82 FR 55835 - Information Collection Approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 225 (November 24, 2017)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval, via a non-substantive change request, of changes to information collection requirements associated with FCC Form 323-E (Ownership Report for Noncommercial Broadcast Stations), which the Commission adopted in the Order on Reconsideration, FCC 17-42, published at 82 FR 21718, May 10, 2017. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number, and no person is required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. Comments concerning the accuracy of the burden estimates and any suggestions for reducing the burden should be directed to the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 225 (Friday, November 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55835-55836]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25409]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0084]


Information Collection Approved by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB)

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval, via a non-substantive 
change request, of changes to information collection requirements 
associated with FCC Form 323-E (Ownership Report for Noncommercial 
Broadcast Stations), which the Commission adopted in the Order on 
Reconsideration, FCC 17-42, published at 82 FR 21718, May 10, 2017. An 
agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid OMB control number, and no person is 
required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid control number. Comments concerning the accuracy of the 
burden estimates and any suggestions for reducing the burden should be 
directed to the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cathy Williams, 
[email protected], (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    The total annual reporting burdens and costs for the respondents 
are as follows:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0084.
    OMB Approval Date: May 31, 2017.
    OMB Expiration Date: November 30, 2019.
    Title: Ownership Report for Noncommercial Educational Broadcast 
Stations, FCC Form 323-E; Section 73.3615, Ownership Reports.
    Form Number: FCC Form 323-E.
    Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 2,636 respondents; 2,636 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 to 1.5 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, 308, 309, and 310.
    Total Annual Burden: 3,867 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $2,319,900.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: FCC Form 323-E collects two 
types of information from respondents: PII in the form of names, 
addresses, job titles and demographic information; and FCC Registration 
Numbers (FRNs).
    The FCC/MB-1 SORN, which was approved on November 28, 2016 (81 FR 
72047), covers the collection, purpose(s), storage, safeguards, and 
disposal of the PII that individual respondents may submit on Form 323-
E, as required under the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 
552a). The Commission is drafting a privacy statement to inform 
applicants (respondents) of the Commission's need to obtain the 
information and the protections that the Commission has in place to 
protect the PII.
    FRNs are assigned to applicants who complete FCC Form 160 (OMB 
Control No. 3060-0917). Form 160 currently requires applicants for FRNs 
to provide their Taxpayer Information Number (TIN) and/or Social 
Security Number (SSN). The FCC's electronic Commission Registration 
System (CORES) then provides each registrant with a CORES FRN, which 
identifies the registrant in his/her subsequent dealings with the FCC. 
This is done to protect the individual's privacy. Form 160 requires 
applicants for Restricted Use FRNs to provide an alternative set of 
identifying information that does not include the individual's full 
SSN: His/her full name, residential address, date of birth, and only 
the last four digits of his/her SSN. Restricted Use FRNs may be used in 
lieu of CORES FRNs only on broadcast ownership reports and only for 
individuals (not entities) reported as attributable interest holders. 
The Commission maintains a SORN, FCC/OMD-25, Financial Operations 
Information System (FOIS), to cover the collection, purpose(s), 
storage, safeguards, and disposal of the PII that individual 
respondents may submit on Form 160. Form 160 includes a privacy 
statement to inform applicants (respondents) of the Commission's need 
to obtain the information and the protections that the FCC has in place 
to protect the PII.
    Privacy Act: The Commission is drafting a Privacy Impact Assessment 
(PIA) for the personally identifiable information (PII) that is covered 
by the system of records notice (SORN), FCC/MB-1, Ownership Reports for 
Commercial and Noncommercial Broadcast Stations. Upon completion of the 
PIA, it will be posted on the FCC's Web site, as required by the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB)

[[Page 55836]]

Memorandum, M-03-22 (September 22, 2003).
    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 (323 and 
323-E Order). The 323 and 323-E 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 323 and 323-E 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.
    On April 21, 2017, the Commission released an Order on 
Reconsideration in MB Docket No. 07-294 and MD Docket No. 10-23 (323-E 
Reconsideration Order). The 323-E Reconsideration Order expands the 
option to use SUFRNs on Form 323-E. This action addresses several 
petitions for reconsideration of the 323 and 323-E Order and properly 
balances the Commission's need to improve the integrity and usability 
of its broadcast ownership data with the concerns raised in the 
petitions for reconsideration.
    Licensees of noncommercial educational AM, FM, and television 
broadcast stations must file FCC Form 323-E every two years. Pursuant 
to the new filing procedures adopted in the 323 and 323-E Order, Form 
323-E shall be filed by December 1 in all odd-numbered years. Form 323 
shall be filed by December 1 in all odd-numbered years. On September 1, 
2017, the Commission's Media Bureau released an Order in MB Docket No. 
07-294, DA 17-813, postponing the opening of the 2017 biennial filing 
window for the submission of broadcast ownership reports on FCC Forms 
323 and 323-E and extending the 2017 filing deadline. Biennial 
Ownership Reports shall provide information accurate as of October 1 of 
the year in which the Report is filed.
    In addition, Licensees and Permittees of noncommercial educational 
AM, FM, and television stations must file Form 323-E following the 
consummation of a transfer of control or an assignment of a 
noncommercial educational AM, FM, or television station license or 
construction permit; a Permittee of a new noncommercial educational AM, 
FM, or television station must file Form 323-E within 30 days after the 
grant of the construction permit; and a Permittee of a new 
noncommercial educational AM, FM, or television station must file Form 
323-E to update the initial report or to certify the continuing 
accuracy and completeness of the previously filed report on the date 
that 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-E 
must be filed for each entity in the organizational structure that has 
an attributable interest in the Licensee or Permittee.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-25409 Filed 11-22-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P