PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jul 18, 2018
Local Television Service and Emergency Preparedness Act of 2018
This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission, upon the request of a very high frequency commercial television broadcast station that has relocated to an underserved state, to issue an order providing that the virtual major channel number of such station shall be considered to be the same as the radio frequency channel number of that station.
The order shall apply to a station only if the licensee includes in the request a certification that such station will provide at least one hour daily of news, information, or public affairs programming focused on, or of general interest to, local audiences in the state to which the channel of such station has been reallocated. The order shall cease to apply if the licensee fails to initiate the programming within a 90-day period or fails to make the programming available to other television broadcast stations or through Internet streaming.
People & committees
Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] · R–NJ
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 11, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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