Bill to help stop pirate radio filed in Mass.

[raccoonradio]

http://www.massbroadcasters.org/mba-issues

>> The Massachusetts Broadcasters Association has been the driving force behind Massachusetts House Bill 1679, an Act relative to an unauthorized (re: pirate) radio telecommunication. The bill would give the Massachusetts Attorney General the power to bring action upon a violator of the law. The bill, which can be found on MAlegislature.com, has been referred to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. Broadcasters who are affected by pirate stations in Massachusetts are encouraged to tell the MBA their story

H/T Don at boston-radio-interest

 

[SixtiesGuy]

I'm not an expert on the US Constitution, but is it valid for a state to try to regulate something that's under the control of the federal government, such as the broadcast spectrum? I believe the concept is known as federal preemption...

 

[raccoonradio]

Interesting point. Of course radio and Tv
weren't around in the days of The Framers
but later laws created the FRC/ FCC. You
could look at it like it's states' rights with
different states doing their oen approach, but
is it a federal matter and does the FCC have
the time or resources ( fed Marshalls) to
shut down offenders? And what about commerce..
What happens if a legit station loses money
because a pirate sets up shop on same freq or
next to it?

13 yrs or so ago Radio Free Vt was illegally on
96.5 in Rutland (they even ran ads). They claimed
the FCC had no case against them because the
signal didn't cross state lines

 

[reelyreal]

This law has been in place in Florida since 2005, and in New York since 2011.

Federal preemption doesn't apply here. The state law doesn't preempt any federal law. There are no federal laws that make it a crime to operate an illegal radio station. It's simply a violation of title 47 of the United States Code. States are fixing that.

 

[raccoonradio]

How about pirate stations that run ads? I would doubt they report this income to the IRS
and the Mass. Dept of Revenue

 

[reelyreal]

Yep, and that's an issue for the IRS to take up. That has nothing to do with the pirate radio law.

 

[WNTIRadio]

I'm not an expert on the US Constitution, but is it valid for a state to try to regulate something that's under the control of the federal government, such as the broadcast spectrum? I believe the concept is known as federal preemption...

Murder is illegal federally. States can also enact a law making murder illegal. Same thing here, just a different specific crime.

 

[cefgw]

The signal from 89.3, a Portugese language station from Billerica (Billericer), crosses into the Nashua NH area.

 

[dyeingeye]

I'm not an expert on the US Constitution, but is it valid for a state to try to regulate something that's under the control of the federal government, such as the broadcast spectrum? I believe the concept is known as federal preemption...

Murder is illegal federally. States can also enact a law making murder illegal. Same thing here, just a different specific crime.

Murder in general is not "illegal federally." There has to be an element to a murder that implicates a federal issue, like killing a federal government employee; kidnapping someone, taking them over state lines, and killing them; hate crime; etc. If you just kill someone in a gas station robbery, it is not a federal crime.

 

[jlehmann]

This law has had little affect on the number of pirates in states that it is in effect. There are probably more pirates in Miami, New York City, and Newark than we have here.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

There are no federal laws that make it a crime to operate an illegal radio station. It's simply a violation of title 47 of the United States Code. States are fixing that.

Violating the US Code *IS* a criminal act. Read Section 301 of the Communications Act (47 U.S.C. §301), the basis for all complaints against unlicensed stations and the statutory authority for any and all actions against them.

 

[reelyreal]

There are no federal laws that make it a crime to operate an illegal radio station. It's simply a violation of title 47 of the United States Code. States are fixing that.

Violating the US Code *IS* a criminal act. Read Section 301 of the Communications Act (47 U.S.C. §301), the basis for all complaints against unlicensed stations and the statutory authority for any and all actions against them.

The Code of Federal Regulations and the United States Code are administrative law, NOT criminal law. The FCC has statutory authority to enforce its rules, but violating the rules is not a crime. It's simply a rules violation. The state law makes it a crime.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

The Code of Federal Regulations and the United States Code are administrative law, NOT criminal law. The FCC has statutory authority to enforce its rules, but violating the rules is not a crime. It's simply a rules violation. The state law makes it a crime.

Section 301 is not a rule. It is law. First-year law students know the difference between the two.

And as for enforcement, see 47 U.S.C. §§501, 503 and 510.

 

[reelyreal]

There's a difference between administrative law and criminal law. Anyone who can read has access to that information.

Violating an administrative law and committing a crime (misdemeanor or felony) are different.

If you want to continue splitting hairs, show me the last time anyone was sent to jail for violating an FCC rule.

 

[4CX1000A]

This law has been in place in Florida since 2005, and in New York since 2011.

Federal preemption doesn't apply here. The state law doesn't preempt any federal law. There are no federal laws that make it a crime to operate an illegal radio station. It's simply a violation of title 47 of the United States Code. States are fixing that.

United States Code is federal law. See http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionUScode.action?collectionCode=USCODE

 

[reelyreal]

I'm not denying it's law, i'm talking about the type of law. I've said that 3 times now. USC is ADMINISTRATIVE law. It is not CRIMINAL law.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

I'm not denying it's law, i'm talking about the type of law. I've said that 3 times now. USC is ADMINISTRATIVE law. It is not CRIMINAL law.

Wrong.

47 U.S.C §501: "Any person who willfully and knowingly does or causes or suffers to be done any act, matter, or thing, in this chapter prohibited or declared to be unlawful, or who willfully and knowingly omits or fails to do any act, matter, or thing in this chapter required to be done, or willfully and knowingly causes or suffers such omission or failure, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished for such offense, for which no penalty (other than a forfeiture) is provided in this chapter, by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both; except that any person, having been once convicted of an offense punishable under this section, who is subsequently convicted of violating any provision of this chapter punishable under this section, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or both." (emphasis added)

Those aren't "administrative" penalties, not when they potentially involve jail time.

 

[reelyreal]

You can call it whatever you want, that doesn't change FACT. Federal crimes, penalties, and prison are dealt with in title 18. Show me where the word "crime" or "criminal" appears in title 47. It doesn't. Title 47 is administrative.

If you can tell me the last time someone went to jail for a violation of title 47, I'll back down.

The whole point of the post, and the law in Massachusetts, is that the FCC has NO TEETH given to them. Why does the FCC have no teeth? Because operating an illegal radio station is not a federal crime. Massachusetts, along with NY and FL, have made it a crime.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

If you can tell me the last time someone went to jail for a violation of title 47, I'll back down.

The whole point of the post, and the law in Massachusetts, is that the FCC has NO TEETH given to them. Why does the FCC have no teeth? Because operating an illegal radio station is not a federal crime. Massachusetts, along with NY and FL, have made it a crime.

Nice red herring you got there. Whether or not anyone has been jailed for violating 47 USC is beside the point. Most pirates are dealt with long before a Section 301 complaint is acted on by the US Attorney (usually an in rem equipment seizure silences them), but that doesn't make it any less a crime and subject to fines and/or time in prison.

And I would submit that to the respondent in such a case, the fact that the penalties may be "administrative" instead of "criminal" makes no difference whatsoever. Fines and jail tend to look the same no matter how you view them.

 

[raccoonradio]

btw last night after midnight I was on my back porch with the HD portable and thought I picked up pirates (live in Beverly) but not so sure. Something was on 89.3; could have been WMSJ but most likely WUMD down in Dartmouth--some sort of song about cannabis which I don't think would have been on a radio station. It was a very strong signal, leading me to believe it could be a local pirate but again that HD portable can do well with some distant FM. 96.3 from the Cape for example came in fine, with JT the Brick and something else mixing in (as I have said before, the comp. switching etc.
resulted in something like that on 93.7)

...and something at 99.3...possibly WFRD from Dartmouth College, NH? Anyway it sounded like a pro station; so sometimes when something like that pops up I remember with a radio like that it could be a distant station popping up, esp. in summer with trop or skip or whatever...