Washington, D.C- Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, plans to hold a Capitol Hill summit later this month in the hope of finding common ground among stakeholders on television decency legislation, according to a Republican committee aide.

Stevens has tentatively scheduled the summit for Tuesday, Nov. 29, during Congress’ Thanksgiving recess. The session will not be a hearing, but the aide said it will be open to the public.

Stevens plans to invite cable and broadcast industry representatives to participate — along with telecommunications companies that are rolling out fiber-optic video services, groups such as the Parents Television Council and the National Religious Broadcasters, and other interested parties.

Stevens also plans to invite ratings organizations such as the Motion Picture Association of America. The aide said the summit also might include demonstrations of new parental control technologies that help to block racy material.

Stevens has circulated draft legislation to increase fines on broadcasters that air material the FCC deems indecent, but the aide said that measure does not include new decency requirements for cable content.

For much of the past year, Stevens has been mulling whether to include cable provisions in a broadcast decency bill. He also has urged the cable industry to voluntarily create a separate tier of channels free of violent, profane or sexual content.

Cable industry leaders have said they have no plans to launch that type of “family tier.” They argue that a tiered system ultimately would reduce programming diversity and viewer choice.

But they have overhauled the television ratings system in recent months, and taken other voluntary steps to help parents shield their children from material they find objectionable.