SEC. 9. LICENSING OF AVIATION, MARITIME, AND PER-
SONAL RADIO SERVICES BY RULE.
Section 307(e) of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 307(e)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(e)(1) Notwithstanding any license requirement es-
tablished in this Act, if the Commission determines that
such authorization serves the public interest, convenience,
and necessity, the Commission may by rule authorize the
operation of radio stations without individual licenses in
the following radio services: (A) the personal radio serv-
ices; (B) the aviation radio service for aircraft stations op-
erated on domestic flights when such aircraft are not oth-
erwise required to carry a radio station; and (C) the mari-
time radio service for ship stations navigated on domestic
voyages when such ships are not otherwise required to
carry a radio station.
‘‘(2) Any radio station operator who is authorized by
the Commission to operate without an individual license
shall comply with all other provisions of this Act and with
rules prescribed by the Commission under this Act.
‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection, the terms ‘per-
sonal radio services’, ‘aircraft station’, and ‘ship station’
shall have the meanings given them by the Commission
by rule, except that the term ‘personal radio services’ shall
not include the amateur service.’’.
SEC. 10. AUCTION TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
(a) FUNDING AVAILABILITY.—Section 309(j)(8)(B)
of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
309(j)(8)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing new sentence: ‘‘Such offsetting collections are author-
ized to remain available until expended.’’.
(b) ESCROW
OF DEPOSITS.—Section 309(j)(8) of
such Act is further amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subparagraph:
‘‘(C) ESCROW OF DEPOSIT.—The Commis-
sion is authorized, based on the competitive bid-
ding methodology selected, to provide for the
deposit of moneys for bids in an interest-bear-
ing account until such time as the Commission
accepts a deposit from the high bidder. All in-
terest earned on bid moneys received from the
winning bidder shall be deposited into the gen-
eral fund of the Treasury. All interest earned
on bid moneys deposited from unsuccessful bid-
ders, less any applicable fees and penalties,
shall be paid to those bidders.’’.
SEC. 11. FORFEITURES FOR VIOLATIONS IMPERILING
SAFETY OF LIFE.
(a) ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS.—Section 312(a) of
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 312(a)) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph
(6);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(8) for failure to comply with any requirement
of this Act or the Commission’s rules that imperils
the safety of life.’’.
(b) FORFEITURES.—Section 503(b)(1) of such Act
(47 U.S.C. 503(b)(1)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph
(C);
(2) by striking the semicolon at the end of sub-
paragraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by adding after subparagraph (D) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph:
‘‘(E) failed to comply with any requirement of
this Act or the Commission’s rules that imperils the
safety of life;’’.
SEC. 12. USE OF EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.
Section 4(f)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 154) is amended by adding at the end thereof
the following: ‘‘The Commission may also procure the
services of experts and consultants in accordance with sec-
tion 3109 of title 5, United States Code, relating to ap-
pointments in the Federal Service, at rates of compensa-
tion for individuals not to exceed the daily rate equivalent
to the maximum rate payable for senior-level positions
under section 5276 of title 5, United States Code.’’.
SEC. 13. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR FORFEITURE PRO-
CEEDINGS AGAINST COMMON CARRIERS.
Section 503(b)(6) of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(6)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph
(A);
(2) by inserting ‘‘and is not a common carrier’’
after ‘‘title III of this Act’’ in subparagraph (B);
(3) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub-
paragraph (C); and
(4) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph:
‘‘(B) such person is a common carrier and the
required notice of apparent liability is issued more
than 5 years after the date the violation charged oc-
curred; or’’.
SEC. 14. UTILIZATION OF FM BAND FOR ASSISTIVE DE-
VICES FOR HEARING IMPAIRED INDIVID-
UALS.
Within 6 months after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall report
to the Congress on the existing and future use of the FM
band to facilitate the use of auditory assistive devices for
individuals with hearing impairments. In preparing such
report, the Commission shall consider—
(1) the potential for utilizing FM band auditory
assistive devices to comply with the American with
Disabilities Act;
(2) the impact on such compliance of the vul-
nerability of such devices to harmful interference
from radio licensees; and
(3) alternative frequency allocations that could
facilitate such compliance.
SEC. 15. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.
Section 302(d)(1) of the Communications Act of
1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(d)(1)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘allocated
to the domestic cellular radio telecommunications
service’’ and inserting ‘‘utilized to provide commer-
cial mobile service (as defined in section 332(d))’’;
and