Title: A bill to provide for the carriage of certain television broadcast stations, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
This bill authorizes a cable operator to transmit any television broadcast station that (1) is not currently retransmitted to all subscribers in Berkshire County, Massachusetts (located within the designated market area of Albany, New York), and (2) was retransmitted to such subscribers on December 1, 2016.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1655 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1655

 To provide for the carriage of certain television broadcast stations, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                 May 23 (legislative day, May 22), 2019

Mr. Markey (for himself and Ms. Warren) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the carriage of certain television broadcast stations, 
                        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. CARRIAGE OF TELEVISION BROADCAST STATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 
cable operator may transmit to subscribers in Berkshire County, 
Massachusetts, in the designated market area of Albany, New York (in 
this section referred to as the ``Albany designated market area''), any 
television broadcast station that--
            (1) was retransmitted to subscribers located in Berkshire 
        County in the Albany designated market area on December 1, 
        2016; and
            (2) as of the date of enactment of this Act, is not 
        retransmitted to all subscribers in Berkshire County in the 
        Albany designated market area.
    (b) Negotiations.--A cable operator that engages in the 
retransmission described in subsection (a) shall engage in good faith 
negotiations within the meaning of section 76.65 of title 47, Code of 
Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto, with a television 
broadcast station regarding the terms of such retransmission.
    (c) Nonduplication.--Any television broadcast station licensed to a 
community within the Albany designated market area may assert network 
nonduplication or syndicated exclusivity protections against any cable 
system in any cable community located in Berkshire County, 
Massachusetts.
    (d) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed--
            (1) to alter any contract provided under section 325 of the 
        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325); or
            (2) to affect the applicability of any other communications 
        or copyright law related to the retransmission of a television 
        broadcast station by a cable operator.
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