II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2433 

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to take certain actions 

to increase diversity of ownership in the broadcasting industry, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2019 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To direct the Federal Communications Commission to take 

certain actions to increase diversity of ownership in the 

broadcasting industry, 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 ‘‘Expanding Broadcast 

5 Ownership Opportunities Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) BROADCAST STATION.—The term ‘‘broad9 cast station’’ has the meaning given the term in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2433.IS S2433

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1 tion 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

2 U.S.C. 153). 

3 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

4 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

5 (3) OWNED BY SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED IN6 DIVIDUALS.—The term ‘‘owned by socially disadvan7 taged individuals’’ has the meaning given the term 

8 in section 344(a) of the Communications Act of 

9 1934, as added by section 5(a)(1) of this Act. 

10 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

11 Congress finds the following: 

12 (1) One of the main missions of the Commis13 sion, and a compelling governmental interest, is to 

14 ensure that there is a diversity of ownership and 

15 viewpoints in the broadcasting industry. 

16 (2) The Commission should continue to collect 

17 relevant data and conduct studies on the diversity 

18 described in paragraph (1) and make appropriate 

19 recommendations to Congress on how to increase the 

20 number of minority- and women-owned broadcast 

21 stations. 

22 (3) Data from 2014 shows that, of the more 

23 than 1,700 commercial broadcast television stations 

24 in the United States, less than 6 percent are owned 

25 by women and less than 3 percent are minorityVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:18 Aug 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2433.IS S2433

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1 owned. With respect to radio stations, women owned 

2 approximately 7 percent of FM broadcast radio sta3 tions and minorities owned less than 3 percent of 

4 those stations. 

5 (4) Women and minority ownership is 5 to 10 

6 times higher in other industries than in the broad7 casting industry. 

8 (5) During the 17-year period between 1978 

9 and 1995, when a minority tax certificate program 

10 was in place at the Commission, the Commission 

11 issued to minorities 287 certificates for radio sta12 tions and 40 certificates for television stations. 

13 (6) The Commission can also support minority14 and women-owned entrants into the broadcasting in15 dustry by implementing an incubator program in 

16 which existing licensees assist new entrants in the 

17 operation of broadcast stations. 

18 SEC. 4. FCC REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

19 (a) BIENNIAL REPORT CONTAINING RECOMMENDA20 TIONS FOR INCREASING NUMBER OF MINORITY- AND

21 WOMEN-OWNED BROADCAST STATIONS.—Not later than 

22 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and not 

23 less frequently than once every 2 years thereafter, the 

24 Commission shall submit to Congress a report containing 

25 recommendations for how to increase the total number of 


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1 broadcast stations that are owned or controlled by mem2 bers of minority groups or women, or by both members 

3 of minority groups and women. 

4 (b) BIENNIAL REPORT ON NUMBER OF MINORITY5 AND WOMEN-OWNED BROADCAST STATIONS.—Not later 

6 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

7 and not less frequently than once every 2 years thereafter, 

8 the Commission shall submit to Congress a report that 

9 identifies the total number of broadcast stations that are 

10 owned or controlled by members of minority groups or 

11 women, or by both members of minority groups and 

12 women, based on data reported to the Commission on 

13 Form 323 of the Commission. 

14 SEC. 5. TAX CERTIFICATE PROGRAM FOR BROADCAST STA15 TION TRANSACTIONS FURTHERING OWNER16 SHIP BY SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVID17 UALS. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE

19 BY FCC.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part I of title III of the 

21 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301 et 

22 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 344. TAX CERTIFICATE PROGRAM FOR BROADCAST 

2 STATION TRANSACTIONS FURTHERING OWN3 ERSHIP BY SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED INDI4 VIDUALS. 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) OWNED BY SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED IN7 DIVIDUALS.—The term ‘owned by socially disadvan8 taged individuals’ means, with respect to a broadcast 

9 station, that— 

10 ‘‘(A) the station is at least 51 percent 

11 owned by 1 or more socially disadvantaged indi12 viduals, or, in the case of any publicly owned 

13 broadcast station, at least 51 percent of the 

14 stock of such station is owned by 1 or more so15 cially disadvantaged individuals; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the management and daily business 

17 operations of the station are controlled by 1 or 

18 more socially disadvantaged individuals. 

19 ‘‘(2) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUAL.— 

20 The term ‘socially disadvantaged individual’ 

21 means— 

22 ‘‘(A) a woman; or 

23 ‘‘(B) an individual who has been subjected 

24 to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias be25 cause of the identity of the individual as a 


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1 member of a group, without regard to the indi2 vidual qualities of the individual. 

3 ‘‘(b) ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE BY COMMISSION.— 

4 Subject to the rules adopted by the Commission under 

5 subsection (d), upon application by a person that engages 

6 in a sale described in subsection (c), the Commission shall 

7 issue to that person a certificate stating that the sale 

8 meets the requirements of this section. 

9 ‘‘(c) SALES DESCRIBED.—A sale described in this 

10 subsection is either of the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) A sale of an interest in a broadcast station 

12 that results in the station being owned by socially 

13 disadvantaged individuals. 

14 ‘‘(2) In the case of a person that has contrib15 uted capital in exchange for an interest in a broad16 cast station that is owned by socially disadvantaged 

17 individuals, a sale by that person of some or all of 

18 that interest. 

19 ‘‘(d) RULES.—The Commission shall adopt rules for 

20 the issuance of a certificate under subsection (b) that pro21 vide for the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) A limit on the value of an interest the sale 

23 of which qualifies for the issuance of such a certifi24 cate, which shall be not less than $10,000,000 and 

25 not greater than $50,000,000. 


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1 ‘‘(2) In the case of a sale described in sub2 section (c)(1), a minimum period of not longer than 

3 3 years after the sale during which the broadcast 

4 station shall remain owned by socially disadvantaged 

5 individuals. 

6 ‘‘(3) A limit on the total number of sales or the 

7 total value of sales, or both, for which a person may 

8 be issued certificates under subsection (b). 

9 ‘‘(4) Requirements for participation by socially 

10 disadvantaged individuals in the management of the 

11 broadcast station. 

12 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Commis13 sion shall submit to Congress an annual report describing 

14 the sales for which certificates have been issued under sub15 section (b) during the period covered by the report.’’. 

16 (2) DEADLINE FOR ISSUANCE OF RULES.—Not 

17 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

18 Act, the Commission shall issue rules to implement 

19 section 344 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 

20 added by paragraph (1). 

21 (3) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PROGRAM EX22 PANSION.—Not later than 6 years after the date of 

23 enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit 

24 to Congress a report regarding whether Congress 

25 should expand section 344 of the Communications 


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1 Act of 1934, as added by paragraph (1), beyond 

2 broadcast stations to cover other entities regulated 

3 by the Commission. 

4 (4) EXAMINATION AND REPORT TO CONGRESS

5 ON NEXUS BETWEEN DIVERSITY OF OWNERSHIP

6 AND DIVERSITY OF VIEWPOINT.— 

7 (A) EXAMINATION.—Not later than 60 

8 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

9 the Commission shall initiate an examination of 

10 whether there is a nexus between diversity of 

11 ownership or control of broadcast stations (in12 cluding ownership or control by members of mi13 nority groups or women, or by both members of 

14 minority groups and women) and diversity of 

15 the viewpoints expressed in the matter broad16 cast by broadcast stations. 

17 (B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

18 than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

19 Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress 

20 a report on the findings of the Commission in 

21 the examination under subparagraph (A), in22 cluding supporting data. 

23 (b) NONRECOGNITION OF GAIN OR LOSS FOR TAX

24 PURPOSES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter O of chapter 1 

2 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 

3 inserting after part IV the following new part: 

4 ‘‘PART V—SALE OF INTEREST IN CERTAIN 

5 BROADCAST STATIONS. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1071. NONRECOGNITION OF GAIN OR LOSS FROM 

7 SALE OF INTEREST IN CERTAIN BROADCAST 

8 STATIONS. 

9 ‘‘(a) NONRECOGNITION OF GAIN OR LOSS.—If a sale 

10 of an interest in a broadcast station, within the meaning 

11 of section 344 of the Communications Act of 1934, is cer12 tified by the Federal Communications Commission under 

13 such section, such sale shall, if the taxpayer so elects, be 

14 treated as an involuntary conversion of such property 

15 within the meaning of section 1033. For purposes of such 

16 section as made applicable by the provisions of this sec17 tion, stock of a corporation operating a broadcast station 

18 shall be treated as property similar or related in service 

19 or use to the property so converted. The part of the gain, 

20 if any, on such sale to which section 1033 is not applied 

21 shall nevertheless not be recognized, if the taxpayer so 

22 elects, to the extent that it is applied to reduce the basis 

23 for determining gain or loss on any such sale, of a char24 acter subject to the allowance for depreciation under sec25 tion 167, remaining in the hands of the taxpayer immeVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:38 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2433.IS S2433

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1 diately after the sale, or acquired in the same taxable year. 

2 The manner and amount of such reduction shall be deter3 mined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary. Any 

4 election made by the taxpayer under this section shall be 

5 made by a statement to that effect in his return for the 

6 taxable year in which the sale takes place, and such elec7 tion shall be binding for the taxable year and all subse8 quent taxable years. 

9 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM HOLDING PERIOD; CONTINUED MAN10 AGEMENT.—If— 

11 ‘‘(1) there is nonrecognition of gain or loss to 

12 a taxpayer under this section with respect to a sale 

13 of property (determined without regard to this para14 graph), and 

15 ‘‘(2) the taxpayer ceases to fulfill any require16 ments of the rules adopted by the Federal Commu17 nications Commission under paragraph (2) or (4) of 

18 section 344(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 

19 (as such rules are in effect on the date of such sale), 

20 there shall be no nonrecognition of gain or loss under this 

21 section to the taxpayer with respect to such sale, except 

22 that any gain or loss recognized by the taxpayer by reason 

23 of this subsection shall be taken into account as of the 

24 date on which the taxpayer so ceases to fulfill such re25 quirements. 


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1 ‘‘(c) BASIS.—For basis of property acquired on a sale 

2 treated as an involuntary conversion under subsection (a), 

3 see section 1033(b).’’. 

4 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 

5 parts for subchapter O of chapter 1 of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after 

7 the item related to part IV the following new part: 

‘‘PART V—SALE OF INTEREST IN CERTAIN BROADCAST STATIONS

‘‘Section 1071. Nonrecognition of gain or loss from sale of interest in certain 

broadcast stations.’’. 

8 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

9 this section shall apply with respect to sales of interests 

10 in broadcast stations after the date that is 1 year after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 (d) SUNSET.—The amendments made by this section 

13 shall not apply with respect to sales of interests in broad14 cast stations after the date that is 16 years after the date 

15 of enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 6. INCUBATOR PROGRAM. 

17 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, the Commission shall amend its Report and 

19 Order in the matter of rules and policies to promote new 

20 entry and ownership diversity in the broadcasting services, 

21 MB Docket No. 17–289, FCC 18–114, adopted on August 

22 2, 2018, to do the following: 


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1 (1) Expand the incubator program provided for 

2 in such Report and Order to permit a licensee to 

3 provide financial support or operational support, or 

4 both, to a qualifying incubated entity that owns or 

5 wants to own a television broadcast station. 

6 (2) Expand the eligibility criteria for an incu7 bated entity under such program to include broad8 cast stations owned by socially disadvantaged indi9 viduals. 

Æ 


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