Sec. 73.3527  Local public inspection file of noncommercial educational 
          stations.

    (a) Records to be maintained. Every applicant for a construction 
permit for a new station in the noncommercial educational broadcast 
servcies shall maintain for public inspection a file containing the 
material in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. Every permittee or 
licensee of a station in the noncommercial educational broadcast 
services shall maintain for public inspection a file containing the 
material described in paragraphs (a) (1) through (9) of this section. 
The material to be contained in the file is as follows:
    (1) A copy of every application tendered for filing with respect to 
which local public notice is required to be given under the provisions 
of Sec. 73.3580 or Sec. 73.3594; and all exhibits, letters and other 
documents tendered for filing as part thereof, all amendments thereto, 
copies of all documents incorporated therein by reference, all 
correspondence between the FCC And the applicant pertaining to the 
application after

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it has been tendered for filing, and copies of Initial Decisions and 
Final Decisions in hearing cases pertaining thereto, which according to 
the provisions of Secs. 0.451 through 0.461 of the rules are open for 
public inspection at the offices of the FCC. Information incorporated by 
reference which is already in the local file need not be duplicated if 
the entry making the reference sufficiently identifies the information 
so that it may be found in the file, and if there has been no change in 
the document since the date of filing and the applicant, after making 
the reference, so states. If petitions to deny are filed against the 
application, and have been duly served on the applicant, a statement 
that such a petition has been filed shall appear in the local file 
together with the name and address of the party filing the petition.

    Note: Applications tendered for filing on or before May 13, 1965, 
which were subsequently designated for hearing after May 13, 1965, with 
local notice being given pursuant to the provisions of Sec. 73.3594, and 
material related to such applications, need not be placed in the file 
required to be kept by this section. Materials tendered for filing after 
May 13, 1965, which contain major amendments to applications tendered 
for filing on or before May 13, 1965, which local notice of the amending 
application being given pursuant to the provisions of Sec. 73.3580 need 
not be placed in the file required to be kept by this section.

    (2) A copy of every application tendered for filing by the licensee 
or permittee for such station after May 13, 1965, pursuant to the 
provisions of this part, which is not included in paragraph (a)(1) of 
this section and which involves changes in program service, which 
requests an extension of time in which to complete construction of a new 
station, or which requests consent to involuntary assignment or 
transfer, or to voluntary assignment or transfer not resulting in a 
substantial change in ownership or control and which may be applied for 
on FCC Form 316; and copies of all exhibits, letters, and other 
documents filed as part thereof, all amendments thereto, all 
correspondence between the FCC and the applicant pertaining to the 
application after it has been tendered for filing, and copies of all 
documents incorporated therein by reference, which according to the 
provisions of Secs. 0.451 through 0.461 of the rules are open for public 
inspection at the offices of the FCC. Information incorporated by 
reference which is already in the local file need not be duplicated if 
the entry making the reference sufficiently identifies the information 
so that it may be found in the file, and there has been no change in the 
document since the date of filing and the licensee, after making the 
reference so states. If petitions to deny are filed against the 
application, and have been duly served on the applicant, a statement 
that such a petition has been filed shall appear in the local file 
together with the name and address of the party filing the petition.

    Note: The engineering section of the applications mentioned in 
paragraphs (a) (1) and (2) of this section, and material related to the 
engineering section, need not be kept in the file required to be 
maintained by this paragraph. If such engineering section contains 
service contour maps submitted with that section, copies of such maps 
and information (State, county, city, street address, or other 
identifying information) showing main studio and transmitter location 
shall be kept in the file.

    (3) A copy of contracts listed in ownership reports filed in 
accordance with the provisions of Sec. 73.3615(e) and which according to 
the provisions of Secs. 0.451 through 0.461 of the rules are open for 
public inspection at the offices of the FCC. Information incorporated by 
reference which is already in the local file need not be duplicated if 
the enty making the reference sufficiently identifies the information so 
that it may be found in the file, and if there has been no change in the 
document since the date of filing and the licensee or permittee, after 
making the reference, so states.
    (4) Such records as are required to be kept by Sec. 73.1940, 
``Broadcasts by candidates for public office.
    (5) A copy of every annual employment report filed by the licensee 
or permittee for such station pursuant to the provisions of this Part; 
and copies of all exhibits, letters and other documents filed as part 
thereof, all amendments thereto, all correspondence between the 
permittee or licensee and the FCC pertaining to the reports after they 
have been filed and all documents incorporated therein by reference and

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which, according to the provisions of Secs. 0.451 through 0.461 of the 
rules, are open for public inspection at the office of the FCC.
    (6) The Public and Broadcasting: Revised Edition (see FCC 74-942,  39 FR 32288 , September 5, 1974).
    (7) For nonexempt noncommercial educational broadcast stations, 
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 list for each calendar quarter is to be filed by 
the tenth day of the succeeding calendar quarter (e.g. January 10 for 
the quarter October-December, April 10 for the quarter January-March, 
etc.). The list shall include a brief narrative describing what issues 
were given significant treatment and the programming that provided this 
treatment. The description of the programs should include, but is not 
limited to, the time, date, duration and title of each program in which 
the issue was treated.
    (8) The lists of donors supporting specific programs.
    (9) Each applicant for renewal of license shall, within 7 days of 
the last day of broadcast of the local public notice of filing 
announcements required pursuant to Sec. 73.3580(h), place in the 
station's public inspection file a statement certifying compliance with 
this requirement. The dates and times that the pre-filing and post-
filing notices were broadcast and the text thereof shall be made part of 
the certifying statement.
    (b) Responsibility in case of assignment or transfer. (1) In cases 
involving applications for consent to assignment of broadcast station 
construction permits or licenses, with respect to which public notice is 
required to be given under the provisions of Sec. 73.3580 or 
Sec. 73.3594, the file mentioned in paragraph (a) of this section shall 
be maintained by the assignor. If the assignment is consented to by the 
FCC, and consummated, the assignee shall maintain the file commencing 
with the date on which notice of the consummation of the assignment is 
filed with the FCC. The file maintained by the assignee shall cover the 
period both before and after the time when the notice of consummation of 
assignment was filed. The assignee is responsible for obtaining copies 
of the necessary documents from the assignor or from the FCC files.
    (2) In cases involving applications for consent to transfer of 
control of a permittee or licensee of a broadcast station, the file 
mentioned in paragraph (a) of this section shall be maintained by the 
permittee or licensee.
    (c) Station to which records pertain. The file need contain only 
applications, ownership reports, and related material that concern the 
station for which the file is kept. Applicants, permittees and licensees 
need not keep in the file copies of such applications, reports and 
material which pertain to other stations with regard to which they may 
be applicants, permittees, or licensees, except to the extent that such 
information is reflected in the materials required to be kept under the 
provisions of this section.
    (d) Location of records. The file shall be maintained at the main 
studio of the station, where such studio is located in the community to 
which the station is licensed or where such studio is located outside of 
the community of license pursuant to authorization granted under 
Sec. 73.1125(a) of the rules prior to July 16, 1987, or at any 
accessible place (such as a public registry for documents or an 
attorney's office) in the community to which the station is or is 
proposed to be licensed. The file shall be available for public 
inspection at any time during regular business hours.
    (e) Period of retention. The records specified in paragraph (a)(4) 
of this section shall be retained for the period specified in 
Sec. 73.1940 (two years). The manual specified in paragraph (a)(6) of 
this section shall be retained indefinitely. The issues/programs list 
specified (a)(7) shall be retained for the term of the license (5 years 
and 7 years for TV and radio respectively). The donor lists specified in 
paragraph (a)(8) of this section shall be retained for two years. The 
certification specified in paragraph (a)(9) of this section shall be 
retained for the period specified in Sec. 73.3580 (for as long as the 
application to which it refers). The records specified in paragraphs 
(a)(1), (2), (3), and (5)

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of this section must be retained as follows:
    (1) The applicant for a construction permit for a new station shall 
maintain such a file so long as the proceeding in which that application 
was filed is pending before the FCC or any proceeding involving that 
application is pending before the courts. (If the application is 
granted, paragraph (e)(2) of this section shall apply.)
    (2) The permittee or licensee shall maintain such a file so long as 
an authorization to operate the station is outstanding, and shall permit 
public inspection of the material as long as it is retained by the 
licensee even though the request for inspection is made after the 
conclusion of the required retention period specified in this paragraph. 
However, material which is voluntarily retained after the required 
retention time may be kept in a form and place convenient to the 
licensee and shall be made available to the inquiring party, in good 
faith after written request, at a time and place convenient to both the 
party and the licensee.
    Applications and related material placed in the file shall be 
retained for a period beginning with the date that they are tendered for 
filing and ending with the expiration of one license term (five (5) 
years for television licensees or seven (7) years for radio licensees) 
or until the grant of the first renewal application of the television or 
radio broadcast license in question, whichever is later, with two 
exceptions:
    (i) Engineering material pertaining to a former mode of operation 
need not be retained longer than 3 years after a station commences 
operation under a new or modified mode; and
    (ii) Material having a substantial bearing on a matter which is the 
subject of a claim against the licensee, or relating to an FCC 
investigation or a complaint to the FCC of which the licensee has been 
advised, shall be retained until the licensee is notified in writing 
that the material may be discarded, or, if the matter is a private one, 
the claim has been satisfied or is barred by statutes of limitations. 
Where an application or related material incorporates by reference 
material in an earlier application and material concerning programming 
and related matters (section IV and related material), the material so 
referred to shall be retained as long as the application referring to 
it.
    (f) Copies of any material required to be in the public file of any 
applicant for a construction permit, or permittee or licensee of any 
noncommercial educational TV or radio station shall be available for 
machine reproduction upon request made in person, provided the 
requesting party shall pay the reasonable costs of reproduction. 
Requests for machine copies shall be fulfilled at a location specified 
by the applicant, permittee or licensee, within a reasonable period of 
time which, in no event, shall be longer than seven days unless 
reproduction facilities are unavailable in the applicant's, permittee's 
or licensee's community. The applicant, permittee or licensee is not 
required to honor requests made by mail but may do so if it chooses.
    (g) Noncommercial television stations requesting mandatory carriage 
on any cable system pursuant to Sec. 76.56 of this chapter shall place a 
copy of such request in its public file and shall retain both the 
request and relevant correspondence for the duration of any period to 
which the statement applies.

[ 50 FR 8632 , Mar. 4, 1985, as amended at  53 FR 15225 , Apr. 28, 1988;  53 FR 17047 , May 13, 1988;  53 FR 32901 , Aug. 29, 1988;  59 FR 62344 , Dec. 5, 
1994]

    Effective Date Note:  At  59 FR 62344 , Dec. 5, 1994, Sec. 73.3527 was 
amended by adding paragraph (g). Paragraph (g) contains information 
collection and recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective 
until approval has been given by the Office of Management and Budget.