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HR 7782 116th Congress House

Eliminating Local News Deserts Act of 2020

Official title: To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for mandatory cable carriage of low power television stations sharing facilities of certain full power comme… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for mandatory cable carriage of low power television stations sharing facilities of certain full power commercial VHF stations, and for other purposes.

Introduced: September 4, 2020 See on congress.gov
Science, Technology, Communications Broadcasting, cable, digital technologiesLicensing and registrationsNews media and reportingTelevision and film
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This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jul 24, 2020
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Jul 24, 2020
Introduced in House
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 Latest action July 24, 2020

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Eliminating Local News Deserts Act of 2020

This bill requires a cable company operating within a state to carry certain low power stations if, among other requirements, (1) the state has no exclusive, in-state broadcast television market within its boundaries; (2) there are no full power commercial network affiliates (i.e., ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX) that are licensed to, and principally operate within, the state; and (3) such low power station provides a minimum of 19 weekly hours of locally produced news, public affairs, and informational programming relevant to the residents and communities of the state.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 2
All 2 Republican 2
R
Van Drew, Jefferson
New Jersey · Sep 4, 2020
 R
Smith, Christopher H.
New Jersey · Jul 24, 2020
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 7782: Eliminating Local News Deserts Act of 2020. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-7782/
MLA
"H.R. 7782: Eliminating Local News Deserts Act of 2020." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-7782/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 7782, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-7782/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 7782: Eliminating Local News Deserts Act of 2020](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-7782/)
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