Spectrum Inventory and Auction Act of 2011
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Communications and Technology.
Spectrum Inventory and Auction Act of 2011 - Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to require the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the Department of Commerce and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to: (1) inventory, at least semiannually, each broadband radio spectrum band of frequencies listed in the U.S. Table of Frequency Allocations, including the identity of each federal or non-federal user within each radio service authorized to operate in each band of frequencies, the activities and capabilities (whether space-, air-, or ground-based) supported by transmitters and other radio frequency devices, the total amount of spectrum and geographic coverage areas assigned or licensed to each user, and other specified information; and (2) make the inventory available to the public on an Internet website.
Directs the Assistant Secretary and the FCC to submit to Congress a biennial report containing a recommendation of which bands of inventoried frequencies, if any, should be reallocated or made available for shared access.
Sets forth exceptions for federal agencies to withhold certain national security information.
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that, if the FCC determines that it is consistent with the public interest in spectrum utilization (after a report of the initial inventory is submitted to Congress and made available on the Internet) for a licensee to voluntarily relinquish licensed spectrum usage rights to permit the assignment of new initial licenses or the allocation of spectrum for unlicensed use subject to new service rules, the proceeds from granting such rights to another licensee under an appropriate competitive bidding system must be shared, in a more than de minimis amount that the FCC considers appropriate, with the licensee who voluntarily relinquished such rights.
Directs the FCC to establish rules for such voluntary incentive auction revenue sharing.
Prohibits the FCC from reclaiming frequencies of any licensees on an involuntary basis for certain licensing purposes.
Extends the FCC's authority to grant a license or permit under the applicable competitive bidding provisions to September 30, 2020.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 3, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 11, 2011: Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
John Barrow (D-GA) introduced it on March 3, 2011, and 4 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 4 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 3, 2011, 5670 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5662 days ago, on March 11, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers