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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
)
In the Matter of ) File No.: EB-11-DL-0014
The L.R. Radio Group, Inc. ) NAL/Acct. No.: 201232500004
Licensee of Station KPIR ) FRN: 0018390310
Granbury, Texas ) Facility ID # 30195
)
NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY FOR FORFEITURE AND ORDER
Adopted: February 7, 2012 Released: February 7, 2012
By the District Director, Dallas Office, South Central Region, Enforcement
Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order (NAL),
we find that The L.R. Radio Group, Inc. (L&R), licensee of Station
KPIR, in Granbury, Texas, apparently willfully and repeatedly violated
Section 73.3526 of the Commission's rules (Rules) by failing to
maintain and make available a complete public inspection file. We
conclude that L&R is apparently liable for a forfeiture in the amount
of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). In addition, no later than thirty
(30) calendar days from the date of this NAL, L&R must submit a
statement signed under penalty of perjury by an officer or director of
L&R that Station KPIR is maintaining a complete public inspection
file.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On May 17, 2011, an agent from the Enforcement Bureau's Dallas Office
(Dallas Office) inspected Station KPIR's main studio during regular
business hours. The agent requested to inspect Station KPIR's public
inspection file, but the station was only able to produce a folder of
advertisements and marketing material. The station was unable to
produce any issues/programs lists, service contour map, ownership
reports, or the most recent Public and Broadcasting. There was no
evidence that the station had ever maintained any of these items in
its public inspection file.
III. DISCUSSION
3. 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. Section 312(f)(1) of the Act defines willful as the
"conscious and deliberate commission or omission of [any] act,
irrespective of any intent to violate" the law. The legislative
history to Section 312(f)(1) of the Act clarifies that this definition
of willful applies to both Sections 312 and 503(b) of the Act, and the
Commission has so interpreted the term in the Section 503(b) context.
The Commission may also assess a forfeiture for violations that are
merely repeated, and not willful. The term "repeated" means the
commission or omission of such act more than once or for more than one
day.
A. Public Inspection File Violation
4. Section 73.3526 of the Rules states that "[e]very permittee or
licensee of an AM, FM, TV or a Class A station in the commercial
broadcast services shall maintain a public inspection file containing
the material" set forth in that section. Section 73.3526(e)(12) of
the Rules states that commercial AM and FM broadcast stations must
retain in the file "every three months a list of programs that have
provided the station's most significant treatment of community issues
during the preceding three month period. [ . . . ] The lists described
in this paragraph shall be retained in the public inspection file
until final action has been taken on the station's next license
renewal application." Sections 73.3526(e)(4), (e)(5) and (e)(8) of the
Rules state that a copy of any service contour maps submitted with
application, the most recent, complete ownership report, and the most
recent version of the manual entitled "The Public and Broadcasting"
shall be placed in the public inspection file. The public inspection
file must be maintained at the main studio of the station, and must be
available for public inspection at any time during regular business
hours.
5. On May 17, 2011, an agent from the Dallas Office requested to inspect
Station KPIR's public inspection file during regular business hours,
but the station was unable to make available a complete public
inspection file. The station was unable to produce any issues/programs
lists, contour maps, a current ownership reports, or the most recent
"The Public and Broadcasting" manual. There was no evidence that the
station had ever maintained these items in its public inspection file.
Based on the evidence before us, we find that L&R apparently
willfully and repeatedly violated Section 73.3526 of the Rules by
failing to maintain and make available a complete public inspection
file.
A. Proposed Forfeiture Amount and Reporting Requirement
6. Pursuant to the Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Section
1.80 of the Rules, the base forfeiture amount for failing to comply
with 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)(E) of the Act, which include
the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violations, 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. Applying the Forfeiture Policy Statement, Section 1.80 of
the Rules, and the statutory factors to the instant case, we conclude
that L&R is apparently liable for a forfeiture of $10,000.
7. We direct L&R to submit a written statement, pursuant to Section 1.16
of the Rules, signed under penalty of perjury by an officer or
director of L&R, stating that Station KPIR is maintaining and making
available a complete public inspection file. This statement must be
provided to the Dallas Office at the address listed in paragraph 12
within thirty (30) calendar days of the release date of this NAL.
IV. ORDERING CLAUSES
8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Sections 0.111, 0.204,
0.311, 0.314 and 1.80 of the Commission's rules, The L.R. Radio Group,
Inc. is hereby NOTIFIED of this APPARENT LIABILITY FOR A FORFEITURE in
the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for violations of
Section 73.3526 of the Commission's rules.
9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 1.80 of the
Commission's rules within thirty (30) calendar days of the release
date of this Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order,
The L.R. Radio Group, Inc. SHALL PAY the full amount of the proposed
forfeiture or SHALL FILE a written statement seeking reduction or
cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that The L.R. Radio Group, Inc. SHALL SUBMIT a
statement as described in paragraph 7 to the Dallas Office within
thirty (30) calendar days of the release date of this Notice of
Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order.
11. Payment of the forfeiture must be made by credit card, check or
similar instrument, payable to the order of the Federal Communications
Commission. The payment must include the Account Number and FRN
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. If you have questions regarding payment
procedures, please contact the Financial Operations Group Help Desk at
1-877-480-3201 or Email: ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov. The L.R. Radio Group,
Inc. will send electronic notification on the date said payment is
made to SCR-Response@fcc.gov.
12. The written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the
proposed forfeiture, if any, must include a detailed factual statement
supported by appropriate documentation and affidavits pursuant to
Sections 1.80(f)(3) and 1.16 of the Rules. Mail the written statement
to Federal Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, South
Central Region, Dallas Office, 9330 LBJ Freeway, Suite 1170, Dallas,
TX 75243, and must include the NAL/Acct. No. referenced in the
caption. The L.R. Radio Group, Inc. also shall email the written
response to SCR-Response@fcc.gov.
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. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Notice of Apparent Liability
for Forfeiture and Order shall be sent by both Certified Mail, Return
Receipt Requested, and regular mail, to The L.R. Radio Group, Inc. at
1620 Weatherford Highway, Granbury, Texas 76048.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
James D. Wells
District Director
Dallas Office
South Central Region
Enforcement Bureau
47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526.
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b).
47 U.S.C. S: 312(f)(1).
H.R. Rep. No. 97-765, 97th Cong. 2d Sess. 51 (1982) ("This provision
[inserted in section 312] defines the terms `willful' and `repeated' for
purposes of section 312, and for any other relevant section of the act
(e.g., section 503) . . . . As defined[,] . . . `willful' means that the
licensee knew that he was doing the act in question, regardless of whether
there was an intent to violate the law. `Repeated' means more than once,
or where the act is continuous, for more than one day. Whether an act is
considered to be `continuous' would depend upon the circumstances in each
case. The definitions are intended primarily to clarify the language in
sections 312 and 503, and are consistent with the Commission's application
of those terms . . . .").
See, e.g., Application for Review of Southern California Broadcasting Co.,
Memorandum Opinion and Order, 6 FCC Rcd 4387, 4388 (1991) (Southern
California Broadcasting Co.).
See, e.g., Callais Cablevision, Inc., Notice of Apparent Liability for
Monetary Forfeiture, 16 FCC Rcd 1359, 1362 para. 10 (2001) (Callais
Cablevision, Inc.) (proposing a forfeiture for, inter alia, a cable
television operator's repeated signal leakage).
Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC Rcd at 4388, para. 5; Callais
Cablevision, Inc., 16 FCC Rcd at 1362, para. 9.
47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526(a)(2).
47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526(e)(12).
47 C.F.R. S:S: 73.3526(e)(4), (e)(5), (e)(8).
47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526(b).
47 C.F.R. S: 73.3526(c).
The Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80
of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines, Report and Order,
12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997) (Forfeiture Policy Statement), recon. denied, 15
FCC Rcd 303 (1999); 47 C.F.R. S: 1.80.
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b)(2)(E).
47 C.F.R. S: 1.16.
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b); 47 C.F.R. S:S: 0.111, 0.204, 0.311, 0.314, 1.80,
73.3526.
See 47 C.F.R. S: 1.1914.
47 C.F.R. S:S: 1.16, 1.80(f)(3).
(...continued from previous page)
(continued....)
Federal Communications Commission DA 12-136
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Federal Communications Commission DA 12-136