CLOSED CAPTIONING DECODER AND VIDEO DESCRIPTION CAPABILITY.

SEC. 203. CLOSED CAPTIONING DECODER AND VIDEO DESCRIPTION CAPABILITY.(a) Authority to Regulate.—Section 303(u) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303(u)) is amended to read as follows:“(u) Require that, if technically feasible—“(1) apparatus designed to receive or play back video programming transmitted simultaneously with sound, if such apparatus is manufactured in the United States or imported for use in the United States and uses a picture screen of any size—“(A) be equipped with built-in closed caption decoder circuitry or capability designed to display closed-captioned video programming;“(B) have the capability to decode and make available the transmission and delivery of video description services as required by regulations reinstated and modified pursuant to section 713(f); and“(C) have the capability to decode and make available emergency information (as that term is defined in section 79.2 of the Commission’s regulations (47 CFR 79.2)) in a manner that is accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired; and“(2) notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection—“(A) apparatus described in such paragraph that use a picture screen that is less than 13 inches in size meet the requirements of subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of such paragraph only if the requirements of such subparagraphs are achievable (as defined in section 716);“(B) any apparatus or class of apparatus that are display-only video monitors with no playback capability are exempt from the requirements of such paragraph; and“(C) the Commission shall have the authority, on its own motion or in response to a petition by a manufacturer, to waive the requirements of this subsection for any apparatus or class of apparatus—“(i) primarily designed for activities other than receiving or playing back video programming transmitted simultaneously with sound; or“(ii) for equipment designed for multiple purposes, capable of receiving or playing video programming transmitted simultaneously with sound but whose essential utility is derived from other purposes.”.(b) Other Devices.—Section 303 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303) is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:“(z) Require that—“(1) if achievable (as defined in section 716), apparatus designed to record video programming transmitted simultaneously with sound, if such apparatus is manufactured in the United States or imported for use in the United States, enable the rendering or the pass through of closed captions, video description signals, and emergency information (as that term is defined in section 79.2 of title 47, 124 STAT. 2773 Code of Federal Regulations) such that viewers are able to activate and de-activate the closed captions and video description as the video programming is played back on a picture screen of any size; and“(2) interconnection mechanisms and standards for digital video source devices are available to carry from the source device to the consumer equipment the information necessary to permit or render the display of closed captions and to make encoded video description and emergency information audible.”.(c) Shipment in Commerce.—Section 330(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 330(b)) is amended—(1) by striking “303(u)” in the first sentence and inserting “303(u) and (z)”;(2) by striking the second sentence and inserting the following: “Such rules shall provide performance and display standards for such built-in decoder circuitry or capability designed to display closed captioned video programming, the transmission and delivery of video description services, and the conveyance of emergency information as required by section 303 of this Act.”; and(3) in the fourth sentence, by striking “closed-captioning service continues” and inserting “closed-captioning service and video description service continue”.(d) Implementing Regulations.—The Federal Communications Commission shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary to implement the requirements of sections 303(u), 303(z), and 330(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by this section, including any technical standards, protocols, and procedures needed for the transmission of—(1) closed captioning within 6 months after the submission to the Commission of the Advisory Committee report required by section 201(e)(1); and(2) video description and emergency information within 18 months after the submission to the Commission of the Advisory Committee report required by section 201(e)(2).(e) Alternate Means of Compliance.—An entity may meet the requirements of sections 303(u), 303(z), and 330(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 through alternate means than those prescribed by regulations pursuant to subsection (d) if the requirements of those sections are met, as determined by the Commission.