For purposes of this article, “eligible radio station” means a radio station that, at the time of applying for a grant under this article, meets both of the following requirements:
(a) It has met all of the following requirements for a period of two years unless another time is specified:
(1) It is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission as a noncommercial educational station, or is operating under program test authority pending the grant of a license.
(2) It has its community of license and principal administrative offices in this state and is not owned, controlled, managed, or primarily financed by any corporation or entity outside of this state.
(3) It provides a program service that meets the requirements for a Community Service Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
(4) It provides significant locally originated programming in its community of license.
(5) It broadcasts not less than 15 hours per day, 365 days per year.
(6) It participates in statewide public broadcasting projects.
(7) It has provided, before its application for a grant under this article, an audited financial statement for the years on which the grant is based.
(8) It does either of the following:
(A) Meets the criteria for receipt of a Community Service Grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that were in effect on June 30, 1995.
(B) Two months before applying for a grant, the station has a full-time staff of at least one professional paid not less than the California minimum wage, and is certified by the commission as providing a needed service to its community of license.
(b) It enters into a permanent agreement with the Office of Emergency Services to dedicate, as necessary, a broadcast channel for the provision of emergency information, to broadcast that information, and to ensure that it is presented in a format that makes it accessible to the deaf, hard-of-hearing, and non-English-speaking populations throughout its broadcast area, including rural and isolated populations.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 94, Sec. 11. (AB 1709) Effective January 1, 2017.)