S. 1046 (108th): Preservation of Localism, Program Diversity, and Competition in Television Broadcast Service Act of 2003

Introduced:
May 13, 2003 (108th Congress, 2003–2004)
Sponsor:
Sen. Ted Stevens [R-AK]
Status:
Died (Reported by Committee)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced on June 19, 2003, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced May 13, 2003
Referred to Committee May 13, 2003
Reported by Committee Jun 19, 2003
Cosponsors
47 cosponsors (34D, 12R, 1I) (show)
Committees

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

A bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to preserve localism, to foster and promote the diversity of television programming, to foster and promote competition, and to prevent excessive concentration of ownership of the nation's television broadcast stations.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

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Last updated Sep 03, 2003.
12 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

9/3/2003.
Section 3 -
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from permitting any license for a commercial television broadcast station to be granted, transferred, or assigned to any party if such action would result in that party owning, operating, controlling, or having a cognizable interest in stations which have an aggregate national audience reach exceeding 35 percent.
Requires any party currently having licenses in excess of such limit to divest as necessary to comply with such limit within one year.
Section 4 -
Prohibits any party, after one year after the enactment of this Act, from exceeding the caps on local radio ownership established by the FCC in its media ownership proceeding.
Section 5 -
Amends the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to require the FCC: (1) to biennially review its broadcast media ownership rules (current law) and to change, repeal, or retain such rules, as appropriate; and (2) before changing, repealing, or retaining a rule, to hold at least five public hearings in different areas of the United States.
Section 7 -
Declares null and void the cross-media limits rule adopted by the FCC on June 2, 2003.
Reinstates the previous rules pertaining to broadcast-newspaper and radio-television cross-ownership, to be applied retroactively to such date.
Allows the public utility commission of a State of a small (rural) market with a Designated Market Area of 150 or higher to recommend, on a case-by-case basis, that the FCC grant a waiver of its cross-ownership rules if the public utility commission finds that the proposed transaction for which the waiver is required will enhance local news and information, promote the financial stability of a newspaper, radio station, or television station, or otherwise promote the public interest.
Authorizes the FCC to approve such recommendation within 60 days unless there is compelling evidence that the related transaction would be contrary to the public interest.

House Republican Conference Summary

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No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

Slip Laws

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United States Code

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Statutes at Large

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  • 110 Stat. 111