Non-substantive Change Request

NON-SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE REQUEST JUSTIFICATION

OMB CONTROL NUMBER 3060-0027

Form 2100, Schedule 301-FM – Commercial FM Station Construction Permit Application¹

The Commission is submitting this non-substantive change request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval of minor non-substantive changes made to (current) FCC Form 301. FCC Form 301, Application for Construction Permit for a Commercial Broadcast Station, is used to apply for authority to construct a new commercial FM broadcast station and to make changes to existing facilities of such a station, when applying for a commercial FM broadcast station construction permit in the current Media Bureau database system, the “Consolidated Database System” (CDBS).²

The Media Bureau is transitioning to a new on-line (electronic) licensing database system called the “Licensing Management System” (LMS) in which all Media Bureau broadcast applications and reporting forms will eventually be filed. In effect, the database transition requires a corresponding design conversion of all existing CDBS forms. The Media Bureau is currently developing electronic, LMS-compatible versions of various broadcast station application and reporting forms, such as this Form 2100, Schedule 301-FM – Commercial FM Station Construction Permit Application (LMS Commercial FM Construction Permit Application) as part of the database transition.

In general, the new LMS Commercial FM Construction Permit Application will replicate the FCC Form 301. The form sections and substance of the individual questions essentially remain the same. As with the (current) FCC Form 301, the LMS Commercial FM Construction Permit Application requires applicants to certify compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. The application is presented primarily in a “Yes/No” certification format and contains places for submitting explanatory exhibits where appropriate.

In the initial phase of the LMS roll-out, the new LMS Commercial FM Construction Permit Application is replacing FCC Form 301 only for the filing of FM Auxiliary Station construction permit applications in LMS. FCC Form 301 will continue to be used (under the name FCC Form 301, Application for Construction Permit for a Commercial Broadcast Station) to apply for authority to construct a new commercial FM full-service station in the CDBS system. The Commission will subsequently roll-out the use of the new LMS Commercial FM Construction Permit Application for commercial FM full-service stations at a later date.³

The respondents, burden hours and costs of this Information Collection are not impacted by the minor non-substantive changes to the FCC Form 301, which will now be a part of the LMS Commercial FM Construction Permit Application. The minor non-substantive change is highlighted below:

Change #1 – To accommodate the Media Bureau’s database transition from CDBS to LMS, FCC Form 301 will be replaced by an LMS-compatible LMS Commercial FM Construction Permit Application. The certification-based questions and explanatory exhibit format remains the same. The substance, respondents, burden hours, and costs of Information Collection OMB Control No. 3060-0027 are not impacted.

Also, the Supporting Statement for OMB Control No. 3060-0027 has been updated accordingly.

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1Pursuant to this non-substantive change, CDBS-based FCC Form 301 will be renamed “Form 2100, Schedule 301-FM – Commercial FM Station Construction Permit Application” and eventually encompassed within the new on-line (electronic) licensing database system called the Licensing Modernization System. Accordingly, the title of this Information Collection is also being changed.

2 (Current) FCC Form 301 is also used to apply for authority to construct a new AM broadcast station and to make changes to existing facilities of such a station.

3 The Commission will subsequently roll-out the use of a new LMS-compatible AM Station Construction Permit Application at a later date. Until that time, FCC Form 301 will also continue to be used to apply for authority to construct a new AM broadcast station in the CDBS system.

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