Yesterday, we wrote about upcoming deadlines for broadcasters, and noted that the FCC was going to be releasing an order providing further details on the deadlines for pleadings and other documents that were due during the government shutdown. That Public Notice was released on Tuesday, and further postponed many filing deadlines which fell during the shutdown. Filings that were due at the very beginning of the shutdown, from January 3-7, will still be due today, January 30, as noted in prior FCC releases. However, for documents due January 8 and after (in fact, through February 7), the new filing deadline will now be February 8. There is also a new deadline for updates to the online public file, including the Quarterly Issues Programs lists that were due in station’s public inspection filed by January 10, which will now be due by February 11. Quarterly Children’s Television reports to be filed at the FCC would presumably be due on the 8th, with other children’s television documents (including information about compliance with advertising limits in children’s programs), which are only placed in the public file, would have the February 11 deadline. Comments in proceedings such as the FCC’s proceeding on Class A AM stations will be covered by the new February 8 filing deadline. Responsive pleadings addressing any of the documents extended by this FCC order will also be extended to follow these new revised filing deadlines.
At the same time, the FCC announced that it would move the date of its February meeting up one week – the be held on February 14. The agenda for that February meeting is here – addressing all the issues that had been teed up for the January meeting. The January 30 meeting (now scheduled to begin at 12:30 pm ET) will end up being comprised of nothing more than announcements. For broadcasters, as we wrote yesterday, the FCC will likely abolish the need for filing the FCC Form 397 EEO mid-term report at its February 14 meeting. The FCC will also vote on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking looking at the process for issuing new construction permits to noncommercial broadcast stations and LPFMs. Presumably, the February 14 date was to insure that the meeting would occur before the next potential shutdown, which could occur on February 15 if no budget deal is reached. So, for now, broadcasters have some more time to file documents that were delayed by this year’s first government shutdown.
Updated; 1/30/2019, 10:10 AM to note the different deadline for public file updates.
