Senate Judiciary Likely to Introduce Clean STELA Bill Within Days
The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to release bipartisan Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization legislation as soon as this week, a Judiciary aide told us. Ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa “hopes that a bipartisan, clean reauthorization can be introduced next week,” his spokeswoman also confirmed Friday.
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The Judiciary and Commerce committees in both chambers share jurisdiction over STELA. Lobbyists and industry officials predict a narrower bill from Judiciary. Many fear what they expect to be a much livelier and unpredictable STELA reauthorization bill from Senate Commerce, the source of significant industry anxiety as they've heard little signaling one way or the other.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said a goal of STELA legislation is that it “should not be partisan or controversial -- it should be a moment for the Senate to come together,” in an opening statement to a March hearing (http://1.usa.gov/1tOL7N9). Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has touted his controversial Consumer Choice in Online Video Act (S-1680), which industry officials and Capitol Hill aides have widely suspected will be attached to the Commerce STELA bill text. S-1680, introduced last fall, targets leveling the playing field for online video distributors. Rockefeller is expected to hold a hearing on such online video issues, potentially among other media issues such as STELA and industry consolidation, near the end of this month.
Commerce’s draft is “in process,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a Commerce and Judiciary member, in an interview the Capitol Thursday. “Senator Rockefeller and Senator Leahy have both headed up efforts and, as has been done in the past, I think everyone understands how important it is to get this bill done by the end of the year.” Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told us earlier last week that Commerce “may be close” on its STELA bill.
This spring, House Commerce cleared an industry-backed STELA bill (HR-4572), with some video market add-ons included. House Judiciary is working with stakeholders and members and hopes to move a bill soon, said a committee aide.
No Senate draft is circulating, said a media industry official. Commerce wants the draft to be bipartisan, which narrows what may be included, the official said. That official does expect some parts of Rockefeller’s S-1680 could be added to the STELA draft. A second media industry official described widespread industry anticipation that the Commerce bill will be “something no one would like,” likely with S-1680 attached. Commerce staff seem to be playing very close to the vest, sharing little in the way of dates or other information, that official said. A broadcast industry lobbyist expressed heavy doubts about the Commerce Committee’s STELA progress, saying he heard varying details over time. The calendar year is moving rapidly, the lobbyist said, saying he’s not sure whether there will be a Commerce STELA draft before the August recess.
"I truly think all options are on the table,” the broadcast lobbyist said of the Senate Commerce draft. His sense is also that nothing is circulating in that committee, he said. That broadcast lobbyist said he suspected Senate Judiciary would move soon but not as fast as the Judiciary aide told us, a matter of days rather than the weeks the lobbyist predicted. The lobbyist pointed out that Judiciary staff was freed up to focus on STELA after its patent efforts stalled recently.
Senate Commerce is “the focus, at this point,” the committee where “they haven’t really ruled anything out,” said a spokesman for TVFreedom, a coalition including NAB and other broadcast groups lobbying for a clean STELA reauthorization. TVFreedom sees “the true biggest threat” as any STELA provision that would affect broadcasters’ revenue stream, which may involve anything from retransmission consent rules to advertising, he said. TVFreedom has focused and advertised frequently on the possibility of a STELA provision that would allow cable operators to remove broadcast stations from the basic tier, an NCTA-backed proposal that initially emerged in the House, the spokesman said.
The American Television Alliance has repeatedly asked Congress to use STELA to overhaul retrans consent rules, with an eye toward retrans blackouts. That coalition includes DirecTV, Dish Network, Free Press, Time Warner Cable, USTelecom and many others. It hired Mercury Strategies to lobby on its behalf effective March 24, according to a registration form posted last week.