NY Educ L § 236 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EDN - Education Title 1 - General Provisions Article 5 - University of the State of New York Part 1 - General Organization 236 - Public Television and Radio.

§ 236. Public television and radio. 1. Short title. This section shall be  known  and  may  be cited as the "Public Television and Radio Act of nineteen hundred seventy-eight".   2. Legislative findings and declaration of intent. In the years  since New  York  state's  educational  television  act  was passed in nineteen hundred fifty-four, public television in  New  York  has  made  enormous strides.  Audiences  which  only  a  decade  ago  were calculated in the thousands now number in the millions. Approximately  seven  million  New York residents now view public television every week. Public television, which initially served only a handful of students, now brings nearly ten thousand  hours  annually  of  the  best of the state's and the nation's educational  programming  to  over  one  million  two  hundred  thousand students  in three thousand schools throughout the state. These programs are used by approximately fifty thousand teachers for  direct  classroom instruction. Public television also provides the state's youngsters with some twelve thousand hours annually of the finest children's programming available including "Sesame Street", "Electric Company", "Zoom" and "Mr. Rogers  Neighborhood".  In addition, public television provides a wealth of specialized programming in the educational and cultural arts designed for viewing by, among others, minority and  ethnic  populations,  senior citizens,  the  unemployed,  consumers  and  citizens  interested in the performing arts.  It  is  the  sense  of  the  legislature  that  public television's  contributions  to  the  people of New York state have been exceptional. Despite public broadcasting's great progress  in  New  York state  in  recent  years,  its  full  potential remains untapped. It is, therefore, the intent of the legislature both to  maintain  and,  expand the  role of public broadcasting in supplying educational, instructional and cultural programs to New Yorkers, as well as to enhance the  state's role  in  its  partnership with its citizens so that this valuable state resource can be nurtured to its optimum potential.   3. Public television and radio corporations; creation  and  operation. a.    The  board  of  regents  may incorporate any group, institution or association for  the  purpose  of  constructing,  owning,  operating  or maintaining  a non-profit and noncommercial public television station or public  television  and/or  radio  station  for  providing   educational television  and radio programs. Any such corporation shall be subject to all the provisions applicable to corporations created by  the  board  of regents  and,  in  addition,  shall be subject to the provisions of this section.   b. The charter of any such corporation may be  amended  from  time  to time,  suspended, or revoked, upon the regents' own motion, after notice and an opportunity to be  heard,  before  the  board  of  regents  or  a committee  thereof  or  a  hearing  officer  designated  by the board of regents.   c. Each such corporation and all its operations  and  the  powers  and duties  of  its  trustees  and  officers shall be subject to the general supervision and control of the board of regents and to such rules as the board of regents may adopt and promulgate from time to time with respect to such corporations.   d.  The  television  programs  developed   and   presented   by   such corporations  shall  consist  of educational, instructional and cultural programs.   e. The appointment or election of  any  trustee  of  such  corporation shall be subject to approval by the regents while under regents' charter and  through  the  first five years of broadcast operations. The regents may reinstitute requirements for  trustee  approval  over  a  reasonable period  on  finding  a  corporation  in violation of an applicable rule, regulation  or  law.  After  the  expiration   of   rule   requirements,  corporations  shall  include  a  list  of current trustees in its annual report.   f.  The  regents  may  remove any trustee, officer or employee of such corporation for misconduct, incapacity, wilful violation or  neglect  of duty  under  this chapter, or wilfully disobeying, or refusing to comply with, any order or rule of the regents. The hearing  in  the  proceeding for  the  removal  of  any  such person shall be had before the board of regents or a committee thereof or a hearing officer  designated  by  the board of regents and such trustee, officer or employee shall be given at least ten days' notice of the time and place of such hearing.   g.  The  use  of  programs  for  partisan  or political purposes or to influence the enactment of legislation shall, in the discretion  of  the board of regents, be basis for termination of the corporate charter.   h. Each such corporation shall render a report to the board of regents not  later  than  October  first  of  each year upon such matters as the regents  may  require,  and  shall  furnish  such  other   reports   and information from time to time as the regents may require.   i.  Any  corporation  created under the provisions of this section may make purchases of commodities and services through the office of general services subject to such rules as may be established from time  to  time pursuant  to  section  one hundred sixty-three of the state finance law; provided that each such purchase shall  have  a  cost  of  five  hundred dollars   or   more   and   that  said  corporation  shall  accept  sole responsibility for any payment of such cost due the vendor.   4. Grants-in-aid to  public  television  and  radio  corporations  and public  radio stations. a. There shall be apportioned, as assistance for approved operating expenses of public television  corporations  governed by  the  provisions of this section, an amount not exceeding the product of the number of residents of the state as determined from the  nineteen hundred  eighty  decennial  federal census multiplied by: one dollar for the period beginning July first, nineteen hundred eighty-five and ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-six; one  dollar  multiplied  by four-twelfths  plus  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  multiplied by eight-twelfths for the period beginning  July  first,  nineteen  hundred eighty-six and ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-seven; and one dollar and forty cents for the period beginning July first, nineteen hundred   eighty-seven  and  ending  June  thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred eighty-eight, and annually thereafter. Such amount shall be allocated to each such corporation in accordance  with  a  formula  and  schedule  of payments  developed and approved by the commissioner and the director of the division of the budget.   b.  The  formula  and  schedule  of  payments  developed  pursuant  to paragraph  a  hereof shall include provision for an amount not less than twenty percent of the total state operating assistance for instructional television services to be provided  to  local  educational  agencies  by public  television  corporations  through  agreements  with local school districts, subject to the approval of the commissioner.   c. There shall be  annually  apportioned  funds  for  the  payment  of approved  capital  expenses  of  educational television corporations and public radio stations  in  such  amounts  and  in  such  manner  as  the legislature shall provide.   d.  There  shall  be  apportioned,  as  assistance  for approved radio programming operating expenses, an amount not exceeding: eighty thousand dollars  for  the  period  beginning  July   first,   nineteen   hundred eighty-five  and ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred eighty-six, and eighty thousand dollars multiplied by  four-twelfths  plus  one  hundred thousand  dollars  multiplied by eight-twelfths for the period beginning July first, nineteen  hundred  eighty-six  and  ending  June  thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred eighty-seven, and one hundred ten thousand dollars for the period beginning  July  first,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-seven  and ending  June  thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-eight,  and annually thereafter  to each public television and radio corporation, governed by the provisions of this section, and to each  public  radio  station,  as defined in paragraph f of this subdivision and paid in accordance with a formula   and  schedule  of  payments  developed  and  approved  by  the commissioner and the director of the division of the budget.  Recipients of  assistance  shall render a fiscal report to the board of regents not later than December first of each year upon such matters as the  regents may  require and shall furnish annually such other fiscal reports as the regents may require.   e. On or before November first in each  year,  the  board  of  regents shall  submit  to the division of the budget a plan outlining a matching capital grant program for approved capital expenses of public television and/or  radio  corporations  and  public  radio  stations  to  meet  the replacement   costs   of   capital  items  including  towers,  antennas, transmitters, videotape recorders, cameras, film  chains,  control  room equipment, buildings and building renovations.   f.  Notwithstanding  any other provisions of law, for purposes of this subdivision the term "public radio station" shall mean a non-profit  and noncommercial radio station which meets the following requirements:  (1) The station shall be licensed to:  (i) an institution chartered by the board of regents; or  (ii) an agency of a municipal corporation; or  (iii)  a  corporation  created  in  the state education department and within the university of the state of New York.  (2) The station other than stations operated by corporations  approved for  funding  prior  to  April first, nineteen hundred eighty-five shall have for a period  of  three  consecutive  years  immediately  prior  to apportionment  of  such money and all recipients shall continue to after receipt of such money:  (i) broadcast at least eighteen hours per day or the maximum hours  of operation authorized by the federal communications commission, whichever is less, three hundred sixty-five days per year; and  (ii)  operate  with a staff of at least five full-time members paid at least the  federal  minimum  wage,  a  budget  that  includes  at  least ninety-five thousand dollars of non-federal income of which a reasonable portion  is  received  from  local  business, foundations, or individual contributors paid either directly to  the  radio  station  or  broadcast corporation  or  to a not-for-profit corporation for the benefit of such radio station and  an  effective  radiated  power  equivalent  to  three thousand watts at five hundred feet above average terrain or the maximum tower  height  authorized  by  the  federal  communications  commission, whichever is less for FM radio stations or two hundred fifty  watts  for AM radio stations.   g.  At  such  time  that  assistance authorized by paragraph a of this subdivision exceeds the sum appropriated in state fiscal  year  nineteen hundred  ninety--nineteen hundred ninety-one, there shall be apportioned as assistance for approved operating expenses of New York  city-licensed WNYC-TV,  for  each  three  hundred  sixty-five  hours of public service programming broadcast by such station annually, an amount equal  to  one percent  of  that  portion  of public television assistance for approved operating expenses  which  represents  the  increment  above  the  level appropriated  in  state  fiscal  year  nineteen hundred ninety--nineteen hundred ninety-one; provided, however, that the total  apportionment  to WNYC-TV shall not exceed ten percent of such incremental assistance over such   nineteen   hundred  ninety--nineteen  hundred  ninety-one  level.  Notwithstanding any provision of this paragraph to  the  contrary,  such funding  for WNYC-TV shall not diminish the amount of state aid received by the nine public television corporations pursuant to  paragraph  a  of this  subdivision in state fiscal year nineteen hundred ninety--nineteen hundred ninety-one.  For  the  purposes  of  this  subdivision,  "public service  programming"  shall  be  defined  as  non-commercial  cultural, instructional or  educational  programming.  In  order  to  qualify  for assistance  under  this subdivision, the minimum hours of non-commercial public service programming, shall be eight hours daily and shall include three hours daily of prime time service, which  is  defined  as  service between  the  hours  of  8:00  p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Non-commercial public service programming, other than prime time, shall be broadcast in blocks of not less than one hundred twenty minutes. All  funds  so  apportioned shall  be  used  for  non-commercial public service television broadcast activities. WNYC-TV shall render a report to the commissioner not  later than  December  first  of each year such funds are appropriated upon the use of such appropriation, and shall  furnish  such  other  reports  and information  relating to such funds as the commissioner may from time to time require. Funds appropriated pursuant to this subdivision shall  not be used for partisan or political purposes or to influence the enactment of legislation.   h.  There  shall  be  apportioned, at such time that any appropriation exceeds the sum appropriated  in  state  fiscal  year  nineteen  hundred ninety--nineteen  hundred  ninety-one  for  approved capital expenses of educational  television  corporations  and  public  radio  stations,  as provided  in  paragraph  c  of  this  subdivision, an amount to New York city-licensed WNYC-TV. Notwithstanding any provisions of this  paragraph to  the  contrary,  such  funding shall not diminish the amount of state aid, for capital purposes, that the nine public television  corporations and fifteen public radio stations received in state fiscal year nineteen hundred  ninety--nineteen  hundred  ninety-one.  WNYC-TV  shall render a report to the commissioner not later than December first  of  each  year such  funds  are appropriated upon the use of funds apportioned pursuant to this paragraph, and shall furnish such other reports and  information relating to such funds as the commissioner may require.   5.  Implementation. For the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section, the regents may make rules, or authorize the  commissioner to  make  regulations, providing for the implementation of this section, including provision for annual audited reports of the financial  records of such corporations as the regents or the commissioner may require.