Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2014 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to complete a rulemaking proceeding to adopt rules establishing:
Requires performance measures to be included in notices of proposed rulemakings or orders that would create or substantially change a program activity. Defines "program activity" as a specific activity or project as listed in the program and financing schedules of the U.S. annual budget, including any annual collection or distribution or related series of collections or distributions by the FCC of $100 million or more.
Directs the FCC to seek public comment regarding whether the FCC should: (1) establish procedures for allowing a bipartisan majority of Commissioners to place items on an open meeting agenda and for publishing in advance of such meetings the text of agenda items on which the FCC will vote; (2) establish deadlines for the disposition of certain license applications; and (3) publish orders, decisions, reports, and actions within 30 days after adoption.
Requires the FCC to initiate a new rulemaking proceeding every five years to continue its consideration of procedural rule changes.
Allows a bipartisan majority of Commissioners to hold a nonpublic meeting, including a meeting to collaborate with joint boards or conferences, if: (1) no votes or actions are taken, and (2) an attorney from the FCC's Office of General Counsel is present. Requires such a closed meeting to be disclosed within two business days after the meeting, along with a list of persons in attendance and a summary of discussed matters, provided that such matters are not classified or otherwise exempt from disclosure.
Directs the FCC to provide on its website: (1) information regarding the FCC's budget, appropriations, and total number of full-time equivalent employees; (2) the FCC's annual performance plan; and (3) information about consumer complaints in a publicly available, searchable database.
Directs the FCC to: (1) complete actions necessary for the required publication of documents in the Federal Register within specified time frames; (2) inform the public about its performance and efficiency in meeting disclosure and other requirements under the Freedom of Information Act; and (3) publish on its website and in other required formats an anticipated release schedule for all statistical reports and reports to Congress.
Prohibits the FCC, in compiling its quarterly report with respect to informal consumer inquiries and complaints, from categorizing an inquiry or complaint under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (places restrictions on telephone solicitations and automatic dialing systems) as a wireline or wireless inquiry or complaint unless a wireline or wireless carrier was the subject of the inquiry or complaint.
Exempts permanently from the Antideficiency Act (prohibits expenditures or obligations of federal funds exceeding an amount available in an appropriation or fund) the collection of Universal Service Fund contributions and the use of such contributions for universal service support programs. (Currently, universal service funds are collected and distributed under a temporary waiver provided in the Universal Service Antideficiency Temporary Suspension Act.)
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1989 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1989
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for greater
transparency and efficiency in the procedures followed by the Federal
Communications Commission, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 4, 2014
Mr. Heller (for himself and Mr. Coats) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for greater
transparency and efficiency in the procedures followed by the Federal
Communications Commission, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Communications Commission
Process Reform Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. FCC PROCESS REFORM.
(a) In General.--Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 13. TRANSPARENCY AND EFFICIENCY.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Amendment.--The term `amendment' includes, when used
with respect to an existing rule, the deletion of the rule.
``(2) Bipartisan majority.--The term `bipartisan majority'
means, when used with respect to a group of Commissioners, that
the group--
``(A) is a group of 3 or more Commissioners; and
``(B) includes--
``(i) for each political party of which any
Commissioner is a member, not less than 1
Commissioner who is a member of that political
party; and
``(ii) if any Commissioner has no political
party affiliation, not less than 1 unaffiliated
Commissioner.
``(3) Performance measure.--The term `performance measure'
means an objective and quantifiable outcome measure or output
measure (as those terms are defined in section 1115 of title
31, United States Code).
``(4) Program activity.--The term `program activity'--
``(A) has the meaning given the term in section
1115 of title 31, United States Code; and
``(B) includes any annual collection or
distribution or related series of collections or
distributions by the Commission of an amount that is
not less than $100,000,000.
``(5) Other definitions.--The terms `agency action', `ex
parte communication', and `rule' have the meanings given the
terms in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
``(b) Initial Rulemaking and Inquiry.--
``(1) Rulemaking.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Federal Communications Commission Process
Reform Act of 2014, the Commission shall complete a rulemaking
proceeding and adopt procedural changes to the rules of the
Commission to maximize opportunities for public participation
and efficient decisionmaking.
``(2) Requirements for rulemaking.--The rules adopted under
paragraph (1) shall--
``(A) set minimum comment periods for comment and
reply comment, subject to a determination by the
Commission that good cause exists for departing from
the minimum comment periods, for--
``(i) significant regulatory actions, as
defined in Executive Order 12866 (5 U.S.C. 601
note; relating to regulatory planning and
review); and
``(ii) all other rulemaking proceedings;
``(B) establish policies concerning the submission
of extensive new comments, data, or reports towards the
end of a comment period;
``(C) establish policies regarding treatment of
comments, ex parte communications, and data or reports
(including statistical reports and reports to Congress)
submitted after a comment period to ensure that the
public has adequate notice of and opportunity to
respond to the submissions before the Commission relies
on the submissions in any order, decision, report, or
action;
``(D) establish procedures for publishing the
status of open rulemaking proceedings and proposed
orders, decisions, reports, or actions on circulation
for review by the Commissioners, including which
Commissioners have not cast a vote on an order,
decision, report, or action that has been on
circulation for more than 60 days;
``(E) establish deadlines (relative to the date of
filing) for--
``(i) in the case of a petition for a
declaratory ruling under section 1.2 of title
47, Code of Federal Regulations, issuing a
public notice of the petition;
``(ii) in the case of a petition for
rulemaking under section 1.401 of title 47,
Code of Federal Regulations, issuing a public
notice of the petition; and
``(iii) in the case of a petition for
reconsideration under section 1.106 or 1.429 of
title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or an
application for review under section 1.115 of
such title, issuing a public notice of a
decision on the petition or application by the
Commission or under delegated authority (as the
case may be);
``(F) establish guidelines (relative to the date of
filing) for the disposition of petitions filed under
section 1.2 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations;
``(G) establish procedures for the inclusion of the
specific language of the proposed rule or the proposed
amendment of an existing rule in a notice of proposed
rulemaking;
``(H) require each notice of proposed rulemaking or
order adopting a rule or amending an existing rule that
creates (or proposes to create) a program activity to
contain performance measures for evaluating the
effectiveness of the program activity; and
``(I) require each notice of proposed rulemaking or
order adopting a rule or amending an existing rule that
substantially changes (or proposes to substantially
change) a program activity to contain--
``(i) performance measures for evaluating
the effectiveness of the program activity as
changed (or proposed to be changed); or
``(ii) a finding that existing performance
measures will effectively evaluate the program
activity as changed (or proposed to be
changed).
``(3) Inquiry.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of the Federal Communications Commission Process
Reform Act of 2014, the Commission shall complete an inquiry to
seek public comment on whether and how the Commission should--
``(A) establish procedures for allowing a
bipartisan majority of Commissioners to place an order,
decision, report, or action on the agenda of an open
meeting;
``(B) establish procedures for informing all
Commissioners of a reasonable number of options
available to the Commission for resolving a petition,
complaint, application, rulemaking, or other
proceeding;
``(C) establish procedures for ensuring that all
Commissioners have adequate time, prior to being
required to decide a petition, complaint, application,
rulemaking, or other proceeding (including at a meeting
held under section 5(d)), to review the proposed
Commission decision document, including the specific
language of any proposed rule or any proposed amendment
of an existing rule;
``(D) establish procedures for publishing the text
of agenda items to be voted on at an open meeting in
advance of the meeting so that the public has the
opportunity to read the text before a vote is taken;
``(E) establish deadlines (relative to the date of
filing) for disposition of applications for a license
under section 1.913 of title 47, Code of Federal
Regulations;
``(F) assign resources needed to meet the deadlines
described in subparagraph (E), including whether the
ability of the Commission to meet those deadlines would
be enhanced by assessing a fee from applicants for a
license described in subparagraph (E); and
``(G) publish each order, decision, report, or
action not later than 30 days after the date of the
adoption of the order, decision, report, or action.
``(4) Data for performance measures.--The Commission shall
develop a performance measure or proposed performance measure
required under this subsection to rely, where possible, on data
already collected by the Commission.
``(c) Periodic Review.--On the date that is 5 years after the
completion of the rulemaking proceeding under subsection (b)(1), and
every 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall initiate a new
rulemaking proceeding to continue to consider any procedural changes to
the rules of the Commission that may be in the public interest to
maximize opportunities for public participation and efficient
decisionmaking.
``(d) Nonpublic Collaborative Discussions.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 552b of title 5,
United States Code, a bipartisan majority of Commissioners may
hold a meeting that is closed to the public to discuss official
business if--
``(A) a vote or any other agency action is not
taken at the meeting;
``(B) each person present at the meeting is a
Commissioner, an employee of the Commission, a member
of a joint board or conference established under
section 410, or a person on the staff of such a joint
board or conference or of a member of such a joint
board or conference; and
``(C) an attorney from the Office of General
Counsel of the Commission is present at the meeting.
``(2) Disclosure of nonpublic collaborative discussions.--
Not later than 2 business days after the conclusion of a
meeting held under paragraph (1), the Commission shall publish
a disclosure of the meeting, including--
``(A) a list of the persons who attended the
meeting; and
``(B) a summary of the matters discussed at the
meeting, except for any matters that the Commission
determines may be withheld under section 552b(c) of
title 5, United States Code.
``(3) Preservation of open meetings requirements for agency
action.--Nothing in this subsection shall limit the
applicability of section 552b of title 5, United States Code,
with respect to a meeting of Commissioners other than that
described in paragraph (1).
``(e) Access to Certain Information on Commission's Website.--The
Commission shall provide direct access from the homepage of the website
of the Commission to--
``(1) detailed information regarding--
``(A) the budget of the Commission for the current
fiscal year;
``(B) the appropriations for the Commission for the
current fiscal year; and
``(C) the total number of full-time equivalent
employees of the Commission; and
``(2) the performance plan most recently made available by
the Commission under section 1115(b) of title 31, United States
Code.
``(f) Federal Register Publication.--
``(1) In general.--In the case of any document adopted by
the Commission that the Commission is required, under any
provision of law, to publish in the Federal Register, the
Commission shall, not later than the date described in
paragraph (2), complete all Commission actions necessary for
the document to be so published.
``(2) Date described.--The date described in this paragraph
is the earlier of--
``(A) the date that is 45 days after the date of
the release of the document described in paragraph (1);
or
``(B) the date by which the actions described in
paragraph (1) must be completed to comply with any
deadline under any other provision of law.
``(3) No effect on deadlines for publication in other
form.--
``(A) In general.--In the case of a deadline that
does not specify that the form of publication is
publication in the Federal Register, the Commission may
comply with the deadline by publishing the document in
another form.
``(B) Applicability of federal register publication
requirements.--Publication of a document in another
form as described in subparagraph (A) shall not relieve
the Commission of any Federal Register publication
requirement applicable to the document, including the
requirement under paragraph (1).
``(g) Consumer Complaint Database.--
``(1) In general.--In evaluating and processing consumer
complaints, the Commission shall present information about the
complaints in a publicly available, searchable database on the
website of the Commission that--
``(A) facilitates easy use by consumers; and
``(B) to the extent practicable, is sortable and
accessible by--
``(i) the date of the filing of the
complaint;
``(ii) the topic of the complaint;
``(iii) the party complained of; and
``(iv) other elements that the Commission
considers in the public interest.
``(2) Duplicative complaints.--In the case of multiple
complaints arising from the same alleged misconduct, the
Commission may satisfy the requirement under paragraph (1) by
including information concerning only 1 such complaint in the
database described in paragraph (1).
``(h) Form of Publication.--
``(1) In general.--In complying with a requirement under
this section to publish a document, the Commission shall
publish the document on the website of the Commission, in
addition to publishing the document in any other form that the
Commission is required to use or is permitted to and chooses to
use.
``(2) Exception.--The Commission shall by rule establish
procedures for redacting documents required to be published
under this section so that the published versions of the
documents do not contain--
``(A) information the publication of which would be
detrimental to national security, homeland security,
law enforcement, or public safety; or
``(B) information that is proprietary or
confidential.
``(i) Transparency Relating to Performance in Meeting FOIA
Requirements.--The Commission shall take additional steps to inform the
public about the performance and efficiency of the Commission in
meeting the disclosure and other requirements under section 552 of
title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the `Freedom of
Information Act'), including by--
``(1) publishing on the website of the Commission the logs
used by the Commission for tracking, responding to, and
managing requests submitted under such section, including the
Commission's fee estimates, fee categories, and fee request
determinations;
``(2) releasing to the public all decisions made by the
Commission (including decisions made by the Bureaus and Offices
of the Commission) granting or denying requests filed under
such section, including any such decisions pertaining to the
estimate and application of fees assessed under such section;
``(3) publishing on the website of the Commission
electronic copies of documents released under such section; and
``(4) presenting, in the annual budget estimates of the
Commission submitted to Congress and the annual performance and
financial reports of the Commission, information about the
handling by the Commission of requests under such section,
including--
``(A) the number of requests under such section the
Commission received during the most recent fiscal year;
``(B) the number of requests described in
subparagraph (A) granted and denied;
``(C) a comparison of the processing of requests
described in subparagraph (A) by the Commission during
a period of not less than the 3 preceding fiscal years;
and
``(D) a comparison of the results of the Commission
in processing requests described in subparagraph (A)
with the most recent average for the United States
Government as published on www.foia.gov.
``(j) Prompt Release of Statistical Reports and Reports to
Congress.--Not later than January 15 of each year, the Commission shall
identify, catalog, and publish an anticipated release schedule for all
statistical reports and reports to Congress that are regularly or
intermittently released by the Commission and will be released during
the year.
``(k) Annual Scorecard Reports.--
``(1) In general.--For the 1-year period beginning on
January 1 of each year, the Commission shall prepare a report
on the performance of the Commission in conducting proceedings
and meeting the deadlines established under subsection
(b)(2)(E) and the guidelines established under subsection
(b)(2)(F).
``(2) Contents.--Each report required under paragraph (1)
shall contain detailed statistics on the performance of the
Commission as described in paragraph (1), including, with
respect to each Bureau of the Commission--
``(A) with respect to each type of filing specified
in subsection (b)(2)(E) or (b)(2)(F)--
``(i) the number of filings that were
pending on the last day of the period covered
by the report;
``(ii) the number of filings described in
clause (i) for which each applicable deadline
or guideline established under such subsection
was not met and the average length of time
those filings have been pending; and
``(iii) for filings that were resolved
during the period covered by the report, the
average time between initiation and resolution
and the percentage for which each applicable
deadline or guideline established under such
subsection was met;
``(B) with respect to proceedings before an
administrative law judge--
``(i) the number of proceedings completed
during the period covered by the report; and
``(ii) the number of proceedings pending on
the last day of the period covered by the
report; and
``(C) the number of independent studies or analyses
published by the Commission during the period covered
by the report.
``(3) Publication and submission.--The Commission shall
publish and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate each report required
under paragraph (1) not later than the date that is 30 days
after the last day of the period covered by the report.''.
(b) Effective Dates and Implementing Rules.--
(1) Effective dates.--
(A) Nonpublic collaborative discussions.--
Subsection (d) of section 13 of the Communications Act
of 1934, as added by subsection (a), shall apply
beginning on the first date on which all of the
procedural changes to the rules of the Federal
Communications Commission required under subsection
(b)(1) of such section have taken effect.
(B) Schedules and reports.--Subsections (j) and (k)
of section 13 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to
2015 and any year thereafter.
(2) Rules.--Except as otherwise provided in section 13 of
the Communications Act of 1934, as added by subsection (a), the
Federal Communications Commission shall promulgate any rules
necessary to carry out such section not later than 1 year after
the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. CATEGORIZATION OF TCPA INQUIRIES AND COMPLAINTS IN QUARTERLY
REPORT.
In compiling its quarterly report with respect to informal consumer
inquiries and complaints, the Federal Communications Commission may not
categorize an inquiry or complaint with respect to section 227 of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227) as being a wireline inquiry
or complaint or a wireless inquiry or complaint unless the party whose
conduct is the subject of the inquiry or complaint is a wireline
carrier or a wireless carrier, respectively.
SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall
relieve the Federal Communications Commission from any obligations
under title 5, United States Code, except where otherwise expressly
provided.
SEC. 5. APPLICATION OF ANTIDEFICIENCY ACT TO UNIVERSAL SERVICE PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 254 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 254) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(m) Application of Antideficiency Act.--Section 1341 and
subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 31, United States Code, shall not
apply to--
``(1) any amount collected or received as Federal universal
service contributions required under this section, including
any interest earned on such contributions; or
``(2) the expenditure or obligation of amounts attributable
to contributions described in paragraph (1) for universal
service support programs established under this section.''.
(b) Repeal of Temporary Provision.--The Universal Service
Antideficiency Temporary Suspension Act (title III of Public Law 108-
494; 118 Stat. 3997) is repealed.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
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