WASHINGTON, D.C. — Broadcaster associations representing all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have unanimously approved a resolution opposing “any new performance fee, tax, royalty or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings” on local broadcast radio stations.
This aligns the SBAs with the NAB in urging Members of Congress to thwart any attempts to pass legislation such as the musicFIRST-backed “American Music Fairness Act.”
The resolution urges members of Congress to co-sponsor the Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which affirms policymakers’ support for their hometown radio stations on this issue.
The state associations adopted the resolution in preparation for the NAB’s annual State Leadership Conference, which will be held the week of February 7. The event sees some 550 broadcasters from across the country gather in Washington, D.C. to advocate on broadcast industry issues.
While a non-binding resolution, the Local Radio Freedom Act has proven to be a successful pledge to put the breaks on proposed legislation such as the AMFA, which Democratic leaders passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on a questionable voice vote in the last Congressional session before withering on the full floor, where it did not get a full House vote.
Now, with a new Congressional session, efforts to get the AMFA reconsidered began early. So did the opposition, with Reps. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) leading a bipartisan coalition of 119 members of Congress in reintroducing the LRFA in the House of Representatives earlier this month.
And, since the introduction of the Local Radio Freedom Act in the 118th Congress, 11 members of Congress have joined as co-sponsors — in particular Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), the Chair of the House Commerce Committee. Also adding their support for the LRFA in the House are Reps. Rick Allen (R-Ga.), Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Troy Carter (D-La.), Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Donald Payne (D-N.J.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Bryan Steil (R-Wisc.) and Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisc).
The 130 House cosponsors of the Local Radio Freedom Act, listed by House district, are:
Rick Allen (R-GA-12)
Mark Amodei (R-NV-2)
Jodey Arrington (R-TX-19)
Don Bacon (R-NE-2)
Troy Balderson (R-OH-12)
Andy Barr (R-KY-6)
Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3)
Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12)
Sanford Bishop (D-GA-2)
Mike Bost (R-IL-12)
Brendan Boyle (D-PA-2)
Vern Buchanan (R-FL-16)
Larry Bucshon (R-IN-8)
Julia Budzinski (D-IL-13)
Ken Calvert (R-CA-41)
Mike Carey (R-OH-15)
Jerry Carl (R-AL-1)
Andre Carson (D-IN-7)
John Carter (R-TX-31)
Troy Carter (D-LA-2)
Kathy Castor (D-FL-14)
Andrew Clyde (R-GA-9)
Tom Cole (R-OK-4)
James Comer (R-KY-1)
Jim Costa (D-CA-21)
Joe Courtney (D-CT-2)
Rick Crawford (R-AR-1)
Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28)
Sharice Davids (D-KS-3)
Warren Davidson (R-OH-8)
Monica De La Cruz (R-TX-15)
Debbie Dingell (D-MI-6)
Byron Donalds (R-FL-19)
Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3)
Jake Ellzey (R-TX-6)
Tom Emmer (R-MN-6)
Dwight Evans (D-PA-3)
Mike Ezell (R-MS-4)
Pat Fallon (R-TX-4)
Randy Feenstra (R-IA-4)
Brad Finstad (R-MN-1)
Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1)
Mike Flood (R-NE-1)
Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5)
Scott Franklin (R-FL-18)
Russell Fry (R-SC-7)
Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8)
Mike Garcia (R-CA-27)
Jared Golden (D-ME-2)
Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX-34)
Kay Granger (R-TX-12)
Sam Graves (R-MO-6)
Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14)
Glenn Grothman (R-WI-6)
Michael Guest (R-MS-3)
Harriet Hageman (R-WY-AL)
Kevin Hern (R-OK-1)
French Hill (R-AR-2)
Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6)
Richard Hudson (R-NC-9)
Bill Huizenga (R-MI-4)
Wesley Hunt (R-TX-38)
Ronny Jackson (R-TX-13)
Bill Johnson (R-OH-6)
Dusty Johnson (R-SD-AL)
Mike Johnson (R-LA-4)
John Joyce (R-PA-13)
Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-9)
Tom Kean (R-NJ-7)
Bill Keating (D-MA-9)
Mike Kelly (R-PA-16)
Trent Kelly (R-MS-1)
Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6)
Andy Kim (D-NJ-3)
Annie Kuster (D-NH-2)
Darin LaHood (R-IL-16)
Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1)
John Larson (D-CT-1)
Bob Latta (R-OH-5)
Jake LaTurner (R-KS-2)
Julia Letlow (R-LA-5)
Stephen Lynch (D-MA-8)
Nancy Mace (R-SC-1)
Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10)
Dan Meuser (R-PA-9)
John Moolenaar (R-MI-2)
Seth Moulton (D-MA-6)
Frank Mrvan (D-IN-1)
Greg Murphy (R-NC-3)
Troy Nehls (R-TX-22)
Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4)
Ralph Norman (R-SC-5)
Chris Pappas (D-NH-1)
Donald Payne (D-NJ-10)
Greg Pence (R-IN-6)
August Pfluger (R-TX-11)
Dean Phillips (D-MN-3)
Bill Posey (R-FL-8)
Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS-DL)
Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-5)
Hal Rogers (R-KY-5)
Matt Rosendale (R-MT-2)
Gregorio Sablan (D-MP-DL)
Brad Schneider (D-IL-10)
David Scott (D-GA-13)
Pete Sessions (R-TX-17)
Terri Sewell (D-AL-7)
Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11)
Mike Simpson (R-ID-2)
Adrian Smith (R-NE-3)
Chris Smith (R-NJ-4)
Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-1)
Pete Stauber (R-MN-8)
Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21)
Bryan Steil (R-WI-1)
Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24)
Tom Tiffany (R-WI-7)
William Timmons (R-SC-4)
David Valadao (R-CA-22)
Beth Van Duyne (R-TX-24)
Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-3)
Marc Veasey (D-TX-33)
Ann Wagner (R-MO-2)
Tim Walberg (R-MI-5)
Randy Weber (R-TX-14)
Brad Wenstrup (R-OH-2)
Bruce Westerman (R-AR-4)
Rob Wittman (R-VA-1)
Steve Womack (R-AR-3)
Ryan Zinke (R-MT-1)
