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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Community Broadcasting, Inc. ) File Number EB-03-KC-021
)
Licensee of Radio Station KCRL-FM ) NAL/Acct. No. 200332560019
in )
Sunrise Beach, Missouri FRN 0005-0141-62
Overland Park, Kansas
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: March 11, 2003
By the Enforcement Bureau, Kansas City Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find Community Broadcasting, Inc.
(``Community''), licensee of radio station KCRL-FM, Sunrise
Beach, Missouri, apparently liable for a forfeiture in the
amount of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for
willful and repeated violation of Section 73.3526(a)(2) of
the Commission's Rules (``Rules'').1 Specifically, we find
Community apparently liable for failing to maintain all
required material in the station's public inspection file.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On January 29, 2003, an agent of the FCC's Kansas
City Office inspected the public file for radio station
KCRL-FM, Sunrise Beach, Missouri. The station's public file
contained no contour map and no current ownership report.
The station's Director of Broadcasting Operations stated
that the current ownership report was on his desk in
Overland Park, Kansas. There was no explanation given for
failure to provide the contour map.
III. DISCUSSION
3. Section 73.3526(a)(2) of the Rules requires a
permittee or licensee of an AM, FM, or TV station to
maintain a public inspection file. Among the required
material to be maintained in the public file, AM and FM
licensees and permittees must maintain a copy of any service
contour maps, submitted with any application tendered for
filing with the FCC, together with any other information in
the application showing service contours. These documents
shall be retained in the public file for as long as they
reflect current, accurate information regarding the station.
Additionally, the public file shall contain a copy of the
most recent, complete ownership report filed with the FCC
for the station, together with any statements filed with the
FCC certifying that the current report is accurate, and
together with all related material. Section 73.3516(a) of
the Rules requires ownership reports to be filed with the
station's license renewal application and every two years
thereafter on the anniversary of the date that its renewal
application is required to be filed.2 On January 29, 2003,
a review of station KCRL-FM's public inspection file
revealed no copy of the station's contour map and no copy of
the most recent ownership report. The station's Director of
Broadcasting Operations stated that the current ownership
report was on his desk in Overland Park, Kansas.
4. Based on the evidence before us, we find that
Community willfully3 and repeatedly4 violated Section
73.3526(a)(2) of the Rules by failing to maintain all
required material in the station's public inspection file.
5. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,5 the
base forfeiture amount for public file rule violations is
$10,000. In assessing the monetary forfeiture amount, we
must also take into account the statutory factors set forth
in Section 503(b)(2)(D) of the Communications Act of 1934,
as amended (``Act''), which include the nature,
circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation, and
with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any
history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and other such
matters as justice may require.''6 In this case, we
consider that the contour map and the ownership report were
the only items missing from the public inspection file.
Therefore, we assess the forfeiture amount for the public
file violation at $2,500. Considering the entire record and
applying the factors listed above, this case warrants a
$2,500 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act,7 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Rules,8 Community Broadcasting, Inc. is hereby
NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the
amount of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for
willful and repeated violation of Section 73.3526(a)(2) of
the Rules by failing to maintain a copy of the contour map
and a copy of the current ownership report in the public
file.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, Community SHALL PAY the full amount of the
proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement
seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed
forfeiture.
8. Payment of the forfeiture may be made by mailing a
check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the
Federal Communications Commission, to the Forfeiture
Collection Section, Finance Branch, Federal Communications
Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, Illinois 60673-7482.
The payment should note the NAL/Acct. No. and FRN referenced
above. Requests for payment of the full amount of this NAL
under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief, Revenue
and Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20554.9
9. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Office of the Secretary, 445 12th
Street SW, Washington DC 20554, Attn: Enforcement Bureau-
Technical & Public Safety Division and MUST INCLUDE THE
NAL/Acct. No. referenced above.
10. The Commission will not consider reducing or
canceling a forfeiture in response to a claim of inability
to pay unless the petitioner submits: (1) federal tax
returns for the most recent three-year period; (2) financial
statements prepared according to generally accepted
accounting practices (``GAAP''); or (3) some other reliable
and objective documentation that accurately reflects the
petitioner's current financial status. Any claim of
inability to pay must specifically identify the basis for
the claim by reference to the financial documentation
submitted.
11. Under the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of
2002, Pub L. No. 107-198, 116 Stat. 729 (June 28, 2002), the
FCC is engaged in a two-year tracking process regarding the
size of entities involved in forfeitures. If you qualify as
a small entity and if you wish to be treated as a small
entity for tracking purposes, please so certify to us within
thirty (30) days of this NAL, either in your response to the
NAL or in a separate filing to be sent to the Technical &
Public Safety Division. Your certification should indicate
whether you, including your parent entity and its
subsidiaries, meet one of the definitions set forth in the
list provided by the FCC's Office of Communications Business
Opportunities (OCBO) set forth in Attachment A of this
Notice of Apparent Liability. This information will be used
for tracking purposes only. Your response or failure to
respond to this question will have no effect on your rights
and responsibilities pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act. If you have questions regarding any of
the information contained in Attachment A, please contact
OCBO at (202) 418-0990.
12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL
shall be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to Community Broadcasting, Inc., 10550
Barkley, Suite 108, Overland Park, KS 66212.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Robert C. McKinney
District Director
Kansas City Office
Enforcement Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 73.3526(a)(2).
2 47 C.F.R. § 73.3516(a).
3 Section 312(f)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1), which
applies to violations for which forfeitures are assessed
under Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that ``[t]he term
`willful,' when used with reference to the commission or
omission of any act, means the conscious and deliberate
commission or omission of such act, irrespective of any
intent to violate any provision of this Act ....'' See
Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC Rcd 4387 (1991).
4 The term ``repeated,'' when used with reference to the
commission or omission of any act, ``means the commission or
omission of such act more than once or, if such commission
or omission is continuous, for more than one day.'' 47
U.S.C. § 312(f)(2).
5 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
6 47 U.S.C. § 503 (b)(2)(D).
7 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
8 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
9 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.