{"id":33254,"date":"2018-07-24T07:37:09","date_gmt":"2018-07-24T11:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=33254"},"modified":"2018-07-24T07:37:09","modified_gmt":"2018-07-24T11:37:09","slug":"full-text-of-the-pirate-act-h-r-5709","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/full-text-of-the-pirate-act-h-r-5709\/","title":{"rendered":"Full text of the PIRATE Act (H.R.5709)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Ulis (K3LU)<\/a>, who shares a link to the full text of the\u00a0H.R.5709 – PIRATE Act<\/a>–a bill to\u00a0“amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for enhanced penalties for pirate radio, and for other purposes.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Here’s an excerpt from the preface of the bill:<\/p>\n

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.<\/p>\n

This Act may be cited as the \u201cPreventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement Act\u201d or the \u201cPIRATE Act\u201d.<\/p>\n

SEC. 2. PIRATE RADIO ENFORCEMENT ENHANCEMENTS.<\/p>\n

Title V of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 501 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:<\/p>\n

\u201cSEC. 511. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR PIRATE RADIO BROADCASTING; ENFORCEMENT SWEEPS; REPORTING.<\/p>\n

\u201c(a) Increased General Penalty.\u2014Any person who willfully and knowingly does or causes or suffers to be done any pirate radio broadcasting shall be subject to a fine of not more than $2,000,000.<\/p>\n

\u201c(b) Violation Of This Act, Rules, Or Regulations.\u2014Any person who willfully and knowingly violates this Act or any rule, regulation, restriction, or condition made or imposed by the Commission under authority of this Act, or any rule, regulation, restriction, or condition made or imposed by any international radio or wire communications treaty or convention, or regulations annexed thereto, to which the United States is or may hereafter become party, relating to pirate radio broadcasting shall, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, be subject to a fine of not more than $100,000 for each day during which such offense occurs, in accordance with the limit described in subsection (a).<\/p>\n

\u201c(c) Facilitation.\u2014Any person who knowingly and intentionally facilitates pirate radio broadcasting shall be subject to a fine of not more than $2,000,000.<\/p>\n

\u201c(d) Annual Report.\u2014Not later than one year after the date of enactment of the PIRATE Act, and annually thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation a report summarizing the implementation of this section and associated enforcement activities for the previous fiscal year, which may include the efforts by the Commission to enlist the cooperation of Federal, State, and local law enforcement personnel (including United States Attorneys and the United States Marshals Service) for service of process, collection of fines or forfeitures, seizures of equipment, and enforcement of orders.<\/p>\n

\u201c(e) Enforcement Sweeps.\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201c(1) ANNUAL SWEEPS.\u2014Not less than once each year, the Commission shall assign appropriate enforcement personnel to focus specific and sustained attention on the elimination of pirate radio broadcasting within the top five radio markets identified as prevalent for such broadcasts. Such effort shall include identifying, locating, and taking enforcement actions designed to terminate such operations.<\/p>\n

\u201c(2) ADDITIONAL MONITORING.\u2014Within six months after conducting the enforcement sweeps required by paragraph (1), the Commission shall conduct monitoring sweeps to ascertain whether the pirate radio broadcasting identified by enforcement sweeps is continuing to broadcast and whether additional pirate radio broadcasting is occurring.<\/p>\n

\u201c(3) NO EFFECT ON REMAINING ENFORCEMENT.\u2014Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Commission shall not decrease or diminish the regular enforcement efforts targeted to pirate radio broadcast stations for other times of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201c(f) State And Local Government Authority.\u2014The Commission may not preempt any State or local law prohibiting pirate radio broadcasting.<\/p>\n

\u201c(g) Revision Of Commission Rules Required.\u2014The Commission shall revise its rules to require that, absent good cause, in any case alleging a violation of subsection (a) or (b), the Commission shall proceed directly to issue a \u2018Notice of Apparent Liability\u2019 without first issuing a \u2018Notice of Unlicensed Operations\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201c(h) Pirate Radio Broadcasting Database.\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201c(1) IN GENERAL.\u2014Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this section, and semi-annually thereafter, the Commission shall publish a database in a clear and legible format of all licensed radio stations operating in the AM and FM bands. The database shall be easily accessible from the Commission home page through a direct link. The database shall include the following information:<\/p>\n

\u201c(A) Each licensed station, listed by the assigned frequency, channel number, or Commission call letters.<\/p>\n

\u201c(B) All entities that have received a Notice of Unlicensed Operation, Notice of Apparent Liability, or Forfeiture Order by the Commission.<\/p>\n

\u201c(2) CLEAR IDENTIFICATION.\u2014The Commission shall clearly identify in the database\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201c(A) each licensed station as a station licensed by the Commission; and<\/p>\n

\u201c(B) each entity described in paragraph (1)(B) as operating without a Commission license or authorization.<\/p>\n

\u201c(i) Definitions.\u2014In this section:<\/p>\n

\u201c(1) PIRATE RADIO BROADCASTING.\u2014The term \u2018pirate radio broadcasting\u2019 means the transmission of communications on spectrum frequencies between 535 to 1705 kHz or 87.7 to 108 MHz without a license issued by the Federal Communications Commission, but does not include unlicensed operations in compliance with part 15 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201c(2) FACILITATES.\u2014The term \u2018facilitates\u2019 means providing access to property (and improvements thereon) or providing physical goods or services, including providing housing, facilities, or financing, that directly aid pirate radio broadcasting.<\/p>\n

\u201c(3) KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY.\u2014The term \u2018knowingly and intentionally\u2019 means the person was previously served by the Commission with a notice of unlicensed operations, notice of apparent liability, or citation for efforts to facilitate pirate radio broadcasting.\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Click here to read the full bill at Congress.gov.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Click here to download the bill as a PDF.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ulis (K3LU), who shares a link to the full text of the\u00a0H.R.5709 – PIRATE Act–a bill to\u00a0“amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for enhanced penalties for pirate radio, and for other purposes.” Here’s an excerpt from the preface of the bill: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3781,3,297],"tags":[3791,7029,4092,7075],"class_list":["post-33254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fm","category-news","category-pirate-radio","tag-fcc-enforcement-bureau","tag-pirate-act","tag-pirate-radio","tag-ulis-fleming-k3lu"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-8Em","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41736,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/pirate-act-signed-into-law-by-president\/","url_meta":{"origin":33254,"position":0},"title":"PIRATE Act signed into law by President","author":"Thomas","date":"January 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: The White House) On Friday, January 24, 2020, the President signed into law: H.R. 583, the \u201cPreventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement Act\u201d or the \u201cPIRATE Act,\u201d which authorizes enhanced penalties for pirate radio broadcasters and requires the Federal Communications Commission to increase enforcement activities; and H.R. 2476, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/david-everett-strickler-White-House.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/david-everett-strickler-White-House.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/david-everett-strickler-White-House.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/david-everett-strickler-White-House.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31979,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/the-pirate-act-promises-fines-up-to-100000-per-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":33254,"position":1},"title":"The “PIRATE Act” promises fines up to $100,000 per day","author":"Thomas","date":"May 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Radio World via Mike Hansgen) Pirate Radio Bill Formally Introduced Bipartisan legislation designed to thwart and penalize radio pirates and supporters BY SUSAN ASHWORTH, MAY 9, 2018 Another legislative step has been taken in the effort to fight illegal pirate radio operations. On May 8, Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41556,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/pirate-act-passes-senate\/","url_meta":{"origin":33254,"position":2},"title":"PIRATE Act passes Senate","author":"Thomas","date":"January 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Radio World via Marty) \"Opponents of illegal broadcasting scored a major and long-anticipated victory today: The Senate (finally) unanimously passed the\u00a0PIRATE Act\u00a0Wednesday. Short for \u201cPreventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement,\u201d only one hurdle remains for S.R. 1228: President Trump\u2019s desk. The legislation also represents a coup for FCC Commissioner\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46988,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/fcc-pirate-act-targets-property-owners-with-fines-up-to-2-million\/","url_meta":{"origin":33254,"position":3},"title":"FCC: Pirate Act now targets property owners with fines up to $2 Million","author":"Thomas","date":"December 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Benn Kobb, who shares the following press release from the FCC: Media Contact: Will Wiquist, (202) 418-0509 will.wiquist@fcc.gov For Immediate Release FCC ENFORCEMENT BUREAU WARNS PROPERTY OWNERS AND MANAGERS OF SIGNIFICANT NEW FINANCIAL PENALTIES FOR ALLOWING ILLEGAL BROADCASTING ON THEIR PROPERTY Notice Could Precede\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Pirate-Radio-Microphone-e1584225204331.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Pirate-Radio-Microphone-e1584225204331.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Pirate-Radio-Microphone-e1584225204331.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Pirate-Radio-Microphone-e1584225204331.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34691,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/fcc-fines-ham-25000-for-operating-an-fm-pirate-radio-station\/","url_meta":{"origin":33254,"position":4},"title":"FCC fines ham $25,000 for operating FM pirate radio station","author":"Thomas","date":"November 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Southgate ARC) FCC fines Amateur Radio licensee $25,000 for operating unlicensed FM station ARRL reports in an FCC Enforcement Bureau case going back to early 2015, a Paterson, New Jersey, Amateur Radio licensee has been penalized in the amount of $25,000 for allegedly continuing to operate an unlicensed FM\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "FM"","block_context":{"text":"FM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/fm\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Soundboard-Mixer-Microphone-Pirate-Radio-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42312,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/03\/fcc-hope-to-hire-pirate-radio-hunters\/","url_meta":{"origin":33254,"position":5},"title":"FCC hope to hire Pirate Radio hunters","author":"Thomas","date":"March 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Inside Radio) Broadcasters would likely call it money well-spent, but it\u2019s still cash coming from the federal government\u2019s hands. The Federal Communications Commission estimates it will cost the agency at least $11 million to enforce the newly-adopted law that requires it to step up pirate radio enforcement. \u201cSpecifically, in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Pirate-Radio-Microphone-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Pirate-Radio-Microphone-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Pirate-Radio-Microphone-1024x683.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33254\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}