Sec. 73.3571  Processing of AM broadcast station applications.

    (a) Applications for AM broadcast facilities are divided into three 
groups.
    (1) In the first group are applications for new stations or for 
major changes in the facilities of authorized stations. A major change 
is any increase in power except where accompanied by a complimentary 
reduction of antenna efficiency which leads to the same amount, or less, 
radiation in all directions (in the horizontal and vertical planes when 
skywave propagation is involved, and in the horizontal plane only for 
daytime considerations), relative to the presently authorized radiation 
levels, or any change in frequency, hours of operation, or community of 
license. However, the FCC may, within 15 days after the acceptance for 
filing of any other application for modification of facilities, advise 
the applicant that such application is considered to be one for a major 
change and therefore is subject to the provisions of Secs. 73.3580 and 
1.1111 of this chapter pertaining to major changes.
    (2) The second group consists of applications for licenses and all 
other changes in the facilities of authorized stations.
    (3) The third group consists of applications for operation in the 
1605-1705 kHz band which are filed subsequent to Commission notification 
that allotments have been awarded to petitioners under the procedure 
specified in Sec. 73.30.
    (b) If an application is amended so as to effect a major change as 
defined in paragraph (a)(1) of this section or so as to result in a 
situation where the original party or parties to the application do not 
retain more than 50% ownership interest in the application as originally 
filed, Sec. 73.3580 will apply to such amended application.
    (c) Applications for new stations or for major changes in the 
facilities of authorized stations are processed as nearly as possible in 
the order in which they are filed. Such applications will be placed in 
the processing line in numerical sequence, and are drawn by the staff 
for study, the lowest file number first. Thus, the file number 
determines the order in which the staff's work is begun on a particular 
application or group of conflicting applications. In order that those 
applications which are entitled to be grouped for processing may be 
fixed prior to the time processing of the earliest filed application is 
begun, the FCC will periodically release a Public Notice listing 
applications which have been accepted for filing and announcing a date 
(not less than 30 days after release) on which the listed applications 
will be considered available and ready for processing and by which all 
mutually exclusive applications and/or petitions to deny the listed 
applications must be filed.
    (1) In order to grant a major or minor change application made 
contingent upon the grant of another licensee's request for a facility 
modification, the Commission will not consider mutually exclusive 
applications by other parties that would not protect the currently 
authorized facilities of the contingent applicants. Such major change 
applications remain, however, subject to the provisions of Secs. 73.3580 
and 1.1111. The Commission shall grant contingent requests for 
construction permits for station modifications only upon a finding that 
such action will promote the public interest, convenience and necessity.

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    (2) In addition to announcing the acceptance of mutually exclusive 
applications and establishing a date for the filing of petitions to deny 
such applications, the public notice referred to in paragraph (c) of 
this section will also announce the date on which all mutually exclusive 
applicants (including the previously accepted lead applicant) will be 
required to pay the hearing fee established in part 1 of these rules, 47 
CFR 1.1104(2)(c) of this chapter. The date for fee payment shall be at 
least 30 days after the date established for peitions to deny.
    (3) Whenever the public notice announces the acceptance of an 
application that is mutually exclusive with a renewal application, it 
shall also announce that the mutually exclusive applicants and the 
renewal applicant will be required to pay the hearing fee on the date 
established in the public notice.
    (d) Applications proposing to increase the power of an AM station 
are subject to the following requirements:
    (1) In order to be acceptable for filing, any application which does 
not involve a change in site must propose at least a 20% increase in the 
station's nominal power.
    (2) Applications involving a change in site are not subject to the 
requirements in paragraph (d)(1) of this section.
    (3) Applications for nighttime power increases for Class D stations 
are not subject to the requirements of this section and will be 
processed as minor changes.
    (4)  [Reserved]
    (5) The following special procedures will be followed in authorizing 
Class II-D daytime-only stations on 940 and 1550 kHz, and Class III 
daytime-only stations on the 41 regional channels listed in 
Sec. 73.26(a), to operate unlimited-time.
    (i) Each eligible daytime-only station in the foregoing categories 
will receive an Order to Show Cause why its license should not be 
modified to specify operation during nighttime hours with the facilities 
it is licensed to start using at local sunrise, using the power stated 
in the Order to Show Cause, that the Commission finds is the highest 
nighttime level--not exceeding 0.5 kW--at which the station could 
operate without causing prohibited interference to other domestic or 
foreign stations, or to co-channel or adjacent channel stations for 
which pending applications were filed before December 1, 1987.
    (ii) Stations accepting such modification shall be reclassified. 
Those authorized in such Show Cause Orders to operate during nighttime 
hours with a power of 0.25 kW or more, or with a power that, although 
less than 0.25 kW, is sufficient to enable them to attain RMS field 
strengths of 141 mV/m or more at 1 kilometer, shall be redesignated as 
Class II-B stations if they are assigned to 940 or 1550 kHz, and as 
unlimited-time Class III stations if they are assigned to regional 
channels.
    (iii) Stations accepting such modification that are authorized to 
operate during nighttime hours at powers less than 0.25 kW, and that 
cannot with such powers attain RMS field strengths of 141 mV/m or more 
at 1 kilometer, shall be redesignated as Class II-S stations if they are 
assigned to 940 or 1550 kHz, and as Class III-S stations if they are 
assigned to regional channels.
    (iv) Applications for new stations may be filed at any time on 940 
and 1550 kHz and on the regional channels. Also, stations assigned to 
940 or 1550 kHz, or to the regional channels, may at any time, 
regardless of their classifications, apply for power increases up to the 
maximum generally permitted. Such applications for new or changed 
facilities will be granted without taking into account interference 
caused to Class II-S or Class III-S stations, but will be required to 
show interference protection to other classes of stations, including 
stations that were previously classified as Class II-S or Class III-S, 
but were later reclassified as Class II-B or Class III unlimited-time 
stations as a result of subsequent facilities modifications that 
permitted power increases qualifying them to discountinue their ``S'' 
subclassification.
    (e) Applications other than those for new stations or for major 
changes in the facilities of authorized stations are not placed on the 
processing line but are processed as nearly as possible in the order in 
which they are filed.
    (f) Applications for change of license to change hours of operation 
of a Class

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C station, to decrease hours of operation of any other class of station, 
or to change station location involving no change in transmitter site 
will be considered without reference to the processing line.
    (g) If, upon examination, the FCC finds that the public interest, 
convenience and necessity will be served by the granting of an 
application, the same will be granted. If the FCC is unable to make such 
a finding and it appears that a hearing may be required, the procedure 
set forth in Sec. 73.3593 will be followed.
    (h) When an application which has been designated for hearing has 
been removed from the hearing docket, the application will be returned 
to its proper position (as determined by the file number) in the 
processing line. Whether or not a new file number will be assigned will 
be determined pursuant to paragraph (i) of this section, after the 
application has been removed from the hearing docket.
    (i)(1) A new file number will be assigned to an application for a 
new station, or for major changes in the facilities of an authorized 
station, when it is amended to change frequency, to increase power, to 
increase hours of operation, or to change station location. Any other 
amendment modifying the engineering proposal, except an amendment 
regarding the type of equipment specified, will also result in the 
assignment of a new file number unless such amendment is accompanied by 
a complete engineering study showing that the amendments would not 
involve new or increased interference problems with existing stations or 
other applications pending at the time the amendment is filed. If, after 
submission and acceptance of such an engineering amendment, subsequent 
examination indicates new or increased interference problems within 
either existing stations or other applications pending at the time the 
amendment was received at the FCC, the application will then be assigned 
a new file number and placed in the processing line according to the 
numerical sequence of the new file number.
    (2) A new file number will be assigned where an application for a 
new station is amended (whether by a single amendment or by a series of 
amendments) so as to result in a situation where the original party or 
parties to the application do not retain more than 50% ownership 
interest in the application as originally filed, and Sec. 73.3580 will 
apply to such amended application.
    (3) Where an amendment to an application would require a new file 
number pursuant to paragraph (j)(1) or (j)(2) of this section, the 
applicant will have an opportunity to withdraw the amendment at any time 
prior to designation for a hearing if applicable; and may be afforded, 
subject to the discretion of the Administrative Law Judge, an 
opportunity to withdraw the amendment after designation for a hearing.
    (4) An application for changes in the facilities of an existing 
station will continue to carry the same file number even though 
(pursuant to FCC approval) an assignment of license or transfer of 
control of said licensee or permittee has taken place if, upon 
consummation, the application is amended to reflect the new ownership.
    (j) When an application is reached for processing, and it is 
necessary to address a letter to the applicant asking further 
information, the application will not be processed until the information 
requested is received, and the application will be placed in the pending 
file to await the applicant's response.
    (k) When an application is placed in the pending file, the applicant 
will be notified of the reason for such action.

[ 44 FR 38501 , July 2, 1979;  44 FR 40311 , July 10, 1979, as amended at  46 FR 36852 , July 16, 1981;  49 FR 14745 , Apr. 13, 1984;  49 FR 32589 , Aug. 
15, 1984;  49 FR 48187 , Dec. 11, 1984;  50 FR 18848 , May 2, 1985;  50 FR 24522 , June 11, 1985;  52 FR 21311 , June 5, 1987;  53 FR 1032 , Jan. 15, 
1988;  54 FR 39534 , Sept. 27, 1989;  55 FR 19265 , May 9, 1990;  56 FR 795 , 
Jan. 9, 1991;  56 FR 64874 , Dec. 12, 1991;  61 FR 46563 , Sept. 4, 1996]