47 U.S.C. § 302a — Devices which interfere with radio recep-

Page 125 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 302a States over all the channels of radio trans- mission; and to provide for the use of such chan- nels, but not the ownership thereof, by persons for limited periods of time, under licenses grant- ed by Federal authority, and no such license shall be construed to create any right, beyond the terms, conditions, and periods of the license. No person shall use or operate any apparatus for the transmission of energy or communications or signals by radio (a) from one place in any State, Territory, or possession of the United States or in the District of Columbia to another place in the same State, Territory, possession, or District; or (b) from any State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or from the Dis- trict of Columbia to any other State, Territory, or possession of the United States; or (c) from any place in any State, Territory, or possession of the United States, or in the District of Co- lumbia, to any place in any foreign country or to any vessel; or (d) within any State when the effects of such use extend beyond the borders of said State, or when interference is caused by such use or operation with the transmission of such energy, communications, or signals from within said State to any place beyond its bor- ders, or from any place beyond its borders to any place within said State, or with the trans- mission or reception of such energy, commu- nications, or signals from and/or to places be- yond the borders of said State; or (e) upon any vessel or aircraft of the United States (except as provided in section 303(t) of this title); or (f) upon any other mobile stations within the juris- diction of the United States, except under and in accordance with this chapter and with a license in that behalf granted under the provisions of this chapter. (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 301, 48 Stat. 1081; Pub. L. 97–259, title I, §§ 107, 111(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1091, 1093.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, 48 Stat. 1064, known as the Communications Act of 1934, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 609 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 1982—Pub. L. 97–259 struck out ‘‘interstate and for- eign’’ after ‘‘channels of’’ in first sentence, substituted ‘‘State, Territory,’’ for ‘‘Territory’’ after ‘‘from one place in any’’ and inserted ‘‘State,’’ after ‘‘to another place in the same’’ in cl. (a), and inserted ‘‘(except as provided in section 303(t) of this title)’’ in cl. (e). § 302. Repealed. June 5, 1936, ch. 511, § 1, 49 Stat. 1475 Section, act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 302, 48 Stat. 1081, divided United States into five zones for pur- poses of this subchapter. § 302a. Devices which interfere with radio recep- tion (a) Regulations The Commission may, consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity, make reasonable regulations (1) governing the interference potential of devices which in their operation are capable of emitting radio fre- quency energy by radiation, conduction, or other means in sufficient degree to cause harm- ful interference to radio communications; and (2) establishing minimum performance stand- ards for home electronic equipment and systems to reduce their susceptibility to interference from radio frequency energy. Such regulations shall be applicable to the manufacture, import, sale, offer for sale, or shipment of such devices and home electronic equipment and systems, and to the use of such devices. (b) Restrictions No person shall manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, or ship devices or home electronic equipment and systems, or use devices, which fail to comply with regulations promulgated pursuant to this section. (c) Exceptions The provisions of this section shall not be ap- plicable to carriers transporting such devices or home electronic equipment and systems without trading in them, to devices or home electronic equipment and systems manufactured solely for export, to the manufacture, assembly, or instal- lation of devices or home electronic equipment and systems for its own use by a public utility engaged in providing electric service, or to de- vices or home electronic equipment and systems for use by the Government of the United States or any agency thereof. Devices and home elec- tronic equipment and systems for use by the Government of the United States or any agency thereof shall be developed, procured, or other- wise acquired, including offshore procurement, under United States Government criteria, stand- ards, or specifications designed to achieve the objectives of reducing interference to radio re- ception and to home electronic equipment and systems, taking into account the unique needs of national defense and security. (d) Cellular telecommunications receivers (1) Within 180 days after October 28, 1992, the Commission shall prescribe and make effective regulations denying equipment authorization (under part 15 of title 47, Code of Federal Regu- lations, or any other part of that title) for any scanning receiver that is capable of— (A) receiving transmissions in the fre- quencies allocated to the domestic cellular radio telecommunications service, (B) readily being altered by the user to re- ceive transmissions in such frequencies, or (C) being equipped with decoders that con- vert digital cellular transmissions to analog voice audio. (2) Beginning 1 year after the effective date of the regulations adopted pursuant to paragraph (1), no receiver having the capabilities described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1), as such capabilities are defined in such regula- tions, shall be manufactured in the United States or imported for use in the United States. (e) Delegation of equipment testing and certifi- cation to private laboratories The Commission may— Page 126 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 303 (1) authorize the use of private organizations for testing and certifying the compliance of devices or home electronic equipment and sys- tems with regulations promulgated under this section; (2) accept as prima facie evidence of such compliance the certification by any such orga- nization; and (3) establish such qualifications and stand- ards as it deems appropriate for such private organizations, testing, and certification. (f) State and local enforcement of FCC regula- tions on use of citizens band radio equip- ment (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a State or local government may enact a statute or or- dinance that prohibits a violation of the fol- lowing regulations of the Commission under this section: (A) A regulation that prohibits a use of citi- zens band radio equipment not authorized by the Commission. (B) A regulation that prohibits the unau- thorized operation of citizens band radio equipment on a frequency between 24 MHz and 35 MHz. (2) A station that is licensed by the Commis- sion pursuant to section 301 of this title in any radio service for the operation at issue shall not be subject to action by a State or local govern- ment under this subsection. A State or local government statute or ordinance enacted for purposes of this subsection shall identify the ex- emption available under this paragraph. (3) The Commission shall, to the extent prac- ticable, provide technical guidance to State and local governments regarding the detection and determination of violations of the regulations specified in paragraph (1). (4)(A) In addition to any other remedy author- ized by law, a person affected by the decision of a State or local government agency enforcing a statute or ordinance under paragraph (1) may submit to the Commission an appeal of the deci- sion on the grounds that the State or local gov- ernment, as the case may be, enacted a statute or ordinance outside the authority provided in this subsection. (B) A person shall submit an appeal on a deci- sion of a State or local government agency to the Commission under this paragraph, if at all, not later than 30 days after the date on which the decision by the State or local government agency becomes final, but prior to seeking judi- cial review of such decision. (C) The Commission shall make a determina- tion on an appeal submitted under subparagraph (B) not later than 180 days after its submittal. (D) If the Commission determines under sub- paragraph (C) that a State or local government agency has acted outside its authority in enforc- ing a statute or ordinance, the Commission shall preempt the decision enforcing the statute or ordinance. (5) The enforcement of statute or ordinance that prohibits a violation of a regulation by a State or local government under paragraph (1) in a particular case shall not preclude the Com- mission from enforcing the regulation in that case concurrently. (6) Nothing in this subsection shall be con- strued to diminish or otherwise affect the juris- diction of the Commission under this section over devices capable of interfering with radio communications. (7) The enforcement of a statute or ordinance by a State or local government under paragraph (1) with regard to citizens band radio equipment on board a ‘‘commercial motor vehicle’’, as de- fined in section 31101 of title 49, shall require probable cause to find that the commercial motor vehicle or the individual operating the vehicle is in violation of the regulations de- scribed in paragraph (1). (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 302, as added Pub. L. 90–379, July 5, 1968, 82 Stat. 290; amended Pub. L. 97–259, title I, § 108(a), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1091; Pub. L. 102–556, title IV, § 403(a), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4195; Pub. L. 104–104, title IV, § 403(f), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 131; Pub. L. 106–521, § 1, Nov. 22, 2000, 114 Stat. 2438.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2000—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 106–521 added subsec. (f). 1996—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104–104 added subsec. (e). 1992—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 102–556 added subsec. (d). 1982—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–259, § 108(a)(1), (2), in- serted ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘regulations’’ and ‘‘; and (2) estab- lishing minimum performance standards for home elec- tronic equipment and systems to reduce their suscepti- bility to interference from radio frequency energy’’ after ‘‘radio communications’’, and substituted ‘‘or shipment of such devices and home electronic equip- ment and systems, and to the use of such devices’’ for ‘‘shipment, or use of such devices’’. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97–259, § 108(a)(3), substituted ‘‘or ship devices or home electronic equipment and sys- tems, or use devices,’’ for ‘‘ship, or use devices’’. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–259, § 108(a)(4), inserted ‘‘or home electronic equipment and systems’’ after ‘‘de- vices’’ wherever appearing, inserted ‘‘and home elec- tronic equipment and systems’’ after ‘‘Devices’’, sub- stituted ‘‘objectives’’ for ‘‘common objective’’, and in- serted ‘‘and to home electronic equipment and sys- tems’’ after ‘‘reception’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS Pub. L. 102–556, title IV, § 403(c), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4195, provided that: ‘‘This section [amending this sec- tion] shall not affect section 2512(2) of title 18, United States Code.’’ MINIMUM PERFORMANCE STANDARDS; HOME ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEMS MANUFACTURED BEFORE SEPTEMBER 13, 1982 Pub. L. 97–259, title I, § 108(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1092, provided that any minimum performance standard established by the Federal Communications Commis- sion under subsec. (a)(2) of this section would not apply to any home electronic equipment or systems manufac- tured before Sept. 13, 1982. § 303. Powers and duties of Commission Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the Commission from time to time, as public convenience, interest, or necessity requires, shall— (a) Classify radio stations; (b) Prescribe the nature of the service to be rendered by each class of licensed stations and each station within any class;