As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on September 17, 2014
Under current law, satellite carriers pay royalty fees for the right to transmit certain television signals to their subscribers without obtaining permission from copyright holders. S. 2799 would extend provisions of current law that allow satellite carriers to transmit copyrighted material but would not extend the license that allows transmission without specific authorization from the copyright holders. That license will expire on December 31, 2014. The bill also would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to amend certain regulations affecting television stations and cable and satellite carriers.
Implementing S. 2799 would have a negligible net effect on discretionary spending over the 2015-2019 period, CBO estimates. Enacting S. 2799 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
S. 2799 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. S. 2799 contains private-sector mandates, as defined in UMRA, on television broadcasters, cable operators, and satellite carriers. CBO estimates that the aggregate cost of the mandates in the bill would fall below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($152 million in 2014, adjusted annually for inflation).
