Home > 106th Congressional Bills > H.R. 4870 (eh) To make technical corrections in patent, copyright, and trademark laws. [Engrossed in House] ...H.R. 4870 (eh) To make technical corrections in patent, copyright, and trademark laws. [Engrossed in House] ...
Union Calendar No. 219
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 486
[Report No. 106-384]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal
Communications Commission to preserve low-power television stations
that provide community broadcasting, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
October 14, 1999
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
Union Calendar No. 219
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 486
[Report No. 106-384]
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal
Communications Commission to preserve low-power television stations
that provide community broadcasting, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 2, 1999
Mr. Norwood (for himself, Mr. Klink, Mr. Deal of Georgia, Mr. Oxley,
Mr. Burr of North Carolina, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Bishop, Mr. Condit, and
Mr. Weygand) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Commerce
October 14, 1999
Additional sponsors: Mr. Wamp, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Aderholt,
Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Clement, Mr. Peterson of
Minnesota, Mr. Holt, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Duncan,
Mr. Murtha, Ms. Carson, Mr. Foley, Mr. Sabo, Mr. Gillmor, Mr. Boucher,
Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Buyer, Mrs. Cubin, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Luther, Mr. Wexler,
Mr. Peterson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Minge, Mr. Moran of Kansas, Mr.
Mascara, Mr. Largent, Mr. Houghton, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Kucinich, Mr.
Conyers, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Filner, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Ryun of Kansas,
Mr. Lucas of Oklahoma, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Hoeffel, Mr. Hastings of
Washington, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Blagojevich, Mr. Kind, Mr. Dickey,
Mr. Gordon, Mr. Thornberry, Mr. Rush, Mr. Riley, Mr. Radanovich, Mr.
Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Baker, Mr.
Coburn, Mr. Coyne, Mr. Boehlert, Mrs. Bono, Mr. Thune, Mr. Tiahrt, Mr.
Davis of Florida, Mr. Sweeney, Mr. Cooksey, Mr. Moore, Mr. Etheridge,
Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Graham, Mr. Dooley of California, Mr. Scarborough, Mr.
Turner, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Hilliard, Mr.
LoBiondo, Mr. Kanjorski, Mr. DeMint, Mr. Linder, Mr. Chambliss, Mr.
Kingston, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Ford, Mr. Herger, Mr. Pickering, Ms. Brown
of Florida, Mr. John, Mr. Pomeroy, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Regula, Mrs.
Wilson, and Mr. Sawyer
October 14, 1999
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on
February 2, 1999]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal
Communications Commission to preserve low-power television stations
that provide community broadcasting, 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 ``Community Broadcasters Protection
Act of 1999''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Since the creation of low-power television licenses by
the Federal Communications Commission, a small number of
license holders have operated their stations in a manner
beneficial to the public good providing broadcasting to their
communities that would not otherwise be available.
(2) These low-power broadcasters have operated their
stations in a manner consistent with the programming objectives
and hours of operation of full-power broadcasters providing
worthwhile services to their respective communities while under
severe license limitations compared to their full-power
counterparts.
(3) License limitations, particularly the temporary nature
of the license, have blocked many low-power broadcasters from
having access to capital, and have severely hampered their
ability to continue to provide quality broadcasting,
programming, or improvements.
(4) The passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has
added to the uncertainty of the future status of these stations
by the lack of specific provisions regarding the permanency of
their licenses, or their treatment during the transition to
high definition, digital television.
(5) It is in the public interest to promote diversity in
television programming such as that currently provided by low-
power television stations to foreign-language communities.
SEC. 3. PRESERVATION OF LOW-POWER COMMUNITY TELEVISION BROADCASTING.
Section 336 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 336) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections
(g) and (h), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new
subsection:
``(f) Preservation of Low-Power Community Television
Broadcasting.--
``(1) Creation of class a licenses.--
``(A) Rulemaking required.--Within 120 days after
the date of enactment of the Community Broadcasters
Protection Act of 1999, the Commission shall prescribe
regulations to establish a class A television license
to be available to licensees of qualifying low-power
television stations. Such regulations shall provide
that--
``(i) the license shall be subject to the
same license terms and renewal standards as the
licenses for full-power television stations
except as provided in this subsection; and
``(ii) each such class A licensee shall be
accorded primary status as a television
broadcaster as long as the station continues to
meet the requirements for a qualifying low-
power station in paragraph (2).
``(B) Notice to and certification by licensees.--
Within 30 days after the enactment of the Community
Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999, the Commission
shall send a notice to the licensees of all low-power
televisions licenses that describes the requirements
for class A designation. Within 60 days after such date
of enactment, licensees intending to seek class A
designation shall submit to the Commission a
certification of eligibility based on the qualification
requirements of this subsection. Absent a material
deficiency, the Commission shall grant certification of
eligibility to apply for class A status.
``(C) Application for and award of licenses.--
Consistent with the requirements set forth in paragraph
(2)(A) of this subsection, a licensee may submit an
application for class A designation under this
paragraph within 30 days after final regulations are
adopted pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
Except as provided in paragraphs (6) and (7), the
Commission shall, within 30 days after receipt of an
application of a licensee of a qualifying low-power
television station that is acceptable for filing, award
such a class A television station license to such
licensee.
``(D) Resolution of technical problems.--The
Commission shall act to preserve the service area of
each low-power television licensee pending the final
resolution of the class A application of such licensee.
If, after granting certification of eligibility for a
class A license, technical problems arise requiring an
engineering solution to a full-power station's allotted
parameters or channel assignment in the digital
television Table of Allotments, the Commission shall
make such modifications, as necessary, to ensure
replication of the full-power digital television
applicant's service area, as provided for in section
73.622 of the Commission's regulations (47 CFR 73.622).
``(2) Qualifying low-power television stations.--For
purposes of this subsection, a station is a qualifying low-
power television station if--
``(A)(i) during the 90 days preceding the date of
enactment of the Community Broadcasters Protection Act
of 1999--
``(I) such station broadcast a minimum of
18 hours per day;
``(II) such station broadcast an average of
at least 3 hours per week of programming that
was produced within the market area served by
such station, or the market area served by a
group of commonly controlled low-power stations
that carry common local programming produced
within the market area served by such group;
and
``(III) such station was in compliance with
the Commission's requirements applicable to
low-power television stations; and
``(ii) from and after the date of its application
for a class A license, the station is in compliance
with the Commission's operating rules for full-power
television stations; or
``(B) the Commission determines that the public
interest, convenience, and necessity would be served by
treating the station as a qualifying low-power
television station for purposes of this section, or for
other reasons determined by the Commission.
``(3) Common ownership.--No low-power television station
authorized as of the date of enactment of the Community
Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999 shall be disqualified for a
class A license based on common ownership with any other medium
of mass communication.
``(4) Issuance of licenses for advanced television services
to television translator stations and qualifying low-power
television stations.--The Commission is not required to issue
any additional license for advanced television services to the
licensee of a class A television station under this subsection,
or to any licensee of any television translator station, but
shall accept a license application for such services proposing
facilities that will not cause interference to the service area
of any other broadcast facility applied for, protected,
permitted, or authorized on the date of filing of the advanced
television application. Such new license or the original
license of the applicant shall be forfeited after the end of
the digital television service transition period, as determined
by the Commission. A licensee of a low-power television station
or television translator station may, at the option of
licensee, elect to convert to the provision of advanced
television services on its analog channel, but shall not be
required to convert to digital operation until the end of such
transition period.
``(5) No preemption of section 337.--Nothing in this
subsection preempts or otherwise affects section 337 of this
Act.
``(6) Interim qualification.--
``(A) Stations operating within certain
bandwidth.--The Commission may not grant a class A
license to a low-power television station for operation
between 698 and 806 megahertz, but the Commission shall
provide to low-power television stations assigned to
and temporarily operating in that bandwidth the
opportunity to meet the qualification requirements for
a class A license. If such a qualified applicant for a
class A license is assigned a channel within the
core spectrum (as such term is defined in MM Docket 87-286, February
17, 1998), the Commission shall issue a class A license simultaneously
with the assignment of such channel.
``(B) Certain channels off-limits.--The Commission
may not grant under this subsection a class A license
to a low-power television station operating on a
channel within the core spectrum that includes any of
the 175 additional channels referenced in paragraph 45
of its February 23, 1998, Memorandum Opinion and Order
on Reconsideration of the Sixth Report and Order (MM
Docket No. 87-268). Within 18 months after the date of
enactment of the Community Broadcasters Protection Act
of 1999, the Commission shall identify by channel,
location, and applicable technical parameters those 175
channels.
``(7) No interference requirement.--The Commission may not
grant a class A license, nor approve a modification of a class
A license, unless the applicant or licensee shows that the
class A station for which the license or modification is sought
will not cause--
``(A) interference within--
``(i) the predicted Grade B contour (as of
the date of enactment of the Community
Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999, or
November 1, 1999, whichever is later, or as
proposed in a change application filed on or
before such date) of any television station
transmitting in analog format; or
``(ii)(I) the digital television service
areas provided in the DTV Table of Allotments,
(II) the areas protected in the Commission's
digital television regulations (47 CFR 73.622
(e) and (f)), or (III) the digital television
service areas of stations subsequently granted
by the Commission prior to the filing of a
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