I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5264 

To provide American consumers information about the broadcast television 

transition from an analog to a digital format. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 2, 2006 

Mr. ENGEL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To provide American consumers information about the broadcast television transition from an analog to a digital 

format. 

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 ‘‘Digital Television Con5 sumer Education Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LABELING AND CONSUMER EDUCATION. 

7 Section 330 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

8 U.S.C. 330) is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub10 section (e); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol2 lowing new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(d) LABELING AND CONSUMER EDUCATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR MANUFACTURERS.— 

5 Effective 180 days after the date of enactment of 

6 the Digital Television Consumer Education Act, any 

7 manufacturer of any television receiving equipment 

8 described in section 303(s) that does not include a 

9 digital tuner shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) place a label on any television screen, 

11 removable by the purchaser, that displays in 

12 clear and conspicuous print, the following con13 sumer advisory label: ‘After February 17, 2009, 

14 this television will receive broadcast television 

15 signals only by using additional equipment. For 

16 more information, call the Federal Communica17 tions Commission at 1–888–225–5322 (TTY: 

18 1–888–835–5322) or visit the Commission’s 

19 website at: www.dtv.gov or www.fcc.gov. 

20 Despue ́s del 17 de Febrero del 2009, este tele21 visor solo podra recibir sen ̃ales de emisoras de 

22 televisio ́n unicamente con la ayuda de equipo 

23 adicional. Si requiere ma ́s informacio ́n, llame a 

24 la Comisio ́n Federal de Comunicaciones al 1– 

25 888–225–5322 (TTY: 1–888–835–5322) o 


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1 visite el sitio web de la Comisio ́n en: 

2 www.dtv.gov o www.fcc.gov ’; and 

3 ‘‘(B) place such advisory label permanently 

4 and conspicuously on the outside of the retail 

5 packaging of such television set. 

6 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR RETAIL DISTRIBU7 TORS AND OTHER VENDORS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) RETAIL DISTRIBUTORS.—Any retail 

9 distributor of any television receiving equipment 

10 described in section 303(s) that does not in11 clude a digital tuner shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) effective 180 days after the date 

13 of enactment of the Digital Television Con14 sumer Education Act, place adjacent to 

15 each unit of such equipment that such dis16 tributor displays for sale or rent a con17 sumer advisory label as provided by the 

18 manufacturer pursuant to paragraph (1), 

19 except that such distributor shall not be 

20 required to affix such label to the television 

21 screen on such equipment, as long as the 

22 label is— 

23 ‘‘(I) in the close vicinity of, and 

24 associated with, the unit on display; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) clearly visible to consumers; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) effective 90 days after the enact4 ment of the Digital Television Consumer 

5 Education Act, provide information to con6 sumers, on signs and in pamphlet form, in 

7 the display area for product categories that 

8 include any television receiving equipment 

9 described in section 303(s) that does not 

10 include a digital tuner television, sufficient 

11 to convey the information carried in the 

12 consumer advisory label. Such signs and 

13 pamphlets shall also include information on 

14 recycling old televisions and other con15 sumer electronics. 

16 ‘‘(B) OTHER VENDORS.—Effective 180 

17 days after the date of enactment of the Digital 

18 Television Consumer Education Act, any seller 

19 via direct mail, catalog, or electronic means, 

20 such as the Internet, of any television receiving 

21 equipment described in section 303(s) that does 

22 not include a digital tuner, shall include in clear 

23 and conspicuous print the consumer advisory 

24 label required by paragraph (1) at the point of 

25 display for the apparatus, or, if there is no disVerDate Aug 31 2005 08:14 May 03, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5264.IH H5264

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1 play, at the point of sale. Such information 

2 shall also include information on recycling old 

3 televisions and other consumer electronics. 

4 ‘‘(3) OTHER DEVICES.—For devices other than 

5 television sets that are included in section 303(s) 

6 and that contain an analog tuner, but not a digital 

7 tuner, the Commission shall require the clear and 

8 conspicuous placement of a comparable consumer 

9 advisory label on such devices, as well as on the out10 side of the retail packaging of such devices. 

11 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES.— 

12 ‘‘(A) ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NOTICES RE13 QUIRED.—From November 1, 2007, through 

14 March 31, 2009— 

15 ‘‘(i) each television broadcaster shall 

16 air, at a minimum, 120 seconds per day of 

17 public service announcements between the 

18 hours of 6 a.m. and 11:35 p.m., at variable 

19 time slots throughout the week, with at 

20 least half aired between the hours of 5 

21 p.m. and 11:35 p.m.; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) any multichannel video program 

23 distributor shall include a notice in or with 

24 each periodic bill. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONTENT OF ANNOUNCEMENTS AND

2 NOTICES.—The announcements and notices re3 quired by this paragraph shall educate con4 sumers about the deadline for termination of 

5 analog television broadcasting and the equip6 ment options consumers have after such termi7 nation. Announcements aired and notices dis8 tributed after January 1, 2008, shall also edu9 cate consumers about the need for and avail10 ability of the converter box voucher program 

11 and the steps to redeem the voucher. 

12 ‘‘(5) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

13 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Commission 

14 shall, after consultation with the National Tele15 communications and Information Administra16 tion and the Federal Trade Commission, create 

17 a DTV Transition Federal Advisory Committee 

18 to lead the effort to educate the public about 

19 the digital television transition and to ensure 

20 that the public knows the information described 

21 in paragraph (3)(B). Such consumer education 

22 shall commence no later than September 1, 

23 2007. 

24 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—The committee shall 

25 be composed of representatives from the folVerDate Aug 31 2005 08:14 May 03, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5264.IH H5264

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1 lowing groups: commercial broadcasters, non2 commercial broadcasters, cable operators, sat3 ellite providers, retailers and manufacturers of 

4 consumer electronics equipment, electronic recy5 clers, minority groups, Hispanic Americans, 

6 Americans whose primary language is not 

7 English, Americans with disabilities, Americans 

8 living in rural communities, general business, 

9 senior citizens, commercial advertising, and 

10 consumers in general. 

11 ‘‘(C) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ROLE.—The 

12 committee shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) develop a comprehensive edu14 cation plan for consumers regarding the 

15 digital television transition which in16 cludes— 

17 ‘‘(I) specific and targeted mes18 sages to reach various consumer con19 stituencies (such as low income, mi20 norities, Spanish-speaking, and the el21 derly); 

22 ‘‘(II) best methods to deliver the 

23 message to affected consumers; 

24 ‘‘(III) implementation of the 

25 plan; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) website information and 

2 toll-free numbers; and 

3 ‘‘(V) information on recycling old 

4 televisions and other consumer elec5 tronics; 

6 ‘‘(ii) coordinate with stakeholders to 

7 ensure that the transition is properly im8 plemented; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) report to Congress every 6 

10 months on how the transition is pro11 gressing. 

12 ‘‘(D) FIRST MEETING.—The advisory com13 mittee shall conduct its first meeting within 60 

14 days after the date of enactment of the Digital 

15 Television Consumer Education Act. 

16 ‘‘(6) COMMISSION INFORMATION SERVICES.— 

17 The Commission’s toll-free number for consumers 

18 information and the Commission’s Internet website 

19 shall provide information concerning the digital tele20 vision transition, in the English and Spanish lan21 guages, not later than September 1, 2007.’’. 

Æ 


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