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[111th Congress Public Law 311]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]

[[Page 124 STAT. 3294]]

Public Law 111-311
111th Congress

                                 An Act

 
    To regulate the volume of audio on commercials. <<NOTE: Dec. 15, 
                          2010 -  [S. 2847]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Commercial 
Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act.>> 

SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 47 USC 609 note.>> SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Commercial Advertisement Loudness 
Mitigation Act'' or the ``CALM Act''.

SEC. 2. <<NOTE: 47 USC 621.>> RULEMAKING ON LOUD COMMERCIALS REQUIRED.

    (a) Rulemaking Required.--Within <<NOTE: Deadline.>>  1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission 
shall prescribe pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
151 et seq.) a regulation that is limited to incorporating by reference 
and making mandatory (subject to any waivers the Commission may grant) 
the ``Recommended Practice: Techniques for Establishing and Maintaining 
Audio Loudness for Digital Television'' (A/85), and any successor 
thereto, approved by the Advanced Television Systems Committee, only 
insofar as such recommended practice concerns the transmission of 
commercial advertisements by a television broadcast station, cable 
operator, or other multichannel video programming distributor.

    (b) Implementation.--
            (1) Effective date.--The Federal Communications Commission 
        shall prescribe that the regulation adopted pursuant to 
        subsection (a) shall become effective 1 year after the date of 
        its adoption.
            (2) Waiver.--For any television broadcast station, cable 
        operator, or other multichannel video programming distributor 
        that demonstrates that obtaining the equipment to comply with 
        the regulation adopted pursuant to subsection (a) would result 
        in financial hardship, the Federal Communications Commission may 
        grant a waiver of the effective date set forth in paragraph (1) 
        for 1 year and may renew such waiver for 1 additional year.
            (3) Waiver authority.--Nothing in this section affects the 
        Commission's authority under section 1.3 of its rules (47 C.F.R. 
        1.3) to waive any rule required by this Act, or the application 
        of any such rule, for good cause shown to a television broadcast 
        station, cable operator, or other multichannel video programming 
        distributor, or to a class of such stations, operators, or 
        distributors.

    (c) Compliance.--Any broadcast television operator, cable operator, 
or other multichannel video programming distributor that installs, 
utilizes, and maintains in a commercially reasonable

[[Page 124 STAT. 3295]]

manner the equipment and associated software in compliance with the 
regulations issued by the Federal Communications Commission in 
accordance with subsection (a) shall be deemed to be in compliance with 
such regulations.
    (d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            (1) the term ``television broadcast station'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 325 of the Communications Act 
        of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325); and
            (2) the terms ``cable operator'' and ``multi-channel video 
        programming distributor'' have the meanings given such terms in 
        section 602 of Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 522).

    Approved December 15, 2010.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 2847:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SENATE REPORTS: No. 111-340 (Comm. on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 156 (2010):
            Sept. 29, considered and passed Senate.
            Nov. 30, Dec. 2, considered and passed House.

                                  <all>
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