Senate Backs Ten Fold Hike in Indecency Fines

SENATE BACKS TEN FOLD HIKE IN INDECENCY FINES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
The Senate late on Thursday approved boosting fines tenfold to $325,000 on television and radio broadcast stations that violate rules on airing profanity or sexually explicit material. The measure had languished for almost 16 months, drawing criticism from family groups and conservatives including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), a likely 2008 contender for the Republican presidential nomination. Lawmakers demanded higher fines on broadcasters after pop singer Janet Jackson briefly exposed her breast during the 2004 Super Bowl football halftime show broadcast on national television. "Radio and television waves are public property and the companies who profit from using the public airwaves should face meaningful fines for broadcasting indecent material," said Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), author of the bill. The Federal Communications Commission is the agency responsible for reviewing indecency complaints and the current maximum fine that can be imposed is $32,500 per violation. The House of Representatives more than a year ago passed a bill that would hike fines to as much as $500,000 per violation and require the FCC to consider revoking a station's license after three indecency violations. House and Senate negotiators will have to work out their differences before any increase can become law.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID...

* Senate OKs Higher Fines for Indecency on Television
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-indecent19may19,1,130...