Mandatory membership to a professional body for journalists has been proposed in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Journalism Guild (CDP) proposed mandatory membership which would penalise those who act as journalists without relevant degrees with prison sentences and fines of approximately $25,700 (£16,300). The draft bill suggests that media organisations would be able to freely contract employees, but only those with bachelors degrees or the equivalent from an “accredited school of journalism” would be employed as journalists. The CDP would also provide the media with a list of employable journalism graduates, according to the bill.