In the just-ended 110th Congress, the NAB strategy was to back a pre-emptive bill that began with some key sponsors (53 of them) and eventually gained over 220 co-sponsors. This time, the D.C. association waited until it could make a statement with over 100 signatories, right out of the box. The effort to pass the “Local Radio Freedom Act” is again led by two Texans – Democrat Gene Green and Republican Mike Conaway. The NAB-backed act would forbid passage of a law to levy a new “fee, tax, royalty or other charge” on radio, for its playing of music on radio. Radio has paid copyright owners a licensing fee for decades, through ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. The recording industry is pushing for an entirely new fee, payable to performers and the labels.