II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2336

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to extend the authorization

of appropriations of the Federal Communications Commission, and for

other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 29 (legislative day, JULY 20), 1994

Mr. INOUYE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

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 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.

7 Section 6 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

8 U.S.C. 156) is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

2 ‘‘SEC. 6. There are authorized to be appropriated for

3 the administration of this Act by the Commission

4 $160,300,000 for fiscal year 1994 and $198,232,000 for

5 fiscal year 1995, together with such sums as may be nec6 essary for increases resulting from adjustments in salary,

7 pay, retirement, other employee benefits required by law,

8 and other nondiscretionary costs, for fiscal year 1995. Of

9 the sum appropriated in any fiscal year, a portion, in an

10 amount determined under sections 8(b) and 9(b), shall be

11 derived from fees authorized by sections 8 and 9.’’.

12 SEC. 3. TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT AUTHORITY.

13 Subsection (g) of section 4 of the Communications

14 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 154) is amended—

15 (1) by striking paragraph (2), and

16 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as (2).

17 SEC. 4. COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT FROM OLDER AMERI18 CANS.

19 Section 6(a) of the Federal Communications Commis20 sion Authorization Act of 1988 (47 U.S.C. 154 note) is

21 amended by striking ‘‘1992 and 1993,’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘1995 and 1996,’’.

23 SEC. 5. HAWAII MONITORING STATION.

24 Section 9(a) of the Federal Communications Commis25 sion Authorization Act of 1988 (Public Law 100–594; 102
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1 Stat. 3024) is amended by striking ‘‘1991, 1992, 1993,

2 and 1994’’ and inserting ‘‘1995, 1996, and 1997’’.

3 SEC. 6. INSPECTION OF SHIP RADIO STATIONS.

4 (a) CONTRACTING OUT INSPECTIONS.—Section

5 4(f)(3) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.

6 154(f)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this para8 graph, the Commission may designate an entity to make

9 the inspections referred to in this paragraph.’’.

10 (b) ANNUAL INSPECTION REQUIRED.—Section

11 362(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.

12 360(b)) is amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘as may’’ in the third sentence

14 and inserting ‘‘as the Commission determines to’’,

15 and

16 (2) by striking ‘‘thereby’’ and all that follows

17 and inserting the following: ‘‘thereby—

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

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

20 purpose of enabling a vessel to complete its voyage

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

22 inspection can be held, or

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

24 this section for a vessel that is in compliance with

25 the radio provisions of the Safety Convention and
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1 that is operating solely in waters beyond the juris2 diction of the United States, but the inspection shall

3 be performed within 30 days after the vessel’s return

4 to the United States.’’.

5 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 385 of the

6 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 385) is amend7 ed—

8 (1) by inserting ‘‘or an entity designated by the

9 Commission’’ after ‘‘Commission’’, and

10 (2) by striking out ‘‘as may’’ and inserting ‘‘as

11 the Commission determines to’’.

12 SEC. 7. EXPEDITED ITFS PROCESSING.

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

14 (47 U.S.C. 155(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘Nothing’’

15 and inserting ‘‘Except for cases involving the authoriza16 tion of service in the Instructional Television Fixed Serv17 ice, or as otherwise provided in this Act, nothing’’.

18 SEC. 8. APPLICATION FEES.

19 (a) MODIFICATION OF FEES.—Subsection (b) of sec20 tion 8 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.

21 158) is amended—

22 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as (6), and

23 (2) by striking out so much of such subsection

24 as precedes paragraph (6), as redesignated, and in25 serting the following:
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1 ‘‘(b)(1) For fiscal year 1995 and each fiscal year

2 thereafter, the Commission shall, by regulation, modify

3 the application fees by proportionate increases or de4 creases so as to result in estimated total collections for

5 the fiscal year equal to the sum of—

6 ‘‘(A) $40,000,000, plus

7 ‘‘(B) the amount specified in an appropriation

8 Act for the Commission for that fiscal year to be col9 lected and credited to such appropriation, not to ex10 ceed necessary expenses of the Commission.

11 ‘‘(2) The Commission may round the modified fees

12 to the nearest $5, in the case of fees under $100, or to

13 the nearest $20, in the case of fees of $100 or more. The

14 Commission shall transmit to the Congress notification of

15 any adjustment made under this paragraph immediately

16 upon the adoption of the adjustment.

17 ‘‘(3) The Commission may collect fees at the prior

18 year’s rate until the effective date of modifications, adjust19 ments, or amendments under this subsection.

20 ‘‘(4) The Commission by regulation shall add, delete,

21 or reclassify services, categories, applications, or other fil22 ings subject to application fees to reflect additions, dele23 tions, or changes in the nature of its services or authoriza24 tion of service processes as a consequence of rulemaking

25 proceedings or changes in law.
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1 ‘‘(5) The amount of any fee modified or amended as

2 a consequence of action taken under paragraph (4) shall

3 be derived by determining the fulltime equivalent number

4 of employees performing application activities adjusted to

5 take into account other expenses that are reasonably relat6 ed to the cost of processing the application or other filing,

7 including all executive and legal costs incurred by the

8 Commission in the discharge of these functions, and other

9 factors the Commission determines to be in the public in10 terest. The Commission shall transmit to the Congress no11 tification of—

12 ‘‘(A) any proposed modification of a fee imme13 diately upon adoption of the proposal, and

14 ‘‘(B) any amendment immediately upon adop15 tion of an amended fee.’’.

16 (b) REIMBURSEMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

17 8(e) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 8(e)) is amended to read as

18 follows:

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

20 under this section, $40,000,000 shall be deposited in the

21 general fund of the Treasury to reimburse the United

22 States for amounts appropriated for use by the Commis23 sion in carrying out its functions under this Act, and the

24 remainder shall be deposited as an offsetting collection in,
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1 and credited to, the account providing appropriations to

2 carry out the functions of the Commission.’’.

3 (c) DERIVATION OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.—Sec4 tion 6(d) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 156(d)) is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘section 9(b)’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘sections 8(b) and 9(b)’’, and

7 (2) by striking ‘‘section 9’’ and inserting ‘‘sec8 tions 8 and 9, respectively’’.

9 SEC. 9. SCHEDULE OF APPLICATION FEES FOR PERSONAL

10 COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.

11 The Schedule of Application Fees set forth in section

12 8(g) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.

13 158(g)) is amended by adding at the end of the part relat14 ing to Common Carrier Services the following:

‘‘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.’’.

15 SEC. 10. REGULATORY FEES.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(a) of the Communica17 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 159(a)) is amended to read

18 as follows:

19 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Commission, in

20 accordance with this section, shall assess and collect regu21 latory fees to recover its costs arising from all executive
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1 and legal costs incurred by the Commission in the dis2 charge of these functions.’’.

3 (b) NOTICE TO CONGRESS OF ADJUSTMENTS AND

4 AMENDMENTS.—Section 9(b)(4)(B) of such Act (47

5 U.S.C. 159(b)(4)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘90 days’’

6 and inserting ‘‘30 days’’.

7 (c) AUTHORITY TO COLLECT AT OLD RATE PEND8 ING EFFECTIVE DATE OF NEW RATES.—Section 9(b) of

9 such Act (47 U.S.C. 9(b)) is amended by adding at the

10 end thereof the following:

11 ‘‘(5) RATES PENDING EFFECTIVE DATE OF

12 MODIFICATIONS.—The Commission may continue to

13 collect any fee imposed under this section at the

14 prior year’s rate until the effective date of any ad15 justment or amendment of that fee under this sec16 tion.’’.

17 SEC. 11. REPORT OF FEE MODIFICATIONS.

18 Section 4(k) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

19 U.S.C. 154(k)) is amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

21 (3),

22 (2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as (5), and

23 (3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the follow24 ing new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(4) a detailed explanation of any modification,

2 adjustment, or amendment of any fees the amount

3 of which was increased or decreased under section 8

4 or 9 in the preceding year, setting forth the reasons

5 for the modification, adjustment, or amendment, to6 gether with a statement of anticipated modifications,

7 adjustments, or amendments of fees under those sec8 tions in the year in which the report is submitted

9 and an explanation of the reason such action is an10 ticipated; and’’.

11 SEC. 12. TARIFF REJECTION AUTHORITY.

12 Section 203(e) of the Communications Act of 1934

13 (47 U.S.C. 203(d)) is amended by inserting the following

14 after the first sentence: ‘‘The Commission may, after invit15 ing comment from interested parties, reject a proposed

16 tariff filing in whole or in part if the filing or any part

17 thereof is patently unlawful. In evaluating whether a pro18 posed tariff filing is patently unlawful, the Commission

19 may consider additional information filed by the carrier

20 or any interested party and shall presume the facts alleged

21 by the carrier to be true.’’.

22 SEC. 13. REFUND AUTHORITY.

23 Section 205 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

24 U.S.C. 205) is amended by adding at the end thereof the

25 following:
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1 ‘‘(c) The Commission may require by order the re2 fund of a portion of any charge by a carrier that results

3 from violation of this Act, or of any rule promulgated

4 under this Act. The refund shall be paid, with interest,

5 to the person by or on whose behalf the charge was paid.

6 The Commission may not require payment of a refund

7 under this subsection unless—

8 ‘‘(1) it issues an order advising the carrier of

9 its potential refund liability and provides the carrier

10 with an opportunity to file written comments as to

11 why the refund should not be required, and

12 ‘‘(2) it issues the order not later than 5 years

13 after the date on which the charge was paid.’’.

14 SEC. 14. LICENSING OF AVIATION, MARITIME, AND PER15 SONAL RADIO SERVICES BY RULE.

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

17 (47 U.S.C. 307(e)) is amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘radio control service and the

19 citizens band radio service’’ in paragraph (1) and in20 serting: ‘‘following radio services: (A) personal radio

21 services, (B) aviation radio service for aircraft sta22 tions operated on domestic flights when such aircraft

23 are not otherwise required to carry a radio station,

24 and (C) maritime radio service for ship stations
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1 navigated on domestic voyages when such ships are

2 not otherwise required to carry a radio station’’, and

3 (2) by striking out ‘‘the terms ‘radio control

4 service’ and ‘citizens band radio service’ shall’’ in

5 paragraph (3) and inserting: ‘‘the terms ‘personal

6 radio services’, ‘aircraft station’, and ‘ship station’

7 shall’’.

8 SEC. 15. AUCTION TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

9 Section 309(j)(8) of the of the Communications Act

10 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)) is amended—

11 (1) by inserting ‘‘are authorized to remain

12 available until expended and’’ after ‘‘Such offsetting

13 collections’’ in the second sentence of subparagraph

14 (B), and

15 (2) by adding at the end thereof the following:

16 ‘‘(C) REVENUES ON DEPOSIT.—The Com17 mission is authorized, based on the competitive

18 bidding methodology selected, to provide for the

19 deposit of monies for bids in an interest-bearing

20 account until such time as the Commission ac21 cepts a deposit from the high bidder. All inter22 est earned on bid monies received from the win23 ning bidder shall be deposited into the general

24 fund of the Treasury. All interest earned on bid

25 monies deposited from unsuccessful bidders
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1 shall be paid to those bidders, less any applica2 ble fees and penalties.’’.

3 SEC. 16. FORFEITURE FOR ACT OR RULE VIOLATIONS IM4 PERILING SAFETY OF LIFE.

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

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

7 amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph

9 (6),

10 (2) by striking the period at the end of para11 graph (7) and inserting a semicolon and the word

12 ‘‘or’’, and

13 (3) by adding at the end thereof the following:

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

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

16 the safety of life.’’.

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

18 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(1)) is amended—

19 (1) by striking out ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara20 graph (C);

21 (2) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon at the

22 end of subparagraph (D), and

23 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol24 lowing:
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1 ‘‘(E) failed to comply with any requirement

2 of this Act or the Commission’s rules that im3 perils the safety of life;’’.

4 SEC. 17. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR FORFEITURE PRO5 CEEDINGS AGAINST COMMON CARRIERS.

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

7 1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(6)) is amended—

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

9 (A),

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

11 after ‘‘Act’’ in subparagraph (B),

12 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as (C),

13 and

14 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol15 lowing:

16 ‘‘(B) such person is a common carrier and

17 the required notice of apparent liability is is18 sued more than 5 years after the date on which

19 the violation occurred; or’’.

Æ