This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: December 31, 2022 to January 6, 2023
Helen Saulnier
4 min read
In this article are some of the regulatory developments of importance to broadcasters from the earlier week, with back links to where by you can go to discover extra info as to how these steps may perhaps have an impact on your operations.
- In a General public Recognize introduced late on Friday, the FCC’s Media Bureau prolonged the deadline for the upload of Quarterly Difficulties Packages lists to the online general public inspection file of complete-ability broadcast stations. These experiences have been because of to be uploaded by January 10 but, as the FCC’s on the internet public inspection file procedure has been suffering from specialized complications in the new yr, the Media Bureau prolonged the deadline to January 31, 2023.
- The President renominated Gig Sohn for the vacant Commissioner’s seat on the FCC (nomination contained in the listing, listed here). She was at first nominated in 2021, but her nomination was not accredited by the Senate just before the past session of Congress finished at the end December, and she so had to be renominated. It is unclear when the Senate will take into consideration the nomination and regardless of whether the actions taken to consider her nomination in the prior Congress (like general public hearings) will need to have to be repeated.
- On our Broadcast Law Site, we posted an write-up listing many of the concerns that will be facing the FCC in the new yr, and some of the problems that may be impacted by when the new Commissioner is accepted by the Senate.
- The Federal Trade Commission issued a Observe of Proposed Rulemaking which would ban non-contend agreements in all employment contracts (apart from wherever associated to the sale of a business enterprise)(FTC “Fact Sheet” listed here). The proposed rule would implement to any settlement that has the exact effect as a noncompete arrangement, like broad nondisclosure agreements that would preclude a employee from working in their industry at a new company, or deal clauses that involve an personnel to repay a company for training prices if the employee leaves the business. The proposed regulations would also involve that current contracts be amended to exclude any noncompete language, and staff would have to be educated that any noncompete language is no longer enforceable. The proposed rule would apply not just to staff of a firm, but also to unbiased contractors, interns, and other folks carrying out do the job for a firm. Remarks will be thanks 60 days immediately after the publication of the See of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Sign-up.
- The FCC’s General public Basic safety and Homeland Protection Bureau issued a General public Detect saying that the EAS Take a look at Reporting System (ETRS) is now open for the submitting of ETRS Kind One, with a deadline for submission of February 28, 2023. ETRS is utilized to report on the benefits of nationwide EAS assessments which evaluate the capability of the President to get an alert out to the complete nation. ETRS Kind Just one requests essential data about call individuals at a station, the product of EAS equipment used, and monitoring assignments under the legacy EAS procedure. The Bureau describes that it is critical that EAS Participants confirm that the data they enter is correct and that they correct any previous submitting glitches. There was no nationwide EAS examination for the duration of 2022 and, whilst FEMA has not declared a examination date for 2023, a person is anticipated. See the posting on our Broadcast Law Site, here, for additional details.
- President Biden signed the Low Energy Safety Act, which directs the FCC to start off a proceeding to give LPTV stations Class A position if they have delivered 3 hrs of regional programming for every 7 days in the 90 days prior to the enactment of the legislation. Class A position implies that the stations are safeguarded from interference from any new total-electricity Tv set station or other spectrum user. To qualify, the LPTV station ought to be in a DMA with not additional than 95,000 households. That is around DMA 175 and scaled-down.
- The FCC’s adjustment of the highest sum of FCC fines was published in the Federal Sign up this week, location the successful date of these maximize as January 15, 2023. The FCC’s Purchase altering these penalties noted that, for most violations, after the successful date of these raises, a great shall not exceed $59,316 for each violation or each working day of a continuing violation, with a utmost overall high-quality for any continuing violation not to exceed $593,170. For fines involving indecency, the fines can be up to $479,945 for each individual violation or each day of a continuing violation, with a most for a continuing violation of $4,430,255 for any single act. For violations of the principles prohibiting pirate radio operations, the high-quality can be as a lot as $115,802 for every working day not to exceed a full of $2,316,034.
- The Online video Division of the Media Bureau issued a record of LPTV and Tv translator stations in Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington Point out that did not well timed file license renewal programs by the October 3, 2022 deadline. The licenses for these stations (and their operating authority) will expire on February 1, 2023 if no software is on file by that day.
