[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52028-52030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-21071]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to 
the Office of Management and Budget

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

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ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid 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 control number. Comments are requested concerning 
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; the accuracy of 
the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information collected; 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; and ways to further reduce the information collection 
burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. The FCC 
may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid 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 Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) control number.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before September 27, 
2012. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find 
it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, 
you should advise the contacts below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, OMB, via fax 
202-395-5167, or via email [email protected]; and to Cathy 
Williams, FCC, via email [email protected] and to [email protected]. 
Include in the comments the OMB control number as shown in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-
2918. 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 OMB control number of 
this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC 
submission to OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Control Number: 3060-0031.
    Title: Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station 
Construction Permit or License, FCC Form 314; Application for Consent 
to Transfer Control of Entity Holding Broadcast Station Construction 
Permit or License, FCC Form 315; Section 73.3580, Local Public Notice 
of Filing of Broadcast Applications.
    Form Number: FCC Forms 314 and 315.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; Not-for-profit 
institutions; State, local or Tribal government.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 4,840 respondents and 12,880 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.084 to 6 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; Third 
party disclosure requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for this collection of information is contained in 
Sections 154(i), 303(b) and 308 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 18,670 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $52,519,656.
    Privacy Impact Assessment(s): No impacts.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality and respondents are not being asked to submit 
confidential information to the Commission.
    Needs and Uses: On January 28, 2010, the Commission adopted a First 
Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``Rural 
First R&O'') in MB Docket No. 09-52, FCC 10-24, 25 FCC Rcd 1583 (2010). 
In the Rural First R&O, the Commission adopted a Tribal Priority under 
Section 307(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, to assist 
federally recognized Native American Tribes and Alaska Native Villages 
(``Tribes'') and entities primarily owned or controlled by Tribes in 
obtaining broadcast radio construction permits designed primarily to 
serve Tribal Lands (the ``Tribal Priority''). Tribal affiliated 
applicants that meet certain conditions regarding Tribal membership and 
signal coverage qualify for the Tribal Priority, which in most cases 
will enable the qualifying applicants to obtain radio construction 
permits without proceeding to competitive bidding, in the case of 
commercial stations, or to a point system evaluation, in the case of 
noncommercial educational (``NCE'') stations.
    On March 3, 2011, the Commission adopted a Second Report and Order 
(``Rural Second R&O''), First Order on Reconsideration, and Second 
Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making in MB Docket No. 09-52, FCC 11-
28, 26 FCC Rcd 2556 (2011). On December 28, 2011, the Commission 
adopted a Third Report and Order in MB Docket No. 09-52, FCC 11-190, 26 
FCC Rcd 17642 (2011) (``Rural Third R&O''). In the Rural Third R&O the 
Commission further refined the use of the Tribal Priority in the 
commercial FM radio context, specifically adopting a ``Threshold 
Qualifications'' approach to commercial FM application processing.
    Furthermore, under the Commission's Tribal Priority procedures, 
entities obtaining:
    (a) An AM authorization for which the applicant claimed and 
received a dispositive Section 307(b) priority because it qualified for 
the Tribal Priority; or
    (b) An FM commercial non-reserved band station awarded:
    (1) To the applicant as a singleton Threshold Qualifications Window 
applicant,
    (2) To the applicant after a settlement among Threshold 
Qualifications Window applicants, or
    (3) To the applicant after an auction among a closed group of 
bidders composed only of threshold qualified Tribal applicants; or
    (c) A reserved-band NCE FM station for which the applicant claimed 
and received the Tribal Priority in a fair distribution analysis as set 
forth in 47 CFR 73.7002(b)(1), may not assign or transfer the 
authorization during the period beginning with issuance of the 
construction permit, until the station has completed four years of on-
air operations, unless the assignee or

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transferee also qualifies for the Tribal Priority. Pursuant to 
procedures set forth in the Rural Third R&O, 26 FCC Rcd at 17645-50, 
the Tribal Priority Holding Period is now applied in the context of 
authorizations obtained using Tribal Priority Threshold Qualifications.
    Consistent with actions taken by the Commission in the Rural Third 
R&O, the following changes are made to Forms 314 and 315: Section I of 
each form includes a question asking applicants to indicate whether any 
of the authorizations involved in the subject transaction were 
obtained: after award of a dispositive Section 307(b) preference using 
the Tribal Priority; through Threshold Qualification procedures; or 
through the Tribal Priority as applied before the NCE fair distribution 
analysis. A subsequent question then asks whether both the assignor/
transferor and assignee/transferee qualify for the Tribal Priority in 
all respects. Applicants not meeting the Tribal Priority qualifications 
and proposing an assignment or transfer during the Holding Period must 
provide an exhibit demonstrating that the transaction is consistent 
with the Tribal Priority policies or that a waiver is warranted. The 
instructions for Section I of Forms 314 and 315 have been revised to 
assist applicants with completing the questions.

Federal Communications Commission.
Bulah P. Wheeler,
Deputy Manager, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-21071 Filed 8-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P