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Show IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS additional civil penalty (loss of business license) for distribution of obscene material that does not exist under current law. Proposal The proposal amends state law to provide criminal and civil penalties for knowingly distributing obscene or indecent material oer cable television. In addition to prohibiting obscene material the proposal also makes the distribution of indecent material illegal. The proposal is like the 1983 Cable Television Programming Decency Act with a few key differences. The primary difference is that the 1983 Current Law act provides only a civil penalty for continuing violations (public nuisance); the proposal provides criminal and civil penalties for The federal government through the Federal Communications Commission (F.C.C.) has the authority to generally regulate television broadcasting. This includes providing standards which any violation. prohibit indecent material being broadcast. The current state criminal laws make it illegal to distribute obscene material. This would include programming over cable television. In addition, the legislature in 1983 enacted the Cable Television Programming Decency Act. The 1983 act provides that distributing indecent material as a continuing course of conduct over cable television is a public nuisance. The 1983 legislation provides a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a first offense and up to $10,000 for a second offense. This act is currently before the Federal District Court in Utah to determine the constitutionality of the law. Legal Sufficiency The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects generally the rights of free speech. This right, however, is not an absolute right. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court in interpreting the First Amendment has held that material deemed to be obscene may be prohibited. ( Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973)). In addition to the Miller standards for obscenity, the supreme court has also recognized the authority of the F.C.C. to regulate the which is not broadcasting over radio of indecent material obscene. F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978)). Proposed Amendment The proposal is additional legislation to regulate the content of cable television programs. The proposal is essentially a duplication of existing state law in making the distribution of obscene material a criminal act. The proposal also provides an The Cable T.V. Decency Act (Initiative A) seeks to expand the concept of regulation of nonobscene but indecent material over cable television. 32- |