The House Committee for Energy and Commerce issued a lengthy list of its “thoughtful solutions” for 2015 covering a wide range of topics, but the one and only broadcast-related issue is old and not aimed at broadcasters.
The ideas came from the Committee’s Republican leadership.
The primary broadcast topic wasn’t spectrum policy – although that is addressed, broadcast spectrum is treated more as a done deal at this point (although we expect plenty of oversight in relation to the spectrum auction).
No, the issue is taking another go at shaping the FCC more to its likely.
The plank is entitled “Good Process Makes Good Policy: Reforming the FCC.”
Communications Subcommittee Chair Greg Walden (R-OR) has been on this one for some time now. It once made it all the way through the House only to die in the then-Democrat-controlled Senate.
RBR-TVBR observation: This may be the year this legislation gets somewhere, since Democrats in the Senate will now have to muster a filibuster to keep it from heading to the Oval Office. How and if it gets there, and what its fate might be, is anybody’s guess.
The issue is this: Republicans seek greater transparency from the FCC, more streamlined operation, use of shot clocks, and limited use of transaction-specific special conditions.
Democrats believe the Republican remedies are essentially intended to hamstring the FCC’s ability to regulate in ways they feel are necessary.
Ultimately, there is a no news is good news aspect to this: There is no chomping at the bit to jump into issues like retransmission consent, for example. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, but it does mean it’s not seen as a major area of concern for 2015.
