Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to increase grantee compliance with the Communications Act requirements and the Community Service Grant General Provisions and Eligibility Criteria, and to address repercussions for grantee non-compliance.
Background
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has found numerous instances of television and radio grantee noncompliance with the Communications Act and Community Service Grant (CSG) General Provisions and Eligibility Criteria.
All CSG grantees must certify at the beginning of CPB’s fiscal year that they are compliant with the Communications Act and CPB’s General Provisions and Eligibility Criteria in order to receive their CSG and, if applicable, Interconnection payments. CSG grantees also certify that their Non-Federal Financial Support (NFFS) complies with the statutory definition of NFFS and CPB’s Financial Reporting Guidelines at the time that they submit their annual financial report. These self-certifications are CPB’s primary mechanism for ensuring that CSG grantees are compliant with the laws and rules we have set forth governing CSG grants.
This policy will improve the reliability of station certifications and financial reporting by establishing potential financial sanctions for inaccurate or improperly completed certifications or NFFS reporting. Penalties will be based on the severity of non-compliance with the statutory and contractual requirements of the CSG and Interconnection Grant programs. Penalties and refunded overpayments will be credited to the CSG pool for distribution to stations during the next grant period.
Policy
Each organization receiving a CSG must act in accordance with all of the following requirements:
- Open meetings – Section 396(k)(4);
- Open financial records – Section 396(k)(5);
- Community advisory boards – Section 396(k)(8);
- Equal employment opportunity – Section 396(k)(11);
- Donor lists and political activities – Section 396(k)(12);
- CSG Television or Radio General Provisions and Eligibility Criteria; and
- Non-Federal Financial Support reporting.
Non-compliance with the above requirements may result in imposition of the following penalties:
- CSG forfeiture in whole or in part;
- Temporary suspension from the CSG program;
- Disqualification from the CSG program;
The sum of overpayments and penalties may be increased by an amount equal to the prevailing IRS interest rate in effect at the time of CPB management’s final determination. The purpose of the increase is to recover for the system the time value of the money lost to the CSG pool by the original CSG overpayment arising from noncompliance, and the time value of multi-year repayment or penalty payment agreements.
