Rhode Island General Laws 18-4.1-3. Purpose
The purpose of this chapter is to:
(1) Assure Rhode Islanders retain or expand access to high quality public radio station programming;
(2) Establish a process to evaluate, monitor and review whether the conversion of a public radio station to a commercial station is consistent with the intentions of Rhode Island donors whose contributions had made the noncommercial station viable;
(3) Establish a review process for determining whether assessment of a conversion fee is appropriate in a public radio station conversion;
(4) Clarify the jurisdiction and the authority of the department of attorney general to preserve and protect public and charitable assets in reviewing public radio station conversions; and
(5) Provide for independent organizations to hold, spend and/or distribute the conversion fee for public radio station conversions that the attorney general considers not to provide a community benefit.
History of Section.
P.L. 2005, ch. 211, § 1; P.L. 2005, ch. 369, § 1.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 18-4.1-3
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Conversion: means any:
(i) Transfer or assignment by a person or persons of an ownership or membership interest or authority in a public radio station, or the assets of a public radio station, whether by purchase, merger, consolidation, lease, gift, joint venture, sale, or otherwise;
(ii) Agreement, such as a local management agreement or programming agreement, the implementation of which would require a change in the public radio station's broadcast license to permit commercial operations;
(iii) Transfer, assignment or issuance of twenty percent (20%) or greater of the membership or voting rights or interests of the public radio station or of the assets of the public radio station or pursuant to which, by virtue of the transfer, a person, together with all persons affiliated with the person, holds or owns, in the aggregate, twenty percent (20%) or greater of the membership or voting rights or interests of the public radio station or of the assets of the public radio station;
(iv) The removal, addition or substitution of a partner that results in a new partner gaining or acquiring a controlling interest in the public radio station; or
(v) Any change in membership that results in a new person gaining or acquiring a controlling vote in the public radio station. See Rhode Island General Laws 18-4.1-4
- Conversion Fee: means the amount the department of attorney general orders an acquirer to pay pursuant to subsection 18-4. See Rhode Island General Laws 18-4.1-4
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.