[Harc] PIRATE RADIO ACT

[Mark Nelson]

Yeah, but many pirate stations are operated by Amateur Radio licensed
hams...Like, I have the equipment to do so!  [but I don't!  =];?) ]


On Tue, Jan 28, 2020 at 9:20 AM pesko via Harc <harc at humboldt-arc.org>
wrote:

> This applies only to AM & FM broadcast bands.
>
> Peter
>
>
> On Jan 27, 2020 at 10:02 AM, Mark Nelson via Harc <harc at humboldt-arc.org>
> wrote:
>
> FYI  Mark  AA6DX
> AT THE SECOND SESSION
>
> *Begun and held at the City of Washington on Friday,the third day of
> January, two thousand and twenty*
>
>    To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for enhanced
>    penalties for pirate radio, 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 “Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through
> Enforcement Act” or the “PIRATE Act”.
>
> SEC. 2. PIRATE RADIO ENFORCEMENT ENHANCEMENTS.
>
> Title V of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 501
> <http://uscode.house.gov/quicksearch/get.plx?title=47&section=501> et
> seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
>
> “SEC. 511. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR PIRATE RADIO BROADCASTING; ENFORCEMENT
> SWEEPS; REPORTING.
>
> “(a) Increased General Penalty.—Any person who willfully and knowingly
> does or causes or suffers to be done any pirate radio broadcasting shall be
> subject to a fine of not more than $2,000,000.
>
> “(b) Violation Of This Act, Rules, Or Regulations.—Any person who
> willfully and knowingly violates this Act or any rule, regulation,
> restriction, or condition made or imposed by the Commission under authority
> of this Act, or any rule, regulation, restriction, or condition made or
> imposed by any international radio or wire communications treaty or
> convention, or regulations annexed thereto, to which the United States is
> party, relating to pirate radio broadcasting shall, in addition to any
> other penalties provided by law, be subject to a fine of not more than
> $100,000 for each day during which such offense occurs, in accordance with
> the limit described in subsection (a).
>
> “(c) Annual Report.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
> the PIRATE Act, and annually thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the
> Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the
> Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report
> summarizing the implementation of this section and associated enforcement
> activities for the previous fiscal year, which may include the efforts by
> the Commission to enlist the cooperation of Federal, State, and local law
> enforcement personnel (including United States attorneys and the United
> States Marshals Service) for service of process, collection of fines or
> forfeitures, seizures of equipment, and enforcement of orders.
>
> “(d) Enforcement Sweeps.—
>
> “(1) ANNUAL SWEEPS.—Not less than once each year, the Commission shall
> assign appropriate enforcement personnel to focus specific and sustained
> attention on the elimination of pirate radio broadcasting within the top 5
> radio markets identified as prevalent for such broadcasts. Such effort
> shall include identifying, locating, and taking enforcement actions
> designed to terminate such operations.
>
> “(2) ADDITIONAL MONITORING.—Within 6 months after conducting the
> enforcement sweeps required by paragraph (1), the Commission shall conduct
> monitoring sweeps to ascertain whether the pirate radio broadcasting
> identified by enforcement sweeps is continuing to broadcast and whether
> additional pirate radio broadcasting is occurring.
>
> “(3) NO EFFECT ON REMAINING ENFORCEMENT.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1),
> the Commission shall not decrease or diminish the regular enforcement
> efforts targeted to pirate radio broadcast stations for other times of the
> year.
>
> “(e) State And Local Government Authority.—The Commission may not preempt
> any State or local law prohibiting pirate radio broadcasting.
>
> “(f) Revision Of Commission Rules Required.—The Commission shall revise
> its rules to require that, absent good cause, in any case alleging a
> violation of subsection (a) or (b), the Commission shall proceed directly
> to issue a notice of apparent liability without first issuing a notice of
> unlicensed operation.
>
> “(g) Pirate Radio Broadcasting Database.—
>
> “(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment
> of this section, and semi-annually thereafter, the Commission shall publish
> a database in a clear and legible format of all licensed radio stations
> operating in the AM and FM bands. The database shall be easily accessible
> from the Commission home page through a direct link. The database shall
> include the following information:
>
> “(A) Each licensed station, listed by the assigned frequency, channel
> number, or Commission call letters.
>
> “(B) All entities that have received a notice of unlicensed operation,
> notice of apparent liability, or forfeiture order issued by the Commission.
>
> “(2) CLEAR IDENTIFICATION.—The Commission shall clearly identify in the
> database—
>
> “(A) each licensed station as a station licensed by the Commission; and
>
> “(B) each entity described in paragraph (1)(B) as operating without a
> Commission license or authorization.
>
> “(h) Definition Of Pirate Radio Broadcasting.—In this section, the term
> ‘pirate radio broadcasting’ means the transmission of communications on
> spectrum frequencies between 535 and 1705 kilohertz, inclusive, or 87.7 and
> 108 megahertz, inclusive, without a license issued by the Commission, but
> does not include unlicensed operations in compliance with part 15 of title
> 47, Code of Federal Regulations.”.
>
> Attest:
>
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