A bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934 and the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to better inform the electorate in Senate elections.

Summary: Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require television stations to make three hours of broadcast time during a prime time access period available at no charge to each Senatorial campaign committee of a political party. 
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for the designation of such committees and the allocation by them of the free broadcast time among the party candidates.

SECTION 1. AVAILABILITY OF FREE BROADCAST TIME.

    Title III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) 
is amended by inserting after section 315 the following new section:

              ``free broadcast time for senate candidates

    ``Sec. 315A. (a) In addition to broadcast time that a licensee 
makes available to a candidate under section 315(a), a television 
station licensee shall make available at no charge, for allocation to 
Senate candidates within its broadcast area under section 503 of the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, 3 hours of broadcast time during 
a prime time access period described in section 501 of that Act to each 
Senatorial campaign committee designated under section 502 of that Act.
    ``(b) An appearance by a candidate on a news or public service 
program at the invitation of a television station or other organization 
that presents such a program shall not be counted toward time made 
available pursuant to subsection (a).''.

SEC. 2. ALLOCATION BY SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES.

    The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following new title:

           ``TITLE V--DISSEMINATION OF POLITICAL INFORMATION

``SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For the purposes of this title--
            ``(1) the term `free broadcast time' means time provided by 
        a television station during a prime time access period pursuant 
        to section 315A of the Communications Act of 1934;
            ``(2) the term `major party' means a political party whose 
        candidate the Senate in a State placed first or second in the 
        number of popular votes received in either of the 2 most recent 
        general elections;
            ``(3) the term `minor party' means a political party other 
        than a major party--
                    ``(A) whose candidate for the Senate in a State 
                received more than 5 percent of the popular vote in the 
                most recent general election; or
                    ``(B) which files with the Commission, not later 
                than 90 days before the date of a general or special 
                election in a State, the number of signatures of 
                registered voters in the State that is equal to 5 
                percent of the popular vote for the office of Senator 
                in the most recent general or special election in the 
                State;
            ``(4) the term `prime time access period' means the time 
        between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. of a weekday during the period 
        beginning on the date that is 60 days before the date of a 
        general election or special election for the Senate and ending 
        on the day before the date of the election; and
            ``(5) the term `Senatorial campaign committee' means the 
        committee of a political party designated under section 602.

``SEC. 502. DESIGNATION OF SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEES.

    ``(a) Application.--(1)(A) The national committee of a major party 
or minor party that has established a committee for the specific 
purpose of providing support to candidates for the Senate may file with 
the Commission an application for designation of that committee as the 
Senatorial campaign committee of that political party for the purposes 
of this title.
    ``(B) The national committee of a major party or minor party that 
has not established a committee for the specific purpose of providing 
support to candidates for the Senate may file with the Commission an 
application for designation of the national committee as the Senatorial 
campaign committee of that political party for the purposes of this 
title.
    ``(2) An application under paragraph (1) shall be in such form as 
the Commission may require and shall include a certification by the 
applicant that the Senatorial campaign committee will--
            ``(A) allocate free broadcast time in accordance with 
        section 503 to candidates for the Senate in general and special 
        elections in which at least 1 other candidate for the Senate 
        have qualified for the general election ballot;
            ``(B) keep and furnish to the Commission any books, 
        records, or other information it may request; and
            ``(C) cooperate in any audit by the Commission.
    ``(3) The Commission shall determine whether to approve or deny an 
application under this section not later than 7 days after receipt.
    ``(b) If the Commission makes a determination to deny an 
application under this section, the applicant shall be afforded a 
hearing with respect to the determination in accordance with section 
554 of title 5, United States Code.

``SEC. 503. ALLOCATION AND USE OF FREE BROADCAST TIME.

    ``(a) Allocation.--A Senatorial campaign committee of a political 
party shall allocate free broadcast time made available by a television 
station licensee under section 315A of the Communications Act of 1934 
among the candidates of that party for the Senate in the licensee's 
broadcast area.
    ``(b) Use.--A Senatorial campaign committee shall ensure that--
            ``(1) free broadcast time is used in a manner that promotes 
        a rational discussion and debate of issues with respect to the 
        elections involved;
            ``(2) in programs in which free broadcast time is used, not 
        more than 25 percent of the time of the broadcast shall consist 
        of presentations other than a candidate's own remarks;
            ``(3) free broadcast time is used in segments of not less 
        than 1 minute; and
            ``(4) not more than 15 minutes of free broadcast time is 
        used by any 1 candidate in a 24-hour period.

``SEC. 504. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

    ``The Commission shall submit to Congress, not later than June 1 of 
each year that follows a year in a general election for the Senate is 
held, a report setting forth the amount of free broadcast time 
allocated to candidates under section 503.

``SEC. 505. PARTICIPATION BY COMMISSION IN JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Commission may appear in any action filed 
under this section, either by attorneys employed in its office or by 
counsel whom it may appoint without regard to the provisions of title 
5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 
service, and whose compensation it may fix without regard to the 
provisions of chapter 51 and title III of chapter 53 of that title.
    ``(b) Enforcement.--The Commission may petition a district court of 
the United States for declaratory or injunctive relief concerning any 
civil matter arising under this title, through attorneys and counsel 
described in subsection (a).
    ``(c) Appeals.--The Commission may, on behalf of the United States, 
appeal from, and petition the Supreme Court of the United States for 
certiorari to review, a judgment or decree entered with respect to an 
action in which it appeared pursuant to this section.''.