FCC Record, Volume 26, No. 19, Pages 14991 to 15893, October 24 - November 10, 2011 Page: 15,205
viii, 14991-15893 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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for the excess power level, a faulty remote control system, a defective transmitter power reading meter, and
a defective base current meter.
III. DISCUSSION
4. Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended ("Act"), provides that any
person who willfully or repeatedly fails to comply substantially with the terms and conditions of any license,
or willfully or repeatedly fails to comply with any of the provisions of the Act or of any rule, regulation, or
order issued by the Commission thereunder, shall be liable for a forfeiture penalty.4 Section 312(f)(1 ) of the
Act defines "willful" as the "conscious and deliberate commission or omission of [any] act, irrespective of
any intent to violate" the law.- The legislative history to section 312(t)(1) of the Act clarifies that this
definition of willful applies to both sections 312 and 503(b) of the Act," and the Commission has so
interpreted the term in the section 503(b) context.7 The Commission may also assess a forfeiture for
violations that are merely repeated, and not willful." The term "repeated" means the commission or omission
of such act more than once or for more than one day.'
5. The record in this case demonstrates that CRNI violated section 73.1745(a) of the Rules,
which states that no broadcast station shall operate at times, or with modes or power, other than those
specified and made part of the license, unless otherwise provided.' Station KPIO is licensed to operate with
18 watts at nighttime, and with 11 to 32 watts post-sunset and pre-sunrise, during the months of December
and January. As discussed above, on December 20 and 22, 2010, an agent observed that Station KPIO did
not reduce its operating power after sunset to its authorized level; and on January 5, 2011, an agent observed
that Station KPIO was not operating at its authorized reduced power before sunrise. The fact that Station
personnel were unaware that Station KPIO was not reducing power to its authorized level at night prior to the
January 5,2011, inspection by the Denver Office does not serve to excuse or mitigate the violation."
Accordingly, we find that Station KPIO was operating over its authorized nighttime, post-sunset and pre-
4 47 U.S.C. 503(b)
5 47 U.S.C. 312(1)(1).
SH.R. Rep. No. 97-765, 97"' Cong. 2d Sess. 51 (1982) ("This provision [inserted in section 312] defines the terms
willful' and 'repeated' for purposes of section 312, and for any other relevant section of the act (e.g., section 503)
.... As defined[,... 'willful' means that the licensee knew that he was doing the act in question, regardless of
whether there was an intent to violate the law. 'Repeated' means more than once, or where the act is continuous, for
more than one day. Whether an act is considered to be 'continuous' would depend upon the circumstances in each
case. The definitions are intended primarily to clarity the language in sections 312 and 503, and are consistent with
the Commission's application of those terms .... ").
SSee. e g . Southern ('alifornia Brodu/casting ('Co., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 6 FCC Red 4387. 4388 (1991).
See, eg.. (a/lais C('ablet'iion. Inc., Notice of Apparent Liability for Monetary Forfeiture, 16 FCC Red 1359, 1362,
para. 10 (2001) (proposing a forfeiture for, intier alia, a cable tele ision operator's repeated signal leakage).
SSection 312(t)(2) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. 312(t)(2), w hich also applies to violations for which forfeitures are
assessed under section 503(b) of the Act, provides that "[t]he term 'repeated', when used with reference to the
commission or omission of any act, means the commission or omission of such act more than once or, if such
commission or omission is continuous, for more than one day."
1)47 C.F.R. 73.1745(a).
SSee. e.g.. Ken th Paul Harris. Sr.. Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, 15 FCC Red 12933. 12935 (Enf.
Bur 2000) (subsequent history omitted; denying a mitigation claim of a broadcast licensee, stating that its ignorance
of the law did not excuse the unauthorized transfer of the station); Ahrwel Brouadasting Croup. Inc., Memorandum
Opinion and Order, 8 FCC Red 784, 784 (Mass Media Bur.) (denying a mitigation claim of a noncommercial
broadcast license, stating that the excuse of "inadxertenlel. due to inexperience and ignorance of the rules . . . are
not reasons to mitigate a forfeiture" fbr violation of the advertisement restrictions), recon. denied, Memorandum
Opinion and Order, 8 FCC Red 4322 (Mass Media Bur. 1993)15205
Federal Communications Commission
DA 11-1807
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United States. Federal Communications Commission. FCC Record, Volume 26, No. 19, Pages 14991 to 15893, October 24 - November 10, 2011, book, November 2011; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc133013/m1/229/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.