by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

Because of its importance, I am going to bring up an article that we commented on last month. It is about the FCC’s Docket No. 05-231 *Closed Captioning of Video Programming Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. Petition for Rulemaking*.

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

As the summer slowly winds down, movement in the Capitol is in full swing and the Legislative Committee is working hard to stay on top of the latest developments.

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

Happy Summer Everyone!  Even with the heat blazing this time of year, action is still happening on the issues that could affect our local channels and their operations. We need to stay aware of this legislative news and how they impact our operations.

To start off with, let’s go back to May 2024 and revisit the annual conference hosted by the Jersey Access Group. During the legislative sessions, two interesting topics sparked the interest of the participants.

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

For this month’s newsletter, we will continue the discussion about current federal actions that have been enacted which will have an effect on how local governments provide information on the internet for those with disabilities. We will also explore the latest law that reforms New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act—something that has been long overdue.

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

A lot of decisions have happened in our nation’s capital this past month. Here is a brief rundown of a few of the current actions that will have an effect on local governments, as well as decision that will change internet policies and protect consumers:

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

On Thursday May 16, JAG ( Jersey Access Group) will be hosting our yearly conference (jagconference.com) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edison, New Jersey. This event brings together many facets of the community media world, including access television stations, municipal and elected officials, advocates/supporters of community media and telecommunication issues and services.

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

Last October the White House urged congressional appropriators to dedicate $6 billion to extend the ACP, or Affordable Connectivity Program through the end of 2024. The ACP allows about 23 million low-income households to receive discounts on their internet bills of up to $30 a month. Lawmakers and Federal Communications Commission officials have held numerous rallies calling for this program to receive a new round of appropriations from Congress.  If it does not receive this money, the existing funds would expire in the end of April as reported by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, this past January. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.), the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said recently at an event to gather support for this program, “it’s going to be very detrimental to all these people that need internet access if the funding expires”.

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

As we have talked about in the last few newsletters, the American Broadband Deployment Act of 2023 (HR 3447), is still in play in Congress. If enacted, it would impose new restrictions on local authorities regarding their ability to regulate a variety of state and local land use and zoning issues that pertain to the deployment of the telecommunications infrastructure. This would include wireless and wireline deployment, and new limits on the requirements and renewals of cable franchise agreements.

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

Closed Captioning and Web Accessibility Requirements for Local Governments

Where it Currently Stands for PEG

The Americans with Disability Act has compliance obligations for local government accessibility for websites, video streaming, and even cable broadcasting.

While the FCC has long excluded community television from captioning requirements, the Department of Justice, state governments, and private citizens have renewed a push to require captioning for all types of video content, and particularly those found on the internet.

by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair

Closed Captioning / ADA Requirements

Where it Currently Stands for PEG

Recently, there has been concern regarding the Closed Captioning of PEG programming, and if the PEG community will be mandated to offer captioning.

Our partners at the Alliance for Community Media have some thoughts to ponder about where things currently stand on this issue.