[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 4, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 71713-71714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-26009]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MB Docket No. 09-52; FCC 11-190]


Policies To Promote Rural Radio Service and To Streamline 
Allotment and Assignment Procedures

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission announces that the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) has approved, for a period of three years, 
the information collection requirements (form revisions) associated 
with the Commission's rules contained in the Third Report and Order, 
FCC 11-190, pertaining to the policies to promote rural radio service 
and to streamline allotment and assignment procedures. This notice is 
consistent with the Third Report and Order, which stated that the 
Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing 
the effective date of these information collection requirements (form 
changes).

DATES: Effective date: The amendment to Sec.  73.3573, published at 77 
FR 32034, May 31, 2012, was approved by OMB July 2, 2012, and is 
effective December 4, 2012.
    Applicability date: The form revisions to FCC Forms 314 and 315 
associated with this rule are applicable December 4, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cathy Williams on (202) 418-2918 or 
via email to: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that, on October 10, 
2012, OMB approved, for a period of three years, the information 
collection requirements contained in the Commission's Third Report and 
Order, FCC 11-190, published at 77 FR 2916, January 20, 2012. The OMB 
Control Number is 3060-0031. The Commission publishes this document as 
an announcement of the effective date of the information collection 
requirements (form revisions for FCC Forms 314 and 315).

Synopsis

    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3507), the FCC is notifying the public that it received OMB approval on 
October 10, 2012, for the form revisions to FCC Forms 314 and 315.
    Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a current, valid OMB 
Control Number.
    No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply 
with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
that does not display a current, valid OMB Control Number. The OMB 
Control Number is 3060-0031.
    The foregoing is required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
Pub. L. 104-13, October 1, 1995, and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
    The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:
    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 Numbers: FCC Forms 314 and 315.
    OMB Approval Date: October 10, 2012.
    OMB Expiration Date: October 31, 2015.
    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

[[Page 71714]]

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 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.
Gloria J. Miles,
Federal Register Liaison, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing 
Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-26009 Filed 12-3-12; 8:45 am]
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