The Maine Association of Broadcasters
Positions on State Legislative Issues
1. Advertising
· Advertising Restrictions in General. MAB opposes any legislation that would impose content or other restrictions on advertising or which would attempt to regulate advertising beyond "false and misleading."
It is not appropriate to make broadcasters liable for advertising violations by their advertisers, or to make broadcasters act as "advertising police." Legislation intended to regulate a particular type of business will often include a section defining what may or may not be said in advertising by such a business. While MAB supports restrictions which prohibit "false and misleading" advertising, the Association opposes any attempt to make broadcasters liable in the event that an advertiser's announcement violates a provision of law.
· Advertising Restrictions. MAB opposes any attempt to restrict or prohibit advertising of legal products as an unconstitutional abridgement of commercial free speech.
· State Lottery Advertising. While MAB takes no position on the issue of whether or not there ought to be a state-sponsored lottery, the Association opposes any effort to restrict or prohibit the use of state funds to advertise the lottery.
· Contests/Games of Chance Advertising. MAB opposes any effort to reduce the number or kinds of games of chance permitted by state law.
Federal law permits the broadcast of information concerning contests and games of chance, so long as they are authorized or not otherwise prohibited by state law. Maine law outlines the types of games of chance which are permitted in the state and provides a mechanism for determining the legality of a particular game or type of game. Further restrictions on games of chance could impair broadcasters' ability to run contests or to promote the fund-raising activities of non-profit organizations.
2. Political Broadcasting
· Content Restrictions. As with advertising in general, MAB opposes any effort to impose content restrictions or requirements on political advertising, or efforts to make broadcasters liable for the content of political advertising.
State restrictions on political messages do not make political advertising "better"; in fact, they often conflict with requirements that either broadcasters, candidates, or political action committees must meet under the federal Communications Act, as well as running afoul of the First Amendment protection given to political speech.
· Discounts beyond lowest unit rate. MAB opposes any effort at either the federal or the state level to require broadcasters to provide free time to candidates or issue advertising, or to discount political advertising rates beyond the current lowest-unit-rate requirement.
The Maine Association of Broadcasters
Positions on State Legislative Issues
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3. Taxes
· Sales tax on advertising. MAB opposes any attempt to impose a sales tax on advertising time or production services.
Advertising increases demand for products and increases retail sales, thereby increasing sales tax revenue. Advertisers are not likely to increase their advertising budgets to cover the cost of a sales tax; the resultant decrease in advertising will lead to decreased sales and a concomitant decrease in sales tax revenues.
· Tax deductibility of advertising. MAB supports the ability of businesses to deduct advertising as a necessary business expense and opposes any effort to restrict or eliminate the tax deduction for advertising.
As an accepted part of the process of marketing, advertising is a legitimate business expense and should not be treated differently than other costs of doing business.
· General business/property taxes. MAB supports a general decrease in the state's tax burden and opposes any extension of the property tax to include property held by non-profit organizations. In addition, MAB opposes any attempt to impose a property tax on intangibles such as a station's FCC license, image or good will.
4. Freedom of Information/Freedom of Access
· Open meetings and open records. MAB supports the presumption that meetings of governing bodies and the records created and held by government agencies are open and available to the public, and that the concept of "good government" depends in large part on the free flow of information to an informed citizenry.
· Personality rights. Many states have created a statutory property right of individuals to control the use of their name, likeness, voice, etc. In doing so, certain uses, such as coverage of news or sporting events, are usually exempted. MAB does not oppose such property-rights legislation as long as it provides broadcasters with the flexibility to cover news or sporting events or to air other material, as necessary.
5. Association/non-profit issues
· Taxation. MAB favors uniform state tax treatment of associations consistent with federal law and opposes any effort by the state to impose taxes on, or repeal existing tax exemptions for, non-profit organizations, or to impose a burden of care or of disclosure on non-profits greater than that of for-profit businesses.
· Volunteer Protection. MAB supports any effort at the state level to enhance or extend the protections accorded under the federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997, which protects volunteers from liability while acting within the scope of their responsibilities.
Issue paper state legislature 1-03.rtf