II 

Calendar No. 816 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2820 

To ensure the availability of certain spectrum for public safety entities by 

amending the Communications Act of 1934 to establish January 1, 

2009, as the date by which the transition to digital television shall 

be completed, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2004 

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

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

NOVEMBER 19, 2004 

Reported by Mr. MCCAIN, with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To ensure the availability of certain spectrum for public 

safety entities by amending the Communications Act of 

1934 to establish January 1, 2009, as the date by which 

the transition to digital television shall be completed, 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Spectrum Availability for Emergency-Response and Law4 Enforcement To Improve Vital Emergency Services Act’’ 

5 or the ‘‘SAVE LIVES Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Setting a specific date for the availability of spectrum for public safety 

organizations and crating a deadline for the transition to digital television. 

Sec. 3. Prevention of delay in reassignment of 24 megahertz for public safety purposes. 

Sec. 4. Studies of communications capabilities and needs. 

Sec. 5. Statutory authority for the Department of Homeland Security’s 

‘‘SAFECOM’’ program. 

Sec. 6. Grant program to provide enhanced interoperability of communications 

for first responders. 

Sec. 7. Digital transition public safety communications grant and consumer assistance fund. 

Sec. 8. Digital transition program. 

Sec. 9. Label requirement for analog television sets. 

Sec. 10. Report on consumer education program requirements. 

Sec. 11. FCC to issue decision in certain proceedings. 

Sec. 12. Definitions. 

8 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

9 The Congress finds the following: 

10 (1) In its final report, the 9–11 Commission ad11 vocated that Congress pass legislation providing for 

12 the expedited and increased assignment of radio 

13 spectrum for public safety purposes. The 9–11 Com14 mission stated that this spectrum was necessary to 

15 improve communications between local, State and 

16 Federal public safety organizations and public safety 
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1 organizations operating in neighboring jurisdictions 

2 that may respond to an emergency in unison. 

3 (2) Specifically, the 9–11 Commission report 

4 stated ‘‘The inability to communicate was a critical 

5 element at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and 

6 Somerset County, Pennsylvania, crash sites, where 

7 multiple agencies and multiple jurisdictions re8 sponded. The occurrence of this problem at three 

9 very different sites is strong evidence that compat10 ible and adequate communications among public 

11 safety organizations at the local, State, and Federal 

12 levels remains an important problem.’’. 

13 (3) In the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, the 

14 Congress directed the FCC to allocate spectrum cur15 rently being used by television broadcasters to public 

16 safety agencies to use for emergency communica17 tions. This spectrum has specific characteristics that 

18 make it an outstanding choice for emergency com19 munications because signals sent over these fre20 quencies are able to penetrate walls and travel great 

21 distances, and can assist multiple jurisdictions in de22 ploying interoperable communications systems. 

23 (4) This spectrum will not be fully available to 

24 public safety agencies until the completion of the 

25 digital television transition. The need for this spec-
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1 trum is greater than ever. The nation cannot risk 

2 further loss of life due to public safety agencies’ first 

3 responders’ inability to communicate effectively in 

4 the event of another terrorist act or other crisis, 

5 such as a hurricane, tornado, flood, or earthquake. 

6 (5) In the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Con7 gress set a date of December 31, 2006, for the ter8 mination of the digital television transition. Under 

9 current law, however, the deadline will be extended 

10 if fewer than 85 percent of the television households 

11 in a market are able to continue receiving local tele12 vision broadcast signals. 

13 (6) Federal Communications Commission 

14 Chairman Michael K. Powell testified at a hearing 

15 before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transpor16 tation Committee on September 8, 2004, that, ab17 sent government action, this extension may allow the 

18 digital television transition to continue for ‘‘decades’’ 

19 or ‘‘multiples of decades’’. 

20 (7) The Nation’s public safety and welfare can21 not be put off for ‘‘decades’’ or ‘‘multiples of dec22 ades’’. The Federal government should ensure that 

23 this spectrum is available for use by public safety or24 ganizations by January 1, 2009. 
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1 (8) Any plan to end the digital television transi2 tion would be incomplete if it did not ensure that 

3 consumers would be able to continue to enjoy over4 the-air broadcast television with minimal disruption. 

5 If broadcasters air only a digital signal, some con6 sumers may be unable to view digital transmissions 

7 using their analog-only television set. Local broad8 casters are truly an important part of our homeland 

9 security and often an important communications ve10 hicle in the event of a national emergency. There11 fore, consumers who rely on over-the-air television, 

12 particularly those of limited economic means, should 

13 be assisted. 

14 (9) The New America Foundation has testified 

15 before Congress that the cost to assist these 17.4 

16 million exclusively over-the-air households to con17 tinue to view television is less than $1 billion for 

18 equipment, which equates to roughly 3 percent of 

19 the Federal revenue likely from the auction of the 

20 analog television spectrum. 

21 (10) Specifically, the New America Foundation 

22 has estimated that the Federal Government’s auc23 tion of this spectrum could yield $30-to-$40 billion 

24 in revenue to the Treasury. Chairman Powell stated 

25 at the September 8, 2004, hearing that ‘‘estimates 
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1 of the value of that spectrum run anywhere from $30 

2 billion to $70 billion’’. 

3 (11) Additionally, there will be societal benefits 

4 with the return of the analog broadcast spectrum. 

5 Former FCC Chairman Reed F. Hundt, at an April 

6 28, 2004, hearing before the Senate Commerce, 

7 Science, and Transportation Committee, testified 

8 that this spectrum ‘‘should be the fit and proper 

9 home of wireless broadband’’. Mr. Hundt continued, 

10 ‘‘Quite literally, [with this spectrum] the more mil11 lions of people in rural America will be able to afford 

12 Big Broadband Internet access, the more hundreds 

13 of millions of people in the world will be able to af14 ford joining the Internet community.’’. 

15 (12) Due to the benefits that would flow to the 

16 Nation’s citizens from the Federal Government re17 claiming this analog television spectrum—including 

18 the safety of our Nation’s first responders and those 

19 protected by first responders, additional revenues to 

20 the Federal treasury, millions of new jobs in the 

21 telecommunications sector of the economy, and in22 creased wireless broadband availability to our Na23 tion’s rural citizens—Congress finds it necessary to 

24 set January 1, 2009, as a firm date for the return 

25 of this analog television spectrum. 
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1 SEC. 3. SETTING A SPECIFIC DATE FOR THE AVAILABILITY 

2 OF SPECTRUM FOR PUBLIC SAFETY ORGANI3 ZATIONS AND CRATING A DEADLINE FOR THE 

4 TRANSITION TO DIGITAL TELEVISION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 309(j)(14) of the Commu6 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(14)) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘2006.’’ in subparagraph (A) 

9 and inserting ‘‘2008.’’; 

10 (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and redesig11 nating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs 

12 (B) and (C); 

13 (3) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A) or (B),’’ in 

14 subparagraph (B), as redesignated, and inserting 

15 ‘‘subparagraph (A),’’; and 

16 (4) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (C)(i),’’ in sub17 paragraph (C), as redesignated, and inserting ‘‘sub18 paragraph (B)(i),’’. 

19 (b) CERTAIN COMMERCIAL USE SPECTRUM.—The 

20 Commission shall assign the spectrum described in section 

21 337(a)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

22 337(a)(2)) allocated for commercial use by competitive 

23 bidding pursuant to section 309(j) of that Act (47 U.S.C. 

24 309(j)) no later than 1 year after the Commission trans25 mits the report required by section 4(a) to the Congress. 
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1 SEC. 3. PREVENTION OF DELAY IN REASSIGNMENT OF 24 

2 MEGAHERTZ FOR PUBLIC SAFETY PURPOSES. 

3 Section 309(j)(14) of the Communications Act of 1934 

4 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(14)) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(E) EXCEPTION TO 2006 DEADLINE.— 

7 ‘‘(i) Notwithstanding subparagraph 

8 (B), the Commission shall not grant any ex9 tension under such subparagraph from the 

10 limitation of subparagraph (A) with respect 

11 to the frequencies assigned, pursuant to sec12 tion 337(a)(1), for public safety services. 

13 The Commission shall take all actions nec14 essary to complete assignment of the electro15 magnetic spectrum between 764 and 776 

16 megahertz and between 794 and 806 mega17 hertz for public safety services and to per18 mit operations by public safety services on 

19 those frequencies commencing no later than 

20 January 1, 2008. 

21 ‘‘(ii) Beginning January 1, 2008, the 

22 Commission may modify or reassign the li23 censes of licensees assigned to frequencies be24 tween 758 and 764 megahertz, 776 and 782 

25 megahertz, and 788 and 794 megahertz as 

26 necessary to permit operations by public 
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1 safety services on frequencies between 764 

2 and 776 megahertz and between 794 and 

3 806 megahertz. 

4 ‘‘(iii) The Commission may waive the 

5 requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) and 

6 such other rules as necessary— 

7 ‘‘(I) in the absence of a bona fide 

8 request from relevant first responders 

9 in the affected designated market area 

10 (as that term is defined in section 

11 122(j) of title 17, United States Code); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(II) to the extent necessary to 

14 avoid consumer disruption while maxi15 mizing the ability of relevant public 

16 safety entities to use frequencies de17 scribed in this subparagraph in the af18 fected designated market area (as so 

19 defined).’’. 

20 SEC. 4. STUDIES OF COMMUNICATIONS CAPABILITIES AND 

21 NEEDS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, in consultation 

23 with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall conduct 

24 a study to assess strategies that may be used to meet pub25 lic safety communications needs, including— 
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1 (1) the short-term and long-term need for addi2 tional spectrum allocation for Federal, State, and 

3 local first responders, including an additional alloca4 tion of spectrum in the 700 megaHertz band; 

5 (2) the need for a nationwide interoperable 

6 broadband mobile communications network; 

7 (3) the ability of public safety entities to utilize 

8 wireless broadband applications; and 

9 (4) the communications capabilities of first re10 ceivers such as hospitals and health care workers, 

11 and current efforts to promote communications co12 ordination and training among the first responders 

13 and the first receivers. 

14 (b) REALLOCATION STUDY.—The Commission shall 

15 conduct a study to assess the advisability of reallocating 

16 any amount of spectrum in the 700 megaHertz band for 

17 unlicensed broadband uses. In the study, the Commission 

18 shall consider all other possible users of this spectrum, in19 cluding public safety. 

20 (c) REPORT.—The Commission shall report the re21 sults of the studies, together with any recommendations 

22 it may have, to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

23 Science, and Transportation and the House of Represent24 atives Committee on Energy and Commerce within 1 year 

25 after the date of enactment of this Act. 
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1 SEC. 5. STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF 

2 HOMELAND SECURITY’S ‘‘SAFECOM’’ PRO3 GRAM. 

4 Section 302 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

5 (6 U.S.C. 182) is amended— 

6 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

7 ‘‘The’’; and 

8 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(b) SAFECOM AUTHORIZED.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 

11 (a), the Under Secretary shall establish a program 

12 to address the interoperability of communications 

13 devices used by Federal, State, tribal, and local first 

14 responders, to be known as the Wireless Public Safe15 ty Interoperability Communications Program, or 

16 ‘SAFECOM’. The Under Secretary shall coordinate 

17 the program with the Director of the Department of 

18 Justice’s Office of Science and Technology and all 

19 other Federal programs engaging in communications 

20 interoperability research, development, and funding 

21 activities to ensure that the program takes into ac22 count, and does not duplicate, those programs or ac23 tivities. 

24 ‘‘(2) COMPONENTS.—The program established 

25 under paragraph (1) shall be designed— 
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1 ‘‘(A) to provide research on the develop2 ment of a communications system architecture 

3 that would ensure the interoperability of com4 munications devices among Federal, State, trib5 al, and local officials that would enhance the 

6 potential for a coordinated response to a na7 tional emergency; 

8 ‘‘(B) to support the completion and pro9 mote the adoption of mutually compatible vol10 untary consensus standards developed by a 

11 standards development organization accredited 

12 by the American National Standards Institute 

13 to ensure such interoperability; and 

14 ‘‘(C) to provide for the development of a 

15 model strategic plan that could be used by any 

16 State or region in developing its communica17 tions interoperability plan. 

18 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec20 retary to carry out this subsection— 

21 ‘‘(A) $22,105,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

22 ‘‘(B) $22,768,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

23 ‘‘(C) $23,451,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

24 ‘‘(D) $24,155,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

25 and 
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1 ‘‘(E) $24,879,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

2 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL BASELINE STUDY OF PUBLIC SAFE3 TY COMMUNICATIONS INTEROPERABILITY.—By December 

4 31, 2005, the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for 

5 Science and Technology shall complete a study to develop 

6 a national baseline for communications interoperability 

7 and develop common grant guidance for all Federal grant 

8 programs that provide communications-related resources 

9 or assistance to State and local agencies, any Federal pro10 grams conducting demonstration projects, providing tech11 nical assistance, providing outreach services, providing 

12 standards development assistance, or conducting research 

13 and development with the public safety community with 

14 respect to wireless communications. The Under Secretary 

15 shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Com16 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep17 resentatives Committee on Energy and Commerce con18 taining the Under Secretary’s findings, conclusions, and 

19 recommendations from the study.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. GRANT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE ENHANCED INTER21 OPERABILITY OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR 

22 FIRST RESPONDERS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu24 rity shall establish a program to help State, local, tribal, 

25 and regional first responders acquire and deploy interoper-
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1 able communications equipment, purchase such equip2 ment, and train personnel in the use of such equipment. 

3 The Secretary, in cooperation with the heads of other Fed4 eral departments and agencies who administer programs 

5 that provide communications-related assistance programs 

6 to State, local, and tribal public safety organizations, shall 

7 develop and implement common standards to the greatest 

8 extent practicable. 

9 (b) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for assistance 

10 under the program, a State, local, tribal, or regional first 

11 responder agency shall submit an application, at such 

12 time, in such form, and containing such information as 

13 the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science 

14 and Technology may require, including— 

15 (1) a detailed explanation of how assistance re16 ceived under the program would be used to improve 

17 local communications interoperability and ensure 

18 interoperability with other appropriate Federal, 

19 State, local, tribal, and regional agencies in a re20 gional or national emergency; 

21 (2) assurance that the equipment and system 

22 would— 

23 (A) not be incompatible with the commu24 nications architecture developed under section 
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1 302(b)(2)(A) of the Homeland Security Act of 

2 2002; 

3 (B) would meet any voluntary consensus 

4 standards developed under section 302(b)(2)(B) 

5 of that Act; and 

6 (C) be consistent with the common grant 

7 guidance established under section 302(b)(3) of 

8 the Homeland Security Act of 2002. 

9 (c) GRANTS.—The Under Secretary shall review ap10 plications submitted under subsection (b). The Secretary, 

11 pursuant to an application approved by the Under Sec12 retary, may make the assistance provided under the pro13 gram available in the form of a single grant for a period 

14 of not more than 3 years. 

15 SEC. 7. DIGITAL TRANSITION PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICA16 TIONS GRANT AND CONSUMER ASSISTANCE 

17 FUND. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established on the books 

19 of the Treasury a separate fund to be known as the ‘‘Dig20 ital Transition Consumer Assistance Fund’’, which shall 

21 be administered by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

22 Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 

23 Information. 

24 (b) CREDITING OF RECEIPTS.—The Fund shall be 

25 credited with the amount specified in section 309(j)(8)(D) 
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1 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

2 309(j)(8)(D)). 

3 (c) FUND AVAILABILITY.— 

4 (1) APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 (A) CONSUMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

6 There are appropriated to the Secretary from 

7 the Fund such sums, not to exceed 

8 $1,000,000,000, as are required to carry out 

9 the program established under section 8 of this 

10 Act. 

11 (B) PSO GRANT PROGRAM.—To the extent 

12 that amounts available in the Fund exceed the 

13 amount required to carry out that program, 

14 there are authorized to be appropriated to the 

15 Secretary of Homeland Security, such sums as 

16 are required to carry out the program estab17 lished under section 6 of this Act, not to exceed 

18 an amount, determined by the Director of the 

19 Office of Management and Budget, on the basis 

20 of the findings of the National Baseline Inter21 operability study conducted by the SAFECOM 

22 Office of the Department of Homeland Secu23 rity. 

24 (2) REVERSION OF UNUSED FUNDS.—Any auc25 tion proceeds in the Fund that are remaining after 
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1 the date on which the programs under section 6 and 

2 8 of this Act terminate, as determined by the Sec3 retary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of 

4 Commerce respectively, shall revert to and be depos5 ited in the general fund of the Treasury. 

6 (d) DEPOSIT OF AUCTION PROCEEDS.—Paragraph 

7 (8) of section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 

8 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)) is amended—

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘or subparagraph (D)’’ in sub10 paragraph (A) after ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(D) DISPOSITION OF CASH PROCEEDS

14 FROM AUCTION OF CHANNELS 52 THROUGH

15 69.—Cash proceeds attributable to the auction 

16 of any eligible frequencies between 698 and 806 

17 megaHertz on the electromagnetic spectrum 

18 conducted after the date of enactment of the 

19 SAVE LIVES Act shall be deposited in the 

20 Digital Transition Consumer Assistance Fund 

21 established under section 7 of that Act.’’. 

22 SEC. 8. DIGITAL TRANSITION PROGRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

24 with the Commission and the Director of the Office of 
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1 Management and Budget, shall establish a program to as2 sist households— 

3 (1) in the purchase or other acquisition of dig4 ital-to-analog converter devices that will enable tele5 vision sets that operate only with analog signal proc6 essing to continue to operate when receiving a dig7 ital signal; 

8 (2) in the payment of a one-time installation fee 

9 (not in excess of the industry average fee for the 

10 date, locale, and structure involved, as determined 

11 by the Secretary) for installing the equipment re12 quired for residential reception of services provided 

13 by a multichannel video programming distributor (as 

14 defined in section 602(13) of the Communications 

15 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 602(13)); or 

16 (3) in the purchase of any other device that will 

17 enable the household to receive over-the-air digital 

18 television broadcast signals, but in an amount not in 

19 excess of the average per-household assistance pro20 vided under paragraphs (1) and (2). 

21 (b) PROGRAM CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall ensure 

22 that the program established under subsection (a)— 

23 (1) becomes publicly available no later than 

24 January 1, 2008; 
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1 (2) gives first priority to assisting lower income 

2 households (as determined by the Director of the 

3 Bureau of the Census for statistical reporting pur4 poses) who rely exclusively on over-the-air television 

5 broadcasts; 

6 (3) gives second priority to assisting other 

7 households who rely exclusively on over-the-air tele8 vision broadcasts; 

9 (4) is technologically neutral; and 

10 (5) is conducted at the lowest feasible adminis11 trative cost. 

12 SEC. 9. LABEL REQUIREMENT FOR ANALOG TELEVISION 

13 SETS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Communica15 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303) is amended by adding 

16 at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(z) Require that any apparatus described in para18 graph (s) sold or offered for sale in or affecting interstate 

19 commerce after September 30, 2005, that is incapable of 

20 receiving and displaying a digital television broadcast sig21 nal without the use of an external device that translates 

22 digital television broadcast signals into analog television 

23 broadcast signals have affixed to it and, if it is sold or 

24 offered for sale in a container, affixed to that container, 

25 a label that states that the apparatus will be incapable 
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1 of displaying over-the-air television broadcast signals re2 ceived after December 31, 2008, without the purchase of 

3 additional equipment.’’. 

4 (b) SHIPMENT PROHIBITED.—Section 330 of the 

5 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 330) is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub8 section (e); and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(d) SHIPMENT OF UNLABELED OBSOLESCENT TEL12 EVISION SETS.—No person shall ship in interstate com13 merce or manufacture in the United States any apparatus 

14 described in section 303(s) of this Act except in accord15 ance with rules prescribed by the Commission under sec16 tion 303(z) of this Act.’’. 

17 (c) POINT OF SALE WARNING.—The Commission, in 

18 consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, shall re19 quire the display at, or in close proximity to, any commer20 cial retail sales display of television sets described in sec21 tion 303(z) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

22 U.S.C. 303(z)) sold or offered for sale in or affecting 

23 interstate commerce after September 30, 2005, of a print24 ed notice that clearly and conspicuously states that the 

25 sets will be incapable of displaying over-the-air television 
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1 broadcast signals received after December 31, 2008, with2 out the purchase or lease of additional equipment. 

3 SEC. 10. REPORT ON CONSUMER EDUCATION PROGRAM RE4 QUIREMENTS. 

5 Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

6 the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications 

7 and Information, after consultation with the Commission, 

8 shall transmit a report to the Senate Committee on Com9 merce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Rep10 resentatives Committee on Energy and Commerce con11 taining recommendations with respect to— 

12 (1) an effective program to educate consumers 

13 about the transition to digital television broadcast 

14 signals and the impact of that transition on con15 sumers’ choices of equipment to receive such signals; 

16 (2) the need, if any, for Federal funding for 

17 such a program; 

18 (3) the date of commencement and duration of 

19 such a program; and 

20 (4) what department or agency should have the 

21 lead responsibility for conducting such a program. 

22 SEC. 11. FCC TO ISSUE DECISION IN CERTAIN PRO23 CEEDINGS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall issue a final 

25 decision before— 
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1 (1) January 1, 2005, in the Matter of Carriage 

2 of Digital Television Broadcast Signals; Amend3 ments to Part 76 of the Commission’s Rules, CS 

4 Docket No. 98–120; 

5 (2) January 1, 2005, in the Matter of Public 

6 Interest Obligations of TV Broadcast Licensees, MM 

7 Docket No. 99–360; and 

8 (3) January 1, 2006, in the Implementation of 

9 the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 

10 1999; Local Broadcast Signal Carriage Issues, CS 

11 Docket No. 00–96. 

12 (b) MINIMUM QUANTITATIVE LOCALLY ORIGINATED

13 PROGRAMMING GUIDELINES.—In the proceeding described 

14 in subsection (a)(2), the Commission shall establish min15 imum quantitative guidelines for locally originated pro16 gramming, local electoral and public affairs programming, 

17 and independently produced programming for television 

18 broadcast licensees. In its review of any application for re19 newal of a commercial or noncommercial digital television 

20 broadcast license, the Commission shall consider the extent 

21 to which the applicant or licensee has complied with such 

22 guidelines. 

23 SEC. 12. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 
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1 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

2 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

3 (2) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Dig4 ital Transition Consumer Assistance Fund estab5 lished by section 7. 

6 (3) SECRETARY.—Except where otherwise ex7 pressly provided, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the 

8 Secretary of Commerce. 
Calendar No. 816 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2820 

A BILL 

To ensure the availability of certain spectrum for 

public safety entities by amending the Communications Act of 1934 to establish January 1, 2009, as the date by which the transition to digital television shall be completed, and for other purposes. 

NOVEMBER 19, 2004 

Reported with amendments