CEA, NAB and MSTV File Joint Comments in NTIA Converter Box Proceeding
On September 25, CEA,
the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the Association for
Maximum Service Television (MSTV) filed joint comments in NTIA's
converter box proceeding.
Jointly the three organizations have agreed to the
following core principles: continued consumer access to the broadcast
service; availability of high quality, usable, low-cost converter
boxes; simplicity and clarity; fairness and prevention of waste and
abuse; and cooperation.
Additional Links: CEA
Comments 09/25/2006; Press
Release 09/25/06
Contact: Julie
Kearney
CEA Continues
Campaign to Protect Satellite and Digital Radio
As part
of an on-going advertising campaign, CEA released two new ads in
September. The first ad called "The Truth" questions false statements
made by the RIAA regarding satellite and digital radio.
"The Truth" points out that the record labels are paid
for
every
digital audio recorder sold and the music industry is not only paid by
manufacturers- it's paid by Sirius and XM. Additionally, the
ad
notes that Congress has said: noncommercial recording off the
radio is ok.
Additional Links: The
Truth Ad - Sept. 2006; Stop
the RIAA Attack on Satellite Radio - Sept. 2006
Contact: Michael Petricone
CEA Victory: Copyright Modernization Act of
2006 Pulled from Consideration
On
September 27, H.R. 6052 (Copyright Modernization Act of 2006) was
pulled from consideration by the House Judiciary Committee.
The
decision to pull the bill was a major victory for CEA, which had
vigorously fought against this bill and its predecessor, the Section
115 Reform Act
of 2006 ("SIRA").
Additional Links: CEA
Joint Letter 09/13/2006
Contact: Michael Petricone
CEA Applauds House Committee Approval of H.R.
5418
H.R.
5418, a bill that would encourage enhancement of expertise in patent
cases among District Court judges gained approval by the House
Judiciary Committee on September 13. Introduced on May 18 by
Representatives Issa and Schiff, the bill would help reduce the high
number of patent appeals from District Courts to the Federal Court.
According to CEA's President and CEO
Gary
Shapiro, "We pledge our full support in working with Chairman
Sensenbrenner, the Committee and other stakeholders as the legislative
process moves forward. We urge swift action in the House to
ensure final passage of this legislation."
Additional Links: Press
Release 09/14/2006
Contact: Michael Petricone
CEA Joins Coalition to Protect Interstate
Commerce
Recently,
CEA joined the Coalition to Protect Interstate Commerce, which is
supporting federal legislation that clarifies the constitutional
requirement for a physical presence nexus standard governing state
assessment of corporate income taxes and other direct taxes on a
business.
The two bills pending during the
109th Congress
are: H.R. 1956 and S. 2721. H.R. 1956 was approved by the
House
Judiciary Committee on June 28 and S. 2721, which was introduced by
Senator Schumer in May, is currently pending before the Senate
Committee on Finance.
Members of the Coalition include
Apple Computer,
Cisco Systems, Inc., Delphi Corporation, Microsoft, Sony, as well as
the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce.
Additional Links: H.R.
1956
Contact: Michael
Petricone or David Grossman
CEA Comments on FAA
NPRM on Wireless Interference
On September 11, CEA filed comments with the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the Safe, Efficient Use and
Preservation of Navigable Airspace proceeding. (Docket
No. FAA-2006-25002).
CEA's comments argue that the proposed rules would
affect a
wide variety of unlicensed consumer devices and no actual instances
have been provided that show how consumer devices would cause
interference to air navigation, radio
communication, and/or surveillance facilities or equipment.
Additional Links: CEA
Comments 09/11/2006
Contact: Julie Kearney
CEA Comments on
Charter Communications Waiver Request
On
September 18, CEA filed comments requesting that Charter
Communications, Inc. Request for Waiver of 47
C.F.R. §
76.1204(a)(1) be denied. CEA's comments state that Charter's
request is based on an incorrect assumption that the devices for which
a waiver is sought represent the only avenue to low cost
navigation
devices. Additionally, Charter's own failed suit against the
FCC,
which was decided by the D.C. Circuit on August 18, should weigh
against rather than in favor of its request for waiver.
Additional Links: Press
Release 09/20/2006 CEA
Comments 09/18/2006
Contact: Julie Kearney
Federal Trade
Commission to Hold Hearings on Emerging Technologies and Consumer Issues
The FTC has
planned three days of public hearings from November 6-8 to discuss how
evolving technology will shape and change the habits, opportunities and
challenges of consumers and businesses in the coming decade. The
hearings will include topics such as the changing nature of consumer
products, mobile devices and marketing, convergence, and data security
and privacy.
The hearings will be held in The George Washington University Lisner
Auditorium, 730 21st Street, NW, Washington,DC and will be free and
open to the public. Members of the public can also participate in the
hearings through a live webcast at www.ftc.gov/techade.
UPDATED
Agenda for FTC Public Hearings, November 6-8, 2006
Contact: Julie
Kearney
California
Governor Vetoes Container Fee Legislation
On September 22, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the container
fee
legislation opposed by CEA and other business and retail groups and
companies. Senate Bill 927, sponsored by Senator Lowenthal
and
recently passed by the California Legislature, would have imposed a $60
tax,
payable by cargo owner, on all containers moving through the Ports of
Los Angeles and Long Beach to pay for undefined port security, clean
air and transportation projects in the State of California.
Additional Links: CEA
Letter 09/08/2006; Text
of Governor's Veto Message; California
Senate Bill 927
Contact: Doug
Johnson
International Trade
Events at Industry Forum
A Supply Chain Panel and Port Tour will
be held on Tuesday, October 17th. Additionally, the
TLWG will
also meet on the same date. For more detailed information on
these events, please click
here.
Contact: Elizabeth Hyman or Christine
Screnci
CEA Participates in
Electronics Recycling Roundtable Discussion
On September
13, representatives from industry, state governments and environmental
organizations were brought together to discuss the issue of electronics
recycling
According to Parker Brugge, CEA's Senior Director and
Environmental Counsel, "CEA commends the leaders from the United States
Congress for working to bring together stakeholders and make this
crucial first step toward a national solution for electronics
recycling."
Additional Links: Press
Release 09/13/2006
Contact: Parker Brugge
Lobbying Effort by CEA Prevents Disruption
of CE Sales in Oregon
Thanks
to a concerted lobbying effort by CEA and its Energy Efficiency Working
Group, a major marketplace disruption with external power
supply-related electronics sold in the State of Oregon has been
avoided. Oregon's existing law for external power supplies, effective
January 1, 2007, did not comport with other states, particularly
California, where CEA earlier this year successfully amended a similar
regulation. In response to industry concerns, the Oregon
Department of Energy issued a letter this week stating its intention
not to administer the sections of the law related to external power
supplies until completion of a required rulemaking and legislative
changes next year.
Contact: Doug
Johnson
As the Meter Turns: The True
Energy Consumption of Consumer Electronics (Industry Forum Event) Monday,
October 16, 2006
2:00pm - 3:00pm
At a time when energy conservation and costs are hot
topics,
CE products are in the spotlight for their electricity consumption.
While technological advances and the success of the Energy
Star
program have led to dramatic changes in CE product energy consumption
over the past decade, many of the estimates of these products energy
characteristics is still rooted in data from the 1990s.
Particularly troubling are regulators' use of obsolete data
in
justifying mandatory energy use limits for consumer audio and video
products.
To combat the use and publication of inconsistent
and
potentially misleading estimates of electricity use for CE products,
CEA launched and completed a study evaluating the energy use of CE
products, including: Compact audio products, Cordless telephones, DVD
players and recorders, Home theater systems, Game consoles, DVRs, PCs,
Set-top boxes, and TVs.
Attend this session to hear the results released for the first time.
(Registration at Industry Forum is required)
Contact for RSVP or Questions: Doug
Johnson
Environmental and Regulatory Monitoring
As a benefit
to members, CEA offers an environmental and regulatory
tracking
service, which allows the user to search current state bills,
produce targeted reports by state and issue, as well as cumulative
reports by state and issue.
Additional Links: Environmental
and Regulatory Monitoring Website (Member-Exclusive)
Contact: Parker Brugge
CEA Public Policy
Updates
Recently, CEA's Government Affairs department
launched a Public Policy News section at: http://www.ce.org/GovernmentAffairs/default.asp.
We encourage you to visit this site throughout the month for
the latest public policy news and documents.
Contact: David Grossman
Fall
Industry Forum Update
The 2006 CEA Industry Forum will be held Oct. 16
through
Oct. 18 in San Francisco, CA. If you are attending Industry
Forum
this year, you will not want to miss two important events:
a) Call to Arms to Defend Technology Freedom-
a discussion on how we can unite and defend our right to innovate
(Wednesday, Oct. 18, 8:00-10:00am)
b) Government Affairs Council Meeting
(Wednesday, Oct. 18, 10:00-11:30am)
For more information on these events and for a full
schedule of Industry Forum events, visit: 2006
CEA Industry Forum Events Schedule.
Contact: Michael
Petricone
CEAPAC Update
Questions often
arise regarding which groups can be included in a CEAPAC solicitation.
For example, what is a restricted class? What is prior
approval?
What is considered to be a solicitation? When associations
are
involved in a PAC fundraising effort, the answers to these questions
are critical to keeping within the federal guidelines. Click
here to find answers to these important questions.
Contact: Stacie Aman
CEA Member?
CEA's Member-Only website
offers the latest Government Affairs news, contact information, and
documents.
Looking for the latest minutes and agendas from the GAC and its working
groups? Login today!
Interested in Joining the GAC?
Email publicpolicy@CE.org
for more information
CEA
Government Affairs Staff
|
