Frist Tees Up Broadcast-Indecency Bill

FRIST TEES UP BROADCAST-INDECENCY BILL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) Tuesday signaled that he's ready to bring to the Senate floor a fine-laden House-passed bill on broadcast indecency, a Senate source said. The legislation, passed by the House last January on a 389-38 vote, would raise broadcast-indecency fines to $500,000 per offense, up from $32,500 currently. Senate Commerce Committee Republican staff learned Tuesday that Frist is seeking to clear the House bill for a Senate vote. Because at least one senator can postpone Senate action indefinitely, it is probable that a vote will not occur in the near future. Nevertheless, a Senate Republican staff source said Sen Frist's decision "is the first movement [on indecency] that we have seen in the Senate in a long, long time."
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6330996.html?display=Breaking+News