2020-08083. Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval to 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, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might “further reduce the information collection burden for 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 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 and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted on or before May 18, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

Comments should be sent to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function. Your comment must be submitted into www.reginfo.gov per the above instructions for it to be considered. In addition to submitting in www.reginfo.gov also send a copy of your comment on the proposed information collection to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to [e-mail] and to [e-mail]. Include in the comments the OMB control number as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information or copies of the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at [phone]. 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 Title of this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the FCC invited the general public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Comments are requested concerning: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) 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. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might “further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.”

OMB Control No.: 3060-0027.

Title: Application for Construction Permit for Commercial Broadcast Station, FCC Form 301; Form 2100, Schedule A—Application for Media Bureau Video Service Authorization; 47 Sections 73.3700(b)(1) and (b)(2) and Section 73.3800, Post Auction Licensing; Form 2100, Schedule 301-FM—Commercial FM Station Construction Permit Application.

Form No.: FCC Form 2100, Schedule A, FCC Form 301, FCC Form 2100, Schedule 301-FM.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Not for profit institutions; State, local or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 3,090 respondents and 6,526 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1-6.25 hours.

Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement; On occasion reporting requirement; Third party disclosure requirement.

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

Total Annual Burden: 15,317 hours.

Annual Cost Burden: $62,444,288.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for confidentiality with this collection of information.

Needs and Uses: FCC Form 301 is used to apply for authority to construct a new commercial AM or FM broadcast station and to make changes to existing facilities of such a station. It may be used to request a change of a station's community of license by AM and non-reserved band FM permittees and licensees. In addition, FM licensees or permittees may request, by filing an application on FCC Form 301, upgrades on adjacent and co-channels, modifications to adjacent channels of the same class, and downgrades to adjacent channels. All applicants using this one-step process must demonstrate that a suitable site exists that would comply with allotment standards with respect to minimum distance separation and principal community coverage and that would be suitable for tower construction. For applicants seeking a community of license change through this one-step process, the proposed facility must be mutually exclusive with the applicant's existing facility, and the new facility must comply with the Commission's standards with respect to minimum distance separation and principal community coverage. Applicants availing themselves of this procedure must also attach an exhibit demonstrating that the proposed community of license change comports with the fair, efficient, and equitable distribution of radio service, pursuant to Section 307(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act).

FCC Form 301 also accommodates commercial FM applicants applying in a Threshold Qualifications Window (TQ Window) for a Tribal Allotment. A commercial FM applicant applying in the TQ Window, who was not the original proponent of the Tribal Allotment at the rulemaking stage, must demonstrate that it would have qualified in all respects to add that particular Tribal Allotment for which it is applying. Additionally, a petitioner seeking to add a new Tribal Allotment to the FM Table of Allotments must file Form 301 when submitting its Petition for Rulemaking. The collection also accommodates applicants applying in a TQ Window for a Tribal Allotment that had been added to the FM Table of Allotments using the Tribal Priority under the “threshold qualifications” procedures.

Similarly, to receive authorization for commencement of Digital Television (DTV) operations, commercial broadcast licensees must file FCC Form 2100, Schedule A for a construction permit. The application may be filed any time after receiving the initial DTV allotment and before mid-point in the applicant's construction period. The Commission will consider the application as a minor change in facilities. Applicants do not have to provide full legal or financial qualifications information.

In the first phase of the “Licensing and Management System” roll-out, Form 2100, Schedule A replaced FCC Form 301 only for the filing of full-service digital television construction permits. Subsequently, the Commission received OMB approval for FM Auxiliary Stations to transition from CDBS to LMS using Form 2100, Schedule 301-FM. FCC Form 301 is still being used through CDBS to apply for authority to construct a new full-service commercial AM or FM commercial broadcast station and to make changes to the existing facilities of such stations.

This collection also includes the third-party disclosure requirement of 47 CFR 73.3580. This rule requires applicants to provide local public notice, in a newspaper of general circulation published in a community in which a station is located, of requests for new or major changes in facilities and for changes of a station's community of license by AM and non-reserved band FM permittees and licensees. The local notice must be completed within 30 days of tendering the application and must be published at least twice a week for two consecutive weeks in a three-week period. A copy of the notice and the application must be placed in the station's public inspection file, pursuant to Section 73.3526.

OMB Control Number: 3060-0652.

Title: Section 76.309, Customer Service Obligations; Section 76.1602, Customer Service-General Information, Section 76.1603, Customer Service-Rate and Service Changes and Section 76.1619, Information and Subscriber Bills.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; State, Local or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 4,113 respondents; 1,109,246 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 0.0166 to 1 hour.

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

Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in Sections 4(i) and 632 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

Total Annual Burden: 41,796 hours.

Total Annual Cost: None.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for confidentiality with this collection of information.

Needs and Uses: The Commission requires that the various disclosure and notifications contained in this collection as a means of consumer protection to ensure that subscribers and franchising authorities are aware of cable operators' business practices, current rates, rate changes for programming, service and equipment, and channel line-up changes. Permitting the use of email modernizes the Commission's rules regarding notices required to be provided by MVPDs.

OMB Control No.: 3060-0932.

Title: FCC Form 2100, Application for Media Bureau Audio and Video Service Authorization, Schedule E (Former FCC Form 301-CA); 47 CFR Sections 73.3700(b)(1)(i)-(v) and (vii), (b)(2)(i) and (ii); 47 CFR Section 74.793(d).

Form No.: FCC Form 2100, Schedule E (Application for Media Bureau Audio and Video Service Authorization) (Former FCC Form 301-CA).

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved information collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Not for profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 745 respondents and 745 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 2.25 hours-6 hours (for a total of 8.25 hours).

Frequency of Response: One-time reporting requirement; On occasion reporting requirement; Third party disclosure requirement.

Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 157 and 309(j) as amended; Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Public Law 112-96, 6402 (codified at 47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)(G)), 6403 (codified at 47 U.S.C. 1452), 126 Stat. 156 (2012) (Spectrum Act) and the Community Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999.

Total Annual Burden: 6,146 hours.

Annual Cost Burden: $4,035,550.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for confidentiality with this collection of information.

Needs and Uses: FCC Form 2100, Schedule E (formerly FCC Form 301-CA) is to be used in all cases by a Class A television station licensees seeking to make changes in the authorized facilities of such station. FCC Form 2100, Schedule E requires applicants to certify compliance with certain statutory and regulatory requirements. Detailed instructions on the FCC Form 2100, Schedule E provide additional information regarding Commission rules and policies. FCC Form 2100, Schedule E is presented primarily in a “Yes/No” certification format. However, it contains appropriate places for submitting explanations and exhibits where necessary or appropriate. Each certification constitutes a material representation. Applicants may only mark the “Yes” certification when they are certain that the response is correct. A “No” response is required if the applicant is requesting a waiver of a pertinent rule and/or policy, or where the applicant is uncertain that the application fully satisfies the pertinent rule and/or policy. FCC Form 2100, Schedule E filings made to implement post-auction channel changes will be considered minor change applications.

Federal Communications Commission.

Cecilia Sigmund,

Federal Register Liaison Officer.