Rhode Island General Laws 18-4.1-5. Notice and Conversion Fee
(a) The transacting parties shall notify the department of attorney general within five (5) business days after entering into an agreement for conversion of public radio station, and in no event later than the date on which an application to transfer, assign or amend the license of a public radio station to permit commercial operations is filed with the FCC. In the event the department of attorney general concludes that a conversion has occurred and did not constitute a community benefit, or a conversion is proposed to occur and will likely not constitute a community benefit, the department of attorney general shall have the authority to order the acquirer to pay to an organization pursuant to § 18-4.1-11 below, a conversion fee upon consummation of the conversion of an amount not to exceed the sum of all donations made to the acquiree related to its public radio station since its inception, plus two (2) times the average annual revenue received by the acquiree related to its public radio station during the preceding three (3) years. The amount of the conversion fee should be sufficient in the attorney general’s opinion, to finance production of the public radio programming lost in the conversion. In order to evaluate whether the conversion constitutes a community benefit, the transacting parties shall be entitled to file such information with the department of attorney general as they may elect and as the department of attorney general may request.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 18-4.1-5
- Acquiree: means the person or persons that lose(s) any ownership or control, including programming control, of a public radio station, as the terms "public radio station" and "person(s)" are defined within this chapter;
(2) "Acquirer" means the person or persons which gain(s) an ownership or control, including programming control, in a public radio station, as the terms "public radio station" and "person(s)" are defined within this chapter;
(3) "Affected community" means any city or town within the state from which an existing public radio station produces, records or otherwise originates programming or broadcasts its signal, and/or those cities and towns whose inhabitants are regularly served by the existing public radio station;
(4) "Community benefit" means:
(i) Whether the conversion furthers the findings and purposes of § 18-4. See Rhode Island General Laws 18-4.1-4
- 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
- United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8
(b) Two (2) copies of the initial application shall be addressed to the attorney general, and sent to the department of attorney general either by hand (provided the deliverer obtains a receipt from the department of attorney general for the delivery) or by United States mail, certified, return receipt requested.
(c) Except for information determined by the attorney general in accordance with § 18-4.1-14 to be confidential and/or proprietary, or otherwise required by law to be maintained as confidential, the initial application and supporting documentation shall be considered public records and shall be available for inspection upon request.
History of Section.
P.L. 2005, ch. 211, § 1; P.L. 2005, ch. 369, § 1.