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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ) File Number EB-02-DL-530
)
EICB-TV, LLC ) NAL/Acct. No.200432500005
Licensee of KUOT-CA in Oklahoma )
City, OK ) FRN 0004-5420-31
Cedar Hill, Texas )
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: April 7, 2004
By the Enforcement Bureau, Dallas Office:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (``NAL''), we find EICB-TV, LLC (``EICB''),
licensee of KUOT-CA Class A television station, Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma, apparently liable for a forfeiture in the
amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for willful and
repeated violation of Section 73.3526(c)(1) of the
Commission's Rules (``Rules'').1 Specifically, we find
EICB-TV, LLC apparently liable for failure to make available
for inspection all of the required material in the station's
public inspection file.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On September 9, 2002, the FCC Enforcement Bureau's
Dallas Field Office (``Dallas Office'') received a complaint
alleging KKCC-LP2 was not in compliance with the
Commission's Rules for Class A television stations.
3. On January 13 and 15, 2003, the Dallas Office
received additional information alleging KKCC-LP had no
studio as required by Class A rules, no employees in the
Oklahoma City area, no records of children's programming, no
transmitter checks, and no logs.
4. On February 20, 2003, an agent from the Dallas
Office inspected station KKCC-LP at its main studio located
at Eagle Heights Church in Oklahoma City. The public file
was incomplete in that the file was missing all required
items except the station authorization and applications to
the Commission.
5. On August 19, 2003, an agent from the Dallas
Office inspected KKCC-LP's main studio at Eagle Heights
Church in Oklahoma City. The public file was missing the
issues/programs lists, records concerning commercial limits,
must-carry or retransmission consent election, and Class A
TV continuing eligibility.
III. DISCUSSION
6. Section 73.3526(a)(2) of the Rules3 requires that
every permittee or licensee of a TV or Class A TV station in
the commercial broadcast services maintain a public
inspection file containing the material, relating to that
station, described in paragraphs (e)(1) through (e)(10),
(e)(11), (e)(13) and (e)(15) of this section. Section
73.3526(b) of the Rules4 requires the public inspection file
be maintained at the station's main studio. Section
73.3526(c)(1) of the Rules requires the file be available
for public inspection at any time during regular business
hours. On February 20, 2003 and August 19, 2003, the
complete public inspection file material was not made
available for inspection during regular business hours at
the KUOT-CA (formerly KKCC-LP) main studio.
7. Based on the evidence before us, we find EICB
willfully5 and repeatedly6 violated Section 73.3526(c)(1) of
the Rules by failing to make available for inspection all of
the required material in the station's public inspection
file.
8. Pursuant to Section 1.80(b)(4) of the Rules,7 the
base forfeiture amount for violation of public file rules 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.8 Considering the entire
record and applying the factors listed above, this case
warrants a $10,000 forfeiture.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
9. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Act,9 and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and
1.80 of the Rules,10 EICB-TV, LLC is hereby NOTIFIED of this
APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in the amount of ten
thousand dollars ($10,000) for willful and repeated
violation of Section 73.3526(c)(1) of the Rules by failing
to make available for inspection all of the required
material in the station's public inspection file.
10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Rules, within thirty days of the release date of
this NAL, EICB-TV, LLC SHALL PAY the full amount of the
proposed forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement
seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed
forfeiture.
11. 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. 20554.11
12. 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-
Spectrum Enforcement Division and MUST INCLUDE THE NAL/Acct.
No. referenced above.
13. 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.
14. 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 Spectrum
Enforcement 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.
15. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT a copy of this NAL
shall be sent by regular mail and Certified Mail Return
Receipt Requested to EICB-TV, LLC, 406 Copeland Drive, Cedar
Hill, Texas 75104.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
James D. Wells
District Director, Dallas Office,
Enforcement Bureau
Attachment
_________________________
1 47 C.F.R. § 73.3526(c)(1).
2 KKCC-LP changed call sign to KUOT-CA on October 10, 2003.
The station received Class A status on January 2, 2001.
3 47 C.F.R. § 73.3526(a)(2).
4 47 C.F.R. § 73.3526(b).
5 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 4387-88
(1991).
6 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).
7 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(4).
8 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
9 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
10 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80.
11 See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.