Click here for Adobe Acrobat version
Click here for Microsoft Word version

******************************************************** 
                      NOTICE
********************************************************

This document was converted from Microsoft Word.

Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.

All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.

Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.

If you need the complete document, download the
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version.

*****************************************************************



                                   Before the

                       Federal Communications Commission

                             Washington, D.C. 20554


                               )                               
                                                               
                               )                               
                                                               
                               )                               
                                                               
     In the Matter of          )                               
                                                               
     Lazer Licenses, LLC       )                               
                                                               
     Licensee of:              )                               
                                                               
     KSBQ(AM)                  )                               
                                       File Nos. EB-07-LA-111  
     Santa Maria, California   )                               
                                                 EB-07-LA-112  
     Facility ID # 38442       )                               
                                                 EB-07-LA-113  
     KLMM-FM                   )                               
                                   NAL/Acct. No. 200732900007  
     Morro Bay, California     )                               
                                              FRN: 0015079908  
     Facility ID # 46401       )                               
                                                               
     KLUN-FM                   )                               
                                                               
     Paso Robles, California   )                               
                                                               
     Facility ID # 2243        )                               
                                                               
                               )                               
                                                               
                               )                               
                                                               
                               )                               


                          MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

   Adopted: December 17, 2008 Released: December 19, 2008

   By the Deputy Chief, Enforcement Bureau:

   I. INTRODUCTION

    1. In this Memorandum Opinion and Order, issued pursuant to Section 405
       of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended ("Act"), and Section
       1.106 of the Commission's rules, we deny a Petition for
       Reconsideration ("Petition") filed on March 24, 2008, by Lazer
       Licenses, LLC, ("Lazer"), the licensee of stations KSBQ(AM), Santa
       Maria, California, KLMM-FM, Morro Bay, California and KLUN-FM, Paso
       Robles, California, of a Forfeiture Order  issued by the Western
       Region ("Region") of the Enforcement Bureau, imposing an eight
       thousand dollar ($8,000) forfeiture against Lazer, for willful and
       repeated violation of Section 73.3526 of the Commission's Rules
       ("Rules"). The noted violation concerned Lazer's failure to maintain
       complete public inspection files for KSBQ(AM), KLMM-FM, and KLUN-FM.
       For the reasons discussed below, we deny Lazer's Petition and affirm
       the forfeiture.

   II. BACKGROUND

    2. On March 6, 2007, an agent of the Enforcement Bureau's Los Angeles
       Office conducted inspections of the public inspection files for
       stations KSBQ(AM), KLMM-FM and KLUN-FM at their main studio location
       in Santa Maria, California. The agent discovered that while the public
       inspection files were partially complete, there were no
       issues/programs lists maintained in the public inspection files for
       any of the three stations subsequent to their license renewal on July
       28, 2005. The general manager for the three stations stated that he
       was fairly new but very familiar with the issues/programs filing
       requirements and advised the agent that from the date of inspection
       forward, he was putting his Office Manager in charge of maintaining
       and filing these records in the public inspection files. He could not
       explain why these records for all three stations had not been
       maintained in the public inspection files subsequent to the stations'
       license renewal on July 28, 2005.

    3. On May 17, 2007, the Los Angeles Office issued a Notice of Apparent
       Liability for Forfeiture ("NAL")  in the amount of $12,000 to Lazer,
       finding that Lazer apparently willfully and repeatedly failed to
       maintain complete public inspection files for KSBQ(AM), KLMM-FM and
       KLUN-FM. Lazer filed a response ("Response") on June 25, 2007, arguing
       that the missing issues/programs lists were timely prepared and were
       on a different floor of the main studio location but could not be
       located because of recent staff changes, and that Lazer has since
       modified its procedures concerning public inspection files for all of
       its stations. In the Forfeiture Order, the Region reviewed Lazer's
       Response and accepted Lazer's explanation concerning the placement of
       the issues/programs lists. Consequently, the Region reduced the
       proposed forfeiture from $12,000 to $8,000 because of Lazer's good
       faith efforts; however, the Region declined to cancel the forfeiture
       because the issue/programs lists were not available for inspection by
       either the Los Angeles agent or the public, on the day of the
       inspection. The Region also declined to reduce the forfeiture based on
       the remedial procedures implemented by Lazer.

   III. DISCUSSION

    4. Reconsideration is appropriate only where the petitioner either
       demonstrates a material error or omission in the underlying order or
       raises additional facts not known or not existing until after the
       petitioner's last opportunity to present such matters. A petition for
       reconsideration that reiterates arguments that were previously
       considered and rejected will be denied. In its Petition, Lazer
       requests that the forfeiture be eliminated or reduced because of
       Lazer's good faith and because the forfeiture "is excessive in light
       of similar fines issues by the Commission . . . ."

    5. Lazer argues that the issues/programs lists were being properly
       maintained for the three stations, but were located in a different
       area of the main studio. Lazer cites to the Commission's decision in
       Citadel Broadcasting Company, Inc.,  and argues that in that case the
       Commission "established a $1,000 forfeiture amount for issues/programs
       lists oversights" because the Commission issued a forfeiture for
       $1,000 against Citadel for the violation of two missing
       issues/programs lists which could not be recreated. In Citadel, the
       licensee admitted in its license renewal application for WLXC(FM),
       serving Lexington, South Carolina, that its public file was incomplete
       and the Commission determined because the station was missing two
       issue/programs lists, the appropriate forfeiture amount was $1,000. At
       the time of the inspection, Lazer was not merely missing two
       issues/programs list for only two quarters. The public files for the
       three Lazer stations did not have any issues/programs lists available
       since the most recent renewal grants for the stations on July 28,
       2005. Consequently, Lazer was missing six quarters of issues/programs
       lists for each station, for a total of eighteen missing
       issues/programs lists. The amount of the forfeiture is therefore
       supported by the Citadel case in which another Citadel station,
       WWWZ(FM), serving Summerville, South Carolina, admitted on its renewal
       application that its public inspection file was missing a total of
       fifteen issues/programs lists. In Citadel, the Commission determined
       that WWWZ(FM) was apparently liable for a $10,000 forfeiture for its
       self-reported missing issues/programs lists.

    6. Lazer also cites to a decision by the Commission's Media Bureau in
       which a $1,000 proposed forfeiture for public inspection file
       violations was issued rather than the base forfeiture amount of
       $10,000. In the cited case, Creek Broadcasting, a former employee,
       against whom Creek Broadcasting  was granted a restraining order,
       filed a complaint against Creek Broadcasting stating, among other
       things, that numerous items were missing from the KTMP(AM) public
       inspection file. The Media Bureau found that Creek Broadcasting did
       not adequately rebut the former employee's allegations, by stating
       that "the required items were prepared and placed in the file, but
       were subsequently removed from the file by [the employee] upon his
       less-than-amicable departure from the station." The Media Bureau did
       give weight to Creek Broadcasting's statement that there was a time
       that the public inspection file was deficient due to the acts of a
       former employee, and proposed a $1,000 forfeiture. In the present
       case, Lazer does not allege that the deficiencies in its public
       inspection file were caused by persons outside of its control;
       consequently, we find that Creek Broadcasting is not dispositive.

    7. Lazer further argues that in another case, Trustees of Davidson
       College, the Media Bureau reduced a proposed $10,000 forfeiture to
       $1,000 after Davidson College determined that three years of
       issues/programs lists were missing for only eight months, rather than
       three years as originally stated on the Davidson College renewal
       application for noncommercial education station WDAV(FM), Davidson,
       North Carolina, even though the files were misplaced and could not be
       located or reconstructed. Lazer argues that it is in a "better
       situation" than Davidson College as it was ultimately able to produce
       the missing lists which were "simply in a different part of the main
       studio during the inspection." We disagree. We first note that the
       missing quarterly issues/programs lists in Trustees of Davidson
       College were five years old or more at the time of the filing of the
       renewal application, as opposed to the issues/programs lists missing
       from the Lazer stations, which were all of the quarterly
       issues/programs lists required since the grant of the most recent
       renewals for the Lazer stations in 2005. More significantly, the Los
       Angeles agent inspected the Lazer stations' main studio on March 6,
       2007, and after conversations with Lazer staff, determined that all of
       the stations' required quarterly issues/programs list were missing.
       According to Lazer's Response to the NAL, Lazer did not attempt to
       locate the stations' missing issues and programs lists until May 30,
       2007, after the NAL was issued, when an administrative assistant for
       Lazer visited the main studio location and "located all of the issues
       and programs lists for all three stations." Lazer also stated in its
       Response that the "lists have been relocated to the first floor of our
       studio and are associated with the other items in our public files."
       In other words, almost three months passed after the Los Angeles
       Office inspection before Lazer located the missing issues and programs
       lists and associated them with rest of the stations' public inspection
       files. We also note that this effort was taken apparently only in
       response to the NAL. In Trustees of Davidson College, the violation
       was reported by the licensee, as part of the renewal process. In the
       present case, Lazer was notified of the violation by the Commission
       staff, and continued to fail to make any effort to rectify the
       violation until a monetary forfeiture was proposed. As the Commission
       has stated in the past, a licensee is expected to correct errors when
       they are brought to the licensee's attention and that such correction
       is not grounds for a downward adjustment in the forfeiture.

    8. Lazer also argues that it was not intentionally trying to deny access
       to its public files nor was it negligent in providing such access. To
       support this argument, Lazer cites to Citicasters in which the
       Commission's Media Bureau determined that a wait of one hour to see
       the public inspection file was not unreasonable as the delay was
       caused by "legitimate security procedures." While the Region did not
       find that Lazer intentionally denied access to the public inspection
       file, the delay that Lazer caused by failing to produce the missing
       issues/programs lists lasted far greater than one hour; according to
       the Lazer NAL Response, it lasted until May 30, 2007, almost three
       months after the violation. Therefore, we find no relevance to this
       argument.

    9. We have considered the arguments raised by the Lazer in its Petition
       and find they are unpersuasive. Therefore, we deny the Lazer's
       Petition, and affirm the Region's Forfeiture Order finding Lazer
       liable for a forfeiture in the amount of $8,000.

   IV. ORDERING CLAUSES

   10. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 405 of the
       Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 1.106 of the
       Commission's Rules, Lazer Licensees, LLC's Petition for
       Reconsideration, filed March 24, 2008, IS DENIED, and the  Region's
       Forfeiture Order  IS AFFIRMED.

   11. Payment of the forfeitures ordered by the Region and affirmed by this
       Memorandum Opinion and Order shall be made in the manner provided for
       in Section 1.80 of the Rules within 30 days of the release of this
       Order. If the forfeiture is not paid within the period specified, the
       case may be referred to the Department of Justice for collection
       pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Act.  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/Account Number and FRN Number referenced above. Payment by check
       or money order may be mailed to Federal Communications Commission,
       P.O. Box 979088, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000. Payment by overnight mail
       may be sent to U.S. Bank - Government Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-GL,
       1005 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63101. Payment by wire transfer
       may be made to ABA Number 021030004, receiving bank TREAS/NYC, and
       account number 27000001. For payment by credit card, an FCC Form 159
       (Remittance Advice) must be submitted.  When completing the FCC Form
       159, enter the NAL/Account number in block number 23A (call sign/other
       ID), and enter the letters "FORF" in block number 24A (payment type
       code). Requests for full payment under an installment plan should be
       sent to:  Chief Financial Officer -- Financial Operations, 445 12th
       Street, S.W., Room 1-A625, Washington, D.C.  20554.   Please contact
       the Financial Operations Group Help Desk at 1-877-480-3201 or Email:
       ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov with any questions regarding payment procedures. 

   12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Order shall be sent by regular mail
       and by certified mail, return receipt requested, to Lazer Licenses,
       LLC, at its address of record, and Harry C. Martin, its counsel of
       record.

   FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

   George R. Dillon

   Deputy Chief, Enforcement Bureau

   47 U.S.C. S: 405.

   47 C.F.R. S: 1.106.

   Lazer Licenses, LLC, 23 FCC Rcd 2589 (EB 2008) ("Forfeiture Order").

   47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526.

   Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, NAL/Acct. No. 200732900007
   (Enf. Bur., Western Region, Los Angeles Office, released May 17, 2007).

   Lazer requested, and received, an extension of time to file its Response.

   Forfeiture Order, 23 FCC Rcd at 2590 - 2591.

   Forfeiture Order, 23 FCC Rcd at 2591.

   Forfeiture Order, 23 FCC Rcd at 2591.

   See 47 C.F.R. S: 1.106(c); EZ Sacramento, Inc., 15 FCC Rcd 18257, (EB
   2000), citing WWIZ, Inc., 37 FCC 685, 686 (1964), aff'd sub. nom. Lorain
   Journal Co. v. FCC, 351 F.2d 824 (D.C. Cir. 1965), cert. denied, 383 U.S.
   967 (1966).

   EZ Sacramento, Inc., 15 FCC Rcd at 18257.

   Petition at 1.

   22 FCC Rcd 7083 (2007) ("Citadel").

   Petition at 3.

   In its Response to the NAL, Lazer produced the missing issue/programs
   lists.

   Citadel, 22 FCC Rcd at 7103.

   Creek Broadcasting Corporation, 22 FCC Rcd 18669 (MB 2007) ("Creek
   Broadcasting").

   Creek Broadcasting, 22 FCC Rcd at 18672.

   Trustees of Davidson College, 20 FCC Rcd 17190 (MB 2005) ("Trustees of
   Davidson College").

   See File No. BRED-20030801ANK, granted June 21, 2004.

   Petition at 4.

   Response at 1.

   Response at 1.

   AT&T Wireless Services, Inc. 17 FCC Rcd 21866, 21871-76 (2002).

   Citicasters Licenses, L.P., 22 FCC Rcd 19324 (MB 2007) ("Citicasters").

   Citicasters, 22 FCC Rcd at 19334.

   47 U.S.C. S: 405.

   47 C.F.R. S: 1.106.

   47 U.S.C. S: 504(a).

   Federal Communications Commission DA 08-2724

   2

   2

   Federal Communications Commission DA 08-2724