Delegations of Authority To Act on Applications for Review

AGENCY:

Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION:

Final rule.

SUMMARY:

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) amends its organizational rules to codify a uniformly applicable standard for the exercise of delegated authority by staff Bureaus and Offices to dismiss procedurally defective Applications for Review. Bureaus and Offices will have clear authority to dismiss such applications that do not comply with procedural requirements.

DATES:

Effective April 5, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David Konczal, Office of General Counsel, at David.Konczal@fcc.gov or (202) 418-1700.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This is a summary of the Commission's Order in GN Docket No. 21-16; FCC 21-17, adopted on January 13, 2021, and released on January 14, 2021. The complete text of this document can be located on the FCC website at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-21-17A1.pdf.

Synopsis

1. By this Order, we amend parts 0 and 1 of the Commission's rules to codify a uniformly applicable standard for the exercise of delegated authority by various Bureaus and Offices to dismiss Applications for Review that do not comply with the procedural requirements of 47 CFR 1.115(a), (b), (d), or (f). Our current rules delegating authority to the various Bureaus and Offices are inconsistent on this issue. The rules delegating authority to certain Bureaus and Offices provide them with authority to dismiss procedurally defective Applications for Review. The rules delegating authority to the other Bureaus and Offices do not expressly provide this authority.

2. To remove this inconsistency, we hereby amend our rules to delegate authority to various Bureaus and Offices to dismiss any Application for Review that does not contain any statement required under 47 CFR 1.115(a) or (b), or does not comply with the filing requirements of 47 CFR 1.115(d) or (f). We conclude that this action will eliminate confusion on this issue for the benefit of parties seeking Commission review of staff actions and parties opposing such challenges. In addition, this action will aid in the expeditious dismissal of procedurally defective Applications for Review. These amendments to the rules will apply to all Applications for Review filed on or after the effective date of the amendments set forth below.

3. We also take this opportunity to correct a typographical error in the rules describing the functions of the Wireline Competition Bureau. As codified, § 0.91(m) specifies that one of the functions of the Wireline Competition Bureau is to “[c]arry out the functions of the Commission under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, except as reserved to the Commission under § 0.331.” The reference to § 0.331 is an error, as that is the provision of our rules that delegates authority to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Instead the limitation should refer to § 0.291 of our rules, which delegates authority to the Wireline Competition Bureau.

4. We hereby amend § 0.91 to correct that typographical error. We conclude that this action will eliminate confusion on this issue for the benefit of parties seeking to determine the scope of authority delegated to the Wireline Competition Bureau.

5. Finally, we make a minor correction to § 0.392(j) of the delegated authority rules for the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, which states that the chief of that bureau has authority to administer the 911 communications reliability and redundancy rules and policies “contained in part 12 of this chapter.” The reference to part 12 is no longer correct because in 2019, the Commission moved the part 12 rules to part 9 as part of its general consolidation of 911 rules in the Kari's Law/RAY BAUM'S Act proceeding. Therefore, we amend § 0.392(j) to replace the references to “part 12” with “part 9.”

6. No Notice and Comment Required. We have determined that the changes we adopt here are rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice, and are therefore exempt from the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A).

7. Regulatory Flexibility Act, Paperwork Reduction Act, and Congressional Review Act. Section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 603(a), requires a regulatory flexibility analysis in notice and comment rulemaking proceedings. As we are adopting these rules without notice and comment, no regulatory flexibility analysis is required. This document does not contain any new or modified information collection(s) subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520. In addition, therefore, it does not contain any new or modified “information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees,” pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4). The Commission will not send a copy of this Order pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A), because the adopted rules are rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice that do not “substantially affect the rights or obligations of non-agency parties,” 5 U.S.C. 804(3)(C).

8. Accordingly, it is ordered that pursuant to sections 4(i), 4(j), and 5 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 154(j), 155, and 47 CFR 0.201(d), this order is hereby adopted and the rules set forth below are hereby amended effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

List of Subjects

47 CFR Part 0

• Authority delegations
• Organization and functions

47 CFR Part 1

• Administrative practice and procedure
• Penalties

Final Rules

For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal Communications Commission amends 47 CFR parts 0 and 1 as follows:

PART 0—COMMISSION ORGANIZATION

1. The authority citation for part 0 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j), 155, 225, and 409, unless otherwise noted.

2. Amend § 0.91 by revising paragraph (m) to read as follows:

3. Amend § 0.212 by revising paragraph (b)(3) to read as follows:

4. Amend § 0.241 by revising paragraphs (a) introductory text and (a)(2) to read as follows:

5. Amend § 0.261 by revising paragraph (b)(3) to read as follows:

6. Amend § 0.271 by revising paragraph (c) to read as follows:

7. Amend § 0.283 by revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:

8. Amend § 0.291 by revising paragraph (d) to read as follows:

9. Amend § 0.311 by revising paragraph (a)(2) to read as follows:

10. Amend § 0.331 by revising paragraph (c) to read as follows:

11. Amend § 0.361 by revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:

12. Amend § 0.392 by revising paragraphs (b) and (j) to read as follows:

PART 1—PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

13. The authority citation for part 1 is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 47 U.S.C. chs. 2, 5, 9, 13; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, unless otherwise noted.

14. Amend § 1.104 by:

a. Revising paragraph (b); and

b. Removing the note following paragraph (d) and the parenthetical authority citation at the end of the section.

The revision reads as follows: