From the office of Joe Keeley from the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet –
H.R. 5449 / H.R. 1551 – Music Modernization Act
As many of you are already aware, on Tuesday night the Senate called up and passed by voice vote H.R. 1551, a bill that originally had to do with tax credits for advanced nuclear power production. In place of the existing text, a modified version of the Music Modernization Act was inserted. Chairman Goodlatte has requested that the bill as passed by the Senate be voted on by the full House next week. Since there is a lot happening with the end of the fiscal year on September 30, I have no info right now as to the specific day the bill would come up if it is cleared to do so. We come back into session on Tuesday. Always a chance we are even in session over the following weekend leaving plenty of days for a vote, but no one up here wants to be here on a weekend.
After House passage, the bill will proceed to the President for his expected signature sometime in October. I will circulate a list of the changes between the House and Senate versions of the bill in the near future.
In case you are wondering why the bill number changed and what nuclear power has to do with music, the House pay-for in the original bill was changed to a one-week extension of existing customs users fees from October 13, 2027 to October 20, 2027. Per the Constitution, all revenue measures such as this must arise in the House. Since HR 5449 did not originally include a revenue raising measure, another HR bill was needed. Thus HR 1551. For all you nuclear power fans, don’t fret. I believe the nuclear tax credit provision was already enacted into law via another bill that carried it, leaving the poor H.R. 1551 bill number with nothing to do. Now it has a purpose – carry the MMA across the finish line.
- 2559, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act
The Chairman has also requested that S. 2559, the Marrakesh Treaty bill, be brought up for a full House vote next week as well. I would expect it to be on the floor the same day as the music bill, whenever that is. I expect no changes to the Senate bill. After House passage, the bill will also proceed to the President for his expected signature sometime in October.
We will keep you posted on all updates to this story.