{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr4596-114/featured_small-business-broadband-deployment-act-1457831400.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/hr4596-114/featured_large_small-business-broadband-deployment-act-1457831400.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hr4596-114.png"},"introduced_on":"2016-02-24","title_override":"Do More Small Internet Service Providers Need an Exemption From FCC Reporting Requirements?","summary_override":"

This bill would exempt small broadband internet service providers with fewer than 250,000 subscribers from complying with transparency requirements imposed by the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Open Internet Order for five years. Providers would also be exempt if they have fewer than 1,500 employees.

Under current law, providers with fewer than 100,000 subscribers are exempt from the regulations until December 16, 2016 when the FCC will finalize the reporting requirements for those providers. Among the information that is required to be reported is detailed network performance data, and fees to consumers or other services that use the internet.

The Open Internet Order (aka \"net neutrality\") requires people who are involved in providing broadband internet to disclose publicly disclose information about network management practices, performance, and commercial terms of its services to:

Help consumers make informed decisions regarding their use;
Enable content, application, service, and device providers to develop, market, and maintain internet offerings.

The FCC would be required to report to relevant congressional committees within 180 days of this bill’s enactment any recommendations and supporting data about whether:

The exception should be made permanent;
The definition of “small business” should be changed for this purpose.

","official_title":"To ensure that small business providers of broadband Internet access service can devote resources to broadband deployment rather than compliance with cumbersome regulatory requirements.","short_title":"Small Business Broadband Deployment Act","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on March 7, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)\n\nSmall Business Broadband Deployment Act\n\n(Sec. 2) This bill exempts for five years any small business broadband Internet access service provider with no more than 250,000 subscribers from the enhancements to the transparency rule of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under which any person engaged in the provision of broadband Internet access service must disclose publicly accurate information regarding the network management practices, performance, and commercial terms of its broadband Internet access services sufficient for:\n\n consumers to make informed choices regarding their use; and content, application, service, and device providers to develop, market, and maintain Internet offerings. The FCC shall report to specified congressional committees, within 180 days after enactment of this Act, its recommendations (together with supporting data)...","summarized":true,"cost":0,"cost_commentary":"The CBO estimates that the cost of implementing this legislation would be negligible.","impact":"Internet service providers with fewer than 250,000 subscribers or 1,500 employees; relevant congressional committees; and the FCC.","argument_for":"Small internet service providers with fewer than 250,000 subscribers should be temporarily exempt from transparency regulations that were meant to keep consumers informed about the performance of larger providers’ networks and how they are managed.","argument_against":"The size of an internet service provider should not make any difference when it comes to compliance with an Federal Communications Commission regulation. Extending and raising the existing exemption from 100,000 subscribers to 250,000 is unnecessary.","bill_type":"hr","published":true,"type":"FederalBill","id":"hr4596-114","bill_id":"hr4596-114","formal_id":"H.R. 4596","chamber":"house","congress":114,"last_action_at":"2016-03-17T00:00:00.000Z","active":true,"enacted":false,"enacted_at":null,"vetoed":false,"last_vote_at":"2016-03-16T17:24:05.000Z","debated_on":"2016-03-14T00:00:00.000Z","congress_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/house-bill/4596","plain_text_url":"https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114hr4596rfs/html/BILLS-114hr4596rfs.htm","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/hr4596-114.png","congress_full_text_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/house-bill/4596/text","is_current_congress":false,"last_version_on":"2016-03-17","related_bill_ids":["hres640-114","s2283-114","s253-114"],"progress":"Passed House","house_passage_result":true,"senate_passage_result":false,"position_count":160,"committees":[{"name":"Committee on Energy and Commerce","chamber":"house","committee_id":"HSIF","subcommittee":false},{"name":"Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation","chamber":"senate","committee_id":"SSCM","subcommittee":false}],"links":{"rollCalls":"/api/roll_calls?bill_id=hr4596-114","details":"/api/bills/hr4596-114/details","sharingMessage":"/api/sharing_messages/hr4596-114","positionsFor":"/api/bills/hr4596-114/positions/for","positionsAgainst":"/api/bills/hr4596-114/positions/against"},"upcoming":false,"cosponsors_count":0,"slug":"hr4596-114-small-business-broadband-deployment-act","latest_chamber_votes_id":"hr4596-114","official_url":null,"target_video":true,"following":false,"vote_count":2053,"yea_vote_count":1037,"nay_vote_count":1011,"passed_house":true,"passed_senate":false,"vote_id":null,"my_position_id":null,"topic_ids":["science-and-technology","government"],"issue_ids":["science-and-technology","small-business","private-sector","technology","federal-agencies","transparency","internet","government","business"],"sponsor_id":206}],"votes":[],"issues":[{"id":"science-and-technology","name":"Science and Technology","slug":"science-and-technology","description":"US Congressional Legislation related scientific endeavors and technology, including: research, space-flight and exploration, the Internet, Telecom, and more. Recent legislation dealt with net neutrality, and the robotic exploration of Mars by NASA.","page_title":"Science and Technology Legislation funding research, NASA and more - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/science-and-technology/black_science-and-technology-1429042045.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/science-and-technology/grey_science-and-technology-1429042045.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/science-and-technology/white_science-and-technology-1429042045.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"small-business","name":"Small Business","slug":"small-business","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Small Business. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. \r\n","page_title":"Small Business Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/small-business/black_small-business-1429042069.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/small-business/grey_small-business-1429042069.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/small-business/white_small-business-1429042069.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"private-sector","name":"Private Sector","slug":"private-sector","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Private Sector. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. ","page_title":"Private Sector Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/private-sector/black_private-sector-1429042058.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/private-sector/grey_private-sector-1429042058.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/private-sector/white_private-sector-1429042058.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"technology","name":"Technology","slug":"technology","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Technology . Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. ","page_title":"Technology Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/technology/black_technology-1429042051.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/technology/grey_technology-1429042051.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/technology/white_technology-1429042051.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"federal-agencies","name":"Federal Agencies","slug":"federal-agencies","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Federal Agencies. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. \r\n","page_title":"Federal Agencies Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/federal-agencies/black_federal-agencies-1429042054.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/federal-agencies/grey_federal-agencies-1429042054.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/federal-agencies/white_federal-agencies-1429042054.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"transparency","name":"Transparency","slug":"transparency","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Transparency. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. \r\n","page_title":"Transparency Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/transparency/black_transparency-1453508996.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/transparency/grey_transparency-1453508996.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/transparency/white_transparency-1453508996.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"internet","name":"Internet","slug":"internet","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Internet. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. \r\n","page_title":"Internet Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/internet/black_internet-1429042050.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/internet/grey_internet-1429042050.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/internet/white_internet-1429042050.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"government","name":"Government","slug":"government","description":"Federal legislation related to the operations of the US Federal Government. Bills can encompass government administration, regulation of political parties, the US postal service, US territories and public contracts.","page_title":"US Government - Federal legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/government/black_government-1453508811.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/government/grey_government-1453508811.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/government/white_government-1453508811.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"business","name":"Business","slug":"business","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Business. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. ","page_title":"Business Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/business/black_business-1429042053.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/business/grey_business-1429042053.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/business/white_business-1429042053.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false}],"users":[{"name":"kodi","vote_count":53,"photos":{"large":"https://graph.facebook.com/10153257700416831/picture?width=150&height=150","small":"https://graph.facebook.com/10153257700416831/picture?width=75&height=75","tiny":"https://graph.facebook.com/10153257700416831/picture?width=20&height=20","facebook":"https://graph.facebook.com/10153257700416831/picture"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/jZBM4NgW/following","followers":"/api/users/jZBM4NgW/followers"},"about_me":"","twitter_id":"Twitter.com/ktg85","facebook_id":"Facebook.com/kodigarcia","youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":"kodi","issue_count":0,"is_following":null,"influence_score":60,"influence_level":20,"follower_count":2,"following_count":4,"position_count":7,"id":"jZBM4NgW","partner_id":null}],"bill_position":{"flagged":false,"id":"1e8ede5f-1521-4f2b-8c29-11a08fd1da8d","argument_for":null,"argument_against":"With something as vital as maintaining net neutrality, it seems only logical to place the same requirements on small providers as well as large. If we don't it would seem that, over time, cracks in net neutrality would appear. ","show_argument_for":false,"show_argument_against":true,"upvote_count":0,"upvotes_for_count":null,"upvotes_against_count":0,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":0,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/1e8ede5f-1521-4f2b-8c29-11a08fd1da8d"},"body":"With something as vital as maintaining net neutrality, it seems only logical to place the same requirements on small providers as well as large. If we don't it would seem that, over time, cracks in net neutrality would appear. ","stance":"nay","created_at":"2016-03-16T20:49:32.007Z","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/positions/1e8ede5f-1521-4f2b-8c29-11a08fd1da8d.png","note_color":null,"note_text":null,"bill_id":"hr4596-114","user_id":"jZBM4NgW","endorser_ids":[]}}

Like Causes?

kodi

Do More Small Internet Service Providers Need an Exemption From FCC Reporting Requirements?