[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 171 (Thursday, September 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52650-52652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20952]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


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

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501-3520), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) 
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this 
opportunity to comment on the following information collections. 
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 OMB 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 OMB 
control number.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before October 6, 
2014. 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 
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:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0484.
    Title: Section 4.9, Part 4 of the Commission's Rules Concerning 
Disruptions to Communications.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, not-for profit 
institutions.
    Number of Respondents: Approximately 1,100 respondents; 15,444 
responses per year.
    Estimated Time per Response: No more than 2.5 hours per occurrence.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion and annual reporting 
requirements, recordkeeping requirement and third party disclosure 
requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for this 
collection of information is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i)-(j) & 
(o), 201(b), 214(d), 218, 251(e)(3), 301, 303(b), 303(g), 303(r), 307, 
309(a), 316, 332, 403, 615a-1, and 615c.
    Total Annual Burden: 29,870 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $0.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: No impacts.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Network Outage Reporting 
System (NORS) outage reports filed with the Commission pursuant to Part 
4 of its rules are presumed confidential. The information in those 
filings may be shared with the Department of Homeland Security only 
under appropriate confidential disclosure provisions. Other persons 
seeking disclosure must follow the procedures delineated in 47 CFR 
0.457 and 0.459 of the Commission's rules for requests for and 
disclosure of information. The revisions to this information collection 
require information to be transmitted to third parties, not to the FCC. 
Accordingly, the Commission cannot, and does not, guarantee 
confidentiality of information provided directly to public safety 
answering points (PSAPs). The revisions do not affect the confidential 
treatment of information provided directly to the FCC through NORS.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission is seeking OMB approval for a 
revision of this information collection in order to obtain the full 
three year approval from OMB. The Commission is reporting a 223-hour 
increase in its previous annual burden estimates. The increase is due 
to adoption of FCC 13-158, a Report and Order establishing more 
specific outage notification obligations for Covered 911 Service 
Providers, which are the respondents subject to the revised 
requirements of this information collection.
    Previous FCC rules required certain communications providers to 
notify PSAPs of 911 outages ``as soon as possible'' with ``all 
available information that may be useful.'' The revisions to this 
information collection respond to the derecho storm that struck the 
Midwest and Mid-Atlantic United States in June 2012, causing 
significant disruptions in 911 service. Through its inquiry into these 
911 outages, the Commission learned that many PSAPs' efforts to restore 
service were complicated by inadequate information and ineffective 
communication by 911 service providers. Consequently, the Commission 
amended section 4.9 of its

[[Page 52651]]

rules to require more specific 911 outage notifications to PSAPs within 
specified time periods.
    Under the new rule, Covered 911 Service Providers must notify PSAPs 
of outages that potentially affect 911 service within 30 minutes of 
discovering the outage and provide contact information such as a name, 
telephone number, and email for follow-up. Whenever additional material 
information becomes available, but no later than two hours after the 
initial contact, the Covered 911 Service Provider must communicate 
additional detail to the PSAP, including the nature of the outage, its 
best-known cause, the geographic scope of the outage, and the estimated 
time for repairs. Notifications must be transmitted by telephone and in 
writing via electronic means, unless the PSAP and service provider have 
agreed in advance to an alternative method. The new requirements apply 
only to entities defined as Covered 911 Service Providers under 47 CFR 
12.4(a)(4), and outage reporting obligations for other entities remain 
unchanged.
    The above revisions do not require information to be submitted to 
the FCC, but rather to third parties (i.e., PSAPs and other ``911 
special facilities'') that experience 911 outages. While the amended 
rule will not result in new or different information submitted to the 
Commission, it will require Covered 911 Service Providers to transmit 
more specific information to PSAPs to improve their situational 
awareness and ability to respond to 911 outages. Such notifications are 
necessary because PSAP personnel depend on reliable 911 service to 
answer emergency calls and dispatch help when needed. When 911 service 
is compromised, PSAPs require prompt notification and useful 
information about the outage so that they may make alternate plans to 
reroute calls until service is restored. Many Covered 911 Service 
Providers indicate that they already collect the required outage 
information for internal use, and for submission to the FCC through 
required NORS reports. Therefore, the obligation to provide more 
specific outage notifications to PSAPs will not generally require 
collection of new or different information, only a more consistent 
effort to ensure that transmission of such information is timely and 
complete. These revisions do not affect the obligation to submit NORS 
outage reports to the FCC or the information that must be provided in 
NORS reports; these portions of the information collection have already 
been approved by OMB and have not changed since that approval.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0185.
    Title: Section 73.3613, Filing of Contracts.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for profit entities; not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 2,400 respondents and 2,400 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.25 to 0.5 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; 
Recordkeeping requirement; Third party disclosure requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 975 hours.
    Total Annual Costs: $135,000.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this information collections is contained in 
Section 154(i) and 303 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this information collection.
    Needs and Uses: On April 15, 2014, the Commission released a Report 
and Order (79 FR 29009, May 20, 2014, FCC 14-28, rel. April 15, 2014) 
that adopted changes to 47 CFR 73.3613 and the FCC's attribution rules. 
Specifically, certain television joint sales agreements (``JSAs'') are 
now attributable under the Commission's attribution rules. As a result, 
television stations will now be required to file JSAs that result in 
attribution under the Commission's multiple ownership rules.
    The revised Section 73.3613(d)(2) is as follows:
    (2) Joint sales agreements: Joint sales agreements involving radio 
stations where the licensee (including all parties under common 
control) is the brokering entity, the brokering and brokered stations 
are both in the same market as defined in the local radio multiple 
ownership rule contained in 73.3555(a), and more than 15 percent of the 
advertising time of the brokered station on a weekly basis is brokered 
by that licensee; joint sales agreements involving television stations 
where the licensee (including all parties under common control) is the 
brokering entity, the brokering and brokered stations are both in the 
same market as defined in the local television multiple ownership rule 
contained in 73.3555(b), and more than 15 percent of the advertising 
time of the brokered station on a weekly basis is brokered by that 
license. Confidential or proprietary information may be redacted where 
appropriate but such information shall be made available for inspection 
upon request by the FCC.
    The following information collection requirements will remain a 
part of this collection and they have not changed since last approved 
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB):
    47 CFR 73.3613 currently requires each licensee or permittee of a 
commercial or noncommercial AM, FM, TV or International broadcast 
station shall file with the FCC copies of the following contracts, 
instruments, and documents together with amendments, supplements, and 
cancellations (with the substance of oral contracts reported in 
writing), within 30 days of execution thereof:
    (a) Network service: Network affiliation contracts between stations 
and networks will be reduced to writing and filed as follows:
    (1) All network affiliation contracts, agreements, or 
understandings between a TV broadcast or low power TV station and a 
national network. For the purposes of this paragraph the term network 
means any person, entity, or corporation which offers an interconnected 
program service on a regular basis for 15 or more hours per week to at 
least 25 affiliated television licensees in 10 or more states; and/or 
any person, entity, or corporation controlling, controlled by, or under 
common control with such person, entity, or corporation.
    (2) Each such filing on or after May 1, 1969, initially shall 
consist of a written instrument containing all of the terms and 
conditions of such contract, agreement or understanding without 
reference to any other paper or document by incorporation or otherwise. 
Subsequent filings may simply set forth renewal, amendment or change, 
as the case may be, of a particular contract previously filed in 
accordance herewith.
    (3) The FCC shall also be notified of the cancellation or 
termination of network affiliations, contracts for which are required 
to be filed by this section.
    (b) Ownership or control: Contracts, instruments or documents 
relating to the present or future ownership or control of the licensee 
or permittee or of the licensee's or permittee's stock, rights or 
interests therein, or relating to changes in such ownership or control 
shall include but are not limited to the following:
    (1) Articles of partnership, association, and incorporation, and 
changes in such instruments;
    (2) Bylaws, and any instruments effecting changes in such bylaws;
    (3) Any agreement, document or instrument providing for the 
assignment

[[Page 52652]]

of a license or permit, or affecting, directly or indirectly, the 
ownership or voting rights of the licensee's or permittee's stock 
(common or preferred, voting or nonvoting), such as:
    (i) Agreements for transfer of stock;
    (ii) Instruments for the issuance of new stock; or
    (iii) Agreements for the acquisition of licensee's or permittee's 
stock by the issuing licensee or permittee corporation. Pledges, trust 
agreements, options to purchase stock and other executory agreements 
are required to be filed. However, trust agreements or abstracts 
thereof are not required to be filed, unless requested specifically by 
the FCC. Should the FCC request an abstract of the trust agreement in 
lieu of the trust agreement, the licensee or permittee will submit the 
following information concerning the trust:
    (A) Name of trust;
    (B) Duration of trust;
    (C) Number of shares of stock owned;
    (D) Name of beneficial owner of stock;
    (E) Name of record owner of stock;
    (F) Name of the party or parties who have the power to vote or 
control the vote of the shares; and
    (G) Any conditions on the powers of voting the stock or any unusual 
characteristics of the trust.
    (4) Proxies with respect to the licensee's or permittee's stock 
running for a period in excess of 1 year, and all proxies, whether or 
not running for a period of 1 year, given without full and detailed 
instructions binding the nominee to act in a specified manner. With 
respect to proxies given without full and detailed instructions, a 
statement showing the number of such proxies, by whom given and 
received, and the percentage of outstanding stock represented by each 
proxy shall be submitted by the licensee or permittee within 30 days 
after the stockholders' meeting in which the stock covered by such 
proxies has been voted. However, when the licensee or permittee is a 
corporation having more than 50 stockholders, such complete information 
need be filed only with respect to proxies given by stockholders who 
are officers or directors, or who have 1% or more of the corporation's 
voting stock. When the licensee or permittee is a corporation having 
more than 50 stockholders and the stockholders giving the proxies are 
not officers or directors or do not hold 1% or more of the 
corporation's stock, the only information required to be filed is the 
name of any person voting 1% or more of the stock by proxy, the number 
of shares voted by proxy by such person, and the total number of shares 
voted at the particular stockholders' meeting in which the shares were 
voted by proxy.
    (5) Mortgage or loan agreements containing provisions restricting 
the licensee's or permittee's freedom of operation, such as those 
affecting voting rights, specifying or limiting the amount of dividends 
payable, the purchase of new equipment, or the maintenance of current 
assets.
    (6) Any agreement reflecting a change in the officers, directors or 
stockholders of a corporation, other than the licensee or permittee, 
having an interest, direct or indirect, in the licensee or permittee as 
specified by Sec.  73.3615.
    (7) Agreements providing for the assignment of a license or permit 
or agreements for the transfer of stock filed in accordance with FCC 
application Forms 314, 315, 316 need not be resubmitted pursuant to the 
terms of this rule provision.
    (c) Personnel: (1) Management consultant agreements with 
independent contractors; contracts relating to the utilization in a 
management capacity of any person other than an officer, director, or 
regular employee of the licensee or permittee; station management 
contracts with any persons, whether or not officers, directors, or 
regular employees, which provide for both a percentage of profits and a 
sharing in losses; or any similar agreements.
    (2) The following contracts, agreements, or understandings need not 
be filed: Agreements with persons regularly employed as general or 
station managers or salesmen; contracts with program managers or 
program personnel; contracts with attorneys, accountants or consulting 
radio engineers; contracts with performers; contracts with station 
representatives; contracts with labor unions; or any similar 
agreements.
    (d)(1) Time brokerage agreements (also known as local marketing 
agreements): Time brokerage agreements involving radio stations where 
the licensee (including all parties under common ownership) is the 
brokering entity, the brokering and brokered stations are both in the 
same market as defined in the local radio multiple ownership rule 
contained in Sec.  73.3555(a), and more than 15 percent of the time of 
the brokered station, on a weekly basis is brokered by that licensee; 
time brokerage agreements involving television stations where the 
licensee (including all parties under common control) is the brokering 
entity, the brokering and brokered stations are both licensed to the 
same market as defined in the local television multiple ownership rule 
contained in Sec.  73.3555(b), and more than 15 percent of the time of 
the brokered station, on a weekly basis, is brokered by that licensee; 
time brokerage agreements involving radio or television stations that 
would be attributable to the licensee under Sec.  73.3555 Note 2, 
paragraph (i). Confidential or proprietary information may be redacted 
where appropriate but such information shall be made available for 
inspection upon request by the FCC.
    (e) The following contracts, agreements or understandings need not 
be filed but shall be kept at the station and made available for 
inspection upon request by the FCC; subchannel leasing agreements for 
Subsidiary Communications Authorization operation; franchise/leasing 
agreements for operation of telecommunications services on the 
television vertical blanking interval and in the visual signal; time 
sales contracts with the same sponsor for 4 or more hours per day, 
except where the length of the events (such as athletic contests, 
musical programs and special events) broadcast pursuant to the contract 
is not under control of the station; and contracts with chief 
operators.

    Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of the Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-20952 Filed 9-3-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P