[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 46 (Thursday, March 7, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16566-16567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04808]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0922; FR ID 206806]


Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission Under Delegated Authority

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, 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. 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 PRA comments should be submitted on or before May 6, 
2024. 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 contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicole Ongele, FCC, via email 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Nicole Ongele, (202) 418-2991.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0922.
    Title: Mid-Term Self-Identification.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 1,168 respondents; 1,168 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1.2 minutes (0.02 hours).
    Frequency of Response: Mid-term reporting requirement, generally 
once every eight years.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority which covers this information collection is 
contained in Section 154(i) and 303 of the Communications Act of 1934, 
as amended.
    Total Annual Burden: 23 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
    Needs and Uses: On February 15, 2019, the Commission released a 
Report and Order (Order), MB Docket No. 18-23, FCC 19-10; In the Matter 
of Elimination of Obligation to File

[[Page 16567]]

Broadcast Mid-Term Report (Form 397) Under Section 73.2080(f)(2). The 
Order eliminated the provision of Section 73.2080(f)(2) which required 
stations to file Form 397 and, as announced via Public Notice on May 
11, 2023,\1\ replaced it with a technological approach designed to be 
more efficient and less burdensome to licensees. Now, when uploading 
their annual EEO public file report to the Commission's Online Public 
Inspection File (OPIF), broadcast radio and Satellite Digital Audio 
Radio Services (SDARS) \2\ licensees are required at the mid-point of 
their license term once every eight years \3\ to answer ``Yes'' or 
``No'' to indicate whether they have eleven or more full-time 
employees, which is the threshold number of employees triggering a mid-
term review for radio and SDARS employment units. All television 
stations uploading an EEO public file report to the OPIF are 
necessarily subject to a mid-term review because the requisite staff 
size for both obligations is five full-time employees for television 
employment units. Thus, the very act of posting the report to the OPIF 
is sufficient to identify television stations subject to a mid-term 
review.
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    \1\ See Broadcast Equal Employment Opportunity Mid-Term Review 
Cycle Commences June 1, 2023, Public Notice, DA 23-381, 2023 WL 
3476411 (EB May 11, 2023).
    \2\ Satellite radio (also referred to as ``Satellite Digital 
Audio Radio Services'' or ``SDARS'') licensees are required to 
comply with the Commission's EEO broadcast rules and policies. They 
must engage in the same recruitment, outreach, public file, website 
posting, record-keeping, reporting, and self-assessment obligations 
required of broadcast licensees, and are subject to the same EEO 
policies. See Applications for Consent to the Transfer of Control of 
Licenses, XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., Transferor, to Sirius 
Satellite Radio Inc., Transferee, 23 FCC Rcd 12348, 12426, ] 174, 
and note 551 (2008). See also Establishment of Rules and Policies 
for the Digital Audio Radio Satellite Service in the 2310-2360 MHz 
Frequency Band, 12 FCC Rcd 5754, 5791-92, ]] 91-92 (1997), FCC 97-
70.
    \3\ In order to meet OMB's requirements, the Commission 
annualized its burden because the information is collected every 
eight years.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-04808 Filed 3-6-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P