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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 167 / Wednesday, September 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules Business Administration SBA.59 In addition, the NPRM and IRFA or summaries thereof will be published in the Federal Register.60
Need for, and Objectives of, the Proposed Rules While the agency has strived to update its guidance to reflect changes in law and campaign practices, it has not undertaken a formal review to update the political programming and recordkeeping rules since 1991.61 Given the substantial growth of political media messaging in recent years,62 the updates proposed in this item are intended to conform our rules with statutory amendments, reflect existing practices and guidance,63 and account for modern campaign practices.
Sections 312a7 and 315 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended Act, set forth the political programming obligations of broadcast licensees and other Commission regulatees.64 Section 312a7 requires 59 5

U.S.C. 603a.

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60 Id.
61 Codification of the Commissions Political Programming Policies, MM Docket No. 91168, Report and Order, 7 FCC Rcd 678 1991 1991
Political Programming Order.
62 John Haltiwanger, Americans are Already Exhausted with the 2020 Election, and its Just Getting Started. Other Countries Have Laws Limited the Length of Campaigns Feb. 10, 2020, https
www.businessinsider.com/us-presidential-electionsare-absurdly-long-compared-rest-of-world-2020-2
explaining that the 2020 U.S. Presidential election would last approximately 1,194 days; Karl EversHillstrom, Most Expensive Ever: 2020 Election Cost $14.4 Billion Feb. 11, 2021, https
www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/02/2020-cyclecost-14p4-billion-doubling-16/ 2020 campaign spending doubled the amount in 2016.
63 The Commission has a longstanding practice of providing informal guidance to broadcasters and other regulatees regarding their political programming and related recordkeeping obligations and working with industry representatives to foster compliance.
64 47 U.S.C. 312a7, 315. The Commission has concluded that section 312a7 does not apply to cable operators. 1991 Political Programming Order, 7 FCC Rcd at 679, para. 4. Section 315c of the Act defines the term broadcasting station as including cable television systems and the terms licensee and station licensee as including cable operators.
47 U.S.C. 315c For purposes of this section1
the term broadcasting station includes a community antenna television system; and 2 the terms licensee and station licensee when used with respect to a community antenna television system mean the operator of such system.. Thus, the requirements of section 315 apply to cable operators as well as broadcast licensees. In 1997, the Commission extended the political programming provisions in sections 312a7 and 315 of the Act to SDARS licensees. Establishment of Rules and Policies for the Digital Audio Radio Satellite Service in the 23102360 MHz Frequency Band, IB Docket No. 9591, Gen. Docket No. 90
357, Report and Order Memorandum Opinion and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,
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broadcast licensees to give legally qualified candidates for federal office reasonable access to their facilities, or to permit them to purchase reasonable amounts of time. 65 Under section 315a, if a broadcast licensee, cable operator, or other regulatee permits one legally qualified candidate for a public office to use its station, it must afford all other candidates for that office an equal opportunity to use the station.66
Section 315b provides that, during certain periods before an election, legally qualified candidates are entitled to the lowest unit charge of the station or cable system for the same class and amount of time for the same period. 67
The entitlements embodied in sections 312a7 and 315 of the Act are available only to persons who have achieved the status of legally qualified candidate. 68
Section 73.1940 of the Commissions rules defines who is a legally qualified candidate for public office. 69
Generally, an individual seeking election other than for President or Vice President must publicly announce his or her intention to run for office,70
must be qualified to hold the office for which he or she is a candidate,71 and must have qualified for a place on the ballot or have publicly committed himself or herself to seeking election by 12 FCC Rcd 5754, 5792, para. 92 1997; 47 CFR
25.702ab. In 1998, in accordance with section 335 of the Act, 47 U.S.C. 335, the Commission established rules applying the political programming rules in sections 312a7 and 315 of the Act to DBS service providers. Implementation of Section 25 of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, Direct Broadcast Satellite Public Interest Obligations, MM
Docket No. 93205, Report and Order, 13 FCC Rcd 23254 1998 DBS Public Interest Obligations Report and Order, recon. denied, Memorandum Opinion and Order on Reconsideration of the First Report and Order, 19 FCC Rcd 5854 2003 Order on ReconsIderation, Order on ReconsIderation vacated and superseded by Second Order on Reconsideration of First Report and Order, 19 FCC
Rcd 5647 2004 DBS Public Interest Obligations Sua Sponte ReconsIderation; 47 CFR 25.701bd.
65 47 U.S.C. 312a7. See 47 CFR 73.1944.
66 47 U.S.C. 315a. See 47 CFR 73.1941, 76.205.
67 47 U.S.C. 315b. See 47 CFR 73.1942, 76.206.
68 While section 312a7 applies only to legally qualified candidates for federal office, section 315
applies to all candidates for elective office, whether federal, state, or local.
69 47 CFR 73.1940. Section 76.5q of the Commissions rules includes an identical definition of legally qualified candidates for public office used for purposes of the political programming rules governing cable systems. Id. 76.5q. The definition of legally qualified candidates for public office set forth in section 73.1940 also applies for purposes of the political programming obligations of DBS providers and SDARS licensees. Id.
25.701b1, 25.702a.
70 Id. 73.1940a1.
71 Id. 73.1940a2.

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the write-in method.72 If seeking election by the write-in method, the individual, in addition to being eligible under applicable law to be a write-in candidate, must make a substantial showing that he or she is a bona fide candidate for the office being sought.73
Section 73.1940f of the Commissions rules specifies the requirements to demonstrate a substantial showing of a bona fide candidacy by providing a nonexclusive list of activities commonly associated with political campaigning.
The political recordkeeping requirements serve to reinforce the statutory protections for political programming. The Commission first adopted rules requiring broadcast stations to maintain public inspection files documenting requests for political advertising time more than 80 years ago.77 It is crucial that stations maintain political files that are complete and up to date because the information in them directly affects, among other things, the statutory rights of opposing candidates to request equal opportunities under section 315a of the Act and present their positions to the public prior to an election.74 Additionally, these files enable the public to verify that licensees have complied with their obligations relating to use of their facilities by candidates for political office and to obtain information about entities sponsoring candidate and issue advertisements.75 The Commission also has applied political file rules to cable television system operators,76 DBS

72 Id. 73.1940a3, 73.1940b1, and 73.1940b2.
73 Id. 73.1940b2.
77 See 3 FR 1691 1938.
74 Pursuant to section 73.1941c of the Rules, candidates have one week from an opponents initial use to request equal opportunities. 47 CFR
73.1941c. The failure by a station to promptly upload information about each use denies requesting candidates the notice they need to assert their statutory rights to equal opportunities in a timely manner. Standardized and Enhanced Disclosure Requirements for Television Broadcast Licensee Public Interest Obligations, MM Docket Nos. 00168 and 0044, Second Report and Order, 27 FCC Rcd 4535, 4562, para. 55 2012.
75 Review of the Commissions Rules Regarding the Main Studio and Local Public Inspection Files of Broadcast Television and Radio Stations, MM
Docket No. 97138, Report and Order, 13 FCC Rcd 15691, 15716, para. 54 1998.
76 Amendment of Part 76 of the Commissions Rules and Regulations Relative to Obligations of Cable Television Systems to Maintain Public Inspection Files and Permit System Inspections, Docket No. 19948, Report and Order, 48 FCC 2d 72, para. 1 1974; 47 CFR 76.1701.

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