When we last mentioned the broadcast flag…you’ll remember that PK along with the EFF asked you to call into Senate Appropriators to make sure they didn’t do anything with the broadcast flag behind closed doors. Specifically, we were concerned that the Senate Appropriations Committee would authorize the FCC to instate the broadcast flag scheme. That bill, the CJS Appropriations bill H.R. 2862 (a bill that sets out spending for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State) passed the Committee and headed to the Senate floor for amendments and final passage.
At the end of last week, a number of amendments were made to H.R. 2862. On the floor, there’s no real telling what might happen. There’s very little process and occasionally, “non-germaine” amendments (read: unrelated amendments that really have no business being included on a bill) get attached.
Well, the bill passed the Senate on Thursday, but it has taken some time to find out exactly what the amendments actually said. After having gone through the bill and amendments, we can say that we’ve all dodged another bullet and the CJS Appropriations Bill is Broadcast Flag free!