On October 27, 2011, the Commission
adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("FNPRM") in MM
Docket 00-168, FCC 11-162, In the Matter of Standardized and
Enhanced Disclosure Requirements for Television Broadcast Licensee
Public Interest Obligations. The FNPRM proposes to largely replace
the decades-old requirement that commercial and noncommercial
television stations maintain a paper public file at their main
studios with a requirement to submit documents for inclusion in an
online public file to be hosted by the Commission. On April 27,
2012, the Commission adopted a Second Report and Order in MM Docket
00-168, FCC 12-44, In the Matter of Standardized and Enhanced
Disclosure Requirements for Television Broadcast Licensee Public
Interest Obligations. This Second Report and Order adopted the
FNPRM proposal that commercial and noncommercial television
stations be required to maintain a public inspection file to be
located on the Commission's website instead of being maintained in
the public file at the station. The FNPRM proposed a few changes
from the existing public file requirements, and the Second Report
and Order adopted most but not all of those proposals. First, the
FNPRM sought comment on ways to streamline the information required
to be kept in the file, and proposed that letters and emails from
the public should be excluded from the online posting requirement,
and instead be retained at the station in a correspondence file.
The Second Report and Order adopted this exemption. The FNPRM also
proposed that a few items should be added to the online public
file. First, we proposed that stations will need to include their
main studio location in the online public file. Second, we proposed
that sponsorship identifications, now disclosed only on-air, also
be disclosed in the online public file. The FNPRM also proposed to
require disclosure of online of shared services agreements, some of
which currently need to be included in the public file. The FNPRM
noted that the increased burdens imposed by including these new
items will be offset in part by reducing burdens by placing the
public file online in a database to be hosted by the Commission.
The Second Report and Order declined to adopt new requirements,
instead limiting this proceeding to merely transferring the
existing public file online. Because more than a third of the
required contents of the public file have to be filed with the
Commission in our Consolidated DataBase System ("CDBS") under
current rules, we proposed in the FNPRM that we would import and
update any information that must already be filed with the
Commission electronically in CDBS to each station's public file,
which will be part of a database of all television station public
files on the Commission's website. We anticipated that this would
create efficiencies for broadcasters, since they must currently
upload such filings to CDBS and then also ensure that the same
documents are included in the public file kept at the station.
Under the proposed mechanism, broadcasters would be responsible for
uploading only those items not otherwise filed with the Commission
or available on the Commission's website. Under the proposed rules,
television stations would need to link to the public inspection
file hosted on the Commission's website from the home page of its
own website, if the station has a website. The Second Report and
Order adopted this approach. On November 22, 2011, the Commission
submitted the FNPRM's proposed information collection requirements
for collection 3060-0214 to OMB for review and approval. The
Commission received final approval for the information collection
requirements that are contained in this collection, based on the
final rules that were adopted in FCC 12-44 from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) on June 21, 2012.
There are no program changes to
this collection. However, there are adjustments/increases which are
due to the Commission readjusting our burdens for this collection.
They are as follows: 4,178 to the annual responses and 217,256 to
the annual burden hours.
$150,000
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Kim Matthews 202
418-2130
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Supporting Statement OMB 3060-0214 2015 (correct).doc
Sections 73.3526 and 73.3527, Local Public Inspection File, Sections 73.1212, 76.1701 and 73.1943, Political Files