I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1869

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to extend the authorization

of appropriations of the Federal Communications Commission, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 16, 1995

Mr. FIELDS of Texas (for himself and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to extend the

authorization of appropriations of the Federal Communications Commission, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Communica5 tions Commission Authorization Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.

7 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

8 6 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 156)

9 is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for the ad3 ministration of this Act by the Commission $186,000,000

4 for fiscal year 1996, together with such sums as may be

5 necessary for increases resulting from adjustments in sal6 ary, pay, retirement, other employee benefits required by

7 law, and other nondiscretionary costs, for fiscal year 1996.

8 Of the sum appropriated in each fiscal year under this

9 section, a portion, in an amount determined under sections

10 8(b) and 9(b), shall be derived from fees authorized by

11 sections 8 and 9.’’.

12 (b) TRAVEL AND REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM.—Sec13 tion 4(g)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

14 U.S.C. 154(g)(2)) is amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(2) The Commission shall submit to the appropriate

16 committees of Congress, and publish in the Federal Reg17 ister, semiannual reports specifying the reimbursements

18 which the Commission has accepted under section 1353

19 of title 31, United States Code.’’.

20 (c) COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT FROM OLDER AMER21 ICANS.—Section 6(a) of the Federal Communications

22 Commission Authorization Act of 1988 (47 U.S.C. 154

23 note) is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal years 1992 and 1993’’

24 and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 1996’’.
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1 SEC. 3. APPLICATION FEES.

2 (a) ADJUSTMENT OF APPLICATION FEE SCHED3 ULE.—Section 8(b) of the Communications Act of 1934

4 (47 U.S.C. 158(b)) is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(b)(1) For fiscal year 1996 and each fiscal year

6 thereafter, the Commission shall, by regulation, modify

7 the application fees by proportionate increases or de8 creases so as to result in estimated total collections for

9 the fiscal year equal to—

10 ‘‘(A) $40,000,000; plus

11 ‘‘(B) an additional amount, specified in an ap12 propriation Act for the Commission for that fiscal

13 year to be collected and credited to such appropria14 tion, not to exceed the amount by which the nec15 essary expenses for the costs described in paragraph

16 (5) exceeds $40,000,000.

17 ‘‘(2) In making adjustments pursuant to this para18 graph the Commission may round such fees to the nearest

19 $5.00 in the case of fees under $100, or to the nearest

20 $20 in the case of fees of $100 or more. The Commission

21 shall transmit to the Congress notification of any adjust22 ment made pursuant to this paragraph immediately upon

23 the adoption of such adjustment.

24 ‘‘(3) The Commission is authorized to continue to col25 lect fees at the prior year’s rate until the effective date
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1 of fee adjustments or amendments made pursuant to para2 graphs (1) and (4).

3 ‘‘(4) The Commission shall, by regulation, add, de4 lete, or reclassify services, categories, applications, or

5 other filings subject to application fees to reflect additions,

6 deletions, or changes in the nature of its services or au7 thorization of service processes as a consequence of Com8 mission rulemaking proceedings or changes in law.

9 ‘‘(5) Any modified fees established under paragraph

10 (4) shall be derived by determining the full-time equivalent

11 number of employees performing application activities, ad12 justed to take into account other expenses that are reason13 ably related to the cost of processing the application or

14 filing, including all executive and legal costs incurred by

15 the Commission in the discharge of these functions, and

16 other factors that the Commission determines are nec17 essary in the public interest. The Commission shall—

18 ‘‘(A) transmit to the Congress notification of

19 any proposed modification made pursuant to this

20 paragraph immediately upon adoption of such pro21 posal; and

22 ‘‘(B) transmit to the Congress notification of

23 any modification made pursuant to this paragraph

24 immediately upon adoption of such modification.
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1 ‘‘(6) Increases or decreases in application fees made

2 pursuant to this subsection shall not be subject to judicial

3 review.’’.

4 (b) TREATMENT OF ADDITIONAL COLLECTIONS.—

5 Section 8(e) of such Act is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(e) Of the moneys received from fees authorized

7 under this section—

8 ‘‘(1) $40,000,000 shall be deposited in the gen9 eral fund of the Treasury to reimburse the United

10 States for amounts appropriated for use by the

11 Commission in carrying out its functions under this

12 Act; and

13 ‘‘(2) the remainder shall be deposited as an off14 setting collection in, and credited to, the account

15 providing appropriations to carry out the functions

16 of the Commission.’’.

17 (c) SCHEDULE OF APPLICATION FEES FOR PCS.—

18 The schedule of application fees in section 8(g) of such

19 Act is amended by adding, at the end of the portion under

20 the heading ‘‘COMMON CARRIER SERVICES’’, the following

21 new item:

‘‘23. Personal communications services

‘‘a. Initial or new application ....................................................... 230

‘‘b. Amendment to pending application ....................................... 35

‘‘c. Application for assignment or transfer of control ................. 230

‘‘d. Application for renewal of license .......................................... 35

‘‘e. Request for special temporary authority ............................... 200

‘‘f. Notification of completion of construction ............................. 35

‘‘g. Request to combine service areas .......................................... 50’’.
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1 (d) VANITY CALL SIGNS.—

2 (1) LIFETIME LICENSE FEES.—

3 (A) AMENDMENT.—The schedule of appli4 cation fees in section 8(g) of such Act is further

5 amended by adding, at the end of the portion

6 under the heading ‘‘PRIVATE RADIO SERVICES’’,

7 the following new item:

‘‘11. Amateur vanity call signs ........................................................ 150.00’’.

8 (B) TREATMENT OF RECEIPTS.—Moneys

9 received from fees established under the amend10 ment made by this subsection shall be deposited

11 as an offsetting collection in, and credited to,

12 the account providing appropriations to carry

13 out the functions of the Commission.

14 (2) TERMINATION OF ANNUAL REGULATORY

15 FEES.—The schedule of regulatory fees in section

16 9(g) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 159(g)) is amended by

17 striking the following item from the fees applicable

18 to the Private Radio Bureau:

‘‘Amateur vanity call-signs ................................................... 7’’.

19 SEC. 4. REGULATORY FEES.

20 (a) EXECUTIVE AND LEGAL COSTS.—Section 9(a)(1)

21 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 159(a)(1))

22 is amended by inserting before the period at the end the
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1 following: ‘‘, and all executive and legal costs incurred by

2 the Commission in the discharge of these functions’’.

3 (b) ESTABLISHMENT AND ADJUSTMENT.—Section

4 9(b) of such Act is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘90 days’’

6 and inserting ‘‘45 days’’; and

7 (2) by adding at the end the following new

8 paragraph:

9 ‘‘(5) EFFECTIVE DATE OF ADJUSTMENTS.—The

10 Commission is authorized to continue to collect fees

11 at the prior year’s rate until the effective date of fee

12 adjustments or amendments made pursuant to para13 graph (2) or (3).’’.

14 (c) REGULATORY FEES FOR SATELLITE TV OPER15 ATIONS.—The schedule of regulatory fees in section 9(g)

16 of such Act is amended, in the fees applicable to the Mass

17 Media Bureau, by inserting after each of the items per18 taining to construction permits in the fees applicable to

19 VHF commercial and UHF commercial TV the following

20 new item:

‘‘Terrestrial television satellite operations .................... 500’’.

21 (d) GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES USE FOR COMMON

22 CARRIER PURPOSES.—Section 9(h) of such Act is amend23 ed by adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘The

24 exceptions provided by this subsection for governmental
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1 entities shall not be applicable to any services that are pro2 vided on a commercial basis in competition with another

3 carrier.’’.

4 (e) INFORMATION REQUIRED IN CONNECTION WITH

5 ADJUSTMENT OF REGULATORY FEES.—Title I of such

6 Act is amended—

7 (1) in section 9, by striking subsection (i); and

8 (2) by inserting after section 9 the following

9 new section:

10 ‘‘SEC. 10. ACCOUNTING SYSTEM AND ADJUSTMENT INFOR11 MATION.

12 ‘‘(a) ACCOUNTING SYSTEM REQUIRED.—The Com13 mission shall develop accounting systems for the purposes

14 of making the adjustments authorized by sections 8 and

15 9. The Commission shall annually prepare and submit to

16 the Congress an analysis of such systems and shall annu17 ally afford interested persons the opportunity to submit

18 comments concerning the allocation of the costs of per19 forming the functions described in section 8(a)(5) and

20 9(a)(1) in making such adjustments in the schedules re21 quired by sections 8 and 9.

22 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION REQUIRED IN CONNECTION WITH

23 ADJUSTMENT OF APPLICATION AND REGULATORY

24 FEES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) SCHEDULE OF REQUESTED AMOUNTS.—

2 No later than May 1 of each calendar year, the

3 Commission shall prepare and transmit to the Com4 mittees of Congress responsible for the Commis5 sion’s authorization and appropriations a detailed

6 schedule of the amounts requested by the Presi7 dent’s budget to be appropriated for the ensuing fis8 cal year for the activities described in sections

9 8(a)(5) and 9(a)(1), allocated by bureaus, divisions,

10 and offices of the Commission.

11 ‘‘(2) EXPLANATORY STATEMENT.—If the Com12 mission anticipates increases in the application fees

13 or regulatory fees applicable to any applicant, li14 censee, or unit subject to payment of fees, the Com15 mission shall submit to the Congress by May 1 of

16 such calendar year a statement explaining the rela17 tionship between any such increases and either (A)

18 increases in the amounts requested to be appro19 priated for Commission activities in connection with

20 such applicants, licensees, or units subject to pay21 ment of fees, or (B) additional activities to be per22 formed with respect to such applicants, licensees, or

23 units.

24 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub25 section, the term ‘amount requested by the Presi-
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1 dent’s budget’ shall include any adjustments to such

2 requests that are made by May 1 of such calendar

3 year. If any such adjustment is made after May 1,

4 the Commission shall provide such Committees with

5 updated schedules and statements containing the in6 formation required by this subsection within 10 days

7 after the date of any such adjustment.’’.

8 SEC. 5. INSPECTION OF SHIP RADIO STATIONS.

9 (a) AUTHORITY TO DESIGNATE ENTITIES TO IN10 SPECT.—Section 4(f)(3) of the Communications Act of

11 1934 (47 U.S.C. 154(f)(3)) is amended by adding at the

12 end the following: ‘‘And provided further, That, in the al13 ternative, an entity designated by the Commission may

14 make the inspections referred to in this paragraph.’’.

15 (b) CONDUCT OF INSPECTIONS.—Section 362(b) of

16 such Act (47 U.S.C. 362(b)) is amended to read as

17 follows:

18 ‘‘(b) Every ship of the United States that is subject

19 to this part shall have the equipment and apparatus pre20 scribed therein inspected at least once each year by the

21 Commission or an entity designated by the Commission.

22 If, after such inspection, the Commission is satisfied that

23 all relevant provisions of this Act and the station license

24 have been complied with, the fact shall be certified to on

25 the station license by the Commission. The Commission
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1 shall make such additional inspections at frequent inter2 vals as the Commission determines may be necessary to

3 ensure compliance with the requirements of this Act. The

4 Commission may, upon a finding that the public interest

5 could be served thereby—

6 ‘‘(1) waive the annual inspection required under

7 this section for a period of up to 90 days for the sole

8 purpose of enabling a vessel to complete its voyage

9 and proceed to a port in the United States where an

10 inspection can be held; or

11 ‘‘(2) waive the annual inspection required under

12 this section for a vessel that is in compliance with

13 the radio provisions of the Safety Convention and

14 that is operating solely in waters beyond the juris15 diction of the United States, provided that such in16 spection shall be performed within 30 days of such

17 vessel’s return to the United States.’’.

18 (c) INSPECTION BY OTHER ENTITIES.—Section 385

19 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 385) is amended by inserting ‘‘or

20 an entity designated by the Commission’’ after ‘‘The Com21 mission’’.

22 SEC. 6. EXPEDITED ITFS PROCESSING.

23 Section 5(c)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934

24 (47 U.S.C. 155(c)(1)) is amended by striking the last sen25 tence and inserting the following: ‘‘Except for cases involv-
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1 ing the authorization of service in the Instructional Tele2 vision Fixed Service, or as otherwise provided in this Act,

3 nothing in this paragraph shall authorize the Commission

4 to provide for the conduct, by any person or persons other

5 than persons referred to in paragraph (2) or (3) of section

6 556(b) of title 5, United States Code, of any hearing to

7 which such section applies.’’.

8 SEC. 7. TARIFF REJECTION AUTHORITY.

9 Section 203(d) of the Communications Act of 1934

10 (47 U.S.C. 203(d)) is amended by inserting after the first

11 sentence the following new sentences: ‘‘The Commission

12 may, after affording interested parties an opportunity to

13 comment, reject a proposed tariff filing in whole or in

14 part, if the filing or any part thereof is patently unlawful.

15 In evaluating whether a proposed tariff filing is patently

16 unlawful, the Commission may consider additional infor17 mation filed by the carrier or any interested party and

18 shall presume the facts alleged by the carrier to be true.’’.

19 SEC. 8. REFUND AUTHORITY.

20 Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

21 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end there22 of the following new section:

23 ‘‘SEC. 230. REFUND AUTHORITY.

24 ‘‘In addition to any other provision of this Act under

25 which the Commission may order refunds, the Commission
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1 may require by order the refund of such portion of any

2 charge by any carrier or carriers as results from a viola3 tion of section 220 (a), (b), or (d) or 221 (c) or (d) or

4 of any of the rules promulgated pursuant to such sections

5 or pursuant to section 215, 218, or 219. Such refunds

6 shall be ordered only to the extent that the Commission

7 or a court finds that such violation resulted in unlawful

8 charges and shall be made to such persons or classes of

9 persons as the Commission determines reasonably rep10 resent the persons from whom amounts were improperly

11 received by reason of such violation. No refunds shall be

12 required under this section unless—

13 ‘‘(1) the Commission issues an order advising

14 the carrier of its potential refund liability and pro15 vides the carrier with an opportunity to file written

16 comments as to why refunds should not be required;

17 and

18 ‘‘(2) such order is issued not later than 5 years

19 after the date the charge was paid.

20 In the case of a continuing violation, a violation shall be

21 considered to occur on each date that the violation is re22 peated.’’.
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1 SEC. 9. LICENSING OF AVIATION, MARITIME, AND PER2 SONAL RADIO SERVICES BY RULE.

3 Section 307(e) of the Communications Act of 1934

4 (47 U.S.C. 307(e)) is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(e)(1) Notwithstanding any license requirement es6 tablished in this Act, if the Commission determines that

7 such authorization serves the public interest, convenience,

8 and necessity, the Commission may by rule authorize the

9 operation of radio stations without individual licenses in

10 the following radio services: (A) the personal radio serv11 ices; (B) the aviation radio service for aircraft stations op12 erated on domestic flights when such aircraft are not oth13 erwise required to carry a radio station; and (C) the mari14 time radio service for ship stations navigated on domestic

15 voyages when such ships are not otherwise required to

16 carry a radio station.

17 ‘‘(2) Any radio station operator who is authorized by

18 the Commission to operate without an individual license

19 shall comply with all other provisions of this Act and with

20 rules prescribed by the Commission under this Act.

21 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the terms ‘per22 sonal radio services’, ‘aircraft station’, and ‘ship station’

23 shall have the meanings given them by the Commission

24 by rule, except that the term ‘personal radio services’ shall

25 not include the amateur service.’’.
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1 SEC. 10. AUCTION TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

2 (a) FUNDING AVAILABILITY.—Section 309(j)(8)(B)

3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.

4 309(j)(8)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the follow5 ing new sentence: ‘‘Such offsetting collections are author6 ized to remain available until expended.’’.

7 (b) ESCROW OF DEPOSITS.—Section 309(j)(8) of

8 such Act is further amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing new subparagraph:

10 ‘‘(C) ESCROW OF DEPOSIT.—The Commis11 sion is authorized, based on the competitive bid12 ding methodology selected, to provide for the

13 deposit of moneys for bids in an interest-bear14 ing account until such time as the Commission

15 accepts a deposit from the high bidder. All in16 terest earned on bid moneys received from the

17 winning bidder shall be deposited into the gen18 eral fund of the Treasury. All interest earned

19 on bid moneys deposited from unsuccessful bid20 ders, less any applicable fees and penalties,

21 shall be paid to those bidders.’’.

22 SEC. 11. FORFEITURES FOR VIOLATIONS IMPERILING

23 SAFETY OF LIFE.

24 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS.—Section 312(a) of

25 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 312(a)) is

26 amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph

2 (6);

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new

6 paragraph:

7 ‘‘(8) for failure to comply with any requirement

8 of this Act or the Commission’s rules that imperils

9 the safety of life.’’.

10 (b) FORFEITURES.—Section 503(b)(1) of such Act

11 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(1)) is amended—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph

13 (C);

14 (2) by striking the semicolon at the end of sub15 paragraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

16 (3) by adding after subparagraph (D) the fol17 lowing new subparagraph:

18 ‘‘(E) failed to comply with any requirement of

19 this Act or the Commission’s rules that imperils the

20 safety of life;’’.

21 SEC. 12. USE OF EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.

22 Section 4(f)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934

23 (47 U.S.C. 154) is amended by adding at the end thereof

24 the following: ‘‘The Commission may also procure the

25 services of experts and consultants in accordance with sec-
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1 tion 3109 of title 5, United States Code, relating to ap2 pointments in the Federal Service, at rates of compensa3 tion for individuals not to exceed the daily rate equivalent

4 to the maximum rate payable for senior-level positions

5 under section 5276 of title 5, United States Code.’’.

6 SEC. 13. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR FORFEITURE PRO7 CEEDINGS AGAINST COMMON CARRIERS.

8 Section 503(b)(6) of the Communications Act of

9 1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(6)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph

11 (A);

12 (2) by inserting ‘‘and is not a common carrier’’

13 after ‘‘title III of this Act’’ in subparagraph (B);

14 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub15 paragraph (C); and

16 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol17 lowing new subparagraph:

18 ‘‘(B) such person is a common carrier and the

19 required notice of apparent liability is issued more

20 than 5 years after the date the violation charged oc21 curred; or’’.
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1 SEC. 14. UTILIZATION OF FM BAND FOR ASSISTIVE DE2 VICES FOR HEARING IMPAIRED INDIVID3 UALS.

4 Within 6 months after the date of enactment of this

5 Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall report

6 to the Congress on the existing and future use of the FM

7 band to facilitate the use of auditory assistive devices for

8 individuals with hearing impairments. In preparing such

9 report, the Commission shall consider—

10 (1) the potential for utilizing FM band auditory

11 assistive devices to comply with the American with

12 Disabilities Act;

13 (2) the impact on such compliance of the vul14 nerability of such devices to harmful interference

15 from radio licensees; and

16 (3) alternative frequency allocations that could

17 facilitate such compliance.

18 SEC. 15. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.

19 Section 302(d)(1) of the Communications Act of

20 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(d)(1)) is amended—

21 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘allocated

22 to the domestic cellular radio telecommunications

23 service’’ and inserting ‘‘utilized to provide commer24 cial mobile service (as defined in section 332(d))’’;

25 and
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1 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘cellular’’

2 and inserting ‘‘commercial mobile service’’.

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