Information Collection(s) Being Submitted for Review to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval, 66066-66068 [2011-27470]
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66066
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 25, 2011 / Notices
Management and Budget, via fax at 202–
395–5167 or via Internet at
Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov and
to Judith B. Herman, Federal
Communications Commission, via the
Internet at Judith-b.herman@fcc.gov. To
submit your PRA comments by e-mail
send them to: PRA@fcc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Judith B. Herman, Office of Managing
Director, (202) 418–0214.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 3060–0813.
Title: Section 20.18, Enhanced 911
Emergency Calling Systems.
Form Number: N/A.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit entities; Federal Government; and
State, Local, or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 47,031
respondents; 47,031 responses.
Estimated Time per Response:
4.2142416 hours.
Frequency of Response: On occasion
and annual reporting requirements and
third party disclosure requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Required to
obtain or retain benefits. Statutory
authority for this information collection
is contained in 47 U.S.C. Sections 151,
154(i), 303(f) and (r), 309, 316, and 332
of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended.
Total Annual Burden: 198,200 hours.
Total Annual Cost: N/A.
Privacy Impact Assessment: N/A.
Needs and Uses: The Commission is
seeking an extension of this information
collection in order to obtain the full
three year approval from OMB. There
are no changes in any of the reporting
and/or third party disclosure
requirements. There is no change to the
Commission’s previous burden
estimates.
The notification requirement on
Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs)
will be used by the carriers to verify that
wireless E911 calls are referred to
PSAPs who have the technical
capability to use the data to the caller’s
benefit. TTY and dispatch notification
requirements will be used to avoid
customer confusion as to the
capabilities of their handsets in reaching
help in emergency situations, thus
minimizing the possibility of critical
delays in response time. The annual
TTY reports will be used to monitor the
progress of TTY technology and thus
capability. Consultations on the specific
meaning assigned to pseudo-Automatic
Location Identification (ALI) are
appropriate to ensure that all parties are
working with the same information.
Coordination between carriers and state
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and local entities to determine the
appropriate PSAPs to receive and
respond to E911 calls is necessary
because of the difficulty in assigning
PSAPs based on the location of the
wireless caller. The deployment
schedule that must be submitted by
carriers seeking a waiver of Phase I or
Phase II deployment schedule will be
used by the Commission to guarantee
that the rules are enforced in as timely
manner as possible within technological
constraints. In addition, a wireless
carrier must implement E911 service
within the six-month period following
the date of the PSAP’s request. If the
carrier challenges the validity of the
request, the request will be deemed
valid if the PSAP making the request
provides the following information:
(a) Cost Recovery: The PSAP must
demonstrate that a mechanism is in
place by which the PSAP will recover
its costs of the facilities and equipment
necessary to receive and utilize the E911
data elements.
(b) Necessary Equipment: The PSAP
must provide evidence that it has
ordered the equipment necessary to
receive and utilize the E911 data
elements; and
(c) Necessary Facilities: The PSAP
must demonstrate that it has made a
timely request to the appropriate local
exchange carrier (LEC) for the necessary
trunking and other facilities to enable
E911 data to be transmitted to the PSAP.
This collection is needed to ensure
that they are ready to receive E911
Phase I or Phase II information at the
time that wireless carrier’s obligation to
deliver that information becomes due.
This will reduce the possibility of both
carriers and PSAPs investing money
before the PSAP is actually E911
capable.
OMB Control Number: 3060–1155.
Title: Sections 15.713, 15.714, 15.715
and 15.717, TV White Space Broadcast
Bands.
Form Number: N/A.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit entities.
Number of Respondents: 2,000
respondents; 2,000 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 2
hours.
Frequency of Response: On occasion
reporting requirement, recordkeeping
requirement and third party disclosure
requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Required to
obtain or retain benefits. Statutory
authority for this information collection
is contained in 47 U.S.C. Sections
154(i), 302, 303(c), 303(f) and 307 of the
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Sfmt 4703
Communications Act of 1934, as
amended.
Total Annual Burden: 4,000 hours.
Total Annual Cost: 100,000.
Privacy Impact Assessment: N/A.
Needs and Uses: The Commission is
seeking approval for a revision of this
information collection in order to obtain
the full three year approval from OMB.
There is no change to the Commission’s
previous burden estimates.
The Commission is seeking a revision
to add questions about prefill
applications and the number of
available channels, make clarifications
for some existing questions to the online database screens. This is being done
to make completion of the form easier
for the respondents.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of
Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2011–27468 Filed 10–24–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
Information Collection(s) Being
Submitted for Review to the Office of
Management and Budget for Review
and Approval
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork
burdens, invites the general public and
other Federal agencies to take this
opportunity to comment on the
following information collection(s), as
required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–
3520), Public Law 104–13. Comments
are requested concerning: (a) Whether
the proposed collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance
of the functions of the Commission,
including whether the information shall
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of
the Commission’s burden estimate; (c)
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information collected; (d)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on the
respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology;
(e) ways to further reduce the
information collection burden on small
business concerns with fewer than 25
employees.
SUMMARY:
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sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 25, 2011 / Notices
The FCC may not conduct or sponsor
a collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Control
Number. No person shall be subject to
any penalty for failing to comply with
a collection of information subject to the
PRA that does not display a valid Office
of Management and Budget (OMB)
Control Number.
DATES: Written comments should be
submitted on or before November 25,
2011. If you anticipate that you will be
submitting comments, but find it
difficult to do so within the period of
time allowed by this notice, you should
advise the contacts listed below as soon
as possible.
ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to
Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), via fax
at: (202) 395–5167, or via e-mail to:
Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov; and
to Leslie F. Smith, Federal
Communications Commission (FCC),
Room 1–C216, 445 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC, or via e-mail to:
Leslie.Smith@fcc.gov and to:
PRA@fcc.gov. Please include in the
comments the OMB Control Number as
shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
additional information or copies of the
information collection(s), contact Leslie
F. Smith at (202) 418–0217 or via e-mail
at: Leslie.Smith@fcc.gov.
To view a copy of this information
collection request (ICR) submitted to
OMB: (1) Go to the Web page https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain,
(2) look for the section of the Web page
called ‘‘Currently Under Review,’’ (3)
click on the downward-pointing arrow
in the ‘‘Select Agency’’ box below the
‘‘Currently Under Review’’ heading, (4)
select ‘‘Federal Communications
Commission’’ from the list of agencies
presented in the ‘‘Select Agency’’ box,
(5) click the ‘‘Submit’’ button to the
right of the ‘‘Select Agency’’ box, (6)
when the list of FCC ICRs currently
under review appears, look for the title
of this ICR (or its OMB Control Number,
if there is one) and then click on the ICR
Reference Number. A copy of the FCC
submission to OMB will be displayed.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 3060–0430.
Title: Section 1.1206, Permit-butDisclose Proceedings.
Form Number(s): N/A.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents: Individuals or
households; Business or other for-profit;
Not-for-profit institutions; Federal
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Jkt 226001
Government; and State, local, or tribal
governments.
Number of Respondents and
Responses: 11,500 respondents; 34,500
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 45
minutes (0.75 hours).
Frequency of Response: On occasion
reporting requirements.
Obligation to Respond: Required to
obtain or retain benefits.
Total Annual Burden: 25,875 hours.
Total Annual Cost: $0.00.
Privacy Impact Assessment: No
Impact(s).
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality:
Consistent with the Commission’s rules
on confidential treatment of
submissions, under 47 CFR Section
0.459, a presenter may request
confidential treatment of ex parte
presentations. In addition, the
Commission will permit parties to
remove metadata containing
confidential or privileged information,
and the Commission will also not
require parties to file electronically ex
parte notices that contain confidential
information. The Commission will,
however, require a redacted version to
be filed electronically at the same time
the paper filing is submitted, and that
the redacted version must be machinereadable whenever technically possible.
Needs and Uses: The Commission’s
rules, under 47 CFR Section 1.1206,
require that a public record be made of
ex parte presentations (i.e., written
presentations not served on all parties to
the proceeding or oral presentations as
to which all parties have not been given
notice and an opportunity to be present)
to decision-making personnel in
‘‘permit-but-disclose’’ proceedings, such
as notice-and-comment rulemakings and
declaratory ruling proceedings.
On February 2, 2011, the FCC released
a Report and Order and Further Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking, GC Docket
Number 10–43, FCC 11–11, which
amended and reformed the
Commission’s rules on ex parte
presentations (47 CFR Section
1.1206(b)(2)) made in the course of
Commission rulemakings and other
permit-but-disclose proceedings. The
modifications to the existing rules
adopted in this Report and Order
require that parties file more descriptive
summaries of their ex parte contacts, by
ensuring that other parties and the
public have an adequate opportunity to
review and respond to information
submitted ex parte, and by improving
the FCC’s oversight and enforcement of
the ex parte rules. The modified ex
parte rules provide as follows: (1) Ex
parte notices will be required for all oral
ex parte presentations in permit-but-
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
66067
disclose proceedings, not just for those
presentations that involve new
information or arguments not already in
the record; (2) If an oral ex parte
presentation is limited to material
already in the written record, the notice
must contain either a succinct summary
of the matters discussed or a citation to
the page or paragraph number in the
party’s written submission(s) where the
matters discussed can be found; (3)
Notices for all ex parte presentations
must include the name of the person(s)
who made the ex parte presentation as
well as a list of all persons attending or
otherwise participating in the meeting at
which the presentation was made; (4)
Notices of ex parte presentations made
outside the Sunshine period must be
filed within two business days of the
presentation; (5) The Sunshine period
will begin on the day (including
business days, weekends, and holidays)
after issuance of the Sunshine notice,
rather than when the Sunshine Agenda
is issued (as the current rules provide);
(6) If an ex parte presentation is made
on the day the Sunshine notice is
released, an ex parte notice must be
submitted by the next business day, and
any reply would be due by the following
business day. If a permissible ex parte
presentation is made during the
Sunshine period (under an exception to
the Sunshine period prohibition), the ex
parte notice is due by the end of the
same day on which the presentation was
made, and any reply would need to be
filed by the next business day. Any
reply must be in writing and limited to
the issues raised in the ex parte notice
to which the reply is directed; (7)
Commissioners and agency staff may
continue to request ex parte
presentations during the Sunshine
period, but these presentations should
be limited to the specific information
required by the Commission; (8) Ex
parte notices must be submitted
electronically in machine-readable
format. PDF images created by scanning
a paper document may not be
submitted, except in cases in which a
word-processing version of the
document is not available. Confidential
information may continue to be
submitted by paper filing, but a redacted
version must be filed electronically at
the same time the paper filing is
submitted. An exception to the
electronic filing requirement will be
made in cases in which the filing party
claims hardship. The basis for the
hardship claim must be substantiated in
the ex parte filing; (9) To facilitate
stricter enforcement of the ex parte
rules, the Enforcement Bureau is
authorized to levy forfeitures for ex
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 25, 2011 / Notices
parte rule violations; (10) Copies of
electronically filed ex parte notices
must also be sent electronically to all
staff and Commissioners present at the
ex parte meeting so as to enable them
to review the notices for accuracy and
completeness. Filers may be asked to
submit corrections or further
information as necessary for compliance
with the rules; and (11) Minor
conforming and clarifying rule changes
proposed in the Notice are adopted. The
only changes entailing increased
information collection are the
requirement that parties making
permissible ex parte presentations in
restricted proceedings file an ex parte
notice, and that ex parte notices contain
either a summary of the presentation or
a reference to where the information can
be found in the written record, and that
ex parte notices list all persons
attending the presentation.
The information is used by parties to
permit-but-disclose proceedings,
including interested members of the
public, to respond to the arguments
made and data offered in the
presentations. The responses may then
be used by the Commission in its
decision-making. The availability of the
ex parte materials ensures that the
Commission’s decisional processes are
fair, impartial, and comport with the
concept of due process in that all
interested parties can know of and
respond to the arguments made to the
decision-making officials.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of
Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2011–27470 Filed 10–24–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
Information Collection Approved by
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB)
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) has received Office
of Management and Budget (OMB)
approval for the following public
information collections pursuant to the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3501–3520). An agency may not
conduct or sponsor a collection of
information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number,
and no person is required to respond to
a collection of information unless it
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SUMMARY:
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Jkt 226001
displays a currently valid control
number. Comments concerning the
accuracy of the burden estimates and
any suggestions for reducing the burden
should be directed to the person listed
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Rosaline Crawford, Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Disability
Rights Office, (202) 418–2075 or e-mail
Rosaline.Crawford@fcc.gov
.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control No.: 3060–0855.
OMB Approval Date: 10/14/2011.
Expiration Date: 10/31/2014.
Title: Telecommunications Reporting
Worksheets and Related Collections,
FCC Forms 499–A and 499–Q.
Form No.: FCC Forms 499–A and
499–Q.
Estimated Annual Burden: 8,183
respondents; 46,957 responses; .25
hours to 25 hours per response; 313,881
burden hours per year; $0 annual cost
burden.
Obligation to Respond: Mandatory.
Statutory authority for this information
collection is contained in sections 151,
154(i), 154(j), 155, 157, 201, 205, 214,
225, 254, 303(r), 715 and 719 of the Act,
47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j), 155, 157,
201, 205, 214, 225, 254, 303(r), 616, and
620.
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality:
The Commission will allow respondents
to certify that data contained in their
submissions is privileged or
confidential commercial or financial
information and that disclosure of such
information would likely cause
substantial harm to the competitive
position of the entity filing the FCC
worksheets. If the Commission receives
a request for or proposes to disclose the
information, the respondent would be
required to make the full showing
pursuant to the Commission’s rules for
withholding from public inspection
information submitted to the
Commission.
Needs and Uses: On October 7, 2011,
the Commission released the
Contributions to the
Telecommunications Relay Services
Fund Report and Order (Report and
Order) FCC 11–150, adopting rules to
implement section 715 of the Act. The
Report and Order takes the following
actions: Requires non-interconnected
voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)
service providers with interstate enduser revenues that are subject to
contribution to the Telecommunications
Relay Services (TRS) Fund to register
with the Commission, designate a
District of Columbia agent for service of
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Frm 00037
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
process, annually file FCC Form 499–A,
and contribute to the TRS Fund; extends
the 64.9 percent safe harbor provision
for calculating interstate end-user
revenues to non-interconnected VoIP
service providers; maintains interstate
end-user revenues as the basis for
calculating TRS Fund contributions;
requires no contributions to the TRS
Fund by non-interconnected VoIP
service providers that offer services for
free and have zero interstate end-user
revenues.
The modification is to apply the
registration and annual filing
requirement for FCC Form 499–A to
non-interconnected VoIP service
providers, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 1, 4(i),
(4)(j), 225, and 715 of the Act, as
amended 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j),
225, and 616; and 47 CFR 64.601
through 64.613 of the Commission’s
rules. The application of the FCC Form
499–A to carriers, interconnected VoIP
service providers, and noninterconnected VoIP service providers,
is needed to administer the Universal
Service Fund, the TRS Fund, and the
cost recovery mechanism for numbering
administration and long-term number
portability. FCC Form 499–Q and its
instructions remain unchanged.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of
Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2011–27469 Filed 10–24–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Formations of, Acquisitions by, and
Mergers of Bank Holding Companies
The companies listed in this notice
have applied to the Board for approval,
pursuant to the Bank Holding Company
Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.)
(BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR part
225), and all other applicable statutes
and regulations to become a bank
holding company and/or to acquire the
assets or the ownership of, control of, or
the power to vote shares of a bank or
bank holding company and all of the
banks and nonbanking companies
owned by the bank holding company,
including the companies listed below.
The applications listed below, as well
as other related filings required by the
Board, are available for immediate
inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank
indicated. The application also will be
available for inspection at the offices of
the Board of Governors. Interested
persons may express their views in
writing on the standards enumerated in
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 206 (Tuesday, October 25, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66066-66068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-27470]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Information Collection(s) Being Submitted for Review to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment
on the following information collection(s), as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Public Law
104-13. Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the Commission, including whether the information
shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's
burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information collected; (d) ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on the respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology; (e) ways to further reduce the information collection
burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.
[[Page 66067]]
The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information
unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Control Number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for
failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA
that does not display a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Control Number.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before November 25,
2011. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find
it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice,
you should advise the contacts listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), via fax at: (202) 395-5167, or via e-mail
to: Nicholas_A._Fraser@omb.eop.gov; and to Leslie F. Smith, Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), Room 1-C216, 445 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC, or via e-mail to: Leslie.Smith@fcc.gov and to:
PRA@fcc.gov. Please include in the comments the OMB Control Number as
shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies
of the information collection(s), contact Leslie F. Smith at (202) 418-
0217 or via e-mail at: Leslie.Smith@fcc.gov.
To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR)
submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the Web page called ``Currently
Under Review,'' (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the
``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading, (4)
select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of agencies
presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the ``Submit'' button
to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, (6) when the list of FCC
ICRs currently under review appears, look for the title of this ICR (or
its OMB Control Number, if there is one) and then click on the ICR
Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be
displayed.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
OMB Control Number: 3060-0430.
Title: Section 1.1206, Permit-but-Disclose Proceedings.
Form Number(s): N/A.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions; Federal Government; and State,
local, or tribal governments.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 11,500 respondents; 34,500
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 45 minutes (0.75 hours).
Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirements.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Total Annual Burden: 25,875 hours.
Total Annual Cost: $0.00.
Privacy Impact Assessment: No Impact(s).
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Consistent with the
Commission's rules on confidential treatment of submissions, under 47
CFR Section 0.459, a presenter may request confidential treatment of ex
parte presentations. In addition, the Commission will permit parties to
remove metadata containing confidential or privileged information, and
the Commission will also not require parties to file electronically ex
parte notices that contain confidential information. The Commission
will, however, require a redacted version to be filed electronically at
the same time the paper filing is submitted, and that the redacted
version must be machine-readable whenever technically possible.
Needs and Uses: The Commission's rules, under 47 CFR Section
1.1206, require that a public record be made of ex parte presentations
(i.e., written presentations not served on all parties to the
proceeding or oral presentations as to which all parties have not been
given notice and an opportunity to be present) to decision-making
personnel in ``permit-but-disclose'' proceedings, such as notice-and-
comment rulemakings and declaratory ruling proceedings.
On February 2, 2011, the FCC released a Report and Order and
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, GC Docket Number 10-43, FCC 11-
11, which amended and reformed the Commission's rules on ex parte
presentations (47 CFR Section 1.1206(b)(2)) made in the course of
Commission rulemakings and other permit-but-disclose proceedings. The
modifications to the existing rules adopted in this Report and Order
require that parties file more descriptive summaries of their ex parte
contacts, by ensuring that other parties and the public have an
adequate opportunity to review and respond to information submitted ex
parte, and by improving the FCC's oversight and enforcement of the ex
parte rules. The modified ex parte rules provide as follows: (1) Ex
parte notices will be required for all oral ex parte presentations in
permit-but-disclose proceedings, not just for those presentations that
involve new information or arguments not already in the record; (2) If
an oral ex parte presentation is limited to material already in the
written record, the notice must contain either a succinct summary of
the matters discussed or a citation to the page or paragraph number in
the party's written submission(s) where the matters discussed can be
found; (3) Notices for all ex parte presentations must include the name
of the person(s) who made the ex parte presentation as well as a list
of all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at
which the presentation was made; (4) Notices of ex parte presentations
made outside the Sunshine period must be filed within two business days
of the presentation; (5) The Sunshine period will begin on the day
(including business days, weekends, and holidays) after issuance of the
Sunshine notice, rather than when the Sunshine Agenda is issued (as the
current rules provide); (6) If an ex parte presentation is made on the
day the Sunshine notice is released, an ex parte notice must be
submitted by the next business day, and any reply would be due by the
following business day. If a permissible ex parte presentation is made
during the Sunshine period (under an exception to the Sunshine period
prohibition), the ex parte notice is due by the end of the same day on
which the presentation was made, and any reply would need to be filed
by the next business day. Any reply must be in writing and limited to
the issues raised in the ex parte notice to which the reply is
directed; (7) Commissioners and agency staff may continue to request ex
parte presentations during the Sunshine period, but these presentations
should be limited to the specific information required by the
Commission; (8) Ex parte notices must be submitted electronically in
machine-readable format. PDF images created by scanning a paper
document may not be submitted, except in cases in which a word-
processing version of the document is not available. Confidential
information may continue to be submitted by paper filing, but a
redacted version must be filed electronically at the same time the
paper filing is submitted. An exception to the electronic filing
requirement will be made in cases in which the filing party claims
hardship. The basis for the hardship claim must be substantiated in the
ex parte filing; (9) To facilitate stricter enforcement of the ex parte
rules, the Enforcement Bureau is authorized to levy forfeitures for ex
[[Page 66068]]
parte rule violations; (10) Copies of electronically filed ex parte
notices must also be sent electronically to all staff and Commissioners
present at the ex parte meeting so as to enable them to review the
notices for accuracy and completeness. Filers may be asked to submit
corrections or further information as necessary for compliance with the
rules; and (11) Minor conforming and clarifying rule changes proposed
in the Notice are adopted. The only changes entailing increased
information collection are the requirement that parties making
permissible ex parte presentations in restricted proceedings file an ex
parte notice, and that ex parte notices contain either a summary of the
presentation or a reference to where the information can be found in
the written record, and that ex parte notices list all persons
attending the presentation.
The information is used by parties to permit-but-disclose
proceedings, including interested members of the public, to respond to
the arguments made and data offered in the presentations. The responses
may then be used by the Commission in its decision-making. The
availability of the ex parte materials ensures that the Commission's
decisional processes are fair, impartial, and comport with the concept
of due process in that all interested parties can know of and respond
to the arguments made to the decision-making officials.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2011-27470 Filed 10-24-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P