[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 112 (Friday, June 10, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35548-35550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12533]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0010; FR ID 90628]


Information Collection Being Submitted for Review and Approval to 
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, 
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general 
public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection. Pursuant to the Small Business 
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it 
can further reduce the information collection burden for small business 
concerns with fewer than 25 employees.

[[Page 35549]]


DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be submitted on or before July 11, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting 
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using 
the search function. Your comment must be submitted into 
www.reginfo.gov per the above instructions for it to be considered. In 
addition to submitting in www.reginfo.gov also send a copy of your 
comment on the proposed information collection to Cathy Williams, FCC, 
via email to [email protected] and to [email protected]. Include in the 
comments the OMB control number as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION 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 Title of this ICR and 
then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to 
OMB will be displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office 
of Management and Budget (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.
    As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520), the FCC invited the general public and other Federal Agencies to 
take this opportunity to comment on the following information 
collection. Comments are requested concerning: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's 
burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information collected; and (d) 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. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 
2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the FCC seeks 
specific comment on how it might ``further reduce the information 
collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 
employees.''
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0010.
    Title: Ownership Report for Commercial Broadcast Stations, FCC Form 
323; Section 73.3615, Ownership Reports; Section 74.797, Biennial 
Ownership Reports.
    Form Number: FCC Form 323.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities; not-for-profit 
institutions; State, Local, or Tribal Governments.
    Number of Respondents: 4,340 respondents; 4,340 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.5 to 2.5 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; biennial 
reporting requirement.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. 
Statutory authority for these collections are contained in 47 U.S.C. 
151, 152(a), 154(i), 257, 303(r), 307, 309, and 310.
    Total Annual Burden: 9,620 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $10,220,980.
    Needs and Uses: On January 20, 2016, the Commission released a 
Report and Order, Second Report and Order, and Order on Reconsideration 
in MB Docket Nos. 07-294, 10-103, and MD Docket No. 10-234 (Second 
Report and Order). The Second Report and Order refines the collection 
of data reported on FCC Form 323, Ownership Report for Commercial 
Broadcast Stations, and FCC Form 323-E, Ownership Report for 
Noncommercial Broadcast Stations. Specifically, the Second Report and 
Order implements a Restricted Use FRN (RUFRN) within the Commission's 
Registration System (CORES) that individuals may use solely for the 
purpose of broadcast ownership report filings; eliminates the 
availability of the Special Use FRN (SUFRN) for broadcast station 
ownership reports, except in very limited circumstances; prescribes 
revisions to Form 323-E that conform the reporting requirements for 
noncommercial educational (NCE) broadcast stations more closely to 
those for commercial stations; and makes a number of significant 
changes to the Commission's reporting requirements that reduce the 
filing burdens on broadcasters, streamline the process, and improve 
data quality. These enhancements enable the Commission to obtain data 
reflecting a useful, accurate, and thorough assessment of minority and 
female broadcast station ownership in the United States while reducing 
certain filing burdens.
    Currently, Form 323, Section II-A/II-B, Question 2.c asks ``Does 
the Respondent or any interest holder reported in response to Question 
2(a) hold an attributable interest in any newspaper entities in the 
same market as any station for which this report is filed, as defined 
in 47 CFR 73.3555?'' This question was relevant to the Commission's 
Newspaper/Broadcast Cross-Ownership Rule, which prohibited common 
ownership of a full-power broadcast station and a daily newspaper if 
the station's contour (defined separately by type of station) 
completely encompassed the newspaper's city of publication and the 
station and newspaper were in the same relevant Nielsen market. On 
November 20, 2017, the Commission released an Order on Reconsideration 
and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in MB Docket Nos. 04-256, 07-294, 09-
182, 14-50, and 17-289 (Order on Reconsideration). Among other things, 
the Order on Reconsideration repealed the Newspaper/Broadcast Cross-
Ownership Rule. Accordingly, Section II-A/II-B, Question 2.c will be 
eliminated from Form 323.
    Licensees of commercial AM, FM, and full power television broadcast 
stations, as well as licensees of Class A and Low Power Television 
stations, must file FCC Form 323 every two years. Biennial Ownership 
Reports shall provide information accurate as of October 1 of the year 
in which the Report is filed. Form 323 shall be filed by December 1 in 
all odd-numbered years.
    In addition, Licensees and Permittees of commercial AM, FM, and 
full power television stations must file Form 323 following the 
consummation of a transfer of control or an assignment of a commercial 
AM, FM, or full power television station license or construction 
permit; a Permittee of a new commercial AM, FM, or full power 
television station must file Form 323 within 30 days after the grant of 
the construction permit; and a Permittee of a new commercial AM, FM, or 
full power television broadcast station must file Form 323 to update 
the initial report or to certify the continuing accuracy and 
completeness of the previously filed report on the date that

[[Page 35550]]

the Permittee applies for a license to cover the construction permit. 
In the case of organizational structures that include holding companies 
or other forms of indirect ownership, a separate Form 323 must be filed 
for each entity in the organizational structure that has an 
attributable interest in the Licensee or Permittee.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-12533 Filed 6-9-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P