2010 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 10-1015 BY REPRESENTATIVE(S) Roberts, Tipton, Acree, Apuan, Balmer, Baumgardner, Benefield, Bradford, Casso, Court, Curry, DelGrosso, Ferrandino, Fischer, Frangas, Gagliardi, Gardner B., Gardner C., Gerou, Hullinghorst, Judd, Kagan, Kefalas, Kerr A., Kerr J., King S., Labuda, Lambert, Levy, Liston, Looper, Massey, May, McCann, McFadyen, McKinley, McNulty, Merrifield, Middleton, Miklosi, Murray, Nikkel, Pace, Peniston, Pommer, Primavera, Priola, Rice, Riesberg, Ryden, Scanlan, Schafer S., Solano, Sonnenberg, Soper, Stephens, Summers, Swalm, Todd, Tyler, Vaad, Vigil, Waller, Weissmann, Carroll T.; also SENATOR(S) Whitehead, Bacon, Boyd, Brophy, Cadman, Carroll M., Foster, Gibbs, Harvey, Heath, Hodge, Hudak, Johnston, Keller, Kester, King K., Kopp, Lundberg, Mitchell, Morse, Newell, Penry, Renfroe, Romer, Sandoval, Scheffel, Schultheis, Schwartz, Shaffer B., Spence, Steadman, Tapia, Tochtrop, White, Williams. CONCERNING THE REMOVAL OF FCC BROADCASTING RESTRICTIONS TO ALLOW ACCESS TO DENVER TELEVISION STATIONS IN SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO. WHEREAS, A significant number of the citizens of a large area of southwestern Colorado, including the Four Corners region and Montezuma, La Plata, and San Juan counties, are currently unable to receive network television broadcasts from the Denver broadcast area because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considers this area part of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, broadcast area; and WHEREAS, The citizens of southwestern Colorado feel disconnected from the rest of the state's population due to the lack of information about Colorado news and current events that is typically available to other Colorado residents; and WHEREAS, This lack of access has significant economic impacts in that the citizens of southwestern Colorado receive television advertising primarily from New Mexico's or other states' businesses and, as a result, direct a significant portion of their business, as well as the attendant state and local tax revenues, to states other than Colorado; and WHEREAS, This lack of access affects the civic and political life of these citizens as well, making them feel disenfranchised in that they find themselves much better informed about the laws, issues, and candidates of New Mexico than they are about the laws, issues, and candidates of Colorado; and WHEREAS, This lack of access also has significant health and safety impacts because not all local residents can receive time-sensitive Colorado weather alerts and emergency information such as from local emergency alert broadcasts in the event of floods, fire, heavy snows, and other natural disasters; and WHEREAS, Because of the FCC's broadcast area designations, these problems afflict broadcast viewers in southwestern Colorado depending on whether they receive their network broadcast signals through cable, digital, satellite, or antenna; and WHEREAS, The citizens of southwestern Colorado believe that they all should be entitled to receive the same news, sports, and educational programming that other Colorado citizens receive; and WHEREAS, All of the foregoing problems and frustrations could be resolved if the affected counties were included in the Denver broadcast area; and WHEREAS, Since the passage of the federal "Communications Act of 1934", the FCC has allowed Nielsen Media Research to determine the broadcast areas, known as "designated market areas", within the United States, which are used for business marketing purposes rather than for the broader needs of the people within those areas; and WHEREAS, The citizens of southwestern Colorado have been unsuccessful in their repeated attempts to convince Nielsen Media Research to redefine the designated market area to include these southwestern counties in the Denver marketing area, including the passage of HJR 08-1016 in 2008 with nearly unanimous legislative support of the resolution, which was then sent to the members of the Colorado Congressional Delegation, the FCC, and Nielsen Media Research; and WHEREAS, Historically, Congressional leaders from other states have successfully fought for legislative remedies on behalf of their constituents for similar problems with television broadcast areas; and WHEREAS, In keeping with the precedents set in the past, Colorado's members of Congress are fulfilling their responsibility and commitment to Colorado constituents by introducing legislation, such as H.R. 1860 by Representatives John Salazar and Mike Coffman and S. 771 by Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, proposing the "Four Corners Television Access Act of 2009", both of which would allow cable and satellite carriers to offer Denver programming by making these counties eligible for exceptions that exist under current law that have to do with population and the size of the affected area; and WHEREAS, H.R. 1860 was referred to the Judiciary Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee and S. 771 was referred to the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, where they have languished since April 2009; and WHEREAS, The Colorado Congressmen have formally requested that Congressional leadership make these bills "must pass" legislation in 2010; and WHEREAS, More than 3,800 southwestern Colorado residents to date have signed petitions in support of this pending federal legislation; now, therefore, Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Sixty-seventh General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein: (1) That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, stand behind the residents and county commissioners in southwestern Colorado who have already expressed their support for the proposed federal legislation; and (2) That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, make it evident that we wholeheartedly support our own Colorado residents and Congressmen in their efforts to join the Denver broadcast area. Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to the Federal Communications Commission; Nielsen Media Research; the members of Colorado's Congressional delegation; the Honorable Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader; the Honorable John Boehner, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; Senator Jay Rockefeller, Committee Chair for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Representative Henry A. Waxman, Committee Chair for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce; Representative John Conyers, Jr., Committee Chair for the House Committee on the Judiciary; and Marilyn Hogan, President and CEO of the Colorado Broadcasters Association. _________________________________________________________ Terrance D. Carroll Brandon C. Shaffer SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE PRESIDENT OF OF REPRESENTATIVES THE SENATE ____________________________ ____________________________ Marilyn Eddins Karen Goldman CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE SECRETARY OF OF REPRESENTATIVES THE SENATE