(3) ADDITIONAL
PROCEDURAL
RULES.—The 
Advisory Committee may adopt other procedural 
rules as needed. 
(f) FEDERAL
ADVISORY
COMMITTEE
ACT.—The 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 
apply to the Advisory Committee. 
(g) IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Com-
mission shall have the authority to promulgate regulations 
to implement the recommendations proposed by the Advi-
sory Committee, as well as any other regulations as are 
necessary to achieve reliable, interoperable communication 
that ensures access by individuals with disabilities to an 
Internet protocol-enabled emergency network. 
(h) SURVEY.—Not later than 30 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall con-
duct and publish the results of a national survey of indi-
viduals with disabilities concerning real time text, 
geolocation services, instant messaging services, and mo-
bile telecommunications relay services. The survey shall 
seek to determine what individuals with disabilities believe 
to be the most effective and efficient technologies and 
methods by which to enable access to emergency services 
by individuals with disabilities. 
(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—
(1) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 
Communications Commission; 
(2) the term ‘‘Chairman’’ means the Chairman 
of the Federal Communications Commission; and 
(3) except as otherwise expressly provided, 
other terms have the meanings given such terms in 
section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 153). 
SEC. 106. RELAY SERVICES FOR DEAF-BLIND INDIVIDUALS. 
Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 601 et seq.), as amended by sections 103 and 104, 
is further amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 719. RELAY SERVICES FOR DEAF-BLIND INDIVID-
UALS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 6 months after the date 
of enactment of the Twenty-First Century Communica-
tions and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, the Commission 
shall establish rules that define as eligible for relay service 
support those programs that are approved by the Commis-
sion for the distribution of specialized customer premises 
equipment designed to make telecommunications service, 
Internet access service, and advanced communications, in-
cluding interexchange services and advanced telecommuni-
cations and information services, accessible by low-income 
individuals who are deaf-blind.
‘‘(b) INDIVIDUALS
WHO
ARE
DEAF-BLIND
DE-
FINED.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘individ-
uals who are deaf-blind’ has the meaning given such term 
in section 206 of the Helen Keller National Center Act 
(29 U.S.C. 1905). 
‘‘(c) ANNUAL AMOUNT.—The total amount of sup-
port the Commission may provide from its Telecommuni-
cations Relay Services Fund for any fiscal year may not 
exceed $10,000,000.’’. 
TITLE II—VIDEO PROGRAMMING 
SEC. 201. VIDEO PROGRAMMING AND EMERGENCY ACCESS 
ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Chairman shall es-
tablish an advisory committee to be known as the Video 
Programming and Emergency Access Advisory Com-
mittee. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—As soon as practicable after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Chairman shall appoint 
individuals who have the technical knowledge and engi-
neering expertise to serve on the Advisory Committee in 
the fulfillment of its duties, including the following: 
(1) Representatives of distributors and pro-
viders of video programming or national organiza-
tions representing such distributors and providers.
(2) Representatives of vendors, developers, and 
manufacturers of systems, facilities, equipment, and 
capabilities for the provision of video programming 
delivered using Internet protocol or a national orga-
nization representing such vendors, developers, or 
manufacturers. 
(3) Representatives of manufacturers of con-
sumer electronics or information technology equip-
ment or a national organization representing such 
manufacturers. 
(4) Representatives of national organizations 
representing accessibility advocates, including indi-
viduals with disabilities and the elderly. 
(5) Representatives of the broadcast television 
industry or a national organization representing 
such industry. 
(6) Other individuals with technical and engi-
neering expertise, as the Chairman determines ap-
propriate. 
(c) COMMISSION OVERSIGHT.—The Chairman shall 
appoint a member of the Commission’s staff to moderate 
and direct the work of the Advisory Committee. 
(d) TECHNICAL STAFF.—The Commission shall ap-
point a member of the Commission’s technical staff to pro-
vide technical assistance to the Advisory Committee.
(e) DEVELOPMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS.— 
(1) CLOSED
CAPTIONING
REPORT.—Within 6 
months after the date of the first meeting of the Ad-
visory Committee, the Advisory Committee shall de-
velop and submit to the Commission a report that 
includes the following: 
(A) An identification of the performance 
objectives for protocols, technical capabilities, 
and technical procedures needed to permit con-
tent providers, content distributors, Internet 
service providers, software developers, and de-
vice manufacturers to reliably encode, trans-
port, receive, and render closed captions of 
video programming delivered using Internet 
protocol. 
(B) An identification of additional proto-
cols, technical capabilities, and technical proce-
dures beyond those available as of the date of 
enactment of this Act for the delivery of closed 
captions of video programming delivered using 
Internet protocol that are necessary to meet the 
performance objectives identified under sub-
paragraph (A). 
(C) A recommendation for any regulations 
that may be necessary to ensure compatibility
between video programming delivered using 
Internet protocol and devices capable of receiv-
ing and displaying such programming in order 
to facilitate access to closed captions. 
(2) VIDEO DESCRIPTION, EMERGENCY INFOR-
MATION, USER INTERFACES, AND VIDEO PROGRAM-
MING GUIDES AND MENUS.—Within 18 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Advisory 
Committee shall develop and submit to the Commis-
sion a report that includes the following: 
(A) An identification of the performance 
objectives for protocols, technical capabilities, 
and technical procedures needed to permit con-
tent providers, content distributors, Internet 
service providers, software developers, and de-
vice manufacturers to reliably encode, trans-
port, receive, and render video descriptions of 
video programming and emergency information 
delivered using Internet protocol or digital 
broadcast television. 
(B) An identification of additional proto-
cols, technical capabilities, and technical proce-
dures beyond those available as of the date of 
enactment of this Act for the delivery of video 
descriptions of video programming and emer-
paragraph (D) to be accompanied by audio out-
put so that such menus or indicators are acces-
sible to and usable by individuals with disabil-
ities. 
(F) A recommendation for the standards, 
protocols, and procedures used to enable the se-
lection of video programming information on an 
apparatus or navigation device by means of a 
guide or menu to be accessible in real-time by 
individuals who are blind or have a visual im-
pairment. 
(3) CONSIDERATION
OF
STANDARDS, PROTO-
COLS, AND PROCEDURES BY STANDARD-SETTING OR-
GANIZATIONS.—The recommendations of the Advi-
sory Committee shall, to the extent possible, incor-
porate the standards, protocols, and procedures that 
have been adopted by appropriate industry standard- 
setting organizations for the report requirements de-
scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2). 
(f) MEETINGS.— 
(1) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of 
the Advisory Committee shall take place not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
(2) OTHER MEETINGS.—After the initial meet-
ing, the Advisory Committee shall meet at the call 
of the Chairman. 
(3) NOTICE; OPEN
MEETINGS.—Any meeting 
held by the Advisory Committee shall be noticed at 
least 14 days before such meeting and shall be open 
to the public. 
(g) PROCEDURAL RULES.— 
(1) QUORUM.—The presence of one-third of the 
members of the Advisory Committee shall constitute 
a quorum for conducting the business of the Advi-
sory Committee. 
(2) SUBCOMMITTEES.—To assist the Advisory 
Committee in carrying out its functions, the Chair-
man may establish appropriate subcommittees com-
posed of members of the Advisory Committee and 
other subject matter experts. 
(3) ADDITIONAL
PROCEDURAL
RULES.—The 
Advisory Committee may adopt other procedural 
rules as needed. 
(h) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 
apply to the Advisory Committee.
SEC. 202. VIDEO DESCRIPTION AND CLOSED CAPTIONING. 
(a) VIDEO DESCRIPTION.—Section 713 of the Com-
munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613) is amended— 
(1) by striking subsections (f) and (g); 
(2) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub-
section (j); and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(f) VIDEO DESCRIPTION.— 
‘‘(1) REINSTATEMENT OF REGULATIONS.—On 
the day that is 1 year after the date of enactment 
of the Twenty-First Century Communications and 
Video Accessibility Act of 2010, the Commission 
shall, after a rulemaking, reinstate its video descrip-
tion regulations contained in the Implementation of 
Video Description of Video Programming Report 
and Order (15 F.C.C.R. 15,230 (2000)), modified as 
provided in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) MODIFICATIONS TO REINSTATED REGULA-
TIONS.—Such regulations shall be modified only as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) The regulations shall apply to video 
programming, as defined in subsection (i), inso-
far as such programming is transmitted for dis-
play on television in digital format.
‘‘(B) The Commission shall update the list 
of the top 25 Designated Market Areas, the list 
of the top 5 national nonbroadcast networks 
that have at least 50 hours per quarter of 
prime time programming that is not exempt 
under this paragraph, and the designation of 
the beginning calendar quarter for which com-
pliance shall be calculated. 
‘‘(C) The regulations may permit a pro-
vider of video programming or a program owner 
to petition the Commission for an exemption 
from the requirements of this section upon a 
showing that the requirements contained in this 
section would be economically burdensome. 
‘‘(D) The Commission may exempt from 
the regulations established pursuant to para-
graph (1) a service, class of services, program, 
class of programs, equipment, or class of equip-
ment for which the Commission has determined 
that the application of such regulations would 
be economically burdensome for the provider of 
such service, program, or equipment. 
‘‘(E) The regulations shall not apply to live 
or near-live programming.
‘‘(F) The regulations shall provide for an 
appropriate phased schedule of deadlines for 
compliance. 
‘‘(3) INQUIRIES ON FURTHER VIDEO DESCRIP-
TION REQUIREMENTS.—The Commission shall com-
mence the following inquiries not later than 1 year 
after the completion of the phase-in of the reinstated 
regulations and shall report to Congress 1 year 
thereafter on the findings for each of the following: 
‘‘(A) VIDEO DESCRIPTION IN TELEVISION 
PROGRAMMING.—The availability, use, and ben-
efits of video description on video programming 
distributed on television, the technical and cre-
ative issues associated with providing such video 
description, and the financial costs of providing 
such video description for providers of video 
programming and program owners. 
‘‘(B) VIDEO DESCRIPTION IN VIDEO PRO-
GRAMMING DISTRIBUTED ON THE INTERNET.— 
The technical and operational issues, costs, and 
benefits of providing video descriptions for video 
programming that is delivered using Internet 
protocol. 
‘‘(4) CONTINUING COMMISSION AUTHORITY.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may 
issue additional regulations if the Commission 
determines, at least 2 years after completing 
the reports required in paragraph (3), that the 
need for and benefits of providing video descrip-
tions for video programming, insofar as such 
programming is transmitted for display on tele-
vision, are greater than the technical and eco-
nomic costs of providing such additional pro-
gramming. If the Commission makes such a de-
termination and issues additional regulations, 
the Commission may increase, in total, the 
hours requirement for described video program-
ming, insofar as such programming is trans-
mitted for display on television, up to 75 per-
cent of the requirement in the regulations rein-
stated under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) FURTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(i) REPORT.—Nine years after the 
date of enactment of the Twenty-First 
Century Communications and Video Acces-
sibility Act of 2010, the Commission shall 
submit to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate a report 
assessing— 
‘‘(I) the types of described video 
programming that is available to con-
sumers; 
‘‘(II) consumer use of such pro-
gramming; 
‘‘(III) the costs to program own-
ers, providers, and distributors of cre-
ating such programming; 
‘‘(IV) the benefits to consumers 
of such programming; 
‘‘(V) the amount of such pro-
gramming currently available; and 
‘‘(VI) the need for additional de-
scribed programming. 
‘‘(ii) INCREASED AVAILABILITY.—Ten 
years after the date of enactment of the 
Twenty-First 
Century 
Communications 
and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, the 
Commission shall have the authority, based 
upon the findings, conclusions, and rec-
ommendations contained in the report 
under clause (i), to increase the availability 
of such programming.
‘‘(C) APPLICATION TO DESIGNATED MAR-
KET AREAS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After the Commis-
sion completes the study on video descrip-
tion, the Commission shall phase in the 
video description regulations for all des-
ignated market areas, except that the 
Commission may grant waivers to entities 
in specific designated market areas where 
it deems appropriate. 
‘‘(ii) 
PHASE-IN
DEADLINE.—The 
phase-in described under clause (i) shall be 
completed not later than 6 years after the 
date of enactment of the Twenty-First 
Century Communications and Video Acces-
sibility Act of 2010. 
‘‘(g) EMERGENCY INFORMATION.—Not later than 1 
year after the Video Programming and Emergency Access 
Advisory Committee report under section 201(e)(2) of the 
Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessi-
bility Act of 2010 is submitted to the Commission, the 
Commission shall complete a proceeding to— 
‘‘(1) identify methods to convey emergency in-
formation (as that term is defined in section 79.2 of 
title 47, Code of Federal Regulations) in a manner
accessible to individuals who are blind or have a vis-
ual impairment; and 
‘‘(2) promulgate regulations that require certain 
designated video programming providers and video 
programming distributors (as those terms are de-
fined in section 79.1 of title 47, Code of Federal 
Regulations) and program owners to convey such 
emergency information in a manner accessible to in-
dividuals who are blind or have a visual impairment. 
‘‘(h) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 
‘‘(1) VIDEO
PROGRAMMING
OWNER.—A video 
programming owner shall ensure that any closed 
captioning and video description required pursuant 
to this section is provided in accordance with the 
technical standards, protocols, and procedures estab-
lished by the Commission. 
‘‘(2) VIDEO PROGRAMMING PROVIDER OR DIS-
TRIBUTOR.—A video programming provider or video 
programming distributor shall be deemed in compli-
ance with this section and the rules and regulation 
promulgated thereunder if such provider or dis-
tributor enables the rendering or the pass through 
of closed captions and video description signals. 
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, sec-
tion 303, and section 330:
‘‘(1) VIDEO DESCRIPTION.—The term ‘video de-
scription’ means the insertion of audio narrated de-
scriptions of a television program’s key visual ele-
ments into natural pauses between the program’s 
dialogue. 
‘‘(2) VIDEO PROGRAMMING.—The term ‘video 
programming’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 602.’’. 
(b) CLOSED CAPTIONING ON VIDEO PROGRAMMING 
DELIVERED USING INTERNET PROTOCOL.—Section 713 
of such Act is further amended by striking subsection (c) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(c) DEADLINES FOR CAPTIONING.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The regulations prescribed 
pursuant to subsection (b) shall include an appro-
priate schedule of deadlines for the provision of 
closed captioning of video programming published or 
exhibited on television. 
‘‘(2) DEADLINES
FOR
PROGRAMMING
DELIV-
ERED USING INTERNET PROTOCOL.— 
‘‘(A) REGULATIONS
ON
CLOSED
CAP-
TIONING ON VIDEO PROGRAMMING DELIVERED 
USING INTERNET PROTOCOL.—Not later than 6 
months after the submission of the report to 
the Commission required by section 201(e)(1)
of the Twenty-First Century Communications 
and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, the Com-
mission shall promulgate regulations to require 
the provision of closed captioning on video pro-
gramming delivered using Internet protocol. 
‘‘(B) SCHEDULE.—The regulations pre-
scribed under this paragraph shall include an 
appropriate schedule of decoding for the provi-
sion of closed captioning, taking into account 
whether such programming is prerecorded and 
edited for Internet distribution, or whether such 
programming is live or near-live and not edited 
for Internet distribution. 
‘‘(C) COST.—The Commission may delay 
or waive the regulation promulgated under sub-
paragraph (A) to the extent the Commission 
finds that the application of the regulation to 
live video programming delivered using Internet 
protocol would be economically burdensome to 
providers of video programming or program 
owners. 
‘‘(D) 
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
REGULA-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The regulations 
prescribed under this paragraph—
‘‘(I) shall contain a definition of 
‘near-live programming’ and ‘edited 
for Internet distribution’; 
‘‘(II) may exempt any service, 
class of service, program, class of pro-
gram, equipment, or class of equip-
ment for which the Commission has 
determined that the application of 
such regulations would be economi-
cally burdensome to the provider of 
such service, program, or equipment; 
‘‘(III) shall provide that de mini-
mis failure to comply with such regu-
lations by a provider of video pro-
gramming or program owner shall not 
be treated as a violation of the regula-
tions; and 
‘‘(IV) shall only apply to video 
programming that is transmitted for 
display on television with closed cap-
tioning after the effective date of the 
regulations issued pursuant to this 
section. 
‘‘(ii) ALTERNATE MEANS.—An entity 
may meet the requirements of this section
through alternate means than those pre-
scribed by regulations pursuant to para-
graph (1) if the requirements of this sec-
tion are met, as determined by the Com-
mission.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 713(d) of 
such Act is amended by striking paragraph (3) and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(3)(A) a provider of video programming or 
program owner may petition the Commission for an 
exemption from the requirements of this section; 
‘‘(B) the Commission may grant such peti-
tion upon a showing that the requirements con-
tained in this section would be economically 
burdensome; 
‘‘(C) during the pendency of such a peti-
tion, such provider or owner shall be exempt 
from the requirements of this section; and 
‘‘(D) the Commission shall act to grant or 
deny any such petition, in whole or in part, 
within 6 months after the Commission receives 
such petition, unless the Commission finds that 
an extension of the 6-month period is necessary 
to determine whether such requirements are 
economically burdensome.’’.
(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Two years after 
the effective date of the regulations issued pursuant to this 
section, and biennially thereafter, each broadcast tele-
vision network and each cable television network shall sub-
mit to the Commission a report containing the number 
of hours, in the applicable 2-year period, of video program-
ming not published or exhibited on television after the date 
of enactment of this Act that was provided on the Internet 
with closed captioning. 
(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Three years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit 
a report to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate— 
(A) assessing the technical, economic, and 
operational issues regarding the captioning of 
video programming that is distributed only over 
the Internet, including the types and amounts 
of such video programming that is or could be 
captioned, the types of entities producing such 
programming, and the effects a closed cap-
tioning requirement may have on the producers 
of such programming;