I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5016 
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate regulations 
requiring material in the online public inspection file of a covered entity 
to be made available in a format that is machine-readable. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 8, 2019 
Mr. LUJA´N (for himself, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. WELCH, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. 
ESHOO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. CLARKE of New York, 
Mr. LOEBSACK, Mr. RUIZ, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Ms. NOR-
TON, Mr. COHEN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 
HIMES, Mr. POCAN, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. LOWENTHAL, 
Mr. TAKANO, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. 
MORELLE, Mr. COOPER, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. KIM, Mr. 
TED LIEU of California, and Mr. RUSH) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to pro-
mulgate regulations requiring material in the online pub-
lic inspection file of a covered entity to be made available 
in a format that is machine-readable. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair and Clear Cam-
paign Transparency Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) On May 9, 2013, President Barack Obama 
issued an Executive order that made open and ma-
chine-readable data the new default for government 
information. 
(2) Open data principles are essential for trans-
parency and efficiency in government. 
(3) In 2012, the Federal Communications Com-
mission required television broadcast stations to 
place on the internet website of the Commission cer-
tain materials in the files such stations are required 
to maintain and make available for public inspection, 
including important information about the pur-
chasing of political advertisements. In 2016, the 
Commission extended the online public inspection 
file requirement to providers of cable and satellite 
television service, radio broadcast stations, and pro-
viders of satellite radio service. 
(4) The Commission declined to require such 
materials to be machine-readable, deciding at the 
time that it was more important to get the informa-
tion online faster. 
(5) Machine readability is a critical component 
of open government and provides interested parties 
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with the necessary access to evaluate data in a more 
comprehensive way. 
SEC. 3. MATERIAL IN ONLINE PUBLIC INSPECTION FILE RE-
QUIRED TO BE IN MACHINE-READABLE FOR-
MAT. 
(a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 
shall promulgate regulations that require a covered entity, 
to the extent such entity is required to make material in 
the public inspection file of such entity available on, or 
upload such material to, an internet website, to make such 
material available or upload such material in a format that 
is machine-readable. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The regulations promulgated 
under subsection (a) shall apply— 
(1) to a covered entity for which an online pub-
lic inspection file requirement is in effect on the date 
of the promulgation of such regulations— 
(A) with respect to the political file portion 
of the public inspection file, beginning not later 
than the date that is 60 days after the date of 
such promulgation; and 
(B) with respect to the other portions of 
the public inspection file, at the same time as 
such regulations apply under subparagraph (A) 
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with respect to the political file portion of the 
public inspection file or as soon thereafter as 
the Commission considers practicable; and 
(2) to a covered entity for which an online pub-
lic inspection file requirement becomes effective after 
the date of the promulgation of such regulations— 
(A) with respect to the political file portion 
of the public inspection file, beginning on the 
later of— 
(i) the date of applicability of such 
regulations under paragraph (1)(A); or 
(ii) the date on which the online pub-
lic inspection file requirement becomes ef-
fective for such entity; and 
(B) with respect to the other portions of 
the public inspection file, at the same time as 
such regulations apply under subparagraph (A) 
with respect to the political file portion of the 
public inspection file or as soon thereafter as 
the Commission considers practicable. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Communications Commission. 
(2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en-
tity’’ means a television broadcast station, AM or 
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FM radio broadcast station, cable operator, direct 
broadcast satellite service provider, or satellite dig-
ital audio radio service provider. 
(3) MACHINE-READABLE.—The term ‘‘machine- 
readable’’ means, with respect to the format of ma-
terial in a public inspection file, that such format 
supports the automated searching for particular text 
within and among documents, the bulk downloading 
of data contained in such material, the aggregation, 
manipulation, sorting, and analysis of the data con-
tained in such material, and such other functionality 
as the Commission considers appropriate. 
(4) ONLINE
PUBLIC
INSPECTION
FILE
RE-
QUIREMENT.—The term ‘‘online public inspection 
file requirement’’ means a requirement for a covered 
entity to make material in the public inspection file 
of such entity available on, or upload such material 
to, an internet website. 
(5) POLITICAL FILE.—The term ‘‘political file’’ 
means, with respect to a covered entity, the file that 
such entity is required to maintain and make avail-
able for public inspection under section 315(e) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 315(e)) or 
under any similar requirement applicable to such en-
tity that is administered by the Commission. 
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