# 119-s-1994: Protecting Community Television Act

119-s-1994, Protecting Community Television Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1994
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1994
- Congress: 119
- Title: Protecting Community Television Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-06-09
- Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA] (D-MA)
- Cosponsors: 19
- Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**Rewrites the legal definition of the "franchise fee" in federal law.** This bill would replace the word "includes" with "means" and insert the phrase "other monetary" before "assessment" in the definition at 47 U.S.C. 542(g)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934, changing the statutory wording that describes what counts as a franchise fee.

## Cosponsors (19)

- Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] (D-WI), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME] (I-ME), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] (D-CT), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] (I-VT), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] (D-HI), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH] (D-NH), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] (D-NJ), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Changes to cable franchise fees: mixed, medium. This bill would change the federal definition of a cable "franchise fee." It would replace the word "includes" with "means" and add the words "other monetary" before "assessment" in 47 U.S.C. 542(g)(1). If enacted, this could narrow or clarify which payments count as franchise fees. That could chan…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025
- 119-s-2523: John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-1994 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1994)

## Related
- [119-s-5066: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5066)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-852: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-852)
- [119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2150)
- [119-s-2523: John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2523)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1994 (as of 2026-09-10).