McCAIN INTRODUCES BILL TO REVERSE ‘ANTI-LPFM’ LAW
Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced low-power radio bill (S-404) aimed at reversing “anti-low-power FM [LPFM] radio language” attached to appropriations legislation last year. Bill would: (1) Enable FCC to license LPFM stations and reject licenses only for stations “whose transmissions are actually causing harmful interference to a full-power radio station.” (2) Require FCC by Feb. 23, 2002, to complete all necessary rulemakings implementing full-power stations’ transition to digital broadcasting. (3) Direct FCC to identify stations causing interference and how LPFM stations could resolve interference problems.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
“This legislation will provide an efficient and effective means to detect and resolve harmful interference,” he said Feb. 27 on Senate floor: “By providing a procedural remedy that authorizes the FCC to impose damages on frivolous complaints, the bill will discourage the creation of low-power stations most likely to cause harmful interference while at the same time discouraging full-power broadcasters from making unwarranted claims.”
Low-Power Radio Act of 2001 would repeal language in last year’s appropriations bill that killed LPFM initiative, thereby restoring Sec. 336 of Communications Act.