Title: Fair and Clear Campaign Transparency Act
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Fair and Clear Campaign Transparency Act
This bill directs the Federal Communications Commission to require certain online public inspection files to be made available to the public in a machine-readable format that supports automated searching, bulk downloading, aggregation, manipulation, sorting, and analysis.
Online public inspection files (including political files that contain records of requests to purchase broadcast time by or on behalf of candidates for public office or to communicate a message relating to a political matter of national importance) are files that must be uploaded to the internet by television broadcast stations, AM or FM radio broadcast stations, cable operators, direct broadcast satellite service providers, or satellite digital audio radio service providers.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5016 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5016

     To direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate 
regulations requiring material in the online public inspection file of 
   a covered entity to be made available in a format that is machine-
                               readable.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 8, 2019

   Mr. Lujan (for himself, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Welch, Mr. Sarbanes, Ms. 
   Eshoo, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. McNerney, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. 
Loebsack, Mr. Ruiz, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Ms. Norton, Mr. Cohen, 
   Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Himes, Mr. Pocan, Mr. 
   McGovern, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Takano, Ms. Brownley of 
California, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Cooper, Mr. DeFazio, Mrs. 
    Napolitano, Mr. Kim, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, and Mr. Rush) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate 
regulations requiring material in the online public inspection file of 
   a covered entity to be made available in a format that is machine-
                               readable.

    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 ``Fair and Clear Campaign Transparency 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On May 9, 2013, President Barack Obama issued an 
        Executive order that made open and machine-readable data the 
        new default for government information.
            (2) Open data principles are essential for transparency and 
        efficiency in government.
            (3) In 2012, the Federal Communications Commission required 
        television broadcast stations to place on the internet website 
        of the Commission certain materials in the files such stations 
        are required to maintain and make available for public 
        inspection, including important information about the 
        purchasing of political advertisements. In 2016, the Commission 
        extended the online public inspection file requirement to 
        providers of cable and satellite television service, radio 
        broadcast stations, and providers of satellite radio service.
            (4) The Commission declined to require such materials to be 
        machine-readable, deciding at the time that it was more 
        important to get the information online faster.
            (5) Machine readability is a critical component of open 
        government and provides interested parties with the necessary 
        access to evaluate data in a more comprehensive way.

SEC. 3. MATERIAL IN ONLINE PUBLIC INSPECTION FILE REQUIRED TO BE IN 
              MACHINE-READABLE FORMAT.

    (a) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate regulations that 
require a covered entity, to the extent such entity is required to make 
material in the public inspection file of such entity available on, or 
upload such material to, an internet website, to make such material 
available or upload such material in a format that is machine-readable.
    (b) Applicability.--The regulations promulgated under subsection 
(a) shall apply--
            (1) to a covered entity for which an online public 
        inspection file requirement is in effect on the date of the 
        promulgation of such regulations--
                    (A) with respect to the political file portion of 
                the public inspection file, beginning not later than 
                the date that is 60 days after the date of such 
                promulgation; and
                    (B) with respect to the other portions of the 
                public inspection file, at the same time as such 
                regulations apply under subparagraph (A) with respect 
                to the political file portion of the public inspection 
                file or as soon thereafter as the Commission considers 
                practicable; and
            (2) to a covered entity for which an online public 
        inspection file requirement becomes effective after the date of 
        the promulgation of such regulations--
                    (A) with respect to the political file portion of 
                the public inspection file, beginning on the later of--
                            (i) the date of applicability of such 
                        regulations under paragraph (1)(A); or
                            (ii) the date on which the online public 
                        inspection file requirement becomes effective 
                        for such entity; and
                    (B) with respect to the other portions of the 
                public inspection file, at the same time as such 
                regulations apply under subparagraph (A) with respect 
                to the political file portion of the public inspection 
                file or as soon thereafter as the Commission considers 
                practicable.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (2) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means a 
        television broadcast station, AM or FM radio broadcast station, 
        cable operator, direct broadcast satellite service provider, or 
        satellite digital audio radio service provider.
            (3) Machine-readable.--The term ``machine-readable'' means, 
        with respect to the format of material in a public inspection 
        file, that such format supports the automated searching for 
        particular text within and among documents, the bulk 
        downloading of data contained in such material, the 
        aggregation, manipulation, sorting, and analysis of the data 
        contained in such material, and such other functionality as the 
        Commission considers appropriate.
            (4) Online public inspection file requirement.--The term 
        ``online public inspection file requirement'' means a 
        requirement for a covered entity to make material in the public 
        inspection file of such entity available on, or upload such 
        material to, an internet website.
            (5) Political file.--The term ``political file'' means, 
        with respect to a covered entity, the file that such entity is 
        required to maintain and make available for public inspection 
        under section 315(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
        U.S.C. 315(e)) or under any similar requirement applicable to 
        such entity that is administered by the Commission.
            (6) Public inspection file.--The term ``public inspection 
        file'', with respect to a covered entity--
                    (A) means the file or files that such entity is 
                required to maintain and make available for public 
                inspection under section 25.701, 25.702, 73.3526, 
                73.3527, or 76.1700 of title 47, Code of Federal 
                Regulations (or any successor regulation), as 
                applicable to such entity, or under any similar 
                requirement applicable to such entity that is 
                administered by the Commission; and
                    (B) includes any political file that such entity is 
                required to maintain and make available for public 
                inspection.
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