S.1932 was signed by President Bush on 2006 February 8.
Excerpts from S.1932
SEC. 3001. SHORT TITLE; DEFINITION.
(a) Short Title- This title may be cited as the `Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005'.
SEC. 3002. ANALOG SPECTRUM RECOVERY: FIRM DEADLINE.
(b) Terminations of Analog Licenses and Broadcasting- The Federal Communications Commission shall take such actions as are necessary--
(1) to terminate all licenses for full-power television stations in the analog television service, and to require the cessation of broadcasting by full-power stations in the analog television service, by February 18, 2009 ; and
(2) to require by February 18, 2009 , that all broadcasting by Class A stations, whether in the analog television service or digital television service, and all broadcasting by full-power stations in the digital television service, occur only on channels between channels 2 and 36, inclusive, or 38 and 51, inclusive (between frequencies 54 and 698 megahertz, inclusive).
SEC. 3005. DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERTER BOX PROGRAM.
(a) Creation of Program- The Assistant Secretary shall--
(1) implement and administer a program through which households in the United States may obtain coupons that can be applied toward the purchase of digital-to-analog converter boxes; and
(2) make payments of not to exceed $990,000,000, in the aggregate, through fiscal year 2009 to carry out that program from the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund established under section 309(j)(8)(E) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(E)).
(b) Credit- The Assistant Secretary may borrow from the Treasury beginning on October 1, 2006, such sums as may be necessary, but not to exceed $1,500,000,000, to implement this section. The Assistant Secretary shall reimburse the Treasury, without interest, as funds are deposited into the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund.
(c) Program Specifications-
(1) LIMITATIONS-
(A) TWO-PER-HOUSEHOLD MAXIMUM- A household may obtain coupons by making a request as required by the regulations under this section between January 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009 , inclusive. The Assistant Secretary shall ensure that each requesting household receives, via the United States Postal Service, no more than two coupons.
(B) NO COMBINATIONS OF COUPONS- Two coupons may not be used in combination toward the purchase of a single digital-to-analog converter box.
(C) DURATION- All coupons shall expire 3 months after issuance.
(2) DISTRIBUTION OF COUPONS- The Assistant Secretary shall expend not more than $100,000,000 on administrative expenses and shall ensure that the sum of--
(A) all administrative expenses for the program, including not more than $5,000,000 for consumer education concerning the digital television transition and the availability of the digital-to-analog converter box program; and
(B) the total maximum value of all the coupons redeemed, and issued but not expired, does not exceed $990,000,000.
(3) USE OF ADDITIONAL AMOUNT- If the Assistant Secretary transmits to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a statement certifying that the sum permitted to be expended under paragraph (2) will be insufficient to fulfill the requests for coupons from eligible households--
(A) paragraph (2) shall be applied--
(i) by substituting `$160,000,000' for `$100,000,000'; and
(ii) by substituting `$1,500,000,000' for `$990,000,000';
(B) subsection (a)(2) shall be applied by substituting `$1,500,000,000' for `$990,000,000'; and
(C) the additional amount permitted to be expended shall be available 60 days after the Assistant Secretary sends such statement.
(4) COUPON VALUE- The value of each coupon shall be $40.
(d) Definition of Digital-to-Analog Converter Box- For purposes of this section, the term `digital-to-analog converter box' means a stand-alone device that does not contain features or functions except those necessary to enable a consumer to convert any channel broadcast in the digital television service into a format that the consumer can display on television receivers designed to receive and display signals only in the analog television service, but may also include a remote control device.