I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 310 
To increase the penalties for violations by television and radio broadcasters 
of the prohibitions against transmission of obscene, indecent, and profane 
material, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 25, 2005 
Mr. UPTON (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BARTON of Texas, and Mr. DIN-
GELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To increase the penalties for violations by television and 
radio broadcasters of the prohibitions against trans-
mission of obscene, indecent, and profane material, and 
for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Broadcast Decency 
Enforcement Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. INCREASE IN PENALTIES FOR OBSCENE, INDECENT, 
AND PROFANE BROADCASTS. 
Section 503(b)(2) of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(2)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and 
(D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively; 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if the viola-
tor is (i) a broadcast station licensee or permittee, or (ii) 
an applicant for any broadcast license, permit, certificate, 
or other instrument or authorization issued by the Com-
mission, and the violator is determined by the Commission 
under paragraph (1) to have broadcast obscene, indecent, 
or profane material, the amount of any forfeiture penalty 
determined under this section shall not exceed $500,000 
for each violation.’’; and 
(3) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated by 
paragraph (1) of this subsection— 
(A) by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A) or (B)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A), (B), or (C)’’; 
and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, if the 
violator is determined by the Commission under 
paragraph (1) to have uttered obscene, inde-
cent, or profane material (and the case is not 
covered by subparagraph (A), (B), or (C)), the 
amount of any forfeiture penalty determined 
under this section shall not exceed $500,000 for 
each violation.’’. 
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL FACTORS IN INDECENCY PENALTIES; 
EXCEPTION. 
Section 503(b)(2) of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(2)) is further amended by adding 
at the end (after subparagraph (E) as redesignated by sec-
tion 2(1) of this Act) the following new subparagraphs: 
‘‘(F) In the case of a violation in which the violator 
is determined by the Commission under paragraph (1) to 
have uttered obscene, indecent, or profane material, the 
Commission shall take into account, in addition to the 
matters described in subparagraph (E), the following fac-
tors: 
‘‘(i) With respect to the degree of culpability of 
the violator, the following: 
‘‘(I) whether the material uttered by the 
violator was live or recorded, scripted or 
unscripted; 
‘‘(II) whether the violator had a reasonable 
opportunity to review recorded or scripted pro-
gramming or had a reasonable basis to believe
live or unscripted programming may contain ob-
scene, indecent, or profane material; 
‘‘(III) if the violator originated live or 
unscripted programming, whether a time delay 
blocking mechanism was implemented for the 
programming; 
‘‘(IV) the size of the viewing or listening 
audience of the programming; and 
‘‘(V) whether the programming was part of 
a children’s television program as described in 
the Commission’s children’s television program-
ming policy (47 CFR 73.4050(c)). 
‘‘(ii) With respect to the violator’s ability to 
pay, the following: 
‘‘(I) whether the violator is a company or 
individual; and 
‘‘(II) if the violator is a company, the size 
of the company and the size of the market 
served. 
‘‘(G) A broadcast station licensee or permittee that 
receives programming from a network organization, but 
that is not owned or controlled, or under common owner-
ship or control with, such network organization, shall not 
be subject to a forfeiture penalty under this subsection for 
broadcasting obscene, indecent, or profane material, if—
‘‘(i) such material was within live or recorded 
programming provided by the network organization 
to the licensee or permittee; and 
‘‘(ii)(I) the programming was recorded or 
scripted, and the licensee or permittee was not given 
a reasonable opportunity to review the programming 
in advance; or— 
‘‘(II) the programming was live or unscripted, 
and the licensee or permittee had no reasonable 
basis to believe the programming would contain ob-
scene, indecent, or profane material. 
The Commission shall by rule define the term ‘network 
organization’ for purposes of this subparagraph.’’. 
SEC. 4. INDECENCY PENALTIES FOR NONLICENSEES. 
Section 503(b)(5) of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(5)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), 
and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively; 
(2) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(5)’’; 
(3) by redesignating the second sentence as 
subparagraph (B); 
(4) in such subparagraph (B) as redesignated— 
(A) by striking ‘‘The provisions of this 
paragraph shall not apply, however,’’ and in-
serting ‘‘The provisions of subparagraph (A) 
shall not apply (i)’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘operator, if the person’’ 
and inserting ‘‘operator, (ii) if the person’’; 
(C) by striking ‘‘or in the case of’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(iii) in the case of’’; and 
(D) by inserting after ‘‘that tower’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘, or (iv) in the case of a determination 
that a person uttered obscene, indecent, or pro-
fane material that was broadcast by a broadcast 
station licensee or permittee, if the person is 
determined to have willfully or intentionally 
made the utterance’’; and 
(5) by redesignating the last sentence as sub-
paragraph (C). 
SEC. 5. DEADLINES FOR ACTION ON COMPLAINTS. 
Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 503(b)) is amended by adding at the end there-
of the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(7) In the case of an allegation concerning the utter-
ance of obscene, indecent, or profane material that is 
broadcast by a station licensee or permittee— 
‘‘(A) within 180 days after the date of the re-
ceipt of such allegation, the Commission shall—