59864 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 185 / Wednesday, September 23, 2020 / Rules and Regulations FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS C. Congressional Review Act II. Report and Order COMMISSION 2. The Commission has determined, A. Allocating FTEs 47 CFR Part 1 and the Administrator of the Office of 5. In the FY 2020 NPRM, the Information and Regulatory Affairs, Commission proposed that non-auctions [MD Docket No. 20–105; FCC 20–120; FRS Office of Management and Budget, funded FTEs will be classified as direct 17050] concurs that these rules are non-major only if in one of the four core bureaus, under the Congressional Review Act, 5 i.e., in the Wireline Competition Assessment and Collection of U.S.C. 804(2). The Commission will Bureau, the Wireless Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2020 send a copy of this Report & Order to Telecommunications Bureau, the Media Congress and the Government Bureau, or the International Bureau. The AGENCY: Federal Communications indirect FTEs are from the following Commission. Accountability Office pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). bureaus and offices: Enforcement ACTION: Final rule. Bureau, Consumer and Governmental 3. In this Report and Order, we adopt Affairs Bureau, Public Safety and SUMMARY: In this document, the a schedule to collect the $339,000,000 Homeland Security Bureau, Chairman Commission revises its Schedule of in congressionally required regulatory and Commissioners’ offices, Office of Regulatory Fees to recover an amount of fees for fiscal year (FY) 2020. The the Managing Director, Office of General $339,000,000 that Congress has required regulatory fees for all payors are due in Counsel, Office of the Inspector General, the Commission to collect for fiscal year September 2020. In future rulemaking, Office of Communications Business 2020. Section 9 of the Communications we will seek comment on regulatory fee Opportunities, Office of Engineering Act of 1934, as amended, provides for subcategories for FY 2021, for and Technology, Office of Legislative the annual assessment and collection of nongeostationary orbit (NGSO) Affairs, Office of Workplace Diversity, regulatory fees under sections 9(b)(2) satellites, as proposed by several Office of Media Relations, Office of and 9(b)(3), respectively. commenters. Economics and Analytics, and Office of DATES: Effective September 23, 2020. To 4. Earlier this year, in the 2020 Administrative Law Judges, along with avoid penalties and interest, regulatory Regulatory Fee Reform Order (85 FR some employees in the Wireline fees should be paid by the due date of Competition Bureau and the 37364 (June 22, 2020)), we adopted September 25, 2020. International Bureau that the several reforms regarding non-U.S. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Commission previously classified as licensed space stations with U.S. market indirect. Roland Helvajian, Office of Managing access grants, the apportionment of full Director at (202) 418–0444. 6. We will continue to apportion time equivalents (FTEs) within the regulatory fees across fee categories SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a International Bureau for international based on the number of direct FTEs in summary of the Commission’s Report bearer circuits and satellite issues, the each core bureau and the proportionate and Order, FCC 20–120, MD Docket No. apportionment of FTEs within the number of indirect FTEs and to take into 20–105, adopted and released on August Satellite Division of the International account factors that are reasonably 31, 2020. The full text of this document Bureau for geostationary orbit (GSO) related to the payor’s benefits. In sum, is available for public inspection by and NGSO space station regulatory fee, there were 311 direct FTEs for FY 2020, downloading the text from the and we adopted a limitation on distributed among the core bureaus as Commission’s website at http:// population counts for certain very high follows: International Bureau (28), transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_ frequency (VHF) television broadcast Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Business/2017/db0906/FCC-17- stations. In the accompanying FY 2020 (73), Wireline Competition Bureau (94), 111A1.pdf. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and the Media Bureau (116). This I. Administrative Matters (85 FR 32256 (May 28, 2020)), we results in 9.00% of the FTE allocation for International Bureau regulatees; A. Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis sought comment on a proposed fee schedule and also on certain issues for 23.47% of the FTE allocation for 1. As required by the Regulatory International Bureau and Media Bureau Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), the regulatees. Specifically, we sought regulatees; 30.23% of the FTE allocation Commission has prepared a Final comment on a schedule of proposed for Wireline Competition Bureau Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) regulatory fees as well as certain issues: regulatees; and 37.30% of FTE allocation for Media Bureau regulatees. relating to this Report and Order. The Adjusting the allocation of international There are 911 indirect FTEs that are FRFA is located at the end of this bearer circuit (IBC) fees between document. allocated proportionally to the 311 submarine cable and terrestrial and direct FTEs: Enforcement Bureau (181), B. Final Paperwork Reduction Act of satellite IBCs from 87.6%–12.4% to Consumer and Governmental Affairs 1995 Analysis 95%–5%; combining the submarine Bureau (113), Public Safety and 2. This document does not contain cable regulatory fee tiers with new tiers Homeland Security Bureau (89), part of new or modified information collection for terrestrial and satellite IBCs in a the International Bureau (56), part of the requirements subject to the Paperwork unified tier structure; basing full-power Wireline Competition Bureau (38), Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public broadcast television fees on the Chairman and Commissioners’ offices Law 104–13. In addition, therefore, it population covered by the station’s (23), Office of the Managing Director does not contain any new or modified contour; and continuing to increase the (132), Office of General Counsel (70), information collection burden for small direct broadcast satellite (DBS) Office of the Inspector General (45), business concerns with fewer than 25 regulatory fees by 12 cents, to 72 cents, Office of Communications Business employees, pursuant to the Small per subscriber, per year. In addition, we Opportunities (8), Office of Engineering Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, sought comment on economic effects and Technology (72), Office of Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. due to the COVID–19 pandemic on Legislative Affairs (8), Office of 3506(c)(4). regulatory fee payors. Workforce Diversity (6), Office of Media VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:29 Sep 22, 2020 Jkt 250001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\23SER2.SGM 23SER2 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES2 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 185 / Wednesday, September 23, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 59865 Relations (14), Office of Economics and providers, AT&T and DISH Network, are adjust the date of the MVPD subscriber Analytics (53), and Office of multichannel video programming count snapshot. Administrative Law Judges (3). distributors (MVPDs). In 2015, the C. Television Broadcaster Regulatory Allocating these indirect FTEs based on Commission adopted an initial Fees the direct FTE allocations yields an regulatory fee for DBS, as a subcategory additional 82.0 FTEs attributable to in the cable television and internet 11. Historically, regulatory fees for International Bureau regulatees, 213.8 protocol (IPTV) category. The full-power television stations were FTEs attributable to Wireless Commission then phased in the new based on the Nielsen Designated Market Telecommunications Bureau regulatees, Media Bureau-based regulatory fee for Area (DMA) groupings 1–10, 11–25, 26– 275.4 FTEs attributable to Wireline DBS, starting at 12 cents per subscriber 50, 51–100, and remaining markets Competition Bureau regulatees, and per year. For FY 2020, the Commission (DMAs 101–210. In the FY 2018 Report 339.8 FTEs attributable to Media Bureau proposed to increase the fee to 72 cents and Order (83 FR 47079 (Sept. 18, regulatees. per subscriber, per year. 2018)), we adopted a new methodology 7. As in prior years, broadcasters have 9. AT&T and DISH—the two DBS that would transition from a blended fee taken issue with the Commission’s operators in the United States—claim based methodology to one that is based practice of allocating costs associated that the proposed fee increase of 12 entirely on population. Accordingly, we with indirect FTEs in proportion to each cents is not ‘‘because the nation’s two now adopt FY 2020 fees for full-power core bureau’s direct FTEs. Broadcasters DBS providers have caused the broadcast television stations based on suggest that the methodology should Commission to incur significant full- the population covered by a full-power instead consider whether the functions time equivalent (‘FTE’) employee costs broadcast television station’s contour. of specific indirect FTEs benefit specific commensurate with this calculation, but Table 9 lists this population data for regulatory fee payors. We affirm the rather because the Commission each licensee and the population-based findings in our FY 2019 regulatory fee apparently desires regulatory fee parity fee (population multiplied by $.007837) proceeding, where we explained in between cable operators and DBS for each full-power broadcast television detail