II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1260 

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to revise and update 

its sponsorship identification rules applicable to commercial and political 

advertising. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 7, 2015 

Mr. NELSON (for himself, Ms. WARREN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. MARKEY, 

Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. MCCASKILL, and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to revise 

and update its sponsorship identification rules applicable 

to commercial and political advertising. 

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 ‘‘Sunshine in Sponsor5 ship Identification Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Federal law has required broadcasters to 

2 identify the sponsors of broadcast content since the 

3 Radio Act of 1927 (47 U.S.C. 81 et seq.). 

4 (2) The Federal Communications Commission 

5 has had the authority to adopt and enforce rules re6 quiring the disclosure of the sponsors of commercial 

7 and political broadcasts since the passage of section 

8 317 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

9 317). 

10 (3) Section 317 of the Communications Act of 

11 1934 requires the full and fair disclosure of the true 

12 identity of the sponsors of all on-air commercial and 

13 political broadcasts. 

14 (4) In 1944, the Federal Communications Com15 mission adopted rules implementing section 317 of 

16 the Communications Act of 1934. Those rules re17 main largely in place today. 

18 (5) While the Federal Communications Com19 mission has periodically issued updated rules and 

20 guidance regarding its application of section 317 

21 and its rules promulgated under that section, the 

22 Commission has not engaged in a thorough review of 

23 those rules in many decades. 

24 (6) In a 2013 report, the Government Account25 ability Office recommended that the Federal ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 May 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1260.IS S1260

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1 munications Commission engage in a comprehensive 

2 review of its sponsorship identification rules to en3 sure that such rules are reflective of the current 

4 practices of commercial and political advertisers. 

5 (7) Given the dramatic changes in technology in 

6 the many years since the Federal Communications 

7 Commission put forth formal guidance on these 

8 issues, the Commission should review its sponsorship 

9 identification policies to make sure that American 

10 citizens are fully apprised of the identity of entities 

11 seeking to influence them. 

12 SEC. 3. MODERNIZATION OF SPONSORSHIP IDENTIFICA13 TION RULES. 

14 (a) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—Not later than 30 

15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal 

16 Communications Commission shall commence a rule17 making to update its rules and guidance promulgated 

18 under section 317 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

19 U.S.C. 317). 

20 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—As part of the rulemaking re21 quired under subsection (a), the Federal Communications 

22 Commission shall, at a minimum— 

23 (1) update and modernize its sponsorship iden24 tification rules and guidance to reflect current techVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 May 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1260.IS S1260

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1 nologies and commercial and political advertising 

2 practices; 

3 (2) ensure that political broadcasts include dis4 closures containing more detailed information about 

5 the identity of the true sponsors of such broadcasts; 

6 and 

7 (3) consider how best to require the disclosure 

8 of sponsorship identification information, including 

9 by requiring that more detailed sponsorship identi10 fication information be placed online or in another 

11 form more readily accessible to the public. 

12 (c) TIMEFRAME.—The Federal Communications 

13 Commission shall complete the rulemaking required by 

14 subsection (a) not later than 270 days after the date of 

15 enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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