A bill to amend section 318 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, to enable the Federal Communications Commission to authorize translator broadcast stations to originate limited amounts of local programming, and to authorize FM radio translator stations to operate unattended in the same manner as is now permitted for television broadcast translator stations.
Public Law 94-335 · S. 2847 · 94th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Gerald Ford (R) on Jul 1, 1976 · Science, Technology, Communications
Sponsor: Sen. Warren Magnuson (D-WA)
Cosponsors (1): Sen. William Hathaway
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Amends the Communications Act of 1934, to enable the Federal Communications Commission to authorize translator broadcast stations to originate limited amounts of local programming.
Authorizes frequency modulation radio translator stations to operate unattended in the same manner as is now permitted for television broadcast translator stations.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 12 actions.
- Jul 1, 1976Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public law 94-335.
- Jun 22, 1976PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Jun 21, 1976FloorFloor · Measure passed House, in lieu of H.R. 9689.
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from House Energy and Commerce Committee
- Jun 1, 1976CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Energy and Commerce Committee
- May 27, 1976FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate.
- May 25, 1976CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
- Jan 19, 1976CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.