[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 38 (Friday, February 26, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9851-9855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04118]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[OMB 3060-0214, 3060-0316 and 3060-1207]
Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval
to the Office of Management and Budget
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens,
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3501-3520), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission)
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on the following information collections.
Comments are requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected;
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the
information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer
than 25 employees. The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of
information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) control number. No person shall be subject to any
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject
to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before March 28,
2016. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find
it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice,
you should advise the contacts below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB, via
email [email protected]; and to Cathy Williams, FCC, via
email [email protected] and to [email protected]. Include in the
comments the OMB control number as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section below.
[[Page 9852]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies
of the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-
2918. To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR)
submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page <http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the Web page
called ``Currently Under Review,'' (3) click on the downward-pointing
arrow in the ``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review''
heading, (4) select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list
of agencies presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the
``Submit'' button to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, (6) when
the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look for the OMB
control number of this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number.
A copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be displayed.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 3060-1207.
Title: Sections 25.701, Other DBS Public Interest Obligations, and
25.702, Other SDARS Public Interest Obligations.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: New collection.
Respondents: Business or other for profit entities.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 3 respondents and 3 responses.
Estimated Hours per Response: 18 hrs.
Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement,
Recordkeeping requirement, Third party disclosure requirement.
Total Annual Burden: 54 hours.
Total Annual Cost: $592.
Obligation to Respond: Required to be obtained or retained for
benefits. The statutory authority for this information collection is
contained in sections 154, 301, 302, 303, 307, 309, 319, 332, 605, and
721 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for
confidentiality with this collection of information.
Privacy Act Assessment: The Commission prepared a system of records
notice (SORN), FCC/MB-2, ``Broadcast Station Public Inspection Files,''
that covers the PII contained in the broadcast station public
inspection files located on the Commission's Web site. The Commission
will revise appropriate privacy requirements as necessary to include
any entities and information added to the online public file in this
proceeding.
Needs and Uses: In 2012, the Commission replaced the decades-old
requirement that commercial and noncommercial television stations
maintain public files at their main studios with a requirement to post
most of the documents in those files to a central, online public file
hosted by the Commission. On January 28, 2016, the Commission adopted a
Report and Order (``R&O'') in MB Docket No. 14-127, FCC 16-4, In the
Matter of Expansion of Online Public File Obligations to Cable and
Satellite TV Operators and Broadcast and Satellite Radio Licensees,
expanding the requirement that public inspection files be posted to the
FCC-hosted online public file database to satellite TV (also referred
to as ``Direct Broadcast Satellite'' or ``DBS'') providers and to
satellite radio (also referred to as ``satellite Digital Audio Radio
Services'' or ``SDARS'') licensees, among other entities. The
Commission stated that its goal is to make information that these
entities are already required to make publicly available more
accessible while also reducing costs both for the government and the
public sector. The Commission took the same general approach to
transitioning these entities to the online file that it took with
television broadcasters in 2012, tailoring the requirements as
necessary to the different services. The Commission also took similar
measures to minimize the effort and cost entities must undertake to
move their public files online. Specifically, the Commission required
entities to upload to the online public file only documents that are
not already on file with the Commission or that the Commission
maintains in its own database. The Commission also exempted existing
political file material from the online file requirement and required
that political file documents be uploaded only on a going-forward
basis.
The Commission first adopted a public inspection file requirement
for broadcasters more than 40 years ago. The public file requirement
grew out of Congress' 1960 amendment of Sections 309 and 311 of the
Communications Act of 1934. Finding that Congress, in enacting these
provisions, was guarding ``the right of the general public to be
informed, not merely the rights of those who have special interests,''
the Commission adopted the public inspection file requirement to ``make
information to which the public already has a right more readily
available, so that the public will be encouraged to play a more active
part in dialogue with broadcast licensees.'' The information provided
in the public file enables citizens to engage in an informed dialog
with their local video provider or to file complaints regarding
provider operations. Satellite TV (also known as ``Direct Broadcast
Satellite'' or ``DBS'') providers and satellite radio (also referred to
as ``Satellite Digital Audio Radio Services'' or ``SDARS'') licensees
have public and political file requirements modeled, in large part, on
the longstanding broadcast requirements. With respect to DBS providers,
the Commission adopted public and political inspection file
requirements in 1998 in conjunction with the imposition of certain
public interest obligations, including political broadcasting
requirements, on those entities. DBS providers were required to ``abide
by political file obligations similar to those requirements placed on
terrestrial broadcasters and cable systems'' and were also required to
maintain a public file with records relating to other DBS public
interest obligations. The Commission imposed equal employment
opportunity and political broadcast requirements on SDARS licensees in
1997, noting that the rationale behind imposing these requirements on
broadcasters also applies to satellite radio.
47 CFR 25.701(d) requires each DBS provider to keep and permit
public inspection of a complete and orderly record (political file) of
all requests for DBS origination time made by or on behalf of
candidates for public office, together with an appropriate notation
showing the disposition made by the provider of such requests, and the
charges made, if any, if the request is granted. The disposition
includes the schedule of time purchased, when the spots actually aired,
the rates charged, and the classes of time purchased. Also, when free
time is provided for use by or on behalf of candidates, a record of the
free time provided is to be placed in the political file. All records
required to be retained by this section must be placed in the political
file as soon as possible and retained for a period of two years. DBS
providers must make available, by fax, email, or by mail upon telephone
request, copies of documents in their political files and assist
callers by answering questions about the contents of their political
files. If a requester prefers access by mail, the DBS provider must pay
for postage but may require individuals requesting documents to pay for
photocopying. If a DBS provider places its political file on its Web
site, it may refer the public to the Web site in lieu of mailing
copies.
Any material required to be maintained in the political file must
be made available to the public by either mailing or Web site access or
both.
[[Page 9853]]
The R&O changes 47 CFR 25.701(d) to require DBS providers to place
all new political file material required to be retained by this section
in the online file hosted by the Commission. The R&O also eliminates
the requirement that DBS providers honor requests by telephone for
copies of political file materials if those materials are made
available online.
47 CFR 25.701(f)(6) requires each DBS provider to maintain a public
file containing a complete and orderly record of quarterly measurements
of: channel capacity and yearly average calculations on which it bases
its four percent reservation, as well as its responses to any capacity
changes; a record of entities to whom noncommercial capacity is being
provided, the amount of capacity being provided to each entity, the
conditions under which it is being provided and the rates, if any,
being paid by the entity; and a record of entities that have requested
capacity, disposition of those requests and reasons for the
disposition. All records required by this provision must be placed in a
file available to the public as soon as possible and be retained for a
period of two years.
The R&O changes 47 CFR 25.701(f)(6) to require DBS providers to
place all public file material required to be retained by this section
in the online file hosted by the Commission. The R&O also requires that
each DBS provider place in the online file the records required to be
placed in the public inspection file by 47 CFR 25.701(e)(commercial
limits in children's programs) and by 47 CFR 25.601 and Part 76,
Subpart E (equal employment opportunity requirements) and retain those
records for the period required by those rules. In addition, the R&O
requires each DBS provider to provide a link to the public inspection
file hosted on the Commission's Web site from the home page of its own
Web site, if the provider has a Web site, and provide on its Web site
contact information for a representative who can assist any person with
disabilities with issues related to the content of the public files.
Each DBS provider is also required to include in the online public file
the name, phone number, and email address of the licensee's designated
contact for questions about the public file. In addition, each DBS
provider must place the address of the provider's local public file in
the Commission's online file unless the provider has fully transitioned
to the FCC's online public file (e.g., posts to the FCC's online file
database all public and political file material required to be
maintained in the public inspection file) and also provides online
access via the provider's own Web site to back-up political file
material in the event the online file becomes temporarily unavailable.
47 CFR 25.702. The R&O adds this new rule. New 47 CFR 25.702(b)
requires each SDARS licensee to maintain a complete and orderly record
(political file) of all requests for SDARS origination time made by or
on behalf of candidates for public office, together with the
disposition made by the provider of such requests, and the charges
made, if any, if the request is granted. The disposition must include
the schedule of time purchased, when the spots actually aired, the
rates charged, and the classes of time purchased. Also, when free time
is provided for use by or on behalf of candidates, a record of the free
time provided is to be placed in the political file. SDARS licensees
are required to place all records required by this section in the
political file as soon as possible and retain the record for a period
of two years.
New 47 CFR 25.702(c) requires each SDARS applicant or licensee to
place in the online file hosted by the Commission the records required
to be placed in the public inspection file by 47 CFR 25.601 and 73.2080
(equal employment opportunities) and to retain those records for the
period required by those rules. Each SDARS licensee must provide a link
to the public inspection file hosted on the Commission's Web site from
the home page of its own Web site, if the licensee has a Web site, and
provide on its Web site contact information for a representative who
can assist any person with disabilities with issues related to the
content of the public files. Each SDARS licensee is also required to
include in the online public file the name, phone number, and email
address of the licensee's designated contact for questions about the
public file. In addition, each SDARS licensee must place the address of
the provider's local public file in the Commission's online file unless
the provider has fully transitioned to the FCC's online public file
(i.e., posts to the Commission's online public file all public and
political file material required to be maintained in the public
inspection file) and also provides online access via the licensee's own
Web site to back-up political file material in the event the online
file becomes temporarily unavailable.
OMB Control Number: 3060-0214.
Title: Sections 73.3526 and 73.3527, Local Public Inspection Files;
Sections 76.1701 and 73.1943, Political Files.
Form Numbers: None.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for profit entities; Not for profit
institutions; State, Local or Tribal government; Individuals or
households.
Number of Respondents/Responses: 24,962 respondents; 64,374
responses.
Estimated Hours per Response: 1-52 hours per response.
Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement,
Recordkeeping requirement, Third party disclosure requirement.
Total Annual Burden: 2.093,149 hours.
Total Annual Cost: $3,653,372.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The
statutory authority for this information collection is contained in
sections 151, 152, 154, (i) 303, 307 and 308 of the Communications Act
of 1934, as amended.
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for
confidentiality with this collection of information.
Privacy Act Assessment: The Commission prepared a system of records
notice (SORN), FCC/MB-2, ``Broadcast Station Public Inspection Files,''
that covers the PII contained in the broadcast station public
inspection files located on the Commission's Web site. The Commission
will revise appropriate privacy requirements as necessary to include
any entities and information added to the online public file in this
proceeding.
Needs and Uses: In 2012, the Commission replaced the decades-old
requirement that commercial and noncommercial television stations
maintain public files at their main studios with a requirement to post
most of the documents in those files to a central, online public file
hosted by the Commission. On January 28, 2016, the Commission adopted a
Report and Order (``R&O'') in MB Docket No. 14-127, FCC 16-4, In the
Matter of Expansion of Online Public File Obligations to Cable and
Satellite TV Operators and Broadcast and Satellite Radio Licensees. The
R&O expands the requirement that public inspection files be posted to
an FCC-hosted online public file database to cable operators, satellite
TV (also referred to as ``Direct Broadcast Satellite'' or ``DBS'')
providers, broadcast radio licensees, and satellite radio (also
referred to as ``Satellite Digital Audio Radio Services'' or ``SDARS'')
licensees. The Commission stated that its goal is to
[[Page 9854]]
make information that these entities are already required to make
publicly available more accessible while also reducing costs both for
the government and the public sector. The Commission took the same
general approach to transitioning these entities to the online file
that it took with television broadcasters in 2012, tailoring the
requirements as necessary to the different services. The Commission
also took similar measures to minimize the effort and cost entities
must undertake to move their public files online. Specifically, the
Commission required entities to upload to the online public file only
documents that are not already on file with the Commission or that the
Commission maintains in its own database. The Commission also exempted
existing political file material from the online file requirement and
required that political file documents be uploaded only on a going-
forward basis.
With respect to broadcast radio licensees, the Commission commenced
the transition to an online file with commercial stations in larger
markets with five or more full-time employees, while postponing
temporarily all online file requirements for other radio stations. The
R&O also requires stations to provide information to the online file
regarding the location of the station's main studio.
With respect to cable operator public file requirements, the R&O
phased-in the requirement to commence uploading political file
documents to the online file for smaller cable systems and exempted
cable systems with fewer than 1,000 subscribers from all online public
file requirements.
OMB Control Number: 3060-0316.
Title: 47 CFR Sections 76.1700, Records to be maintained locally by
Cable System Operators; 76.1702, Equal Employment Opportunity; 76.1703,
Commercial Records on Children's Programs; 76.1707, Leased Access;
76.1711, Emergency Alert System (EAS) Tests and Activation.
Form Number: Not applicable.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for profit entities.
Number of Respondents/Responses: 3,000 respondents; 3,000
responses.
Estimated Hours per Response: 18 hours.
Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement.
Total Annual Burden: 54,000 hours.
Total Annual Cost: $591,840.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The
statutory authority for this information collection is contained in
Sections 151, 152, 153, 154, 301, 302, 302a, 303, 303a, 307, 308, 309,
312, 315, 317, 325, 339, 340, 341, 503, 521, 522, 531, 532, 534, 535,
536, 537, 543, 544, 544a, 545, 548, 549, 552, 554, 556, 558, 560, 561,
571, 572, and 573 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for
confidentiality with this collection of information.
Privacy Act Assessment: The Commission prepared a system of records
notice (SORN), FCC/MB-2, ``Broadcast Station Public Inspection Files,''
that covers the PII contained in the broadcast station public
inspection files located on the Commission's Web site. The Commission
will revise appropriate privacy requirements as necessary to include
any entities and information added to the online public file in this
proceeding.
Needs and Uses: The Commission is revising this collection to
reflect the Commission's adoption of a Report and Order (``R&O'') in MB
Docket No. 14-127, FCC 16-4, In the Matter of Expansion of Online
Public File Obligations to Cable and Satellite TV Operators and
Broadcast and Satellite Radio Licensees, adopted on January 28, 2016.
The R&O revised 47 CFR Sections 76.1700 and 76.1702(a).
The R&O expands to cable operators the requirement that public
inspection files be posted to an FCC- hosted online public file
database. The Commission stated that its goal is to make information
that these entities are already required to make publicly available
more accessible while also reducing costs both for the government and
the public sector. The Commission took the same general approach to
transitioning cable operators to the online file that it took with
television broadcasters in 2012, tailoring the requirements as
necessary to the different services. The Commission also took similar
measures to minimize the effort and cost entities must undertake to
move their public files online. Specifically, the Commission required
cable operators to upload to the online public file only documents that
are not already on file with the Commission or that the Commission
maintains in its own database. The Commission also exempted existing
political file material from the online file requirement and required
that political file documents be uploaded only on a going-forward
basis.
Section 76.1700 addresses the records to be maintained by cable
system operators. The R&O revised Section 76.1700 to require that cable
operators maintain their public inspection file online on the Web site
hosted by the FCC. In addition, the Commission reorganized Section
76.1700 to more clearly address which records must be maintained in the
public inspection file versus those that must be made available to the
Commission or franchising authority upon request. Among other changes,
the Commission clarified that proof-of-performance test data and signal
leakage logs and repair data must be made available only to the
Commission and, in the case of proof-of-performance test data, also to
the franchisor, and not to the public. Accordingly, this information is
not required to be included in the public inspection file or in the
online public inspection file.
The Commission phased-in the requirement to commence uploading
political file documents to the online file for smaller cable systems
and exempted cable systems with fewer than 1,000 subscribers from all
online public file requirements. The R&O also made several minor
additional changes to the existing cable public file requirements--it
requires operators, when first establishing their online public file,
to provide a list of the zip codes served by the system and requires
them to identify the employment unit(s) associated with the system. The
R&O also requires cable systems to provide the contact information for
their local file. In addition, each cable system must place the address
of its local public file in the Commission's online file unless the
system has fully transitioned to the FCC's online public file (i.e.,
posts to the Commission's online public file all public and political
file material required to be maintained in the public inspection file)
and also provides online access via the system's own Web site to back-
up political file material in the event the online file becomes
temporarily unavailable.
Apart from these minor exceptions, the R&O does not adopt new or
modified public inspection file requirements. The Commission's goal was
simply to adapt the existing cable public file requirements to an
online format.
47 CFR 76.1700 requires cable system operators to place the public
inspection file materials required to be retained by the following
rules in the online public file hosted by the Commission, with the
exception of existing political file material which cable systems may
continue to retain in their local public file until the end of the
retention period: 76.1701 (political file), 76.1702 (EEO), 76.1703
(commercial records for children's programming), 76.1705 (performance
tests--channels delivered); 76.1707 (leased access); and
[[Page 9855]]
76.1709 (availability of signals), 76.1710 (operator interests in video
programming), 76.1715 (sponsorship identification), and 76.630
(compatibility with consumer electronics equipment. Cable systems with
fewer than 5,000 subscribers may continue to retain their political
file locally and are not required to upload new political file material
to the online public file until March 1, 2018. In addition, cable
systems may elect to retain the material required by 76.1708 (principal
headend) locally rather than placing this material in the online public
file.
47 CFR 76.1700(b) requires cable system operators to make the
records required to be retained by the following rules available to
local franchising authorities: 76.1704 (proof-of-performance test data)
and 76.1713 (complaint resolution).
47 CFR 76.1700(c) requires cable system operators to make the
records required to be retained by the following rules available to the
Commission: 76.1704 (proof-of-performance test data), 76.1706 (signal
leakage logs and repair records), 76.1711 (emergency alert system and
activations), 76.1713 (complaint resolution), and 76.1716 (subscriber
records).
47 CFR 76.1700(d) exempts cable television systems having fewer
than 1,000 subscribers from the online public file and the public
inspection requirements contained in 47 CFR 76.1701 (political file);
76.1702 (equal employment opportunity); 76.1703 (commercial records for
children's programming); 76.1704 (proof-of-performance test data);
76.1706 (signal leakage logs and repair records); and 76.1715
(sponsorship identifications).
47 CFR 76.1700(e) requires that public file material that continues
to be retained at the system be retained in a public inspection file
maintained at the office which the system operator maintains for the
ordinary collection of subscriber charges, resolution of subscriber
complaints, and other business or at any accessible place in the
community served by the system unit(s) (such as a public registry for
documents or an attorney's office). Public files must be available for
public inspection during regular business hours.
47 CFR 76.1700(f) requires cable systems to provide a link to the
public inspection file hosted on the Commission's Web site from the
home page of its own Web site, if the system has a Web site, and
provide contact information on its Web site for a system representative
who can assist any person with disabilities with issues related to the
content of the public files. A system also is required to include in
the online public file the address of the system's local public file,
if the system retains documents in the local file that are not
available in the Commission's online file, and the name, phone number,
and email address of the system's designated contact for questions
about the public file. In addition, a system must provide on the online
public file a list of the five digit ZIP codes served by the system.
47 CFR 76.1700(g) requires that cable operators make any material
in the public inspection file that is not also available in the
Commission's online file available for machine reproduction upon
request made in person, provided the requesting party shall pay the
reasonable cost of reproduction. Requests for machine copies must be
fulfilled at a location specified by the system operator, within a
reasonable period of time, which in no event shall be longer than seven
days. The system operator is not required to honor requests made by
mail but may do so if it chooses.
47 CFR 76.1702(a) requires that every employment unit with six or
more full-time employees shall maintain for public inspection a file
containing copies of all EEO program annual reports filed with the
Commission and the equal employment opportunity program information
described in 47 76.1702(b). These materials shall be placed in the
Commission's online public inspection file for each cable system
associated with the employment unit. These materials must be placed in
the Commission's online public inspection file annually by the date
that the unit's EEO program annual report is due to be filed and shall
be retained for a period of five years. A headquarters employment unit
file and a file containing a consolidated set of all documents
pertaining to the other employment units of a multichannel video
programming distributor that operates multiple units shall be
maintained in the Commission's online public file for every cable
system associated with the headquarters employment unit.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-04118 Filed 2-25-16; 8:45 am]
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