Supporting Statement OMB 3060-0932 2010

OMB 3060-0932 November 2010

Title: Application for Authority to Construct or Make Changes in a

Class A Television Broadcast Station, FCC Form 301-CA

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

A. Justification:

1. FCC Form 301-CA is to be used in all cases by a Class A television station licensees¹ seeking to make changes in the authorized facilities of such station. The FCC Form 301-CA requires applicants to certify compliance with certain statutory and regulatory requirements. Detailed instructions on the FCC Form 301-CA provide additional information regarding Commission rules and policies. The FCC 301-CA application 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.² 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.

On September 9, 2004, the Commission adopted a Report and Order, FCC 04-220, MB Docket Number 03-185, In the Matter of Parts 73 and 74 of the Commission’s Rules to Established Rules for Digital Low Power Television, Television Translator, and Television Booster Stations and to Amend Rules for Digital Class A Television Stations. To implement these new rules, the Commission is revising FCC Form 301-CA to allow licensees to use the revised FCC Form 301-CA to file for digital broadcast stations or conversion of their analog stations to digital stations.

Class A applicants are also subject to third party disclosure requirement of Section 73.3580 which requires local public notice in a newspaper of general circulation of the filing of all applications for major changes in facilities. This notice must be completed within 30 days of the tendering of the application. This notice must be published at least twice a week for two consecutive weeks in a three-week period. A copy of this notice must be placed in the public inspection file along with the application. ³

HISTORY:

On November 29, 1999, the Community Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999 (CBPA) was enacted. That legislation provided that a Low Power Television (LPTV) licensee⁴ should be permitted to convert the secondary status of its station to the new Class A status, provided it can satisfy certain statutorily-established criteria. The CBPA directs that Class A licensees be subject to the same license terms standards as full-power television licensees⁵ and that Class A licensees be accorded primary status as television broadcasters as long as they continue to meet the requirements set forth in the statute for a qualifying low-power station. The CBPA sets out certain certification and application procedures for LPTV licensees seeking Class A designation, prescribes the criteria LPTV must meet to be eligible for Class A license, and outlines the interference protection Class A applicants must provide to analog, digital, LPTV, and TV translator stations.

Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in Sections 154(i), 307, 308, 309, and 319 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended and the Community Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999.

This information collection does not affect individuals, thus there are no Privacy Act impacts.

2. The FCC Form 301-CA is designed to track the standards and criteria, which the Commission applies to determine compliance and to increase the reliability of applicant certifications. They are not intended to be a substitute for familiarity with the Communications Act and the Commission's regulations, policies, and precedent.

3. On May 13, 2002, the Commission released Public Notice DA 02-1087 announcing the mandatory electronic filing of FCC Form 301-CA. Mandatory electronic filing for this form began on November 21, 2002. A copy of the Public Notice is attached. Paper-filed copies of FCC Form 301-CA will be accepted only if accompanied by an appropriate request for waiver of the electronic filing requirement. Filers must plead with particularity the facts and circumstances warranting grant of a waiver. Waivers will not be routinely granted.

4. No other agency imposes a similar information collection on the respondents. There is no similar data available.

5. In conformance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Commission is making an effort to minimize the burden on all respondents.

6. The frequency for filing is determined by respondents, as necessary.

7. This collection of information is consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

8. The Commission published a Notice (75 FR 54877) in the Federal Register on September 9, 2010 seeking public comment on the information collection requirements contained in this supporting statement. No comments were generated from the public as a result of the Notice.

9. No payment or gift was provided to respondents.

10. There is no need for confidentiality with this collection of information.

11. This form does not address any private matter.

12. We estimate that 400 applications for a major change will be filed and processed. We did not anticipate any applications for minor changes to be filed. The estimated average burden on each licensee is 7 hours to comply with the information collection requirements. The respondent will require five hours to complete the legal portion of the form and the in-house station engineer will require two hours to complete the engineering portion of the form.

Total Number of Respondents: 400 Station Licensees

Total Number of Responses: 400 FCC Forms 301-CA

400 major change applications x 5 hours/form for the legal portion of the form = 2,000

400 major change applications x 2 hours/in-house engineering review = +_800

Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,800 hours

Annual “In House” Cost: The respondent is estimated to have an average salary of $100,000/year ($48.08/hour). A station engineer is estimated to have an average salary of $30/hour.

400 major applications x 5 hours/form for the legal portion of the form x $48.08/hour = $96,160

400 major applications x 2 hours/in-house engineering review x $30.00/hour = $24,000

Total Annual “In House” Cost: $120,160

These estimates are based on FCC staff's knowledge and familiarity with the availability of the data required.

13. Annual Cost Burden: We assume that the respondent would also use an outside communications attorney and a consulting engineer in the preparation and filing of the FCC Form 301-CA. The estimated cost is $300/hour for the attorney and $250/hour for the consulting engineer. The estimated time to prepare and file FCC Form 301-CA is 1 hour/application for the attorney and 12 hours/application for the engineer.

In addition, the fee required for submitting an application for a major change in a Class A television station is $3,245.00. There is a $725.00 fee required for a minor change however we do not anticipate any filings.

Moreover, a Class A applicant must give local public notice of the filing of its application. This notice is published in a local newspaper of general circulation at least twice a week for two consecutive weeks in a three-week period. The cost is estimated at $113.25/publication.

400 major change applications x 1 hour x $300/hour legal consultation = $ 120,000

400 major change applications x 12 hours x $250/hour engineering consultation = $1,200,000

400 major change applications x $3,245/application fee = $1,298,000

400 major applications x 4 x $113.25/publication cost = $ 181,200

Total Annual Cost Burden: $2,799,200

14. Cost to the Federal Government: The Commission will use legal and engineering staff at the GS-11, step 5 level ($33.92/hour), clerical staff at the GS-5, step 5 level ($18.50/hour) and paraprofessional staff at the GS-9, step 5 level ($28.04/hour) to process these applications. In addition, US Bank charges the FCC $1.90 per application for its processing services.

Attorney 3 hrs. x $33.92/hour x 400 applications = $40,704.00

Engineer 3 hrs. x $33.92/hour x 400 applications = $40,704.00

Clerical 5 hrs. x $18.50/hour x 400 applications = $37,000.00

Paraprofessional 4 hrs. x $28.04/hour x 400 applications = $44,864.00

US Bank $1.90 x 400 applications = $ 760.00

Total Cost to Federal Government: $164,032.00

15. There no program changes to this collection. However, there are adjustments of +520,000 to the annual cost burden which are due to increases in consulting fees.

16. The data will not be published.

17. An extension of the waiver not to publish the expiration date on the form is requested. This will obviate the need for the Commission to update electronic forms upon the expiration of the clearance. OMB approval of the expiration date of the information collection will be displayed at 47 CFR Section 0.408.

18. There are no other exceptions to Certification Statement.

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods:

This information collection does not employ any statistical methods.

1 Class A television stations are low power television licensees which, during the 90-day period ending November 28, 1999, operated their stations in a manner consistent with the programming and operational standards set forth in the Community Broadcasters Protection Act of 1999, and thus, were accorded primary status as Class A television licensees. See 47 C.F.R. Section 73.6001(a).

2 A “material representation” has been defined as one “relating to matter which is so substantial or important as to influence the party to whom it is made.” See In the Matter of Amendment of Section 1.17 of the Commission’s Rules Concerning Truthful Statements to the Commission, 18 F.C.C.R. 4016 (2003), citing the Matter of Mark E. Wagner, 744 N.E. 2d 418, 421 (Ind. 2001).

3 See OMB control number 3060-0214 for the burden associated with the recordkeeping requirement for the newspaper notices and application pursuant to Section 73.3527.

4 A low power television station is a broadcast station authorized under the provisions of Subpart G of Part 74 of the Commission’s Rules that may retransmit the programs and signals of a TV broadcast station and may originate programming in any amount greater than 30 seconds per hour. See 47 C.F.R. Section 74.701(f).

5 These stations are authorized as primary services and are protected from interference from LPTV and TV translator stations.

4