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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of )
)
Snow Hill Broadcasting, L.L.C. ) File No. EB-04-CF-138
)
Licensee of WQMR ) NAL/Acct. No. 200432340005
Snow Hill, Maryland )
) FRN: 0007 3402 01
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE
Released: September
2, 2004
By the District Director, Columbia Office, Northeast Region,
Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture
("NAL"), we find that Snow Hill Broadcasting, L.L.C. (``Snow
Hill''), licensee of station WQMR, in Snow Hill, Maryland,
apparently willfully and repeatedly violated Sections
73.3526(e)(6), 73.3526(e)(8), 73.3526(e)(9), and 73.3526(e)(12)
of the Commission's Rules ("Rules")1 by failing to retain in
its public inspection file a political file, ``The Public and
Broadcasting'' manual, a file of letters and e-mail from the
public, and a file with quarterly issues/programs lists for the
year 2003. We conclude, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended ("Act"),2 that Snow Hill
is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount of ten
thousand dollars ($10,000).
II. BACKGROUND
2. On March 19, 2004, agents from the Commission's
Columbia, Maryland office inspected radio station WQMR in Snow
Hill, Maryland, for compliance with FCC Rules. At the time of
the inspection, the agents observed that the station operated
in violation of several public inspection file rules. The
agents noted that the public inspection file did not include a
political file, the most recent copy of ``The Public and
Broadcasting'' manual, a file with letters and e-mail from the
public, and copies of the quarterly issues/programs lists for
2003.
3. On March 26, 2004, the Columbia Office issued a letter
of inquiry to the owners of WQMR in order to gather additional
information regarding the operation of the station and the
retention of the required documentation in the public
inspection file. By letter dated April 14, 2004, the managing
partner of Maryland Star, L.L.C., John P. Gillen (``Gillen''),
responded to the letter of inquiry. Gillen confirmed that the
public inspection file had ``been incomplete for at least the
past 6 months.'' Further, Gillen outlined steps taken by Snow
Hill to correct violations brought to its attention in the
letter of inquiry.
III. DISCUSSION
4. Section 503(b) of the Act provides that any person who
willfully or repeatedly fails to comply substantially with the
terms and conditions of any license, or willfully or repeatedly
fails to comply with any of the provisions of the Act or of any
rule, regulation or order issued by the Commission thereunder,
shall be liable for a forfeiture penalty. The term "willful"
as used in Section 503(b) of the Act has been interpreted to
mean simply that the acts or omissions are committed
knowingly.3 The term ``repeated'' means the commission or
omission of such act more than once or for more than one day.4
5. Section 73.3526(e)(6) of the Rules requires commercial
broadcast stations to retain in the public inspection file a
political file concerning broadcasts by candidates for public
office. Snow Hill's public inspection file did not contain a
political file.
6. Section 73.3526(e)(8) of the Rules requires that
commercial broadcast stations have a copy of the most recent
version of the ``The Public and Broadcasting'' manual. Snow
Hill's public inspection file did not contain ``The Public and
Broadcasting'' manual.
7. Section 73.3526(e)(9) of the Rules requires commercial
broadcast stations to maintain a file for letters and e-mail
from the public. Snow Hill's public inspection file did not
contain a file for letters and e-mail from the public.
8. Section 73.3526(e)(12) of the Rules requires that
commercial broadcast stations place in the public inspection
file every three months a list of programs that have provided
the station's most significant treatment of community issues
during the preceding three months. The list must include a
brief narrative describing what issues were given significant
treatment and the programming that provided that treatment.
Snow Hill's public inspection file did not contain
issues/programs lists for any quarter in 2003.
9. Based on the evidence before us, we find that Snow Hill
willfully and repeatedly violated Sections 73.3526(e)(6),
73.3526(e)(8), 73.3526(e)(9), and 73.3526(e)(12) of the
Commission's Rules by failing to retain in its public
inspection file a political file, ``The Public and
Broadcasting'' manual, letters and e-mail from the public, and
any quarterly issues/programs lists for 2003.
.
10. Pursuant to The Commission's Forfeiture Policy
Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to
Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines ("Forfeiture Policy
Statement"), and Section 1.80 of the Rules, the base forfeiture
amount for failure to comply with the public inspection file
rules is $10,000.5 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 Act, which include the
nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violations,
and with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability,
and history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and other such
matters as justice may require.6 Applying the Forfeiture
Policy Statement, Section 1.80, and the statutory factors, a
$10,000 forfeiture is warranted.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
11. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to
Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended,
and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80 of the Commission's Rules,
Snow Hill is hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A
FORFEITURE in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for
violations of Sections 73.3526(e)(6), 73.3526(e)(8),
73.3526(e)(9) and 73.3526(e)(12) of the Rules.7
12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section
1.80 of the Commission's Rules within thirty days of the
release date of this Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture, Snow Hill SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed
forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction
or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
13. Payment of the forfeiture must be made by check or
similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal
Communications Commission. The payment must include the
NAL/Acct. No. and FRN No. FCC Registration Number referenced
above. Payment by check or money order may be mailed to
Forfeiture Collection Section, Finance Branch, Federal
Communications Commission, P.O. Box 73482, Chicago, Illinois
60673-7482. Payment by overnight mail may be sent to Bank
One/LB 73482, 525 West Monroe, 8th Floor Mailroom, Chicago, IL
60661. Payment by wire transfer may be made to ABA Number
071000013, receiving bank Bank One, and account number 1165259.
14. The response, if any, must be mailed to Federal
Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Northeast
Region, Columbia Office, 9200 Farm House Lane, Columbia, MD,
21046 and must include the NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the
caption.
15. 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.
16. Requests for payment of the full amount of this
Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture under an
installment plan should be sent to: Chief, Revenue and
Receivables Operations Group, 445 12th Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20554.8
17. 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 Federal Communications
Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Northeast Region, Columbia
Office, 9200 Farm House Lane, Columbia, MD 21046. 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.
18. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Notice
of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture shall be sent by Certified
Mail, Return Receipt Requested, and regular mail, to Snow Hill
Broadcasting, L.L.C., 125 Chester Avenue, Annapolis, Maryland
21403.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Charles C. Magin
District Director
Columbia Office
Northeast Region
Enforcement Bureau
Enclosure: FCC List of Small Entities
_________________________
147 C.F.R. § § 73.3526(e)(6), 73.3526(e)(8), 73.3526(e)(9) and
73.3526(e)(12).
247 U.S.C. § 503(b).
3Section 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 or any rule or regulation of the Commission authorized
by this Act...." See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC
Rcd 4387 (1991).
4Section 312(f)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(2), which also
applies to violations for which forfeitures are assessed under
Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that "[t]he 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.''
512 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999);
47 C.F.R. §1.80.
647 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(D).
747 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, and 1.80.
8See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1914.