# 116-hr-583: PIRATE Act

116-hr-583, PIRATE Act, is a 116th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] (D-NY); status Became Public Law No: 116-109. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-583
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 116-hr-583
- Congress: 116
- Title: PIRATE Act
- Status: Became Public Law No: 116-109.
- Introduced: 2019-01-16
- Sponsor: Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] (D-NY)
- Cosponsors: 9
- Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement Act or the PIRATE Act This bill addresses unlicensed radio broadcasting (called pirating), including by increasing the maximum fine for a pirate radio broadcasting violation to $2 million and imposing a fine of up to $100,000 per day for pirating violations subject to the $2 million limit. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must (1) annually submit to Congress a report summarizing implementation of this bill and associated enforcement activities for the previous fiscal year; and (2) at least once a year, assign appropriate enforcement personnel to focus specific and sustained attention on the elimination of pirate radio broadcasting within the top five radio markets. The FCC may not preempt any state or local law prohibiting pirate radio broadcasting. The FCC shall (1) revise its rules to require that, absent good cause, in any case alleging a violation, it shall proceed directly to issue a Notice of Apparent Liability without first issuing a Notice of Unlicensed Operation; and (2) publish a database of all licensed radio stations operating in the AM and FM band that includes each licensed station and all entities that have received a Notice of Unlicensed Operation, Notice of Apparent Liability, or Forfeiture Order issued by the FCC.

## Cosponsors (9)

- Rep. Bilirakis, Gus M. [R-FL-12] (R-FL), 2019-01-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rice, Kathleen M. [D-NY-4] (D-NY), 2019-02-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Collins, Chris [R-NY-27] (R-NY), 2019-02-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Maloney, Sean Patrick [D-NY-18] (D-NY), 2019-02-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Maloney, Carolyn B. [D-NY-12] (D-NY), 2019-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7] (D-NY), 2019-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- PETER KING (R-NY), 2019-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Flores, Bill [R-TX-17] (R-TX), 2019-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brooks, Susan W. [R-IN-5] (R-IN), 2019-02-25T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 116-hr-4194: National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2019
- 116-hr-2423: Women's Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act
- 116-hr-1980: Smithsonian Women’s History Museum Act
- 116-hr-1570: Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2020
- 116-hr-943: Never Again Education Act
- 116-hr-748: CARES Act

## Sources
- [116-hr-583 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/583)

## Related
- [116-hr-4194: National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2019](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-4194)
- [116-hr-2423: Women's Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-2423)
- [116-hr-1980: Smithsonian Women’s History Museum Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-1980)
- [116-hr-1570: Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2020](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-1570)
- [116-hr-943: Never Again Education Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-943)
- [116-hr-748: CARES Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-748)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/116-hr-583 (as of 2025-11-18).