Border relief stuck on the Hill?

And a House companion bill from Hilda Solis (D-CA) hasn’t even been taken up in committee yet. The bill would apply to any station within 50 miles of the border with Mexico. It would allow qualifying stations to continue analog broadcast at least until 2/17/14. Although it has been approved by the Senate Commerce Committee, a member of Hutchison’s communications office said they had no word as to when a floor vote might be scheduled. Co-sponsors of the measure include Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Cornyn (R-TX). The Solis measure, which has seven co-sponsors, all from California or Texas, has been referred to the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

RBR/TVBR observation: For stations in dual cross-border markets – El Paso/Juarez and San Diego/Tijuana spring immediately to mind – this is no small matter. This may not be a big deal to a legislator from North Carolina or Oregon, but if legislators in general are going to be cracking the whip on the FCC, NTIA and various private stakeholders involved in the DTV transition, they should make sure they are holding up their end of the bargain as well. How about some action? Have an opinion on this article? Post your comment below.

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