[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71138-71141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33870]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Privacy Act System of Records
ACTION: Notice of a combined and revised Privacy Act system of records.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, as
amended, (5 U.S.C. 552a), the FCC is combining former systems PRB/02,
``Application and License File'' and CCB-4, ``Public Land Mobile
Individual Users File.'' The FCC will use the revised system to perform
the licensing and enforcement functions performed by the Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau. The combined system of records will be a
component of a system referred to as the Universal Licensing System
(ULS). The FCC is also revising its system of records to gather
Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) in order to meet the
requirements of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996. This
notice meets the requirement of documenting the change to the
Commission's system of records, and provides the public, Congress and
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) an opportunity to comment.
DATES: Any interested person may submit written comments concerning the
routine uses of this system on or before January 22, 1999. The OMB,
which has oversight responsibility under the Privacy Act to review the
system may submit comments on or before February 1, 1999. This proposed
system shall be effective on February 1, 1999, unless the FCC receives
comments that require a contrary determination. The Commission will
publish a document in the Federal Register notifying the public if any
changes are necessary. The Commission will publish Public Notices in
accordance with 47 CFR 0.422 as radio services are converted and added
to the ULS.
ADDRESSES: Address comments to Kathy Abbate, FCC, Performance
Evaluation and Record Management, Room 1A827, Washington, DC 20554, or
via internet at kabbate@fcc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Knowles-Kellett, Commercial
Wireless Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at (717) 338-
2505 or via internet at wkellett@fcc.gov or Dorothy Conway, Management
and Planning Staff,
[[Page 71139]]
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at (202) 418-0217 or via internet
at dconway@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of maintaining ULS is to allow
the Commission and the public access to current accurate information
regarding the status of applications and licenses in radio services
licensed by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau under parts 13, 22,
24, 26, 27, 80, 87, 90, 95, 97, and 101 of the Commission's rules, as
well as Broadcast Auxiliary applications and licenses, part 74 of the
Commission's rules, that are processed by the Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau (pursuant to an agreement with Mass Media
Bureau) (inclusively referred to hereafter as ``Wireless Services'').
This will facilitate efficient management and use of the spectrum
managed by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and serve to make
available to all the people of the United States a rapid, efficient,
nation-wide and world-wide radio communication service.
The proposed combined and altered system is as follows:
FCC/WTB-1, ``Wireless Services Licensing Records.'' This system is
used to administer the FCC's regulatory responsibilities including
licensing, enforcement, rulemaking, and other actions necessary to
perform spectrum management duties. The system will also be maintained
to provide public access to pending requests for authorizations and
information regarding current licensees.
FCC/WTB-1
SYSTEM NAME:
Wireless Services Licensing Records.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 1919 M Street, Washington,
DC 20554. The records are maintained in electronic form for agency use;
paper records will be archived. The scope of records includes
applications, licenses and pleadings relating to such applications and
licenses in the Wireless Services.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Licensees and applicants (including persons or entities with
attributable interests therein as described below); tower owners; and
contact persons relating to radio systems licensed or processed by the
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau under parts 13, 22, 24, 26, 27, 74,
80, 87, 90, 95, 97, and 101 of the Commission's rules (Wireless
Services).
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Applications, licenses, pleadings, and correspondence relating to
authorizations and requests for authorizations in the Wireless
Services. The current application forms will include the collection of
Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) as defined by 26 U.S.C. 6109.
The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, 31 U.S.C. 7701, (DCIA) now
requires the agency to collect TINs from all individuals or entities
``doing business'' with the FCC. The DCIA states that a person is
``doing business'' before an agency if a person is ``* * * an applicant
for or recipient of a Federal license, * * *'' The FCC considers
persons and entities with attributable interests under 47 CFR 1.2112 as
being ``applicant(s) for, or recipient[s] of, a Federal license * * *''
for purposes of the DCIA. Entities subject to the disclosure
requirements of Sec. 1.2112--entities from whom we require submission
of ownership information regarding their relationship with the
applicant of record--are components of the applicant and thus
constitute ``an applicant for, or recipient of, a Federal license * *
*.'' Biennial Regulatory Review--Amendment of parts 0, 1, 13, 22, 24,
26, 27, 80, 87, 90, 95, 97, and 101 of the Commission's rules to
Facilitate the Development and Use of the Universal Licensing System in
the Wireless Telecommunications Services, Report and Order, WT Docket
No. 98-20, FCC 98-234,__ FCC Rcd __(released October 21, 1998)(paras.
132-42).
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
47 U.S.C. 301, 303, 309, 312, 362, 364, 386, 507 and 510. Authority
to collect TINs is contained in 31 U.S.C. 7701.
PURPOSE(S):
Records are kept to administer the FCC's regulatory
responsibilities including licensing, enforcement, rulemaking, and
other actions necessary to perform spectrum management duties. The
system will also be maintained to provide public access to pending
requests for authorizations and information regarding current
licensees. License records are routinely used to determine the
availability of spectrum for licensing. The records are also used to
determine when compliance filings, renewal applications and fees are
due from licensees. FCC licensee records are used to resolve disputes
between radio operators regarding who has certain rights to use
particular frequency bands in particular geographic areas. The records
may also be used to resolve cross border disputes e.g. disputes with
entities operating in Canada and Mexico. Records will be used to allow
licensees to transfer or assign their interests in particular licenses
or portions of licenses as the rules permit (after agency approval).
Records will be used to evaluate the completeness and sufficiency of
requests for new or modified authorizations. Public access to license
data (except TIN numbers) will promote the economically efficient
allocation of spectrum and the resolution of radio interference
problems.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
The licensee records will be publicly available and routinely used
in accordance with subsection (b) of the Privacy Act. TIN Numbers and
material which is afforded confidential treatment pursuant to a request
made under 47 CFR 0.459 will not be available for Public inspection,
however, these and all other records may also be disclosed for the
following purposes:
1. A record from this system may be disclosed where there is an
indication of a violation or potential violation of a statute,
regulation or order, records from this system may be used to conduct
enforcement proceedings within the agency, or may be referred to
Federal, state, or local law enforcement personnel responsible for
investigating, prosecuting or for enforcing or implementing the
statute, regulation or order.
2. Records may be utilized to report to the President, NTIA and
other federal agencies regarding the current uses and utilization of
the spectrum that the FCC manages.
3. A record on an individual may be used where pertinent in any
legal proceeding to which the Commission is a party before a court or
administrative body.
4. A record from this system may be disclosed to the Department of
Justice or in a proceeding before a court or adjudicative body when:
(a) The United States, the Commission, a component of the
Commission, or, when arising from his employment, an employee of the
Commission is a party to litigation or anticipated litigation or has an
interest in such litigation, and
(b) The Commission determines that the disclosure is relevant or
necessary to the litigation.
5. A record from this system may be disclosed to debt collection
contractors (31 U.S.C. 3718) or to other Federal agencies such as the
Department of the Treasury (Treasury) for the purpose of collecting and
reporting on delinquent
[[Page 71140]]
debts as authorized by the Debt Collection Act of 1982 or the Debt
Collection Improvement Act of 1996;
6. A record from this system may be disclosed to Treasury; the
Defense Manpower Data Center, Department of Defense; the United States
Postal Service; government corporations; or any other Federal, State,
or local agency to conduct an authorized computer matching program in
compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, to identify and
locate individuals, including Federal employees, who are delinquent in
their repayment of certain debts owed to the U.S. Government, including
those incurred under certain programs or services administered by the
FCC, in order to collect debts under common law or under the provisions
of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 or the Debt Collection Improvement
Act of 1996 which include by voluntary repayment, administrative or
salary offset, and referral to debt collection contractors.
7. A record from this system may be disclosed to the Department of
Justice, United States Attorney, Treasury, or other Federal agencies
for further collection action on any delinquent account when
circumstances warrant.
8. A record from this system may be disclosed to credit reporting
agencies/credit bureaus for the purpose of either adding to a credit
history file or obtaining a credit history file or comparable credit
information for use in the administration of debt collection. As
authorized by the DCIA, the FCC may report current (not delinquent) as
well as delinquent consumer and commercial debt to these entities in
order to aid in the collection of debts, typically by providing an
incentive to the person to repay the debt timely. Proposed revisions to
the Federal Claims Collection Standards (FCCS) published in the Federal
Register on December 31, 1997, direct agencies to report information on
delinquent debts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's
Credit Alert Interactive Voice Response System (CAIVRS). The FCC will
report this information to CAIVRS if the proposed requirement is
contained in the final rule amending the FCCS.
9. A record from this system may be disclosed to any Federal agency
where the debtor is employed or receiving some form of remuneration for
the purpose of enabling that agency to collect a debt owed the Federal
government on the FCC's behalf. The FCC may counsel the debtor for
voluntary repayment or may initiate administrative or salary offset
procedures, or other authorized debt collection methods under the
provisions of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 or the Debt Collection
Improvement Act of 1996. Pursuant to the DCIA, the FCC may garnish non-
Federal wages of certain delinquent debtors so long as required due
process procedures are followed. In these instances, the FCC's notice
to the employer will disclose only the information that may be
necessary for the employer to comply with the withholding order.
10. A record from this system may be disclosed to the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) by computer matching to obtain the mailing
address of a taxpayer for the purpose of locating such taxpayer to
collect or to compromise a Federal claim by the FCC against the
taxpayer pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 6103(m)(2) and in accordance with 31
U.S.C. 3711, 3717, and 3718 or common law. Disclosure of a mailing
address obtained from the IRS may be made only for debt collection
purposes, including to a debt collection agent to facilitate the
collection or compromise of a Federal claim under the Debt Collection
Act of 1982 or the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, except that
disclosure of a mailing address to a reporting agency is for the
limited purpose of obtaining a credit report on the particular
taxpayer. Any mailing address information obtained from the IRS will
not be used or shared for any other FCC purpose or disclosed by the FCC
to another Federal, State, or local agency which seeks to locate the
same taxpayer for its own debt collection purposes.
11. A record from this system may be disclosed to refer legally
enforceable debts to the IRS or to Treasury's Debt Management Services
to be offset against the debtor's tax refunds under the Federal Tax
Refund Offset Program.
12. A record from this system may be disclosed to prepare W-2,
1099, or other forms or electronic submittals, to forward to the IRS
and applicable State and local governments for tax reporting purposes.
Under the provisions of the DCIA, the FCC is permitted to provide
Treasury with Form 1099-C information on discharged debts so that
Treasury may file the form on the FCC's behalf with the IRS. W-2 and
1099 Forms contain information on items to be considered as income to
an individual, including payments made to persons not treated as
employees (e.g., fees to consultants and experts), and amounts written-
off as legally or administratively uncollectible, in whole or in part.
13. A record from this system may be disclosed to banks enrolled in
the Treasury Credit Card Network to collect a payment or debt when the
individual has given his or her credit card number for this purpose.
14. A record from this system may be disclosed to another Federal
agency that has asked the FCC to effect an administrative offset under
common law or under 31 U.S.C. 3716 to help collect a debt owed the
United States. Disclosure under this routine use is limited to name,
address, TIN, and other information necessary to identify the
individual; information about the money payable to or held for the
individual; and other information concerning the administrative offset.
15. A record from this system may be disclosed to Treasury or other
Federal agencies with whom the FCC has entered into an agreement
establishing the terms and conditions for debt collection cross
servicing operations on behalf of the FCC to satisfy, in whole or in
part, debts owed to the U.S. government. Cross servicing includes the
possible use of all debt collection tools such as administrative
offset, tax refund offset, referral to debt collection contractors, and
referral to the Department of Justice. The DCIA requires agencies to
transfer to Treasury or Treasury-designated Debt Collection Centers for
cross servicing certain nontax debt over 180 days delinquent. Treasury
has the authority to act in the Federal government's best interest to
service, collect, compromise, suspend, or terminate collection action
in accordance with existing laws under which the debts arise.
16. Information on past due, legally enforceable nontax debts more
than 180 days delinquent will be referred to Treasury for the purpose
of locating the debtor and/or effecting administrative offset against
monies payable by the government to the debtor, or held by the
government for the debtor under the DCIA's mandatory, government-wide
Treasury Offset Program (TOP). Under TOP, Treasury maintains a database
of all qualified delinquent nontax debts, and works with agencies to
match by computer their payments against the delinquent debtor database
in order to divert payments to pay the delinquent debt. Treasury has
the authority to waive the computer matching requirement for the FCC
and other agencies upon written certification that administrative due
process notice requirements have been complied with.
17. For debt collection purposes, the FCC may publish or otherwise
publicly disseminate information regarding the identity of delinquent
nontax debtors and the existence of the nontax debts under the
provisions of the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.
[[Page 71141]]
18. A record from this system may be disclosed to the Department of
Labor (DOL) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to
conduct an authorized computer matching program in compliance with the
Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, to match the FCC's debtor records with
the records of DOL and HHS to obtain names, name controls, names of
employers, addresses, dates of birth, and TINs. The DCIA requires all
Federal agencies to obtain taxpayer identification numbers from each
individual or entity doing business with the agency, including
applicants and recipients of licenses, grants, or benefit payments;
contractors; and entities and individuals owing fines, fees, or
penalties to the agency. The FCC will use TINs in collecting and
reporting any delinquent amounts resulting from doing business with
applicants and licensees.
19. If the FCC decides or is required to sell a delinquent nontax
debt pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3711(i), information in this system of
records may be disclosed to purchasers, potential purchasers, and
contractors engaged to assist in the sale or to obtain information
necessary for potential purchasers to formulate bids and information
necessary for purchasers to pursue collection remedies.
20. If the FCC has current and delinquent collateralized nontax
debts pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3711(i)(4)(A), certain information in this
system of records on its portfolio of loans, notes and guarantees, and
other collateralized debts will be reported to Congress based on
standards developed by the Office of Management and Budget, in
consultation with Treasury.
21. A record from this system may be disclosed to Treasury in order
to request a payment to individuals owed money by the FCC.
22. A record from this system may be disclosed to the National
Archives and Records Administration or to the General Services
Administration for records management inspections conducted under 44
U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
In each of these cases the FCC will determine whether such use of
the records is compatible with the purpose for which the records were
collected.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING,
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
All records will be stored and accessed electronically. Records
that are submitted to the FCC on paper will be scanned or keyed into
the computer system as appropriate. Paper records submitted to the FCC
will be archived after being entered into ULS. Tape backups of records
will be periodically created. Records of prior licensees will be
archived.
RETRIEVAL:
Records may be retrieved by searching electronically using a
variety of parameters including name, a licensee's unique identifier,
call sign, file number, etc. Paper records which contain TINs will not
be available for Public Inspection. A primary purpose of the system is
to provide easy access to the information.
SAFEGUARDS:
Records (other than TINs and materials which are afforded
confidential treatment under 47 CFR 0.459) are accessible to the
public. Access to certain records may be available on the internet.
Access to other records will be available using a web browser on the
Commission wide area network. The ability to enter and change
individual records will be protected by passwords issued to applicants
and licensees. Records will be protected from unauthorized changes by
passwords and other computer security measures within the agency. TINs
reported to the agency as requested on appropriate forms will not be
available to the public. (The agency cannot be responsible for the
disclosure of TINs by applicants in attachments to applications or
pleadings in situations where confidentiality is not requested.) Each
applicant or licensee will be given a unique identifier generated by
the ULS after such applicant or licensee provides its TIN to the
agency. These identifiers will be used within the agency and by the
public to obtain information on the licenses held by particular
individuals or entities. These identifiers will be used in lieu of
tracking by TINs so that the agency can avoid unnecessary disclosure of
TINs. Within the agency, access to TINs will be available only to those
persons whose jobs require such access (e.g., FCC staff who report debt
information to the U.S. Department of Treasury).
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
Records will be actively maintained as long as an individual
remains a licensee. Paper records will be archived after being keyed or
scanned into the system. Electronic records will be backed up on tape.
Electronic and paper records will be maintained for at least eleven
years.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, FCC, 2025 M Street,
N.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
Address inquiries to the system manager. In order to identify a
specific record please indicate name, address, type of record as well
as file number or call sign where applicable.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Information regarding procedures for accessing records can be found
at the FCC Web site www.fcc.gov> or by calling 888-CALL-FCC.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
Individuals wishing to request amendment of their records should
contact the system manager indicated above.
An individual requesting amendment must also follow the FCC Privacy
Act regulations regarding verification of identity and amendment of
records (47 CFR 0.556 and 0.557).
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
The individual to whom the information applies.
Federal Communications Commission,
Shirley S. Suggs,
Chief, Publications Branch.
[FR Doc. 98-33870 Filed 12-22-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
