Federal Communications Commission	DA 22-72


DA 22-72
Released:  January 21, 2022

TV BROADCASTER RELOCATION FUND INVOICE FILING DEADLINE 
APPROACHES IN SIXTY DAYS

MB Docket No. 16-306
GN Docket No. 12-268

1. The Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau (Bureau) remind all full power and Class A TV stations assigned transition completion dates in phases 6-10 of the Transition Scheduling Plan See Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau Adopt Post-Incentive Auction Transition Scheduling Plan, Public Notice, 32 FCC Rcd 890 (IATF/MB 2017).  A station that was granted permission to change phases is assigned to the deadline associated with its revised phase completion date.  This group also includes a small number of stations that were moved from the first invoice filing deadline, October 8, 2021, to the March 22, 2022 deadline due to circumstances beyond their control.  See infra para 2, n.5.  All 462 repacked stations in this group transitioned to their post-auction channels by the end of September 2020.  
 that they must submit all remaining invoices for reimbursement from the TV Broadcaster Relocation Fund (Reimbursement Fund or Fund) using the Reimbursement Form no later than March 22, 2022. See Invoice Filing Deadlines for TV Broadcaster Relocation Fund, Public Notice, 35 FCC Rcd 11273 (MB/IATF 2020) (Invoice Filing Deadline PN); Invoice Filing Deadlines for TV Broadcaster Relocation Fund Reimbursement Begin on October 8 2021, Public Notice, DA 21-404, 2021 WL 1328925 (MB/IATF Apr. 8, 2021) (Six Month Reminder of 1st Invoice Filing Deadline PN); TV Broadcaster Relocation Fund Filing Deadline Approaches in Sixty Days, Public Notice, DA 21-970, 2021 WL 3501416 (MB/IATF rel. Aug. 9, 2021); (Sixty Day Reminder of 1st Invoice Filing Deadline PN); TV Broadcaster Relocation Fund Filing Deadline Approaches in Thirty Days, Public Notice, DA-21-1117 (MB/IATF Sep. 28, 2021) (Thirty Day Reminder of 1st Invoice Filing Deadline PN).
  
2. We strongly encourage all entities to submit all remaining invoices and initiate close-out procedures as early as possible without waiting for the deadline. See Invoice Filing Deadline PN, 35 FCC Rcd. at 11273.  The deadlines were established to balance the burden on entities that have ongoing construction work against the need for Commission staff (with the support of the Fund Administrator) to have sufficient time to fully process all reimbursement requests and complete close-out procedures prior to the July 3, 2023 deadline, after which any unobligated amounts in the Fund will be rescinded and deposited into the U.S. Treasury.  47 U.S.C. § 1452(j)(1)(A)-(B).  
  Extensions of the assigned invoice submission deadlines should not be required. Close-out procedures were announced almost three years ago on February 16, 2019.  See Incentive Auction Task Force and Media Bureau Report on the Status of the Post-Incentive Auction Transition and Reimbursement Program; Announce a Further Allocation from the Relocation Fund; and Announce Procedures for Eligible Entities to Close Out Accounts in the Fund, Public Notice, 34 FCC Rcd 304 (MB/IATF 2019) (Close Out Procedures PN).  The upcoming March 22, 2022 invoice filing deadline was announced well over a year in advance in October 2020.  See Invoice Filing Deadline PN, 35 FCC Rcd 11273.  
  In the event a station subject to the March 22, 2022 deadline faces circumstances beyond its control, however, we will consider a limited extension by means of shifting to the third, and last, invoice filing deadline assignment, September 6, 2022. See infra para 4.  
  An entity requesting such a shift will have to provide evidence that circumstances requiring the extension were outside of its control, such as local zoning or a force majeure event occurring proximate to the final submission deadline.  Requests for a limited extension from the second to third deadline should be filed as a legal STA in LMS.  Waiver of the filing fee may be selected when filing the STA in LMS.  Additional guidance is available on the Commission’s Reimbursement Fund webpage https://www.fcc.gov/about-fcc/fcc-initiatives/incentive-auctions/reimbursement under the “Education and Reference” tab, Reimbursement FAQs for Full Power and Class A Stations and MVPDs at page 18.  We will not consider the availability of reimbursement or the status of specific reimbursement requests to be a mitigating factor in evaluating extension requests and we will not grant extensions that do not provide the staff with sufficient processing time to complete close-out procedures for all stations.  Thus, an entity’s failure to complete construction in a timely manner and to make final submissions by the assigned deadlines could preclude that entity from receiving full reimbursement because unobligated amounts in the Fund must be rescinded to Treasury by July 3, 2023.  Invoice Filing Deadline PN, 35 FCC Rcd at 11277-78, para 13; Six Month Reminder of 1st Invoice Filing PN, at *2, para 5; Sixty Day Reminder of 1st Invoice Filing PN at n.4; Thirty Day Reminder of 1st Invoice Filing PN at para 2.  
  
3. We have not yet made a final allocation up to the full amount of costs incurred for program participants.  We will do so when all or virtually all invoices for incurred costs are submitted, or at such time as we can reasonably extrapolate that the total available funding will be sufficient to meet the total cost of the program.  However, we are processing invoices up to the full amount currently allocated to program participants.  
4. The third and last invoice filing deadline was set for September 5, 2022. See Invoice Filing Deadline PN.
  Because Labor Day, a federal holiday, falls on Monday, September 5, 2022, the third and last invoice filing deadline is Tuesday, September 6, 2022.  All MVPDs, FM stations, and LPTV/translator stations who intend to seek reimbursement must submit all remaining invoices and supporting documentation using the Reimbursement Form, and initiate interim close-out procedures, no later than September 6, 2022.  We urge all entities in the program to initiate interim close-out procedures as soon as they complete their construction projects and have incurred and submitted invoices for all of their reimbursable costs.
5. The Fund Administrator will initiate close out procedures for any entity that has failed to initiate interim close-out procedures by the invoice filing deadline assigned to that entity.  Any unused allocations made to that entity’s account will be returned to the Fund and made available for allocation to other program participants.
6. We also remind entities that we have established procedures to ensure compliance with Fund guidelines.  For example, entities may be selected for audits, data validations, and site visits at any time during the repack and reimbursement process, i.e., before or after the entity has completed its construction project; during the close-out period; or at a time thereafter.  We remind participants that they must retain documents for a period ending 10 years after the date they receive their final payments from the Reimbursement Fund. See Invoice Filing Deadline PN, 35 FCC Rcd at 11278-79, paras. 15-17.

7. For additional information or questions about the reimbursement process, please call the Reimbursement Help Line at (202) 418-2009, or e-mail Reimburse@fcc.gov.

–FCC–

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