I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1400
To amend section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 with respect
to the purchase of broadcasting time by candidates for public office.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 18, 1993
Mr. DINGELL (for himself and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934
with respect to the purchase of broadcasting time by
candidates for public office.
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 ‘‘Campaign Advertising
Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) in the 30 days preceding a primary, and in
the 45 days preceding a general election, candidates
for political office need to be able to buy, at the low-
est commercially available rates, nonpreemptible ad-
vertising spots from broadcast stations and cable tel-
evision stations to ensure that their messages reach
the intended audience and that the voting public has
an opportunity to make informed decisions;
(2) since the Communications Act of 1934 was
amended in 1972 to guarantee the lowest unit
charge for candidates during these important
preelection periods, the method by which advertising
spots are sold in the broadcast and cable industries
has changed significantly;
(3) changes in the method for selling advertis-
ing spots have made the interpretation and enforce-
ment of the lowest unit charge provision difficult
and complex;
(4) clarification and simplification of the provi-
sions relating to charges for campaign-related uses
in the Communications Act of 1934 are necessary to
ensure compliance with the original intent of the
provision; and
(5) in granting discounts and setting charges
for advertising time, broadcasters and cable opera-
tors shall treat candidates for political office at least
as well as the most favored commercial advertisers.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.
Section 315 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 315) is amended—
(1) in subsection (b)(1)—
(A) by striking ‘‘forty-five’’ and inserting
‘‘30’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘sixty’’ and inserting ‘‘45’’;
and
(C) by striking ‘‘lowest unit charge of the
station for the same class and amount of time
for the same period’’ and insert ‘‘lowest charge
of the station for the same amount of time for
the same period’’;
(2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as
subsections (d) and (e), respectively;
(3) by inserting immediately after subsection
(b) the following new subsection:
‘‘(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a li-
censee shall not preempt the use, during any period speci-
fied in subsection (b)(1), of a broadcasting station by a
legally qualified candidate for public office who has pur-
chased and paid for such use pursuant to the provisions
of subsection (b)(1).
‘‘(2) If a program to be broadcast by a broadcasting
station is preempted because of circumstances beyond the
control of the broadcasting station, any candidate adver-
tising spot scheduled to be broadcast during that program
may also be preempted.’’; and
(4) in subsection (d) (as redesignated by para-
graph (2) of this section)—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (1);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
paragraph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(C) by adding at the end thereof the fol-
lowing new paragraph:
‘‘(3) a station’s lowest charge for purposes of
paragraph (1)—
‘‘(A) with respect to a primary or primary
runoff election, is determined for the interval
beginning 60 days before such election and end-
ing on the date of that election; and
‘‘(B) with respect to a general or special
election, is determined for the interval begin-
ning 90 days before such election and ending on
the date of that election.’’.
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