Media Ownership Reform Act of 2005
Latest action · Jul 14, 2005 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 14, 2005
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Media Ownership Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require a broadcast licensee to afford reasonable opportunity for the discussion of conflicting views on issues of public importance, consistent with the rules and policies of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in effect on January 1, 1987.
Prohibits the 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, or controlling, or having a cognizable interest in: (1) stations which have an aggregate national audience reach exceeding 25 percent; or (2) such station and a cable television system whose service area overlaps with such commercial station's predicted Grade B contour. Requires any party currently having a license in excess of such limits to divest as necessary to comply with such limits within one year. Reduces from eight to three years the duration of a broadcast station operating license.
Directs the FCC to modify its regulations concerning ownership of national and local radio broadcast stations to place limitations on such ownership (such limitations varying depending on the number of stations in the local market area).
Declares invalid and without legal effect the final rules adopted by the FCC pursuant to its media ownership proceeding, and announced on June 2, 2003 (such rules providing specified media ownership deregulation). Reinstates the rules in effect prior to such rules.
Requires the FCC to: (1) conduct, every three years, a review process concerning media ownership; and (2) prescribe rules to prevent persons controlling the distribution of video programming over network distribution systems from acquiring unreasonable proportions of such programming from subsidiaries or affiliates.
Requires each broadcast licensee, at least every two years, to submit to the FCC, and publish, a report on how the station is meeting the requirement to serve the public interest. Requires each licensee to hold at least two community public hearings per year to determine local needs and interests.
Cosponsors 16
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 14, 2005 to Jul 22, 2005, with 15 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-CA | Bob Filner | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-CA | Diane E. Watson | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-CA | Fortney Pete Stark | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-CA | Hilda L. Solis | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-VA | James P. Moran | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-WA | Jim McDermott | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-CA | Lynn C. Woolsey | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-NY | Major R. Owens | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-OH | Marcy Kaptur | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-CA | Maxine Waters | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Original | Jul 14, 2005 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 14, 2005Introduced in House
- Jul 14, 2005Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications.
- Administrative procedure
- Advertising
- Affiliated corporations
- Business records
- Cable television
- Commerce
- Competition
- Congress
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Corporate divestiture
- Deregulation
- Direct broadcast satellites
- Economic concentration
- Education
- Educational television
- Elementary and secondary education
- Fairness doctrine
- Families
- Federal Communications Commission
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Higher education
- Independent regulatory commissions
- Law
- Licenses
- Minorities
- Minority business enterprises
- Public interest
- Public meetings
- Public service advertising
- Radio broadcasting
- Radio stations
- Regulatory impact statements
- Restrictive trade practices
- Science, Technology, Communications
- Small business
- Subsidiary corporations
- Technological innovations
- Television and children
- Television broadcasting
- Television industry
- Television programs
- Television relay systems
- Television stations
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 14, 2005Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.