2018-01405. Information Collection Being Submitted to the Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Comments are requested concerning: Whether the 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 Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid 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 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

DATES:

Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before February 26, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB, via email [e-mail]; and to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email [e-mail] and to [e-mail]. Include in the comments the Title as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information about the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 Commission ICRs currently under review appears, look for the Title of this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the Commission's submission to OMB will be displayed.

OMB Control Number: 3060-0214.

Title: Sections 73.3526 and 73.3527, Local Public Inspection Files; Sections 73.1212, 76.1701 and 73.1943, Political Files.

Form Number: 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 and Responses: 24,013 respondents; 63,261 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1-52 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement, Recordkeeping requirement, Third party disclosure requirement.

Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority that covers this information collection is contained in Sections 151, 152, 154(i), 303, 307 and 308 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

Total Annual Burden: 2,067,853 Hours.

Total Annual Cost: $27,168.

Privacy Impact 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 website. The Commission will revise appropriate privacy requirements as necessary to include any entities and information added to the online public file in this proceeding.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Most of the documents comprising the public file consist of materials that are not of a confidential nature. Respondents complying with the information collection requirements may request that the information they submit be withheld from disclosure. If confidentiality is requested, such requests will be processed in accordance with the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 0.459.

In addition, the Commission has adopted provisions that permit respondents subject to the information collection requirement for Shared Service Agreements to redact confidential or proprietary information from their disclosures.

Needs and Uses: The information collection requirements included under this OMB Control Number 3060-0214, requires commercial broadcast stations to maintain for public inspection a file containing the material set forth in 47 CFR 73.3526.

This collection is being revised to reflect the burden associated with the Shared Service Agreement disclosure requirements adopted in the 2014 Quadrennial Regulatory Review (81 FR 76220, Nov. 1, 2016, FCC 16-107, rel. Aug. 25, 2016) (Second Report and Order) and affirmed in the 2014 Quadrennial Regulatory Review Order on Reconsideration (83 FR 733, Jan. 8, 2018, FCC 17-156, rel. Nov. 20, 2017) (Order on Reconsideration). The collection requires commercial television stations to place in their online public inspection file a copy of every Shared Service Agreement for the station (with the substance of oral agreements reported in writing), regardless of whether the agreement involves commercial television stations in the same market or in different markets, with confidential or proprietary information redacted where appropriate. For purposes of this collection, a Shared Service Agreement is any agreement or series of agreements in which (1) a station provides any station-related services, including, but not limited to, administrative, technical, sales, and/or programming support, to a station that is not directly or indirectly under common de jure control permitted under the Commission's regulations; or (2) stations that are not directly or indirectly under common de jure control permitted under the Commission's regulations collaborate to provide or enable the provision of station-related services, including, but not limited to, administrative, technical, sales, and/or programming support, to one or more of the collaborating stations. For purposes of this collection, the term “station” includes the licensee, including any subsidiaries and affiliates, and any other individual or entity with an attributable interest in the station.

In the Order on Reconsideration, the Commission upheld the definition of SSAs and the disclosure requirements that were adopted in the Second Report and Order, finding that they were supported by the record. Specifically, the Commission found in the Order on Reconsideration that the Commission in the Second Report and Order adopted a clear definition of SSAs based on the record before it. Furthermore, the FCC found that the Commission in the Second Report and Order provided a sufficient justification for requiring the disclosure of SSAs in order to help the Commission obtain information relevant to its statutory responsibilities.

The information collection requirements contained under 47 CFR 73.1212, 73.3527, 73.1943 and 76.1701 are still a part of the information collection and remain unchanged since last approved by OMB.

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene H. Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary.