111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3101 

AN ACT 

To ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to 

emerging Internet Protocol-based communication and 

video programming technologies in the 21st century. 

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 ‘‘Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Acces4 sibility Act of 2010’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Limitation on liability. 

Sec. 3. Proprietary technology. 

TITLE I—COMMUNICATIONS ACCESS 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Hearing aid compatibility. 

Sec. 103. Relay services. 

Sec. 104. Access to internet-based services and equipment. 

Sec. 105. Emergency Access Advisory Committee. 

Sec. 106. Relay services for deaf-blind individuals. 

TITLE II—VIDEO PROGRAMMING 

Sec. 201. Video Programming and Emergency Access Advisory Committee. 

Sec. 202. Video description and closed captioning. 

Sec. 203. Closed captioning decoder and video description capability. 

Sec. 204. User interfaces on digital apparatus. 

Sec. 205. Access to video programming guides and menus provided on navigation devices. 

Sec. 206. Definitions. 

TITLE III—PAYGO COMPLIANCE 

Sec. 301. PAYGO Compliance. 

6 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

8 (b), no person shall be liable for a violation of the require9 ments of this Act (or of the provisions of the Communica10 tions Act of 1934 that are amended or added by this Act) 

11 with respect to video programming, online content, appli12 cations, services, advanced communications services, or 

13 equipment used to provide or access advanced communica14 tions services to the extent such person— 
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1 (1) transmits, routes, or stores in intermediate 

2 or transient storage the communications made avail3 able through the provision of advanced communica4 tions services by a third party; or 

5 (2) provides an information location tool, such 

6 as a directory, index, reference, pointer, menu, 

7 guide, user interface, or hypertext link, through 

8 which an end user obtains access to such video pro9 gramming, online content, applications, services, ad10 vanced communications services, or equipment used 

11 to provide or access advanced communications serv12 ices. 

13 (b) EXCEPTION.—The limitation on liability under 

14 subsection (a) shall not apply to any person to the extent 

15 such person relies on third party applications, services, 

16 software, hardware, or equipment to comply with the re17 quirements of this Act (or of the provisions of the Commu18 nications Act of 1934 that are amended or added by this 

19 Act). 

20 SEC. 3. PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY. 

21 No action taken by the Commission to implement the 

22 requirements of this Act or the amendments made by this 

23 Act shall mandate the use or incorporation of proprietary 

24 technology. 
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1 TITLE I—COMMUNICATIONS 

2 ACCESS 

3 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

4 Section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

5 U.S.C. 153) is amended— 

6 (1) by adding at the end the following new 

7 paragraphs: 

8 ‘‘(53) ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SERV9 ICES.—The term ‘advanced communications services’ 

10 means— 

11 ‘‘(A) interconnected VoIP service; 

12 ‘‘(B) non-interconnected VoIP service; 

13 ‘‘(C) electronic messaging service; and 

14 ‘‘(D) video conferencing service. 

15 ‘‘(54) DISABILITY.—The term ‘disability’ has 

16 the meaning given such term under section 3 of the 

17 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

18 12102). 

19 ‘‘(55) ELECTRONIC MESSAGING SERVICE.—The 

20 term ‘electronic messaging service’ means a service 

21 that provides non-voice messages in text form be22 tween individuals over communications networks. 

23 ‘‘(56) INTERCONNECTED VOIP SERVICE.—The 

24 term ‘interconnected VoIP service’ has the meaning 

25 given such term under section 9.3 of title 47, Code 
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1 of Federal Regulations, as such section may be 

2 amended from time to time. 

3 ‘‘(57) NON-INTERCONNECTED VOIP SERVICE.— 

4 The term ‘non-interconnected VoIP service’— 

5 ‘‘(A) means a service that— 

6 ‘‘(i) enables real-time voice commu7 nications that originate from or terminate 

8 to the user’s location using Internet pro9 tocol or any successor protocol; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) requires Internet protocol com11 patible customer premises equipment; and 

12 ‘‘(B) does not include any service that is 

13 an interconnected VoIP service. 

14 ‘‘(58) VIDEO CONFERENCING SERVICE.—The 

15 term ‘video conferencing service’ means a service 

16 that provides real-time video communications, in17 cluding audio, to enable users to share information 

18 of the user’s choosing.’’; and 

19 (2) by reordering paragraphs (1) through (52) 

20 and the paragraphs added by paragraph (1) of this 

21 section in alphabetical order based on the headings 

22 of such paragraphs and renumbering such para23 graphs as so reordered. 

24 SEC. 102. HEARING AID COMPATIBILITY. 

25 (a) COMPATIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 
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1 (1) TELEPHONE SERVICE FOR THE DIS2 ABLED.—Section 710(b)(1) of the Communications 

3 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 610(b)(1)) is amended to 

4 read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) 

6 and subsection (c), the Commission shall require that cus7 tomer premises equipment described in this paragraph 

8 provide internal means for effective use with hearing aids 

9 that are designed to be compatible with telephones which 

10 meet established technical standards for hearing aid com11 patibility. Customer premises equipment described in this 

12 paragraph are the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) All essential telephones. 

14 ‘‘(B) All telephones manufactured in the United 

15 States (other than for export) more than one year 

16 after the date of enactment of the Hearing Aid 

17 Compatibility Act of 1988 or imported for use in the 

18 United States more than one year after such date. 

19 ‘‘(C) All customer premises equipment used 

20 with advanced communications services that is de21 signed to provide 2-way voice communications via a 

22 built-in speaker intended to be held to the ear in a 

23 manner functionally equivalent to a telephone, sub24 ject to the regulations prescribed by the Commission 

25 under subsection (e).’’. 
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1 (2) ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 

2 710(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

3 U.S.C. 610(b)) is further amended— 

4 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

6 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

7 (i)— 

8 (aa) by striking ‘‘initial’’; 

9 (bb) by striking ‘‘of this 

10 subsection after the date of en11 actment of the Hearing Aid Com12 patibility Act of 1988’’; and 

13 (cc) by striking ‘‘paragraph 

14 (1)(B) of this subsection’’ and in15 serting ‘‘subparagraphs (B) and 

16 (C) of paragraph (1)’’; 

17 (II) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the 

18 end of clause (ii); 

19 (III) by striking clause (iii); and 

20 (IV) by redesignating clause (iv) 

21 as clause (iii); 

22 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

23 redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub24 paragraph (B); and 
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1 (iii) in subparagraph (B) (as so redes2 ignated)— 

3 (I) by striking the first sentence 

4 and inserting ‘‘The Commission shall 

5 periodically assess the appropriateness 

6 of continuing in effect the exemptions 

7 for telephones and other customer 

8 premises equipment described in sub9 paragraph (A) of this paragraph.’’; 

10 and 

11 (II) in each of clauses (iii) and 

12 (iv), by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (B) or 

14 (C) of paragraph (1)’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (4)(B)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘public mobile’’ and in17 serting ‘‘telephones used with public mo18 bile’’; 

19 (ii) by inserting ‘‘telephones and other 

20 customer premises equipment used in 

21 whole or in part with’’ after ‘‘means’’; 

22 (iii) by striking ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘public 

23 land mobile telephone service,’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘or’’; 

25 (iv) by striking ‘‘part 22 of’’; and 
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1 (v) by inserting after ‘‘Regulations’’ 

2 the following: ‘‘, or any functionally equiva3 lent unlicensed wireless services’’; and 

4 (C) in paragraph (4)(C)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘term ‘private radio 

6 services’ ’’ and inserting ‘‘term ‘telephones 

7 used with private radio services’ ’’; and 

8 (ii) by inserting ‘‘telephones and other 

9 customer premises equipment used in 

10 whole or in part with’’ after ‘‘means’’. 

11 (b) TECHNICAL STANDARDS.—Section 710(c) of the 

12 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 610(c)) is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘A telephone 

14 or other customer premises equipment that is compliant 

15 with relevant technical standards developed through a 

16 public participation process and in consultation with inter17 ested consumer stakeholders (designated by the Commis18 sion for the purposes of this section) will be considered 

19 hearing aid compatible for purposes of this section, until 

20 such time as the Commission may determine otherwise. 

21 The Commission shall consult with the public, including 

22 people with hearing loss, in establishing or approving such 

23 technical standards. The Commission may delegate this 

24 authority to an employee pursuant to section 5(c). The 
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1 Commission shall remain the final arbiter as to whether 

2 the standards meet the requirements of this section.’’. 

3 (c) RULEMAKING.—Section 710(e) of the Commu4 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 610(e)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘impairments’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘loss’’; and 

7 (2) by adding at the end the following sentence: 

8 ‘‘In implementing the provisions of subsection 

9 (b)(1)(C), the Commission shall use appropriate 

10 timetables or benchmarks to the extent necessary (1) 

11 due to technical feasibility, or (2) to ensure the mar12 ketability or availability of new technologies to 

13 users.’’. 

14 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Section 710(h) of the 

15 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 610(h)) is 

16 amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(h) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the 

18 Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessi19 bility Act of 2010 shall be construed to modify the Com20 mission’s regulations set forth in section 20.19 of title 47 

21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the 

22 date of enactment of such Act.’’. 
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1 SEC. 103. RELAY SERVICES. 

2 (a) DEFINITION.—Paragraph (3) of section 225(a) of 

3 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 225(a)(3)) 

4 is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(3) TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERV6 ICES.—The term ‘telecommunications relay services’ 

7 means telephone transmission services that provide 

8 the ability for an individual who is deaf, hard of 

9 hearing, deaf-blind, or who has a speech disability to 

10 engage in communication by wire or radio with one 

11 or more individuals, in a manner that is functionally 

12 equivalent to the ability of a hearing individual who 

13 does not have a speech disability to communicate 

14 using voice communication services by wire or 

15 radio.’’. 

16 (b) INTERNET PROTOCOL-BASED RELAY SERV17 ICES.—Title VII of such Act (47 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 715. INTERNET PROTOCOL-BASED RELAY SERVICES. 

20 ‘‘Within one year after the date of enactment of the 

21 Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessi22 bility Act of 2010, each interconnected VoIP service pro23 vider and each provider of non-interconnected VoIP serv24 ice shall participate in and contribute to the Telecommuni25 cations Relay Services Fund established in section 

26 64.604(c)(5)(iii) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, 
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1 as in effect on the date of enactment of such Act, in a 

2 manner prescribed by the Commission by regulation to 

3 provide for obligations of such providers that are con4 sistent with and comparable to the obligations of other 

5 contributors to such Fund.’’. 

6 (c) TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERVICES POLICY

7 ADVISORY COUNCIL.—Section 225 of the Communications 

8 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 225) is amended by adding at 

9 the end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(h) TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERVICES POL11 ICY ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

13 after the date of enactment of the Twenty-First 

14 Century Communications and Video Accessibility 

15 Act of 2010, the Chairman of the Commission shall 

16 establish an advisory committee to be known as the 

17 Telecommunications Relay Services Policy Advisory 

18 Council (in this section referred to as the ‘Policy Ad19 visory Council’) and shall require the Policy Advi20 sory Council— 

21 ‘‘(A) to conduct their meetings in a man22 ner that is open to the public; 

23 ‘‘(B) to make a complete and comprehen24 sive record of such proceedings publicly avail25 able; 
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1 ‘‘(C) to establish safeguards to identify 

2 and mitigate conflicts of interest with respect to 

3 members of the Policy Advisory Council; and 

4 ‘‘(D) to advise the Commission in the de5 velopment or proposal of any major changes or 

6 new rules relating to telecommunications relay 

7 services. 

8 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—As soon as practicable 

9 after the date of enactment of the Twenty-First 

10 Century Communications and Video Accessibility 

11 Act of 2010, the Chairman of the Commission shall 

12 appoint the members of the Policy Advisory Council, 

13 ensuring a balance between potential consumers and 

14 other stakeholders. Members of the Policy Advisory 

15 Council shall be selected from each of the following 

16 groups: 

17 ‘‘(A) Individuals who are consumers of 

18 telecommunications relay services. 

19 ‘‘(B) Representatives of State commissions 

20 with jurisdiction over intrastate telecommuni21 cations relay services. 

22 ‘‘(C) Representatives of providers of tele23 communications relay services. 

24 ‘‘(3) COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF IN25 FORMATION AND ADVICE.—The Commission— 
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1 ‘‘(A) shall seek the advice of the Policy Ad2 visory Council in assisting the Commission in 

3 developing or proposing any major changes or 

4 issuing any new rules relating to telecommuni5 cations relay services; and 

6 ‘‘(B) shall, with the advice of the Policy 

7 Advisory Council, make all regulations, rules, 

8 and orders relating to telecommunications relay 

9 services fully and easily accessible to consumers 

10 of such services. 

11 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.— 

12 The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

13 App.) shall not apply to the Policy Advisory Coun14 cil.’’. 

15 (d) FOLLOWUP PROCEEDING.—Section 225 of the 

16 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 225), as amend17 ed by subsection (c), is further amended by adding after 

18 subsection (h) the following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(i) FOLLOWUP PROCEEDING.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 months 

21 after the date of enactment of the Twenty-First 

22 Century Communications and Video Accessibility 

23 Act of 2010, the Commission, in consultation with 

24 all relevant Federal agencies, shall submit to the 

25 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor-
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1 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

2 and Commerce of the House of Representatives a re3 port— 

4 ‘‘(A) concerning how the Commission is 

5 ensuring that telecommunications relay service 

6 customers have access to improved technologies, 

7 interoperability, and functionalities; and 

8 ‘‘(B) identifying impediments to the broad 

9 and efficient use of telecommunications relay 

10 services in the workplace. 

11 ‘‘(2) SUGGESTIONS FOR WORKPLACE ADOP12 TION.—The Commission shall develop suggestions to 

13 facilitate broader and more efficient use of tele14 communications relay services in the workplace, in15 cluding suggestions for facilitating the replacement 

16 of outdated end-user telecommunications relay serv17 ices equipment in public places and government of18 fices.’’. 

19 SEC. 104. ACCESS TO INTERNET-BASED SERVICES AND 

20 EQUIPMENT. 

21 (a) TITLE VII AMENDMENT.—Title VII of the Com22 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), as 

23 amended by section 103, is further amended by adding 

24 at the end the following new sections: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 716. ACCESS TO INTERNET-BASED EQUIPMENT AND 

2 SERVICES. 

3 ‘‘(a) ACCESS TO EQUIPMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) RIGHT TO ACCESSIBLE EQUIPMENT.— 

5 With respect to equipment manufactured after the 

6 effective date of the regulations established pursuant 

7 to this section, and subject to those regulations, a 

8 manufacturer of equipment used for advanced com9 munications, including end user equipment, network 

10 equipment, and software, shall ensure that such 

11 equipment that such manufacturer offers for sale or 

12 otherwise distributes in interstate commerce shall be 

13 accessible to and usable by individuals with disabil14 ities, unless doing so is not achievable. 

15 ‘‘(2) INDUSTRY FLEXIBILITY.—A manufacturer 

16 of equipment may satisfy the requirements of para17 graph (1) with respect to such equipment by— 

18 ‘‘(A) ensuring that the equipment that 

19 such manufacturer offers is accessible to and 

20 usable by individuals with disabilities without 

21 the use of third party applications, peripheral 

22 devices, software, hardware, or customer prem23 ises equipment; or 

24 ‘‘(B) if such manufacturer chooses, using 

25 third party applications, peripheral devices, 

26 software, hardware, or customer premises 
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1 equipment that is available to the consumer at 

2 nominal cost and that individuals with disabil3 ities can access. 

4 ‘‘(b) ACCESS TO SERVICES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) RIGHT TO ACCESSIBLE SERVICES.—With 

6 respect to advanced communications services offered 

7 after the effective date of the regulations established 

8 pursuant to this section, and subject to those regula9 tions, a provider of services used for advanced com10 munications shall ensure that such services that 

11 such provider offers for sale or otherwise distributes 

12 in interstate commerce shall be accessible to and us13 able by individuals with disabilities, unless doing so 

14 is not achievable. 

15 ‘‘(2) INDUSTRY FLEXIBILITY.—A provider of 

16 services may satisfy the requirements of paragraph 

17 (1) with respect to such services by— 

18 ‘‘(A) ensuring that the services that such 

19 provider offers are accessible to and usable by 

20 individuals with disabilities without the use of 

21 third party applications, peripheral devices, 

22 software, hardware, or customer premises 

23 equipment; or 

24 ‘‘(B) if such provider chooses, using third 

25 party applications, peripheral devices, software, 
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1 hardware, or customer premises equipment that 

2 is available to the consumer at nominal cost 

3 and that individuals with disabilities can access. 

4 ‘‘(c) COMPATIBILITY.—Whenever the requirements of 

5 subsection (a) are not achievable for a manufacturer, or 

6 the requirements of subsection (b) are not achievable for 

7 a provider, a manufacturer or provider shall ensure that 

8 its equipment or service is compatible with peripheral de9 vices or specialized customer premises equipment com10 monly used by individuals with disabilities to achieve ac11 cess, unless the requirement of this subsection is not 

12 achievable. 

13 ‘‘(d) NETWORK FEATURES, FUNCTIONS, AND CAPA14 BILITIES.—Each provider of advanced communications 

15 services has the duty not to install network features, func16 tions, or capabilities that impede accessibility or usability 

17 of advanced communications services. 

18 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Within one year after the 

20 date of enactment of the Twenty-First Century 

21 Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 

22 2010, the Commission shall promulgate such regula23 tions as are necessary to implement this section. In 

24 prescribing the regulations, the Commission shall— 
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1 ‘‘(A) include performance objectives to en2 sure the accessibility, usability, and compat3 ibility of advanced communications services and 

4 the equipment used for advanced communica5 tions services by individuals with disabilities; 

6 ‘‘(B) provide that advanced communica7 tions services, the equipment used for advanced 

8 communications services, and networks used to 

9 provide advanced communications services may 

10 not impair or impede the accessibility of infor11 mation content when accessibility has been in12 corporated into that content for transmission 

13 through advanced communications services, 

14 equipment used for advanced communications 

15 services, or networks used to provide advanced 

16 communications services; and 

17 ‘‘(C) determine the obligations under this 

18 section of manufacturers, service providers, and 

19 providers of applications. 

20 ‘‘(2) PROSPECTIVE GUIDELINES.—The Commis21 sion shall issue prospective guidelines for a manufac22 turer or provider regarding the requirements of this 

23 section. 

24 ‘‘(f) SERVICES AND EQUIPMENT SUBJECT TO SEC25 TION 255.—The requirements of this section shall not 
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1 apply to any equipment or services, including inter2 connected VoIP service, that are subject to the require3 ments of section 255 on the day before the date of enact4 ment of the Twenty-First Century Communications and 

5 Video Accessibility Act of 2010. Such services and equip6 ment shall remain subject to the requirements of section 

7 255. 

8 ‘‘(g) ACHIEVABLE DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

9 section and section 718, the term ‘achievable’ means with 

10 reasonable effort or expense, as determined by the Com11 mission. In determining whether the requirements of a 

12 provision are achievable, the Commission shall consider 

13 the following factors: 

14 ‘‘(1) The nature and cost of the steps needed 

15 to meet the requirements of this section with respect 

16 to the specific equipment or service in question. 

17 ‘‘(2) The impact on the operations of the manu18 facturer or provider and on the operation of the spe19 cific equipment or service in question, including on 

20 the development and deployment of new communica21 tions technologies. 

22 ‘‘(3) The financial resources of the manufac23 turer or provider. 

24 ‘‘(4) The type of operations of the manufac25 turer or provider. 
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1 ‘‘(5) The extent to which the service provider or 

2 manufacturer in question offers accessible services 

3 or equipment containing varying degrees of 

4 functionality and features, and offered at differing 

5 price points. 

6 ‘‘(h) COMMISSION FLEXIBILITY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) WAIVER.—The Commission shall have the 

8 authority, on its own motion or in response to a pe9 tition by a manufacturer or provider, to waive the 

10 requirements of this section for any feature or func11 tion of equipment used to provide or access ad12 vanced communications services, or for any class of 

13 such equipment, that— 

14 ‘‘(A) is capable of accessing an advanced 

15 communications service; and 

16 ‘‘(B) is designed for multiple purposes, but 

17 is designed primarily for purposes other than 

18 using advanced communications services. 

19 ‘‘(2) SMALL ENTITY EXEMPTION.—The Com20 mission may exempt small entities from the require21 ments of this section. 

22 ‘‘(i) CUSTOMIZED EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES.—The 

23 provisions of this section shall not apply to customized 

24 equipment or services that are not offered directly to the 
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1 public, or to such classes of users as to be effectively avail2 able directly to the public, regardless of the facilities used. 

3 ‘‘(j) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section shall 

4 not be construed to require a manufacturer of equipment 

5 used for advanced communications or a provider of ad6 vanced communications services to make every feature and 

7 function of every device or service accessible for every dis8 ability. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 717. ENFORCEMENT AND RECORDKEEPING OBLIGA10 TIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a) COMPLAINT AND ENFORCEMENT PROCE12 DURES.—Within one year after the date of enactment of 

13 the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Ac14 cessibility Act of 2010, the Commission shall establish reg15 ulations that facilitate the filing of formal and informal 

16 complaints that allege a violation of section 255, 716, or 

17 718, establish procedures for enforcement actions by the 

18 Commission with respect to such violations, and imple19 ment the recordkeeping obligations of paragraph (5) for 

20 manufacturers and providers subject to such sections. 

21 Such regulations shall include the following provisions: 

22 ‘‘(1) NO FEE.—The Commission shall not 

23 charge any fee to an individual who files a complaint 

24 alleging a violation of section 255, 716, or 718. 
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1 ‘‘(2) RECEIPT OF COMPLAINTS.—The Commis2 sion shall establish separate and identifiable elec3 tronic, telephonic, and physical receptacles for the 

4 receipt of complaints filed under section 255, 716, 

5 or 718. 

6 ‘‘(3) COMPLAINTS TO THE COMMISSION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person alleging a 

8 violation of section 255, 716, or 718 by a man9 ufacturer of equipment or provider of service 

10 subject to such sections may file a formal or in11 formal complaint with the Commission. 

12 ‘‘(B) INVESTIGATION OF INFORMAL COM13 PLAINT.—The Commission shall investigate the 

14 allegations in an informal complaint and, within 

15 180 days after the date on which such com16 plaint was filed with the Commission, issue an 

17 order concluding the investigation, unless such 

18 complaint is resolved before such time. The 

19 order shall include a determination whether any 

20 violation occurred. 

21 ‘‘(i) VIOLATION.—If the Commission 

22 determines that a violation has occurred, 

23 the Commission may, in the order issued 

24 under this subparagraph or in a subse25 quent order, require the manufacturer or 
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1 service provider to take such action as is 

2 necessary to comply with the requirements 

3 of this section. 

4 ‘‘(ii) NO VIOLATION.—If a determina5 tion is made that a violation has not oc6 curred, the Commission shall provide the 

7 basis for such determination. 

8 ‘‘(C) CONSOLIDATION OF COMPLAINTS.— 

9 The Commission may consolidate for investiga10 tion and resolution complaints alleging substan11 tially the same violation. 

12 ‘‘(4) OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND.—Before the 

13 Commission makes a determination pursuant to 

14 paragraph (3), the party that is the subject of the 

15 complaint shall have a reasonable opportunity to re16 spond to such complaint, and may include in such 

17 response any factors that are relevant to such deter18 mination. 

19 ‘‘(5) RECORDKEEPING.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning one year 

21 after the effective date of regulations promul22 gated pursuant to section 716(e), each manu23 facturer and provider subject to sections 255, 

24 716, or 718 shall maintain, in the ordinary 

25 course of business and for a reasonable period, 
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1 records of any efforts taken by such manufac2 turer or provider to implement sections 255, 

3 716, or 718, including the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) Information about the manufac5 turer’s or provider’s efforts to consult with 

6 individuals with disabilities. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Descriptions of the accessibility 

8 features of its products and services. 

9 ‘‘(iii) Information about the compat10 ibility of such products and services with 

11 peripheral devices or specialized customer 

12 premise equipment commonly used by indi13 viduals with disabilities to achieve access. 

14 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION OF ANNUAL CERTIFI15 CATION.—An officer of a manufacturer or pro16 vider shall submit to the Commission an annual 

17 certification that records are being kept in ac18 cordance with subparagraph (A). 

19 ‘‘(C) COMMISSION REQUEST FOR

20 RECORDS.—After the filing of a formal or infor21 mal complaint against a manufacturer or pro22 vider in the manner prescribed in paragraph 

23 (3), the Commission may request, and shall 

24 keep confidential, a copy of the records main25 tained by such manufacturer or provider pursu-
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1 ant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph that 

2 are directly relevant to the equipment or service 

3 that is the subject of such complaint. 

4 ‘‘(6) FAILURE TO ACT.—If the Commission 

5 fails to carry out any of its responsibilities to act 

6 upon a complaint in the manner prescribed in para7 graph (3), the person that filed such complaint may 

8 bring an action in the nature of mandamus in the 

9 United States Court of Appeals for the District of 

10 Columbia to compel the Commission to carry out 

11 any such responsibility. 

12 ‘‘(7) COMMISSION JURISDICTION.—The limita13 tions of section 255(f) shall apply to any claim that 

14 alleges a violation of section 255, 716, or 718. Noth15 ing in this paragraph affects or limits any action for 

16 mandamus under paragraph (6) or any appeal pur17 suant to section 402(b)(10). 

18 ‘‘(8) PRIVATE RESOLUTIONS OF COMPLAINTS.— 

19 Nothing in the Commission’s rules or this Act shall 

20 be construed to preclude a person who files a com21 plaint and a manufacturer or provider from resolv22 ing a formal or informal complaint prior to the Com23 mission’s final determination in a complaint pro24 ceeding. In the event of such a resolution, the par-
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1 ties shall jointly request dismissal of the complaint 

2 and the Commission shall grant such request. 

3 ‘‘(b) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Every two years after the 

5 date of enactment of the Twenty-First Century 

6 Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 

7 2010, the Commission shall submit to the Com8 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

9 the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Com10 merce of the House of Representatives a report that 

11 includes the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) An assessment of the level of compli13 ance with sections 255, 716, and 718. 

14 ‘‘(B) An evaluation of the extent to which 

15 any accessibility barriers still exist with respect 

16 to new communications technologies. 

17 ‘‘(C) The number and nature of complaints 

18 received pursuant to subsection (a) during the 

19 two years that are the subject of the report. 

20 ‘‘(D) A description of the actions taken to 

21 resolve such complaints under this section, in22 cluding forfeiture penalties assessed. 

23 ‘‘(E) The length of time that was taken by 

24 the Commission to resolve each such complaint. 
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1 ‘‘(F) The number, status, nature, and out2 come of any actions for mandamus filed pursu3 ant to subsection (a)(6) and the number, sta4 tus, nature, and outcome of any appeals filed 

5 pursuant to section 402(b)(10). 

6 ‘‘(G) An assessment of the effect of the re7 quirements of this section on the development 

8 and deployment of new communications tech9 nologies. 

10 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC COMMENT REQUIRED.—The Com11 mission shall seek public comment on its tentative 

12 findings prior to submission to the Committees of 

13 the report under this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(c) COMPTROLLER GENERAL ENFORCEMENT

15 STUDY.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General 

17 shall conduct a study to consider and evaluate the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(A) The Commission’s compliance with 

20 the requirements of this section, including the 

21 Commission’s level of compliance with the dead22 lines established under and pursuant to this 

23 section and deadlines for acting on complaints 

24 pursuant to subsection (a). 
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1 ‘‘(B) Whether the enforcement actions 

2 taken by the Commission pursuant to this sec3 tion have been appropriate and effective in en4 suring compliance with this section. 

5 ‘‘(C) Whether the enforcement provisions 

6 under this section are adequate to ensure com7 pliance with this section. 

8 ‘‘(D) An assessment of the effect of the re9 quirements of this section on the development 

10 and deployment of new communications tech11 nologies. 

12 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the 

13 date of enactment of the Twenty-First Century 

14 Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 

15 2010, the Comptroller General shall submit to the 

16 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor17 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy 

18 and Commerce of the House of Representatives a re19 port on the results of the study required by para20 graph (1), with recommendations for how the en21 forcement process and measures under this section 

22 may be modified or improved. 

23 ‘‘(d) CLEARINGHOUSE.—Within one year after the 

24 date of enactment of the Twenty-First Century Commu25 nications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, the Com-
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1 mission shall, in consultation with the Architectural and 

2 Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, the National 

3 Telecommunications and Information Administration, 

4 trade associations, and organizations representing individ5 uals with disabilities, establish a clearinghouse of informa6 tion on the availability of accessible products and services 

7 and accessibility solutions required under sections 255, 

8 716, and 718. Such information shall be made publicly 

9 available on the Commission’s website and by other 

10 means, and shall include an annually updated list of prod11 ucts and services with access features. 

12 ‘‘(e) OUTREACH AND EDUCATION.—Upon establish13 ment of the clearinghouse of information required under 

14 subsection (d), the Commission, in coordination with the 

15 National Telecommunications and Information Adminis16 tration, shall conduct an informational and educational 

17 program designed to inform the public about the avail18 ability of the clearinghouse and the protections and rem19 edies available under sections 255, 716, and 718. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 718. INTERNET BROWSERS BUILT INTO TELEPHONES 

21 USED WITH PUBLIC MOBILE SERVICES. 

22 ‘‘(a) ACCESSIBILITY.—If a manufacturer of a tele23 phone used with public mobile services (as such term is 

24 defined in section 710(b)(4)(B)) includes an Internet 

25 browser in such telephone, or if a provider of mobile serv-
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1 ice arranges for the inclusion of a browser in telephones 

2 to sell to customers, the manufacturer or provider shall 

3 ensure that the functions of the included browser (includ4 ing the ability to launch the browser) are accessible to and 

5 usable by individuals who are blind or have a visual im6 pairment, unless doing so is not achievable, except that 

7 this subsection shall not impose any requirement on such 

8 manufacturer or provider— 

9 ‘‘(1) to make accessible or usable any Internet 

10 browser other than a browser that such manufac11 turer or provider includes or arranges to include in 

12 the telephone; or 

13 ‘‘(2) to make Internet content, applications, or 

14 services accessible or usable (other than enabling in15 dividuals with disabilities to use an included browser 

16 to access such content, applications, or services). 

17 ‘‘(b) INDUSTRY FLEXIBILITY.—A manufacturer or 

18 provider may satisfy the requirements of subsection (a) 

19 with respect to such telephone or services by— 

20 ‘‘(1) ensuring that the telephone or services 

21 that such manufacture or provider offers is acces22 sible to and usable by individuals with disabilities 

23 without the use of third party applications, periph24 eral devices, software, hardware, or customer prem25 ises equipment; or 
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1 ‘‘(2) using third party applications, peripheral 

2 devices, software, hardware, or customer premises 

3 equipment that is available to the consumer at nomi4 nal cost and that individuals with disabilities can ac5 cess.’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR SECTION 718.—Section 

7 718 of the Communications Act of 1934, as added by sub8 section (a), shall take effect 3 years after the date of en9 actment of this Act. 

10 (c) TITLE V AMENDMENTS.—Section 503(b)(2) of 

11 such Act (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(2)) is amended by adding 

12 after subparagraph (E) the following: 

13 ‘‘(F) Subject to paragraph (5) of this section, if the 

14 violator is a manufacturer or service provider subject to 

15 the requirements of section 255, 716, or 718, and is deter16 mined by the Commission to have violated any such re17 quirement, the manufacturer or provider shall be liable to 

18 the United States for a forfeiture penalty of not more than 

19 $100,000 for each violation or each day of a continuing 

20 violation, except that the amount assessed for any con21 tinuing violation shall not exceed a total of $1,000,000 

22 for any single act or failure to act.’’. 

23 (d) REVIEW OF COMMISSION DETERMINATIONS.— 

24 Section 402(b) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 402(b)) is amended 

25 by adding the following new paragraph: 
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1 ‘‘(10) By any person who is aggrieved or whose inter2 ests are adversely affected by a determination made by 

3 the Commission under section 717(a)(3).’’. 

4 SEC. 105. EMERGENCY ACCESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—For the purpose of achieving 

6 equal access to emergency services by individuals with dis7 abilities, as a part of the migration to a national Internet 

8 protocol-enabled emergency network, not later than 60 

9 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Chairman 

10 of the Commission shall establish an advisory committee, 

11 to be known as the Emergency Access Advisory Committee 

12 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’). 

13 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—As soon as practicable after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Com15 mission shall appoint the members of the Advisory Com16 mittee, ensuring a balance between individuals with dis17 abilities and other stakeholders, and shall designate two 

18 such members as the co-chairs of the Committee. Members 

19 of the Advisory Committee shall be selected from the fol20 lowing groups: 

21 (1) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND

22 EMERGENCY RESPONDER REPRESENTATIVES.—Rep23 resentatives of State and local governments and rep24 resentatives of emergency response providers, se25 lected from among individuals nominated by national 
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•HR 3101 EH

1 organizations representing such governments and 

2 representatives. 

3 (2) SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS.—Individuals 

4 who have the technical knowledge and expertise to 

5 serve on the Advisory Committee in the fulfillment 

6 of its duties, including representatives of— 

7 (A) providers of interconnected and non8 interconnected VoIP services; 

9 (B) vendors, developers, and manufactur10 ers of systems, facilities, equipment, and capa11 bilities for the provision of interconnected and 

12 non-interconnected VoIP services; 

13 (C) national organizations representing in14 dividuals with disabilities and senior citizens; 

15 (D) Federal agencies or departments re16 sponsible for the implementation of the Next 

17 Generation E 9–1–1 system; 

18 (E) the National Institute of Standards 

19 and Technology; and 

20 (F) other individuals with such technical 

21 knowledge and expertise. 

22 (3) REPRESENTATIVES OF OTHER STAKE23 HOLDERS AND INTERESTED PARTIES.—Representa24 tives of such other stakeholders and interested and 
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•HR 3101 EH

1 affected parties as the Chairman of the Commission 

2 determines appropriate. 

3 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Within 

4 one year after the completion of the member appointment 

5 process by the Chairman of the Commission pursuant to 

6 subsection (b), the Advisory Committee shall develop and 

7 submit to the Commission recommendations to implement 

8 such technologies and methods, including recommenda9 tions— 

10 (1) with respect to what actions are necessary 

11 as a part of the migration to a national Internet 

12 protocol-enabled network to achieve reliable, inter13 operable communication transmitted over such net14 work that will ensure access to emergency services 

15 by individuals with disabilities; 

16 (2) for protocols, technical capabilities, and 

17 technical requirements to ensure reliability and 

18 interoperability necessary to ensure access to emer19 gency services by individuals with disabilities; 

20 (3) for the establishment of technical standards 

21 for use by public safety answering points, designated 

22 default answering points, and local emergency au23 thorities; 

24 (4) for relevant technical standards and re25 quirements for communication devices and equip-
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•HR 3101 EH

1 ment and technologies to enable the use of reliable 

2 emergency access; 

3 (5) for procedures to be followed by IP-enabled 

4 network providers to ensure that such providers do 

5 not install features, functions, or capabilities that 

6 would conflict with technical standards; 

7 (6) for deadlines by which providers of inter8 connected and non-interconnected VoIP services and 

9 manufacturers of equipment used for such services 

10 shall achieve the actions required in paragraphs (1) 

11 through (5), and for the possible phase out of the 

12 use of current-generation TTY technology to the ex13 tent that this technology is replaced with more effec14 tive and efficient technologies and methods to enable 

15 access to emergency services by individuals with dis16 abilities; and 

17 (7) for the establishment of rules to update the 

18 Commission’s rules with respect to 9–1–1 services 

19 and E–911 services, as such term is defined in sec20 tion 158 of the National Telecommunications and 

21 Information Administration Organization Act (47 

22 U.S.C. 942), for users of telecommunications relay 

23 services as new technologies and methods for pro24 viding such relay services are adopted by providers 

25 of such relay services. 
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1 (d) MEETINGS.— 

2 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of 

3 the Advisory Committee shall take place not later 

4 than 45 days after the completion of the member ap5 pointment process by the Chairman of the Commis6 sion pursuant to subsection (b). 

7 (2) OTHER MEETINGS.—After the initial meet8 ing, the Advisory Committee shall meet at the call 

9 of the chairs, but no less than monthly until the rec10 ommendations required pursuant to subsection (c) 

11 are completed and submitted. 

12 (3) NOTICE; OPEN MEETINGS.—Any meetings 

13 held by the Advisory Committee shall be duly no14 ticed at least 14 days in advance and shall be open 

15 to the public. 

16 (e) PROCEDURAL RULES.— 

17 (1) QUORUM.—One-third of the members of the 

18 Advisory Committee shall constitute a quorum for 

19 conducting business of the Advisory Committee. 

20 (2) SUBCOMMITTEES.—To assist the Advisory 

21 Committee in carrying out its functions, the chair 

22 may establish appropriate subcommittees composed 

23 of members of the Advisory Committee and other 

24 subject matter experts as determined to be nec25 essary. 
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1 (3) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURAL RULES.—The 

2 Advisory Committee may adopt other procedural 

3 rules as needed. 

4 (f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

5 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

6 apply to the Advisory Committee. 

7 (g) IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com8 mission shall have the authority to promulgate regulations 

9 to implement the recommendations proposed by the Advi10 sory Committee, as well as any other regulations as are 

11 necessary to achieve reliable, interoperable communication 

12 that ensures access by individuals with disabilities to an 

13 Internet protocol-enabled emergency network. 

14 (h) SURVEY.—Not later than 30 months after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall con16 duct and publish the results of a national survey of indi17 viduals with disabilities concerning real time text, 

18 geolocation services, instant messaging services, and mo19 bile telecommunications relay services. The survey shall 

20 seek to determine what individuals with disabilities believe 

21 to be the most effective and efficient technologies and 

22 methods by which to enable access to emergency services 

23 by individuals with disabilities. 

24 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
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1 (1) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 

2 Communications Commission; 

3 (2) the term ‘‘Chairman’’ means the Chairman 

4 of the Federal Communications Commission; and 

5 (3) except as otherwise expressly provided, 

6 other terms have the meanings given such terms in 

7 section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

8 U.S.C. 153). 

9 SEC. 106. RELAY SERVICES FOR DEAF-BLIND INDIVIDUALS. 

10 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

11 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), as amended by sections 103 and 104, 

12 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 719. RELAY SERVICES FOR DEAF-BLIND INDIVID14 UALS. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 6 months after the date 

16 of enactment of the Twenty-First Century Communica17 tions and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, the Commission 

18 shall establish rules that define as eligible for relay service 

19 support those programs that are approved by the Commis20 sion for the distribution of specialized customer premises 

21 equipment designed to make telecommunications service, 

22 Internet access service, and advanced communications, in23 cluding interexchange services and advanced telecommuni24 cations and information services, accessible by low-income 

25 individuals who are deaf-blind. 
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1 ‘‘(b) INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DEAF-BLIND DE2 FINED.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘individ3 uals who are deaf-blind’ has the meaning given such term 

4 in section 206 of the Helen Keller National Center Act 

5 (29 U.S.C. 1905). 

6 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL AMOUNT.—The total amount of sup7 port the Commission may provide from its Telecommuni8 cations Relay Services Fund for any fiscal year may not 

9 exceed $10,000,000.’’. 

10 TITLE II—VIDEO PROGRAMMING 

11 SEC. 201. VIDEO PROGRAMMING AND EMERGENCY ACCESS 

12 ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Chairman shall es15 tablish an advisory committee to be known as the Video 

16 Programming and Emergency Access Advisory Com17 mittee. 

18 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—As soon as practicable after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Chairman shall appoint 

20 individuals who have the technical knowledge and engi21 neering expertise to serve on the Advisory Committee in 

22 the fulfillment of its duties, including the following: 

23 (1) Representatives of distributors and pro24 viders of video programming or national organiza25 tions representing such distributors and providers. 
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•HR 3101 EH

1 (2) Representatives of vendors, developers, and 

2 manufacturers of systems, facilities, equipment, and 

3 capabilities for the provision of video programming 

4 delivered using Internet protocol or a national orga5 nization representing such vendors, developers, or 

6 manufacturers. 

7 (3) Representatives of manufacturers of con8 sumer electronics or information technology equip9 ment or a national organization representing such 

10 manufacturers. 

11 (4) Representatives of national organizations 

12 representing accessibility advocates, including indi13 viduals with disabilities and the elderly. 

14 (5) Representatives of the broadcast television 

15 industry or a national organization representing 

16 such industry. 

17 (6) Other individuals with technical and engi18 neering expertise, as the Chairman determines ap19 propriate. 

20 (c) COMMISSION OVERSIGHT.—The Chairman shall 

21 appoint a member of the Commission’s staff to moderate 

22 and direct the work of the Advisory Committee. 

23 (d) TECHNICAL STAFF.—The Commission shall ap24 point a member of the Commission’s technical staff to pro25 vide technical assistance to the Advisory Committee. 
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1 (e) DEVELOPMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

2 (1) CLOSED CAPTIONING REPORT.—Within 6 

3 months after the date of the first meeting of the Ad4 visory Committee, the Advisory Committee shall de5 velop and submit to the Commission a report that 

6 includes the following: 

7 (A) An identification of the performance 

8 objectives for protocols, technical capabilities, 

9 and technical procedures needed to permit con10 tent providers, content distributors, Internet 

11 service providers, software developers, and de12 vice manufacturers to reliably encode, trans13 port, receive, and render closed captions of 

14 video programming delivered using Internet 

15 protocol. 

16 (B) An identification of additional proto17 cols, technical capabilities, and technical proce18 dures beyond those available as of the date of 

19 enactment of this Act for the delivery of closed 

20 captions of video programming delivered using 

21 Internet protocol that are necessary to meet the 

22 performance objectives identified under sub23 paragraph (A). 

24 (C) A recommendation for any regulations 

25 that may be necessary to ensure compatibility 
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1 between video programming delivered using 

2 Internet protocol and devices capable of receiv3 ing and displaying such programming in order 

4 to facilitate access to closed captions. 

5 (2) VIDEO DESCRIPTION, EMERGENCY INFOR6 MATION, USER INTERFACES, AND VIDEO PROGRAM7 MING GUIDES AND MENUS.—Within 18 months after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Advisory 

9 Committee shall develop and submit to the Commis10 sion a report that includes the following: 

11 (A) An identification of the performance 

12 objectives for protocols, technical capabilities, 

13 and technical procedures needed to permit con14 tent providers, content distributors, Internet 

15 service providers, software developers, and de16 vice manufacturers to reliably encode, trans17 port, receive, and render video descriptions of 

18 video programming and emergency information 

19 delivered using Internet protocol or digital 

20 broadcast television. 

21 (B) An identification of additional proto22 cols, technical capabilities, and technical proce23 dures beyond those available as of the date of 

24 enactment of this Act for the delivery of video 

25 descriptions of video programming and emer-
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•HR 3101 EH

1 gency information delivered using Internet pro2 tocol that are necessary to meet the perform3 ance objectives identified under subparagraph 

4 (A). 

5 (C) A recommendation for any regulations 

6 that may be necessary to ensure compatibility 

7 between video programming delivered using 

8 Internet protocol and devices capable of receiv9 ing and displaying such programming in order 

10 to facilitate access to emergency information. 

11 (D) With respect to user interfaces, a rec12 ommendation for the standards, protocols, and 

13 procedures used to enable the functions of ap14 paratus designed to receive or display video pro15 gramming transmitted simultaneously with 

16 sound (including apparatus designed to receive 

17 or display video programming transmitted by 

18 means of services using Internet protocol) to be 

19 accessible to and usable by individuals with dis20 abilities. 

21 (E) With respect to user interfaces, a rec22 ommendation for the standards, protocols, and 

23 procedures used to enable on-screen text menus 

24 and other visual indicators used to access the 

25 functions on an apparatus described in sub-
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•HR 3101 EH

1 paragraph (D) to be accompanied by audio out2 put so that such menus or indicators are acces3 sible to and usable by individuals with disabil4 ities. 

5 (F) A recommendation for the standards, 

6 protocols, and procedures used to enable the se7 lection of video programming information on an 

8 apparatus or navigation device by means of a 

9 guide or menu to be accessible in real-time by 

10 individuals who are blind or have a visual im11 pairment. 

12 (3) CONSIDERATION OF STANDARDS, PROTO13 COLS, AND PROCEDURES BY STANDARD-SETTING OR14 GANIZATIONS.—The recommendations of the Advi15 sory Committee shall, to the extent possible, incor16 porate the standards, protocols, and procedures that 

17 have been adopted by appropriate industry standard18 setting organizations for the report requirements de19 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2). 

20 (f) MEETINGS.— 

21 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of 

22 the Advisory Committee shall take place not later 

23 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

24 this Act. 
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1 (2) OTHER MEETINGS.—After the initial meet2 ing, the Advisory Committee shall meet at the call 

3 of the Chairman. 

4 (3) NOTICE; OPEN MEETINGS.—Any meeting 

5 held by the Advisory Committee shall be noticed at 

6 least 14 days before such meeting and shall be open 

7 to the public. 

8 (g) PROCEDURAL RULES.— 

9 (1) QUORUM.—The presence of one-third of the 

10 members of the Advisory Committee shall constitute 

11 a quorum for conducting the business of the Advi12 sory Committee. 

13 (2) SUBCOMMITTEES.—To assist the Advisory 

14 Committee in carrying out its functions, the Chair15 man may establish appropriate subcommittees com16 posed of members of the Advisory Committee and 

17 other subject matter experts. 

18 (3) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURAL RULES.—The 

19 Advisory Committee may adopt other procedural 

20 rules as needed. 

21 (h) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 

22 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

23 apply to the Advisory Committee. 
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1 SEC. 202. VIDEO DESCRIPTION AND CLOSED CAPTIONING. 

2 (a) VIDEO DESCRIPTION.—Section 713 of the Com3 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking subsections (f) and (g); 

5 (2) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub6 section (j); and 

7 (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(f) VIDEO DESCRIPTION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) REINSTATEMENT OF REGULATIONS.—On 

11 the day that is 1 year after the date of enactment 

12 of the Twenty-First Century Communications and 

13 Video Accessibility Act of 2010, the Commission 

14 shall, after a rulemaking, reinstate its video descrip15 tion regulations contained in the Implementation of 

16 Video Description of Video Programming Report 

17 and Order (15 F.C.C.R. 15,230 (2000)), modified as 

18 provided in paragraph (2). 

19 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATIONS TO REINSTATED REGULA20 TIONS.—Such regulations shall be modified only as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(A) The regulations shall apply to video 

23 programming, as defined in subsection (i), inso24 far as such programming is transmitted for dis25 play on television in digital format. 
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1 ‘‘(B) The Commission shall update the list 

2 of the top 25 Designated Market Areas, the list 

3 of the top 5 national nonbroadcast networks 

4 that have at least 50 hours per quarter of 

5 prime time programming that is not exempt 

6 under this paragraph, and the designation of 

7 the beginning calendar quarter for which com8 pliance shall be calculated. 

9 ‘‘(C) The regulations may permit a pro10 vider of video programming or a program owner 

11 to petition the Commission for an exemption 

12 from the requirements of this section upon a 

13 showing that the requirements contained in this 

14 section would be economically burdensome. 

15 ‘‘(D) The Commission may exempt from 

16 the regulations established pursuant to para17 graph (1) a service, class of services, program, 

18 class of programs, equipment, or class of equip19 ment for which the Commission has determined 

20 that the application of such regulations would 

21 be economically burdensome for the provider of 

22 such service, program, or equipment. 

23 ‘‘(E) The regulations shall not apply to live 

24 or near-live programming. 
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•HR 3101 EH

1 ‘‘(F) The regulations shall provide for an 

2 appropriate phased schedule of deadlines for 

3 compliance. 

4 ‘‘(3) INQUIRIES ON FURTHER VIDEO DESCRIP5 TION REQUIREMENTS.—The Commission shall com6 mence the following inquiries not later than 1 year 

7 after the completion of the phase-in of the reinstated 

8 regulations and shall report to Congress 1 year 

9 thereafter on the findings for each of the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) VIDEO DESCRIPTION IN TELEVISION

11 PROGRAMMING.—The availability, use, and ben12 efits of video description on video programming 

13 distributed on television, the technical and cre14 ative issues associated with providing such video 

15 description, and the financial costs of providing 

16 such video description for providers of video 

17 programming and program owners. 

18 ‘‘(B) VIDEO DESCRIPTION IN VIDEO PRO19 GRAMMING DISTRIBUTED ON THE INTERNET.— 

20 The technical and operational issues, costs, and 

21 benefits of providing video descriptions for video 

22 programming that is delivered using Internet 

23 protocol. 

24 ‘‘(4) CONTINUING COMMISSION AUTHORITY.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 

2 issue additional regulations if the Commission 

3 determines, at least 2 years after completing 

4 the reports required in paragraph (3), that the 

5 need for and benefits of providing video descrip6 tions for video programming, insofar as such 

7 programming is transmitted for display on tele8 vision, are greater than the technical and eco9 nomic costs of providing such additional pro10 gramming. If the Commission makes such a de11 termination and issues additional regulations, 

12 the Commission may increase, in total, the 

13 hours requirement for described video program14 ming, insofar as such programming is trans15 mitted for display on television, up to 75 per16 cent of the requirement in the regulations rein17 stated under paragraph (1). 

18 ‘‘(B) FURTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) REPORT.—Nine years after the 

20 date of enactment of the Twenty-First 

21 Century Communications and Video Acces22 sibility Act of 2010, the Commission shall 

23 submit to the Committee on Energy and 

24 Commerce of the House of Representatives 

25 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
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1 and Transportation of the Senate a report 

2 assessing— 

3 ‘‘(I) the types of described video 

4 programming that is available to con5 sumers; 

6 ‘‘(II) consumer use of such pro7 gramming; 

8 ‘‘(III) the costs to program own9 ers, providers, and distributors of cre10 ating such programming; 

11 ‘‘(IV) the benefits to consumers 

12 of such programming; 

13 ‘‘(V) the amount of such pro14 gramming currently available; and 

15 ‘‘(VI) the need for additional de16 scribed programming. 

17 ‘‘(ii) INCREASED AVAILABILITY.—Ten 

18 years after the date of enactment of the 

19 Twenty-First Century Communications 

20 and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, the 

21 Commission shall have the authority, based 

22 upon the findings, conclusions, and rec23 ommendations contained in the report 

24 under clause (i), to increase the availability 

25 of such programming. 
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1 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION TO DESIGNATED MAR2 KET AREAS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After the Commis4 sion completes the study on video descrip5 tion, the Commission shall phase in the 

6 video description regulations for all des7 ignated market areas, except that the 

8 Commission may grant waivers to entities 

9 in specific designated market areas where 

10 it deems appropriate. 

11 ‘‘(ii) PHASE-IN DEADLINE.—The 

12 phase-in described under clause (i) shall be 

13 completed not later than 6 years after the 

14 date of enactment of the Twenty-First 

15 Century Communications and Video Acces16 sibility Act of 2010. 

17 ‘‘(g) EMERGENCY INFORMATION.—Not later than 1 

18 year after the Video Programming and Emergency Access 

19 Advisory Committee report under section 201(e)(2) of the 

20 Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessi21 bility Act of 2010 is submitted to the Commission, the 

22 Commission shall complete a proceeding to— 

23 ‘‘(1) identify methods to convey emergency in24 formation (as that term is defined in section 79.2 of 

25 title 47, Code of Federal Regulations) in a manner 
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1 accessible to individuals who are blind or have a vis2 ual impairment; and 

3 ‘‘(2) promulgate regulations that require certain 

4 designated video programming providers and video 

5 programming distributors (as those terms are de6 fined in section 79.1 of title 47, Code of Federal 

7 Regulations) and program owners to convey such 

8 emergency information in a manner accessible to in9 dividuals who are blind or have a visual impairment. 

10 ‘‘(h) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

11 ‘‘(1) VIDEO PROGRAMMING OWNER.—A video 

12 programming owner shall ensure that any closed 

13 captioning and video description required pursuant 

14 to this section is provided in accordance with the 

15 technical standards, protocols, and procedures estab16 lished by the Commission. 

17 ‘‘(2) VIDEO PROGRAMMING PROVIDER OR DIS18 TRIBUTOR.—A video programming provider or video 

19 programming distributor shall be deemed in compli20 ance with this section and the rules and regulation 

21 promulgated thereunder if such provider or dis22 tributor enables the rendering or the pass through 

23 of closed captions and video description signals. 

24 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, sec25 tion 303, and section 330: 
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1 ‘‘(1) VIDEO DESCRIPTION.—The term ‘video de2 scription’ means the insertion of audio narrated de3 scriptions of a television program’s key visual ele4 ments into natural pauses between the program’s 

5 dialogue. 

6 ‘‘(2) VIDEO PROGRAMMING.—The term ‘video 

7 programming’ has the meaning given such term in 

8 section 602.’’. 

9 (b) CLOSED CAPTIONING ON VIDEO PROGRAMMING

10 DELIVERED USING INTERNET PROTOCOL.—Section 713 

11 of such Act is further amended by striking subsection (c) 

12 and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(c) DEADLINES FOR CAPTIONING.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The regulations prescribed 

15 pursuant to subsection (b) shall include an appro16 priate schedule of deadlines for the provision of 

17 closed captioning of video programming published or 

18 exhibited on television. 

19 ‘‘(2) DEADLINES FOR PROGRAMMING DELIV20 ERED USING INTERNET PROTOCOL.— 

21 ‘‘(A) REGULATIONS ON CLOSED CAP22 TIONING ON VIDEO PROGRAMMING DELIVERED

23 USING INTERNET PROTOCOL.—Not later than 6 

24 months after the submission of the report to 

25 the Commission required by section 201(e)(1) 
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1 of the Twenty-First Century Communications 

2 and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, the Com3 mission shall promulgate regulations to require 

4 the provision of closed captioning on video pro5 gramming delivered using Internet protocol. 

6 ‘‘(B) SCHEDULE.—The regulations pre7 scribed under this paragraph shall include an 

8 appropriate schedule of decoding for the provi9 sion of closed captioning, taking into account 

10 whether such programming is prerecorded and 

11 edited for Internet distribution, or whether such 

12 programming is live or near-live and not edited 

13 for Internet distribution. 

14 ‘‘(C) COST.—The Commission may delay 

15 or waive the regulation promulgated under sub16 paragraph (A) to the extent the Commission 

17 finds that the application of the regulation to 

18 live video programming delivered using Internet 

19 protocol would be economically burdensome to 

20 providers of video programming or program 

21 owners. 

22 ‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS FOR REGULA23 TIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The regulations 

25 prescribed under this paragraph— 
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1 ‘‘(I) shall contain a definition of 

2 ‘near-live programming’ and ‘edited 

3 for Internet distribution’; 

4 ‘‘(II) may exempt any service, 

5 class of service, program, class of pro6 gram, equipment, or class of equip7 ment for which the Commission has 

8 determined that the application of 

9 such regulations would be economi10 cally burdensome to the provider of 

11 such service, program, or equipment; 

12 ‘‘(III) shall provide that de mini13 mis failure to comply with such regu14 lations by a provider of video pro15 gramming or program owner shall not 

16 be treated as a violation of the regula17 tions; and 

18 ‘‘(IV) shall only apply to video 

19 programming that is transmitted for 

20 display on television with closed cap21 tioning after the effective date of the 

22 regulations issued pursuant to this 

23 section. 

24 ‘‘(ii) ALTERNATE MEANS.—An entity 

25 may meet the requirements of this section 
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1 through alternate means than those pre2 scribed by regulations pursuant to para3 graph (1) if the requirements of this sec4 tion are met, as determined by the Com5 mission.’’. 

6 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 713(d) of 

7 such Act is amended by striking paragraph (3) and insert8 ing the following: 

9 ‘‘(3)(A) a provider of video programming or 

10 program owner may petition the Commission for an 

11 exemption from the requirements of this section; 

12 ‘‘(B) the Commission may grant such peti13 tion upon a showing that the requirements con14 tained in this section would be economically 

15 burdensome; 

16 ‘‘(C) during the pendency of such a peti17 tion, such provider or owner shall be exempt 

18 from the requirements of this section; and 

19 ‘‘(D) the Commission shall act to grant or 

20 deny any such petition, in whole or in part, 

21 within 6 months after the Commission receives 

22 such petition, unless the Commission finds that 

23 an extension of the 6-month period is necessary 

24 to determine whether such requirements are 

25 economically burdensome.’’. 
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1 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Two years after 

2 the effective date of the regulations issued pursuant to this 

3 section, and biennially thereafter, each broadcast tele4 vision network and each cable television network shall sub5 mit to the Commission a report containing the number 

6 of hours, in the applicable 2-year period, of video program7 ming not published or exhibited on television after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act that was provided on the Internet 

9 with closed captioning. 

10 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Three years after the date of 

12 enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit 

13 a report to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

14 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

15 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

16 Senate— 

17 (A) assessing the technical, economic, and 

18 operational issues regarding the captioning of 

19 video programming that is distributed only over 

20 the Internet, including the types and amounts 

21 of such video programming that is or could be 

22 captioned, the types of entities producing such 

23 programming, and the effects a closed cap24 tioning requirement may have on the producers 

25 of such programming; 
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1 (B) assessing the benefits to and use by 

2 consumers of closed captioning of video pro3 gramming that is distributed only over the 

4 Internet for consumers; and 

5 (C) making recommendations, if any, of 

6 whether Congress should adopt or the Commis7 sion should implement a closed captioning re8 quirement for such programming. 

9 (2) UPDATES.—The Commission shall periodi10 cally update the report to the Committees as it de11 termines appropriate. 

12 SEC. 203. CLOSED CAPTIONING DECODER AND VIDEO DE13 SCRIPTION CAPABILITY. 

14 (a) AUTHORITY TO REGULATE.—Section 303(u) of 

15 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303(u)) is 

16 amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(u) Require that— 

18 ‘‘(1) apparatus designed to receive or play back 

19 video programming transmitted simultaneously with 

20 sound, if such apparatus is manufactured in the 

21 United States or imported for use in the United 

22 States and uses a picture screen of any size— 

23 ‘‘(A) be equipped with built-in closed cap24 tion decoder circuitry or capability designed to 

25 display closed-captioned video programming; 
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1 ‘‘(B) have the capability to decode and 

2 make available the transmission and delivery of 

3 video description services as required by regula4 tions reinstated and modified pursuant to sec5 tion 713(f); and 

6 ‘‘(C) have the capability to decode and 

7 make available emergency information (as that 

8 term is defined in section 79.2 of title 47, Code 

9 of Federal Regulations) in a manner that is ac10 cessible to individuals who are blind or have a 

11 visual impairment; and 

12 ‘‘(2) notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this sub13 section— 

14 ‘‘(A) apparatus described in such para15 graph that use a picture screen that is less than 

16 13 inches in size meet the requirements of sub17 paragraphs (A), (B), and (C) of such paragraph 

18 only if the requirements of such subparagraphs 

19 are achievable (as defined in section 716); 

20 ‘‘(B) any apparatus or class of apparatus 

21 that are display-only video monitors with no 

22 playback capability are exempt from the re23 quirements of such paragraph; and 

24 ‘‘(C) the Commission shall have the au25 thority to waive the requirements of this sub-
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1 section for any apparatus or class of appa2 ratus.’’. 

3 (b) OTHER DEVICES.—Section 303 of the Commu4 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303) is further amended 

5 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(z) Require that— 

7 ‘‘(1) if achievable (as defined in section 716), 

8 apparatus designed to record video programming 

9 transmitted simultaneously with sound, if such appa10 ratus is manufactured in the United States or im11 ported for use in the United States, enable the ren12 dering or the pass through of closed captions, video 

13 description signals, and emergency information (as 

14 that term is defined in section 79.2 of title 47, Code 

15 of Federal Regulations) so that viewers are able to 

16 activate and de-activate the closed captions and 

17 video description as the video programming is played 

18 back on a picture screen of any size; and 

19 ‘‘(2) interconnection mechanisms and standards 

20 for digital video source devices are available to carry 

21 from the source device to the consumer equipment 

22 the information necessary to permit the display of 

23 closed captions and to make encoded video descrip24 tion and emergency information audible.’’. 
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1 (c) SHIPMENT IN COMMERCE.—Section 330(b) of the 

2 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 330(b)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘section 303(u)’’ in the first 

5 sentence and inserting ‘‘subsections (u) and (z) of 

6 section 303’’; 

7 (2) by striking the second sentence and insert8 ing the following: ‘‘Such rules shall provide perform9 ance and display standards for such built-in decoder 

10 circuitry or capability designed to display closed cap11 tioned video programming, the transmission and de12 livery of video description services, and the convey13 ance of emergency information as required by sec14 tion 303 of this Act.’’; and 

15 (3) in the fourth sentence, by striking ‘‘closed16 captioning service continues’’ and inserting ‘‘closed17 captioning service and video description service con18 tinue’’. 

19 (d) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Communica21 tions Commission shall, after consideration of the 

22 Advisory Committee reports required by section 

23 201(e), prescribe such regulations as are necessary 

24 to implement the requirements of sections 303(u), 

25 303(z), and 330(b) of the Communications Act of 
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1 1934, as amended by this section, needed for the 

2 transmission of— 

3 (A) closed captioning within 6 months 

4 after the submission to the Commission of the 

5 Advisory Committee report required by section 

6 section 201(e)(1); and 

7 (B) video description and emergency infor8 mation within 12 months after the submission 

9 to the Commission of the Advisory Committee 

10 report required by section section 201(e)(2). 

11 (2) ALTERNATE MEANS.—An entity may meet 

12 the requirements of sections 303(u), 303(z), and 

13 330(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 through 

14 alternate means than those prescribed by regulations 

15 pursuant to paragraph (1) if the requirements of 

16 such sections are met, as determined by the Com17 mission. 

18 SEC. 204. USER INTERFACES ON DIGITAL APPARATUS. 

19 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 303 of the Communica20 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303) is further amended by 

21 adding after subsection (z), as added by section 203 of 

22 this Act, the following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(aa) Require— 

24 ‘‘(1) if achievable (as defined in section 716), 

25 that digital apparatus designed to receive or play 
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1 back video programming, that are shipped in inter2 state commerce or manufactured in the United 

3 States, transmitted in digital format simultaneously 

4 with sound, including apparatus designed to receive 

5 or display video programming transmitted in digital 

6 format using Internet protocol, be designed, devel7 oped, and fabricated so that control of all built-in 

8 apparatus functions are accessible to and usable by 

9 individuals with disabilities; 

10 ‘‘(2) that if on-screen text menus or other vis11 ual indicators built in to the digital apparatus are 

12 used to access the functions of the apparatus de13 scribed in paragraph (1), such functions shall be ac14 companied by audio output that is either integrated 

15 or peripheral to the apparatus, so that such menus 

16 or indicators are accessible to and usable by individ17 uals who are blind or have a visual impairment in 

18 real-time; 

19 ‘‘(3) that built-in user controls on such appa20 ratus shall be capable of accessing closed captioning, 

21 including— 

22 ‘‘(A) if a remote control is provided with 

23 the apparatus— 
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1 ‘‘(i) a button, key, or icon on the re2 mote control of such apparatus designated 

3 for activating closed captioning; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) any other mechanism that pro5 vides a substantially equivalent level of ac6 cessibility; and 

7 ‘‘(B) if on-screen menus are displayed on 

8 such apparatus— 

9 ‘‘(i) the inclusion of ‘closed captions’ 

10 and ‘video description’ on the first menu 

11 that appears; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) any other mechanism that pro13 vides a substantially equivalent level of ac14 cessibility; and 

15 ‘‘(4) that in applying this subsection the term 

16 ‘apparatus’ does not include a navigation device, as 

17 such term is defined in section 76.1200 of title 47, 

18 Code of Federal Regulations.’’. 

19 (b) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within 12 months after the 

21 submission to the Commission of the Advisory Com22 mittee report required by section 201(e)(2), the 

23 Commission shall prescribe such regulations as are 

24 necessary to implement the amendments made by 

25 subsection (a). 
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1 (2) ALTERNATE MEANS.—An entity may meet 

2 the requirements of sections 303(aa) of the Commu3 nications Act of 1934 through alternate means than 

4 those prescribed by regulations pursuant to para5 graph (1) if the requirements of such section are 

6 met, as determined by the Commission. 

7 (c) DEFERRAL OF COMPLIANCE WITH ATSC MO8 BILE DTV STANDARD A/153.—A digital apparatus de9 signed and manufactured to receive or play back the Ad10 vanced Television Systems Committee’s Mobile DTV 

11 Standards A/153 shall not be required to meet the require12 ments of the regulations prescribed under subsection (b) 

13 for a period of not less than 24 months after the date 

14 on which the final regulations are published in the Federal 

15 Register. 

16 SEC. 205. ACCESS TO VIDEO PROGRAMMING GUIDES AND 

17 MENUS PROVIDED ON NAVIGATION DEVICES. 

18 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 303 of the Communica19 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303) is further amended by 

20 adding after subsection (aa), as added by section 204 of 

21 this Act, the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(bb) Require— 

23 ‘‘(1) if achievable (as defined in section 716), 

24 that the on-screen text menus and guides provided 

25 by navigation devices (as such term is defined in sec-
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1 tion 76.1200 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula2 tions) for the display or selection of multichannel 

3 video programming are audibly accessible in real4 time upon request by individuals who are blind or 

5 have a visual impairment, except that the Commis6 sion may not specify the technical standards, proto7 cols, procedures, and other technical requirements 

8 for meeting this requirement; and 

9 ‘‘(2) for navigation devices with built-in closed 

10 captioning capability, access to such capability 

11 through a button, key, or icon designated for acti12 vating the closed captioning, or through any other 

13 mechanism that provides a substantially equivalent 

14 level of accessibility.’’. 

15 (b) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within 12 months after the 

17 submission to the Commission of the Advisory Com18 mittee report required by section 201(e)(2), the 

19 Commission shall prescribe such regulations as are 

20 necessary to implement the amendment made by 

21 subsection (a). 

22 (2) EXEMPTION.—Such regulations may pro23 vide an exemption from the regulations for cable sys24 tems serving 50,000 or fewer subscribers. 
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1 (3) RESPONSIBILITY.—An entity shall only be 

2 responsible for compliance with the requirements 

3 added by this section with respect to navigation de4 vices that such entity provides to a requesting indi5 vidual who is blind or has a visual impairment and 

6 shall make reasonable efforts to make such require7 ments known to consumers. 

8 (4) SEPARATE EQUIPMENT OR SOFTWARE.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Such regulations shall 

10 permit but not require the entity providing the 

11 navigation device to the requesting individual 

12 who is blind or has a visual impairment to com13 ply with section 303(bb)(1) of the Communica14 tions Act of 1934 (as added by subsection (a) 

15 of this section) through such entity’s use of 

16 software, a peripheral device, specialized con17 sumer premises equipment, a network-based 

18 service, or other solution, and shall provide such 

19 entity with the flexibility to select the manner 

20 of compliance. 

21 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—If an entity com22 plies with section 303(bb)(1) of the Commu23 nications Act of 1934 (as added by subsection 

24 (a) of this section) under subparagraph (A) of 

25 this paragraph, such entity shall provide any 
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1 such software, peripheral device, equipment, 

2 service, or solution at no additional charge and 

3 within a reasonable time to such individual. 

4 (5) USER CONTROLS FOR CLOSED CAP5 TIONING.—Such regulations shall permit the entity 

6 providing the navigation device maximum flexibility 

7 in the selection of means for compliance with section 

8 303(bb)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 (as 

9 added by subsection (a) of this section). 

10 (6) PHASE-IN.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

12 provide affected entities with— 

13 (i) not less than 2 years after the 

14 adoption of such regulations to begin plac15 ing in service devices that comply with the 

16 requirements of section 303(bb)(2) of the 

17 Communications Act of 1934 (as added by 

18 subsection (a) of this section); and 

19 (ii) not less than 3 years after the 

20 adoption of such regulations to begin plac21 ing in service devices that comply with the 

22 requirements of section 303(bb)(1) of the 

23 Communications Act of 1934 (as added by 

24 subsection (a) of this section). 
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1 (B) APPLICATION.—Such regulations shall 

2 apply only to devices manufactured or imported 

3 on or after the respective effective dates estab4 lished in subparagraph (A). 

5 SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this title: 

7 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi8 sory Committee’’ means the advisory committee es9 tablished in section 201. 

10 (2) CHAIRMAN.—The term ‘‘Chairman’’ means 

11 the Chairman of the Federal Communications Com12 mission. 

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

14 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

15 (4) EMERGENCY INFORMATION.—The term 

16 ‘‘emergency information’’ has the meaning given 

17 such term in section 79.2 of title 47, Code of Fed18 eral Regulations. 

19 (5) INTERNET PROTOCOL.—The term ‘‘Internet 

20 protocol’’ includes Transmission Control Protocol 

21 and a successor protocol or technology to Internet 

22 protocol. 

23 (6) NAVIGATION DEVICE.—The term ‘‘naviga24 tion device’’ has the meaning given such term in sec-
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1 tion 76.1200 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula2 tions. 

3 (7) VIDEO DESCRIPTION.—The term ‘‘video de4 scription’’ has the meaning given such term in sec5 tion 713 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

6 U.S.C. 613). 

7 (8) VIDEO PROGRAMMING.—The term ‘‘video 

8 programming’’ has the meaning given such term in 

9 section 713 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

10 U.S.C. 613). 

11 TITLE III—PAYGO COMPLIANCE 

12 SEC. 301. PAYGO COMPLIANCE. 

13 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

14 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

15 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

16 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

17 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

18 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro19 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

20 vote on passage. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 26, 2010. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 
111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3101 

AN ACT 

To ensure that individuals with disabilities have acthe 21st century. nication and video programming technologies in cess to emerging Internet Protocol-based commu-