In the Matter of Review of the Commission’s Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2026, MD Docket No. 26-94.
The Massachusetts Broadcasters Association, in combination with the state broadcasters associations of 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, filed Joint Reply Comments with the FCC (1) supporting the FCC’s efforts to more precisely determine which agency employees work on non-broadcast matters so that the cost of those employees, as well as the associated overhead costs of the FCC, are not paid for by broadcasters; (2) calling on the FCC to expand those efforts in the future, (3) urging the FCC to annually review the fee categorization of its employees agency-wide to ensure that broadcasters’ regulatory fees are not paying for non-broadcaster FCC services; (4) urging the Commission, as required by the RAY BAUM’S Act of 2018, to expand its base of regulatory fee payors so that the costs of operating the FCC are spread across all entities that benefit from the Commission’s activities, and not just those that hold an FCC license issued by one of the bureaus the FCC deems “core,” and (5) asking the FCC to increase its $1000 de minimis exemption (the maximum fee bill that the FCC will forgo collecting because the collection expense exceeds the amount to be collected).
Read the full reply comments: State Associations 2026 Regulatory Fee Comments As Filed
