As a followup to an earlier NPTalk on webcasting royalty fees, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the webcasting royalty payment resolution bill introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. The bill, H.R. 5469, basically allows small webcasters to pay out a percentage of their revenues, instead of the flat-fee to be paid by larger webcasters, to labels and artists, for permission to play recorded content.

On 10/1/02, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released 12 studies in regarding the state of the "media marketplace" in America, as part of a massive review of all federal rules regarding media ownership. the background behind the media ownership rules at issue and the review process was discussed in a September 2002 NPTalk. The studies are summarized in this article, and are all available for download at: http://www.fcc.gov/ownership/studies.html. Comments are sought on the studies by December 2, 2002, with reply comments due January 2, 2003.

The IRS Exempt Organizations (EO) division will issue more guidance to, and increase audits of, tax-exempt organizations in the coming year, according to the division’s 2003 workplan. The EO division has also made a priority of electronic filing for the Form 990 and a web-based interactive application for 501(c)(3) charity status (Form 1023).

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) approved final regulations on September 26 implementing a ban on broadcasts by corporations (including nonprofits) and labor unions that refer to federal candidates within 60 days of an election or 30 days of a primary. The FEC used its authority under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), which directed the ban, to carve out two important exceptions: free air time and broadcasts by charitable, educational and religious groups that are exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code.