Protecting Community Television Act
Latest action · Feb 17, 2023 Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
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.
- IntroducedFeb 9, 2023
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Protecting Community Television Act
This bill limits the scope of the franchise fee paid by cable operators to encompass only a tax, fee, or other monetary assessment. (This fee is charged by a state or local authority for a franchise that a cable operator must obtain in order to provide its services in a particular area.)
Historically, the franchise fee, which is capped at 5% of the franchise holder's gross revenues from providing cable services, did not include certain in-kind contributions and other costs, including some costs that support public, educational, and governmental (PEG) access channels. However, under a rule adopted on August 1, 2019, the Federal Communications Commission included most cable-related in-kind contributions and costs for PEG channels (except for certain capital costs) paid by new entrants and incumbent cable operators as part of the franchise fee, and therefore subject to the cap. This bill excludes those contributions and costs from the cap.
Cosponsors 36
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 9, 2023 to Apr 9, 2024; 13 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-MD | David J. Trone | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-MN | Dean Phillips | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-MI | Elissa Slotkin | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-MA | Jake Auchincloss | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-CA | Jared Huffman | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-CA | Jimmy Panetta | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Original | Feb 9, 2023 |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Feb 24, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Doris O. Matsui | Mar 1, 2023 | |
| D-PA | Dwight Evans | Mar 30, 2023 | |
| D-IN | André Carson | Apr 19, 2023 | |
| D-HI | Ed Case | May 5, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | May 9, 2023 | |
| D-MN | Ilhan Omar | May 10, 2023 | |
| D-HI | Jill N. Tokuda | May 17, 2023 | |
| D-VT | Becca Balint | Nov 1, 2023 | |
| D-MA | Stephen F. Lynch | Dec 5, 2023 | |
| D-IL | Danny K. Davis | Dec 7, 2023 | |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Dec 7, 2023 | |
| D-MA | William R. Keating | Dec 12, 2023 | |
| D-CA | Jim Costa | Dec 13, 2023 | |
| D-MN | Angie Craig | Feb 5, 2024 | |
| D-CT | John B. Larson | Feb 13, 2024 | |
| D-CA | Katie Porter | Mar 11, 2024 | |
| D-MD | John P. Sarbanes | Mar 20, 2024 | |
| D-PA | Mary Gay Scanlon | Mar 22, 2024 | |
| D-NY | Jamaal Bowman | Mar 26, 2024 | |
| D-MA | Lori Trahan | Mar 26, 2024 | |
| D-MA | Richard E. Neal | Apr 2, 2024 | |
| D-MA | Ayanna Pressley | Apr 9, 2024 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred Feb 9, 2023 |
| Communications and Technology Subcommittee | Referred Feb 17, 2023 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 17, 2023Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
- Feb 9, 2023Introduced in House
- Feb 9, 2023Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 169, no. 27, February 9, 2023, page H827.
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 340 | Protecting Community Television Act | Identical bill | Feb 9, 2023 |
| HR 6219 | Protecting Community Television Act | Reintroduction of | Dec 10, 2021 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to modify the definition of franchise fee, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Protecting Community Television Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 9, 2023Introduced 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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
