,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #bfe #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ejce ,report ,no4 #aaf-cbi ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,november #ab1 #bjai ,mr4 ,michael ,f4 ,doyle of ,pennsylvania introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,december #i1 #bjai ,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed ,strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic ,for text of introduced bill1 see copy of bill as introduced on ,november #ab1 #bjai ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,communications ,act of #aicd to extend expiring provisions relating to the retransmission of signals of television broadcast stations1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,television ,viewer ,protection ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,extension of authority ,section #cbe7;b7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #cbe7;b77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#b77;,c71 by striking ,december #ca1 #bjai and inserting the expiration date1 if any1 described in section #aai7;h7 of title #ag1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7#b7 in paragraph 7#c77;,c71 by striking until ,january #a1 #bjbj1 each place it appears4 #c4 ,satisfaction of good faith negotiation requirement by multichannel video programming distributors 7a7 ,satisfaction of good faith negotiation requirement ,section #cbe7;b77#c77;,c7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #cbe7;b77#c77;,c77 is amended-- 7#a7 in clause 7iv71 by striking 2 and and inserting a semicolon2 7#b7 in clause 7v71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 and2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7vi7 not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of the ,television ,viewer ,protection ,act of #bjai1 specify that-- 7,i7 a multichannel video programming distributor may satisfy its obligation to negotiate in good faith under clause 7iii7 with respect to a negotiation for retransmission consent under this section with a large station group by designating a qualified ,,mvpd buying group to negotiate on its behalf1 so long as the qualified ,,mvpd buying group itself negotiates in good faith in accordance with such clause2 7,,ii7 it is a violation of the obligation to negotiate in good faith under clause 7iii7 for the qualified ,,mvpd buying group to disclose the prices1 terms1 or conditions of an ongoing negotiation or the final terms of a negotiation to a member of the qualified ,,mvpd buying group that is not intending1 or is unlikely1 to enter into the final terms negotiated by the qualified ,,mvpd buying group2 and 7,,iii7 a large station group has an obligation to negotiate in good faith under clause 7ii7 with respect to a negotiation for retransmission consent under this section with a qualified ,,mvpd buying group4 4 7b7 ,definitions ,section #cbe7;b77#g7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #cbe7;b77#g77 is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by striking 2 and and inserting a semicolon2 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,b71 by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7,c7 qualified ,,mvpd buying group means an entity that1 with respect to a negotiation with a large station group for retransmission consent under this section-- 7i7 negotiates on behalf of two or more multichannel video programming distributors-- 7,i7 none of which is a multichannel video programming distributor that serves more than #ejj1jjj subscribers nationally2 and 7,,ii7 that do not collectively serve more than #be percent of all households served by a multichannel video programming distributor in any single local market in which the applicable large station group operates2 and 7ii7 negotiates agreements for such retransmission consent-- 7,i7 that contain standardized contract provisions1 including billing structures and technical quality standards1 for each multichannel video programming distributor on behalf of which the entity negotiates2 and 7,,ii7 under which the entity assumes liability to remit to the applicable large station group all fees received from the multichannel video programming distributors on behalf of which the entity negotiates2 7,d7 large station group means a group of television broadcast stations that-- 7i7 are directly or indirectly under common de jure control permitted by the regulations of the ,commission2 7ii7 generally negotiate agreements for retransmission consent under this section as a single entity2 and 7iii7 include only television broadcast stations that have a national audience reach of more than #bj percent2 7,e7 local market has the meaning given such term in section #abb7;j7 of title #ag1 ,united ,states ,code2 and 7,f7 multichannel video programming distributor has the meaning given such term in section #fjb4 4 7c7 ,conforming amendments ,section #cbe7;b7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #cbe7;b77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#b7-- 7,a7 by inserting and after #aiib12 and 7,b7 by striking 1 and the term local market has the meaning given that term in section #abb7;j7 of such title2 and 7#b7 in paragraph 7#c77;,c71 by striking 7as defined in section #abb7;j7 of title #ag1 ,united ,states ,code7 each place it appears4 7d7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section1 and the regulations promulgated by the ,federal ,communications ,commission under such amendments1 shall not take effect before ,january #a of the calendar year after the calendar year in which this ,act is enacted4 #d4 ,requirements relating to charges for covered services 7a7 ,in general ,part ,,iv of title ,,vi of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #eea et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #fdb4 ,requirements relating to charges for covered services 7a7 ,consumer rights in sales 7#a7 ,right to transparency ,before entering into a contract with a consumer for the provision of a covered service1 a provider of a covered service shall provide the consumer1 by phone1 in person1 online1 or by other reasonable means1 the total monthly charge for the covered service1 whether offered individually or as part of a bundled service1 selected by the consumer 7explicitly noting the amount of any applicable promotional discount reflected in such charge and when such discount will expire71 including any related administrative fees1 equipment fees1 or other charges1 a good faith estimate of any tax1 fee1 or charge imposed by the ,federal ,government or a ,state or local government 7whether imposed on the provider or imposed on the consumer but collected by the provider71 and a good faith estimate of any fee or charge that is used to recover any other assessment imposed on the provider by the ,federal ,government or a ,state or local government4 7#b7 ,right to formal notice ,a provider of a covered service that enters into a contract described in paragraph 7#a7 shall1 not later than #bd hours after entering into the contract1 send the consumer1 by email1 online link1 or other reasonably comparable means1 a copy of the information described in such paragraph4 7#c7 ,right to cancel ,a provider of a covered service that enters into a contract described in paragraph 7#a7 shall permit the consumer to cancel the contract1 without paying early cancellation fees or other disconnection fees or penalties1 during the #bd-;hour period beginning when the provider of the covered service sends the copy required by paragraph 7#b74 7b7 ,consumer rights in e-billing ,if a provider of a covered service provides a bill to a consumer in an electronic format1 the provider shall include in the bill-- 7#a7 an itemized statement that breaks down the total amount charged for or relating to the provision of the covered service by the amount charged for the provision of the service itself and the amount of all related taxes1 administrative fees1 equipment fees1 or other charges2 7#b7 the termination date of the contract for the provision of the covered service entered into between the consumer and the provider2 and 7#c7 the termination date of any applicable promotional discount4 7c7 ,consumer rights to accurate equipment charges ,a provider of a covered service or fixed broadband internet access service may not charge a consumer for-- 7#a7 using covered equipment provided by the consumer2 or 7#b7 renting1 leasing1 or otherwise providing to the consumer covered equipment if-- 7,a7 the provider has not provided the equipment to the consumer2 or 7,b7 the consumer has returned the equipment to the provider1 except to the extent that the charge relates to the period beginning on the date when the provider provided the equipment to the consumer and ending on the date when the consumer returned the equipment to the provider4 7d7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,broadband internet access service ,the term broadband internet access service has the meaning given such term in section #h4a7;b7 of title #dg1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or any successor regulation4 7#b7 ,covered equipment ,the term covered equipment means equipment 7such as a router7 employed on the premises of a person 7other than a provider of a covered service or fixed broadband internet access service7 to provide a covered service or to provide fixed broadband internet access service4 7#c7 ,covered service ,the term covered service means service provided by a multichannel video programming distributer1 to the extent such distributor is acting as a multichannel video programming distributor4 4 7b7 ,effective date ,section #fdb of the ,communications ,act of #aicd1 as added by subsection 7a7 of this section1 shall apply beginning on the date that is #f months after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 ,the ,federal ,communications ,commission may grant an additional #f-month extension if the ,commission finds that good cause exists for such an additional extension4 ,december #i1 #bjai ,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed