Title: WEST Access Act
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Western Expanded In-State Television Access Act of 2019 or the WEST Access Act
This bill expands the authority of satellite carriers to make secondary transmissions of local television programming to subscribers in certain counties.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2829 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2829

  To amend the Communications Act of 1934 and title 17, United States 
Code, to enhance the ability of direct broadcast satellite providers to 
 offer additional local broadcast services to consumers under limited 
                 circumstances, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 7, 2019

 Mrs. Fischer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Communications Act of 1934 and title 17, United States 
Code, to enhance the ability of direct broadcast satellite providers to 
 offer additional local broadcast services to consumers under limited 
                 circumstances, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Western Expanded In-State Television 
Access Act of 2019'' or the ``WEST Access Act''.

SEC. 2. SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS OF LOCAL TELEVISION PROGRAMMING BY 
              SATELLITE.

    Section 122(a)(4) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) Certain network stations.--On January 1, 
                2019, if 16 counties in a single State were in a local 
                market comprised principally of counties located in 
                another State and within the top 120 markets for the 
                year 2019 according to Nielsen Media Research, the 
                statutory license provided for in this paragraph shall 
                apply to the secondary transmission by a satellite 
                carrier to subscribers in any of those 16 counties of 
                the primary transmissions of any network station 
                assigned to a local market that includes not more than 
                4 counties in the State in which such 16 counties are 
                located and all counties encompassed by such local 
                market are located in the same time zone.''.

SEC. 3. CARRIAGE OF LOCAL TELEVISION SIGNALS BY SATELLITE CARRIERS.

    Section 338(l) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338(l)) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) as 
        paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) Special consideration for requests involving an 
        orphan county.--Pursuant to a request under paragraph (1), the 
        Commission may modify the local market of a television 
        broadcast station to add an orphan county, as defined by the 
        Commission, solely on the basis of paragraph (2)(B)(iii), if 
        the Commission considers whether the station provides 
        programming specifically related to the State of residence of 
        the orphan county subscribers.''.
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