Washington ? President Bush signed legislation Thursday that will cost broadcasters dearly when raunchy programming exceeds “the bounds of decency.”

At a signing ceremony for the new law increasing by tenfold the maximum fine for indecency, Bush said that it will force industry figures to “take seriously their duty to keep the public airwaves free of obscene, profane and indecent material.”

Accompanying the president at the ceremony was a crowd of lawmakers who worked to pass the bill in Congress.

For raunchy talk or a racy show of skin, the Federal Communications Commission can now fine a broadcaster up to $325,000 per incident.

Approval of the bill culminates a two-year effort to get tough on sexually explicit material and offensive language on radio and television following Janet Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction.”

The FCC recently denied a petition of reconsideration from CBS Corp.-owned stations facing $550,000 in fines for the Jackson incident, in which she briefly revealed a breast during a halftime concert.

The agency recently handed down its biggest fine, $3.3 million, against more than 100 CBS affiliates that aired an episode of the series “Without a Trace” that simulated an orgy scene. That fine is now under review.

The FCC has received increasing complaints about lewd material over the airwaves, and has responded with fines jumping from $440,000 in 2003 to almost $8 million in 2004.

“The problem we have is that the maximum penalty that the FCC can impose under current law is just $32,500 per violation,” Bush said. “And for some broadcasters, this amount is meaningless. It’s relatively painless for them when they violate decency standards.”