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H.R. 1883: Expanding Broadcast Ownership Opportunities Act of 2017

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H.R. 1883: Expanding Broadcast Ownership Opportunities Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-04-04 · Science, Technology, Communications · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2017-04-04 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Butterfield, G. K. [D-NC-1] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Expanding Broadcast Ownership Opportunities Act of 2017

Plain summary

Expanding Broadcast Ownership Opportunities Act of 2017 This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 and the Internal Revenue Code to reestablish a tax certificate program under which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) certifies a person's sale of an interest in a broadcast station to socially and economically disadvantaged minorities or women in order for the seller to elect to treat the sale as an involuntary conversion for which no gain is recognized for tax purposes or as an unrecognized gain to reduce the basis for determining gain or loss subject to an allowance for a depreciation deduction. The FCC must adopt rules for the issuance of such certificates to: (1) limit the value of an interest the sale of which qualifies for such a certificate, (2) establish a minimum holding period following the sale during which the broadcast station must remain owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, (3) limit the total number or value of sales for which a person may be issued certificates, and (4) require participation by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in the management of the broadcast station. The FCC must report on: (1) recommendations to increase the total number of broadcast stations owned or controlled by minority groups or women, (2) annual sales for which certificates have been issued, (3) whether to expand the tax certificate program beyond broadcast stations to other FCC-regulated entities, and (4) whether there is a nexus between diversity of ownership or control of broadcast stations and diversity of the viewpoints broadcast by the stations. The FCC must also establish a five-year pilot incubator program to grant waivers from ownership rules (local radio ownership rules, local television multiple ownership rules, or radio-television cross-ownership rules) to licensees to enable them to acquire an otherwise prohibited interest in a broadcast station owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Expanding Broadcast Ownership Opportunities Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Butterfield, G. K. [D-NC-1] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking
The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong115-hr1883 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115