the 
provider shall include in the bill--
            ``(1) an itemized statement that breaks down the total 
        amount charged for or relating to the provision of the covered 
        service by the amount charged for the provision of the service 
        itself and the amount of all related taxes, administrative 
        fees, equipment fees, or other charges;
            ``(2) the termination date of the contract for the 
        provision of the covered service entered into between the 
        consumer and the provider; and
            ``(3) the termination date of any applicable promotional 
        discount.
    ``(c) Consumer Rights to Accurate Equipment Charges.--A provider of 
a covered service or fixed broadband internet access service may not 
charge a consumer for--
            ``(1) using covered equipment provided by the consumer; or
            ``(2) renting, leasing, or otherwise providing to the 
        consumer covered equipment if--
                    ``(A) the provider has not provided the equipment 
                to the consumer; or
                    ``(B) the consumer has returned the equipment to 
                the provider, except to the extent that the charge 
                relates to the period beginning on the date when the 
                provider provided the equipment to the consumer and 
                ending on the date when the consumer returned the 
                equipment to the provider.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Broadband internet access service.--The term 
        `broadband internet access service' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, or any successor regulation.
            ``(2) Covered equipment.--The term `covered equipment' 
        means equipment (such as a router) employed on the premises of 
        a person (other than a provider of a covered service or fixed 
        broadband internet access service) to provide a covered service 
        or to provide fixed broadband internet access service.
            ``(3) Covered service.--The term `covered service' means 
        service provided by a multichannel video programming 
        distributer, to the extent such distributor is acting as a 
        multichannel video programming distributor.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Section 642 of the Communications Act of 1934, 
as added by subsection (a) of this section, shall apply beginning on 
the date that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
The Federal Communications Commission may grant an additional 6-month 
extension if the Commission finds that good cause exists for such an 
additional extension.

            Passed the House of Representatives December 10, 2019.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
116th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 5035

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to extend expiring provisions 
   relating to the retransmission of signals of television broadcast 
                   stations, and for other purposes.