Article 1. General Provisions And Definitions of California Government Code >> Division 1. >> Title 2. >> Chapter 10. >> Article 1.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Public Broadcasting Act of 1975.

The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
  (a) It is the policy of this state to support and encourage the provision of a high-quality educational, cultural, and public affairs program service designed to meet the needs of the citizens of this state and its various localities.
  (b) It is the policy of this state that in so supporting and encouraging such a program service, all decisions affecting the content and scheduling of such service are the sole responsibility of each licensee and shall be free from improper interference.
  (c) Existing public broadcasting stations represent a valuable public resource, the facilities, skills, and talent of which should be utilized to the maximum feasible extent in carrying out the purposes of this chapter.
  (d) Minority-controlled public radio stations in California serve their respective communities as unique information resources providing news, information and diversity of programing and viewpoints, including bilingual and cultural services, that enrich the lives of all Californians.
  (e) Minority-controlled public radio stations in California serve their respective communities as educational resources providing training and employment opportunities for those who would otherwise not have access to public broadcasting.
  (f) Minority-controlled public radio stations in California serve many of the specialized needs of minority and low-income listener audiences who are less affluent than the listener audiences of other public radio stations and, therefore, unable to financially support said minority-controlled public radio stations.
  (g) The continued growth and development of minority-controlled public radio stations as vital parts of the state's public broadcasting system is in the best interests of all Californians.

The definitions contained in this article shall govern the construction of this chapter unless the context requires otherwise.

"Commission" means the California Public Broadcasting Commission.

"Corporation for Public Broadcasting" means the corporation established pursuant to Section 396 of Title 47 of the United States Code.

"Instructional programming" means public broadcast programming which is curriculum related, whether for credit or not.

"Interconnection" means the use of apparatus or equipment for the electronic transmission and distribution of public broadcast programming to public broadcasting stations.

"Public broadcast programming" means programming intended for presentation on public broadcast stations, including, but not limited to, public affairs, cultural, and instructional programming.

"Public broadcasting station" means a noncommercial educational broadcasting station licensed as such by the Federal Communications Commission and eligible for financial grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as well as any other noncommercial educational broadcasting stations designated by the commission. The commission shall establish such criteria for the qualification of other stations as public broadcasting stations as it determines are reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

"Instructional committee" means the instructional broadcast advisory committee created by Article 4 (commencing with Section 8830).

"Radio committee" means the radio advisory committee created by Article 4 (commencing with Section 8830).

"T.V. committee" means the television advisory committee created by Article 4 (commencing with Section 8830).

If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are severable.