Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2015

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. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2015 2. FCC process reform (a) In general Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 151 et seq. 13. Transparency and efficiency (a) Initial rulemaking and inquiry (1) Rulemaking Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2015 (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 such minimum comment periods, for— (i) significant regulatory actions, as defined in Executive Order No. 12866; and (ii) all other rulemaking proceedings; (B) establish policies concerning the submission of extensive new comments, data, or reports towards the end of the 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 the comment period to ensure that the public has adequate notice of and opportunity to respond to such submissions before the Commission relies on such submissions in any order, decision, report, or action; (D) establish procedures for, not later than 14 days after the end of each quarter of a calendar year (or more frequently, as the Commission considers appropriate), publishing on the Internet website of the Commission and submitting to Congress a report that contains— (i) 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; (ii) for the petitions, applications, complaints, and other requests for action by the Commission that were pending at the Commission on the last day of such quarter (or more frequent period, as the case may be)— (I) the number of such requests, broken down by the bureau primarily responsible for action and, for each bureau, the type of request (such as a petition, application, or complaint); and (II) information regarding the amount of time for which such requests have been pending, broken down as described in subclause (I); and (iii) a list of the congressional investigations of the Commission that were pending on the last day of such quarter (or more frequent period, as the case may be) and the cost of such investigations, individually and in the aggregate; (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 such petition; (ii) in the case of a petition for rulemaking under section 1.401 of such title, issuing a public notice of such petition; and (iii) in the case of a petition for reconsideration under section 1.106 or 1.429 of such title 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 such title; (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; and (H) require notices of proposed rulemaking and orders adopting a rule or amending an existing rule that— (i) create (or propose to create) a program activity to contain performance measures for evaluating the effectiveness of the program activity; and (ii) substantially change (or propose 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 the enactment of the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2015 (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 pursuant to 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 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; (E) assign resources needed in order to meet the deadlines described in subparagraph (D), including whether the Commission’s ability to meet such deadlines would be enhanced by assessing a fee from applicants for such a license; and (F) publish each order, decision, report, or action not later than 30 days after the date of the adoption of such order, decision, report, or action. (4) Data for performance measures The Commission shall develop a performance measure or proposed performance measure required by this subsection to rely, where possible, on data already collected by the Commission. (5) GAO audit Not less frequently than every 6 months, the Comptroller General of the United States shall audit the cost estimates provided by the Commission under paragraph (2)(D)(iii) during the preceding 6-month period. (b) Periodic review On the date that is 5 years after the completion of the rulemaking proceeding under subsection (a)(1), and every 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall initiate a new rulemaking proceeding to continue to consider such procedural changes to its rules as may be in the public interest to maximize opportunities for public participation and efficient decisionmaking. (c) 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 such meeting; (B) each person present at such 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 such 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 such meeting, including— (A) a list of the persons who attended such meeting; and (B) a summary of the matters discussed at such meeting, except for such matters as 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). (d) Publication of documents in advance of FCC voting (1) In general The Commission may not adopt any order, decision, report, or action by vote of the Commission, unless the Chairman causes the Commission to publish on the Internet website of the Commission the text of such order, decision, report, or action— (A) not later than 24 hours after the time such text is placed on circulation for review by the Commissioners; or (B) not later than 21 days before the date on which the vote is to occur. (2) Text to be published; effect The text published pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be the text intended at the time of the publishing to be subject to a vote. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to prevent the Commission from making changes to the text after the publishing. (3) Exception This subsection shall not apply to a portion of any order, decision, report, or action if the publishing of such portion is likely to lead to a result described in a paragraph of section 552b(c) of title 5, United States Code. (4) Not agency action Publication pursuant to this subsection shall not constitute agency action (e) Timely availability of changes to rules of the Commission Not later than 24 hours after adopting a provision that will appear in the Code of Federal Regulations, or an amendment to or repeal of a provision that appears in the Code of Federal Regulations, the Commission shall publish on the Internet website of the Commission the text of the provision adopted or repealed, or the text indicating how the provision is being amended, as the case may be. (f) Access to certain information on Commission’s website The Commission shall provide direct access from the homepage of its website to— (1) detailed information regarding— (A) the budget of the Commission for the current fiscal year; (B) the appropriations for the Commission for such 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. (g) Internet publication of certain FCC policies and procedures The chairman of the Commission shall— (1) publish on the Internet website of the Commission any policies or procedures of the Commission that— (A) are established by the chairman; and (B) relate to the functioning of the Commission or the handling of the agenda of the Commission; and (2) update such publication not later than 48 hours after the chairman makes changes to any such policies or procedures. (h) 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 such document to be so published. (2) Date described The date described in this paragraph is the earlier of— (A) the day that is 45 days after the date of the release of the document; or (B) the day by which such actions must be completed to comply with any deadline under any other provision of law. (3) No effect on deadlines for publication in other form 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 such deadline by publishing the document in another form. Such other form of publication does not relieve the Commission of any Federal Register publication requirement applicable to such document, including the requirement of paragraph (1). (i) Consumer complaint database (1) In general In evaluating and processing consumer complaints, the Commission shall present information about such complaints in a publicly available, searchable database on its website 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 shall be required to include only information concerning one such complaint in the database described in paragraph (1). (j) Form of publication (1) In general In complying with a requirement of this section to publish a document, the Commission shall publish such document on its website, in addition to publishing such 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 by this section so that the published versions of such 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. (k) Transparency relating to performance in meeting FOIA requirements The Commission shall take additional steps to inform the public about its performance and efficiency in meeting the disclosure and other requirements of section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), including by doing the following: (1) Publishing on the Commission’s website the Commission’s logs 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 Commission’s Bureaus and Offices) 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 Commission’s website electronic copies of documents released under such section. (4) Presenting information about the Commission’s handling of requests under such section in the Commission’s annual budget estimates submitted to Congress and the Commission’s annual performance and financial reports. Such information shall include the number of requests under such section the Commission received in the most recent fiscal year, the number of such requests granted and denied, a comparison of the Commission’s processing of such requests over at least the previous 3 fiscal years, and a comparison of the Commission’s results with the most recent average for the United States Government as published on www.foia.gov. (l) Prompt release of statistical reports and reports to Congress Not later than January 15th 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 such year. (m) Annual scorecard reports (1) In general For the 1-year period beginning on January 1st of each year, the Commission shall prepare a report on the performance of the Commission in conducting its proceedings and meeting the deadlines established under subsection (a)(2)(E) and the guidelines established under subsection (a)(2)(F). (2) Contents Each report required by paragraph (1) shall contain detailed statistics on such performance, including, with respect to each Bureau of the Commission— (A) with respect to each type of filing specified in subsection (a)(2)(E) or (a)(2)(F)— (i) the number of filings that were pending on the last day of the period covered by such 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 such filings have been pending; and (iii) for filings that were resolved during such period, 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 such proceedings completed during such period; and (ii) the number of such proceedings pending on the last day of such period; and (C) the number of independent studies or analyses published by the Commission during such period. (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 by paragraph (1) not later than the date that is 30 days after the last day of the period covered by such report. (n) Definitions In this section: (1) Amendment The term amendment (2) Bipartisan majority The term bipartisan majority (A) is a group of 3 or more Commissioners; and (B) includes, for each political party of which any Commissioner is a member, at least 1 Commissioner who is a member of such political party, and, if any Commissioner has no political party affiliation, at least one unaffiliated Commissioner. (3) Performance measure The term performance measure (4) Program activity The term program activity (5) Other definitions The terms agency action ex parte communication rule . (b) Effective dates and implementing rules (1) Effective dates (A) Nonpublic collaborative discussions Subsection (c) 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 by subsection (a)(1) of such section have taken effect. (B) Publication of documents in advance of FCC voting Subsection (d) of such section 13 shall apply with respect to an order, decision, report, or action the text of which is placed on circulation after the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (C) Timely availability of changes to rules of the Commission Subsection (e) of such section 13 shall apply with respect to a provision, or an amendment to or repeal of a provision, that is adopted after the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (D) Internet publication of certain FCC policies and procedures Subsection (g) of such section 13 shall apply beginning on the date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (E) Report release schedules Subsection (l) of such section 13 shall apply with respect to 2016 and any year thereafter. (F) Annual scorecard reports Subsection (m) of such section 13 shall apply with respect to 2015 and any year thereafter. (2) Rules Except as otherwise provided in such section 13, the Federal Communications Commission shall promulgate any rules necessary to carry out such section not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 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 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. 5. Application of Antideficiency Act to Universal Service Program Section 302 of Public Law 108–494 December 31, 2016 December 31, 2020 6. Report on improving small business participation in FCC proceedings Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission, in consultation with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, shall submit to Congress a report on— (1) actions that the Commission will take to improve the participation of small businesses in the proceedings of the Commission; and (2) recommendations for any legislation that the Commission considers appropriate to improve such participation. 7. Identification and description of items to be decided on authority delegated by the Commission (a) In general Section 5(c) of the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 155(c) (10) Not later than 48 hours before the time when an order, decision, report, or action is made or taken pursuant to delegation under paragraph (1), such order, decision, report, or action shall be identified and briefly described on the Internet website of the Commission, unless the authority to which the delegation is made for good cause finds that such identification and description are likely to lead to a result described in a paragraph of section 552b(c) of title 5, United States Code. Identification and description pursuant to this paragraph shall not constitute agency action (A) does not receive a delegated authority number pursuant to the procedures of the Commission; (B) is made or taken on authority delegated to an administrative law judge; or (C) is made or taken to address an immediate threat to health or safety that constitutes an emergency requiring an expedited response from the Commission. . (b) Effective date The amendment made by this section shall apply with respect to an order, decision, report, or action made or taken after the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. October 22, 2015 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2015 (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to complete a rulemaking proceeding to adopt rules establishing: minimum comment and reply periods for rulemakings; policies to ensure that the public has notice and an opportunity to respond to comments, ex parte communications, or materials submitted toward the end of, or after, the comment period; deadlines for public notice, and guidelines for disposition, of certain petitions; and procedures to include the specific language of proposed rules or amendments in proposed rulemaking notices. The rules must also establish procedures for publishing on the FCC's website and submitting to Congress reports regarding: (1) the status of open rulemakings and items circulated for FCC commissioners' review; (2) the number of pending petitions, applications, complaints, and other requests for action by the FCC and the amount of time such requests have been pending; and (3) pending congressional investigations of the FCC and the cost of such investigations. The website postings and reports must be updated at least quarterly. Performance measures must be included in notices of proposed rulemakings or orders that would create or substantially change a program activity. A "program activity" is 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. The FCC must seek public comment regarding whether the FCC should establish procedures to: (1) allow a bipartisan majority of commissioners to place items on an open meeting agenda; (2) publish in advance of open meetings the text of agenda items on which the FCC will vote; (3) ensure that commissioners have adequate time, prior to a required decision, to review the proposed decision document, including the specific rule or any proposed amendments; (4) provide deadlines for the disposition of certain license applications; and (5) publish orders, decisions, reports, and actions within 30 days after adoption. The Government Accountability Office must audit the FCC's estimates of the costs of congressional investigations of the FCC. The FCC must initiate a new rulemaking proceeding every five years to continue its consideration of procedural rule changes. A bipartisan majority of commissioners may 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. Such a closed meeting must 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. The FCC must 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. The chair of the FCC must also publish on the website policies established by the chair that relate to the FCC's functioning or its agenda. The FCC must complete actions necessary for the required publication of documents in the Federal Register within specified time frames. The FCC must inform the public about its performance and efficiency in meeting disclosure and other requirements under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), including by: (1) publishing on the FCC website its logs for managing FOIA requests and associated fees, (2) releasing decisions to grant or deny requests, and (3) presenting information about the number of FOIA requests received and granted or denied by the FCC in its annual budget estimates and annual performance and financial reports. By January 15 of each year, the FCC must publish on its website and in other required formats an anticipated release schedule for all statistical reports and reports to Congress. The bill requires annual reports to Congress on the FCC's performance in conducting its proceedings and meeting the deadlines and guidelines established by this Act. (Sec. 3) In compiling its quarterly report with respect to informal consumer inquiries and complaints, the FCC is prohibited 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. (Sec. 5) The Universal Service Antideficiency Temporary Suspension Act is amended to extend through December 31, 2020, the waiver of certain limitations on: (1) expending, obligating, or apportioning appropriations with respect to federal universal service contributions collected or received under the Communications Act of 1934; and (2) expending or obligating funds attributable to such contributions for universal service support programs. (Sec. 6) The FCC must consult with the Small Business Administration to report to Congress with actions and recommendations to improve participation of small businesses in FCC proceedings. (Sec. 7) The budgetary effects of this Act are excluded from PAYGO scorecards under the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 and section 201 of S.Con.Res. 21 (110th Congress).