Noncommercial Broadcasting Freedom of Expression Act of 2000

Noncommercial Broadcasting Freedom of Expression Act of 2000 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to allow a nonprofit organization to hold a noncommercial educational (NCE) radio or television license if the station is used primarily to broadcast material that such organization or entity determines serves an educational, instructional, cultural, or religious purpose in that community, unless such determination is arbitrary or unreasonable.

Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from: (1) imposing or enforcing any quantitative requirement on NCE licenses based on the number of hours of programming that serve such purposes; or (2) imposing or enforcing any other programming content requirement on an NCE license that is not imposed on a licensee, permittee, or applicant for a commercial radio or television license. Specifies that NCE licensees remain subject to applicable provisions of the Children's Television Act and the requirements of the Public Broadcasting Act.

Exempts NCE stations from requirements to make broadcast stations accessible to political candidates and directs the FCC to amend its rules governing political broadcasting to provide that such rules do not apply to NCE stations.

Requires each public telecommunications entity that receives funds from donors to undergo an annual audit (current law) which shall include a determination of such entity's compliance with donor privacy protection requirements.

Prohibits the FCC from establishing, expanding, or otherwise modifying requirements relating to the service obligations of noncommercial educational radio or television stations except by means of agency rulemaking.

[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4201 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4201

    To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify the service 
      obligations of noncommercial educational broadcast stations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2000

Mr. Pickering (for himself, Mr. Oxley, Mr. Tauzin, Mr. Largent, and Mr. 
   Stearns) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify the service 
      obligations of noncommercial educational broadcast stations.

    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 ``Noncommercial Broadcasting Freedom 
of Expression Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) In the additional guidance contained in the Federal 
        Communication Commission's memorandum opinion and order in WQED 
        Pittsburgh (FCC 99-393), adopted December 15, 1999, and 
        released December 29, 1999, the Commission attempted to impose 
        content-based programming requirements on noncommercial 
        educational television broadcasters without the benefit of 
        notice and comment in a rulemaking proceeding.
            (2) In doing so, the Commission did not adequately consider 
        the implications of its proposed guidelines on the rights of 
        such broadcasters under First Amendment and the Religious 
        Freedom Restoration Act.
            (3) Noncommercial educational broadcasters should be 
        responsible for using the station to primarily serve an 
        educational, instructional, or cultural purpose in its 
        community of license, and for making judgments about the types 
        of programming that serve those purposes.
            (4) The Commission should not engage in regulating the 
        content of speech broadcast by noncommercial educational 
        stations.

SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF SERVICE OBLIGATIONS OF NONCOMMERCIAL 
              EDUCATIONAL OR PUBLIC BROADCAST STATIONS.

    Section 309 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(m) Service Conditions on Noncommercial Educational and Public 
Broadcast Stations.--
            ``(1) In general.--A nonprofit organization or entity shall 
        be eligible to hold a noncommercial educational radio or 
        television license if the station is used primarily to 
        broadcast material that the organization or entity determines 
        serves an educational, instructional, or cultural purpose (or 
        any combination of such purposes) in the station's community of 
        license, unless that determination is arbitrary or 
        unreasonable.
            ``(2) Additional content-based requirements prohibited.--
        The Commission shall not--
                    ``(A) impose or enforce any quantitative 
                requirement on noncommercial educational radio or 
                television licenses based on the number of hours of 
                programming that serve educational, instructional, or 
                cultural purposes;
                    ``(B) prevent religious programming, including 
                religious services, from being determined by an 
                organization or entity to serve an educational, 
                instructional, or cultural purpose; or
                    ``(C) impose or enforce any other requirement on 
                the content of the programming broadcast by a licensee, 
                permittee, or applicant for a noncommercial educational 
                radio or television license that is not imposed and 
                enforced on a licensee, permittee, or applicant for a 
                commercial radio or television license, 
                respectively.''.

SEC. 4. RULEMAKING.

    (a) Limitation.--After the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Federal Communications Commission shall not establish, expand, or 
otherwise modify requirements relating to the service obligations of 
noncommercial educational radio or television stations except by means 
of agency rulemaking conducted in accordance with chapter 5 of title 5, 
United States Code, and other applicable law (including the amendment 
made by section 3).
    (b) Rulemaking Deadline.--The Federal Communications Commission 
shall prescribe such revisions to its regulations as may be necessary 
to comply with the amendment made by section 3 within 270 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act.
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