Compilation of Selected Acts Within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Energy and Commerce

all telephone users, including persons with and without hearing impairments. The Commission shall ensure that regulations adopted to implement this section encourage the use of currently available technology and do not discourage or impair the development of improved technology.

(f) The Commission shall complete rulemaking actions required by this section and issue specific and detailed rules and regulations resulting therefrom within one year after the date of enactment of the Telecommunications for the Disabled Act of 1982. The Commission shall complete rulemaking actions required to implement the amendments made by the Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988 within nine months after the date of enactment of such Act. Thereafter, the Commission shall periodically review the regulations established pursuant to this section. Except for coin-operated telephones and telephones provided for emergency use, the Commission may not require the retrofitting of equipment to achieve the purposes of this section.

(g) Any common carrier or connecting carrier may provide specialized terminal equipment needed by persons whose hearing, speech, vision, or mobility is impaired. The State commission may allow the carrier to recover in its tariffs for regulated service reasonable and prudent costs not charged directly to users of such equipment.

(h) The Commission shall delegate to each State commission the authority to enforce within such State compliance with the specific regulations that the Commission issues under subsections (a) and (b), conditioned upon the adoption and enforcement of such regulations by the State commission.250

SEC. 711. 251 [47 U.S.C. 611] CLOSED-CAPTIONING OF PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS.

Any television public service announcement that is produced or funded in whole or in part by any agency or instrumentality of Federal Government shall include closed captioning of the verbal content of such announcement. A television broadcast station li

censee

(1) shall not be required to supply closed captioning for any such announcement that fails to include it; and

(2) shall not be liable for broadcasting any such announcement without transmitting a closed caption unless the licensee

250 Section 610 was added by Public Law 97-410, 96 Stat. 2043, approved Jan. 3, 1983. Section 2 of the statute stated:

The Congress finds that

(1) all persons should have available the best telephones service which is technologically and economically feasible;

(2) currently available technology is capable of providing telephone service to some individuals who, because of hearing impairments, require telephone reception by means of hearing aids with induction coils, or other inductive receptors;

(3) the lack of technical standards ensuring compatibility between hearing aids and telephones has prevented receipt of the best telephone service which is technologically and economically feasible; and

(4) adoption of technical standards is required in order to ensure compatibility be tween telephones and hearing aids, thereby accommodating the needs of individuals with hearing impairments.

251 This section was amended by section 402 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Public Law 101-336, 104 Stat. 369, approved July 26, 1990.

intentionally fails to transmit the closed caption that was included with the announcement.

SYNDICATED EXCLUSIVITY

SEC. 712. (a) The Federal Communications Commission shall, within 120 days after the effective date of the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1988, initiate a combined inquiry and rulemaking proceeding for the purpose of—

(1) determining the feasibility of imposing syndicated exclusivity rules with respect to the delivery of syndicated programming (as defined by the Commission) for private home viewing of secondary transmissions by satellite of broadcast station signals similar to the rules issued by the Commission with respect to syndicated exclusivity and cable television; and

(2) adopting such rules if the Commission considers the imposition of such rules to be feasible.

(b) In the event that the Commission adopts such rules, any willful and repeated secondary transmission made by a satellite carrier to the public of a primary transmission embodying the performance or display of a work which violates such Commission rules shall be subject to the remedies, sanctions, and penalties provided by title V and section 705 of this Act.252

DISCRIMINATION

SEC. 713. The Federal Communications Commission shall, within 1 year after the effective date of the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1988, prepare and submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report on whether, and the extent to which, there exists discrimination described in section 119(a)(6) of title 17, United States Code. 253

252 This section was added by Public Law 100-667, 102 Stat. 3949, Nov. 16, 1988, and, pursuant

to section 207 of that Act, will cease to be effective on December 31, 1994.

253 This section was added by Public Law 100-667, 102 Stat. 3958, Nov. 16, 1988, and, pursuant to section 207 of that Act, will cease to be effective December 31, 1994.