,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hif ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #cj1 #bjai,ms4 ,kaptur 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,norton1 and ,mr4 ,sean ,patrick ,maloney of ,new ,york7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,communications ,act of #aicd to require radio and television broadcasters to provide free broadcasting time for political advertising1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,fairness in ,political ,advertising ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,allocation to political candidates of free broadcast time for political advertising 7a7 ,condition of license renewal ,section #cji7;h7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #cji7;h77 is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following3 2 and 7#d7 every television broadcast station license issued under this ,act shall be subject to the free broadcast time obligations imposed by section #cae7;c74 7b7 ,free time obligations ,section #cae of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #cae7 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subsections 7c7 through 7e7 as subsections 7d7 through 7f71 respectively2 and 7#b7 by inserting after subsection 7b7 the following new subsection3 7c7 7#a7 ,each licensee for a television broadcasting station shall annually make available free broadcast time for political advertising in accordance with the requirements of this subsection4 ,the ,commission shall not renew the license of any licensee who substantially fails or refuses to comply with the requirements of this subsection1 but such licensee shall not be subject to any other sanction or remedy for such failure or refusal4 7#b7 ,a licensee subject to this subsection shall allot free broadcast time to each qualified political candidate in accordance with the following standards3 7,a7 ,such licensee shall allot an equal amount1 but not less than #b hours1 of free broadcast time each even-numbered year to each qualified political candidate in a statewide or national election4 ,in the case of a television station whose market does not encompass all of a congressional district1 such licensee may apportion to each qualified candidate from such district a fraction of such #b hours that is equal to the fraction of such district's population that resides within such market1 as determined in accordance with regulations prescribed by the ,commission4 7,b7 ,the free broadcast time allotted to any candidate under subparagraph 7,a7 shall be composed of units of varying lengths of not more than #e minutes nor less than #aj seconds1 as determined by negotiation between such candidate and the licensee4 7,c7 ,the broadcast time allotted by any licensee shall be allotted so that-- 7i7 at least one-half is broadcast during the hours of #g3jj p4m4 to #aj3jj p4m42 7ii7 during any election year1 at least two-thirds is broadcast during the #b months immediately preceding election day and at least one-half is broadcast during the #c weeks immediately preceding election day2 7iii7 each qualified candidate is allotted free broadcast time that is comparable1 by time of day and day of week1 to the time allotted to other qualified candidates for the same office2 and 7iv7 no broadcaster shall allot more than #da_/b hours per week of free broadcast time for political advertising and1 if the amount of time required to be allotted by this paragraph would exceed #da_/b hours1 the time required to be allotted each qualified candidate shall be reduced proportionately4 7,d7 ,the broadcast time shall be used solely for programming consisting of unedited segments in which the candidate speaks directly to the camera4 7#c7 ,a candidate shall be treated as a qualified political candidate for purposes of paragraph 7#b77;,a7 if the candidate's party1 in the most recent statewide or national election1 received more than #b percent of the total number of votes4 7#d7 ,a licensee allots free broadcast time as required by this subsection by broadcasting statements without remuneration or compensation in any form1 whether by public or private funds1 tax deduction or credit1 or otherwise4 7#e7 ,nothing in this subsection1 and no use of free broadcast time allotted under this subsection1 shall be construed to restrict or otherwise affect the purchase of advertising time under subsection 7b7 of this section4 4 #c4 ,cable broadcasting of political advertising ,section #faa of the ,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #eca7 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subsection 7f7 as subsection 7g72 and 7#b7 by inserting after subsection 7e7 the following new subsection3 7f7 ,a cable operator shall annually make available free cable time for political advertising in accordance with the requirements of regulations prescribed by the ,commission4 ,such regulations shall1 to the extent practicable1 require each such cable operator to provide such free cable time in the same amounts and manner1 to the same eligible political candidates1 and subject to the same conditions as free broadcast time is required to be provided by television broadcast station licensees under section #cae7;c74 ,no franchise authority shall renew the franchise of any cable operator that fails to comply with such regulations1 but such operator shall not be subject to any other sanction or remedy for such failure or refusal4 4