Source: https://www.fcc.gov/proceedings-actions/ex-parte/general/ex-parte-rules-2011
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 01:19:48+00:00

Document:
(a) Purpose. To ensure the fairness and integrity of its decision-making, the Commission has prescribed rules to regulate ex parte presentations in Commission proceedings. These rules specify "exempt" proceedings, in which ex parte presentations may be made freely (§ 1.1204(b)), "permit-but-disclose" proceedings, in which ex parte presentations to Commission decision-making personnel are permissible but subject to certain disclosure requirements (§ 1.1206), and "restricted" proceedings in which ex parte presentations to and from Commission decision-making personnel are generally prohibited (§ 1.1208). In all proceedings, a certain period ("the Sunshine Agenda period") is designated in which all presentations to Commission decision-making personnel are prohibited (§ 1.1203). The limitations on ex parte presentations described above are subject to certain general exceptions set forth in § 1.1204(a). Where the public interest so requires in a particular proceeding, the Commission and its staff retain the discretion to modify the applicable ex parte rules by order, letter, or public notice. Joint Boards may modify the ex parte rules in proceedings before them.
(b) Inquiries concerning the propriety of ex parte presentations should be directed to the Office of General Counsel.
(a) Presentation. A communication directed to the merits or outcome of a proceeding, including any attachments to a written communication or documents shown in connection with an oral presentation directed to the merits or outcome of a proceeding. Excluded from this term are communications which are inadvertently or casually made, inquiries concerning compliance with procedural requirements if the procedural matter is not an area of controversy in the proceeding, statements made by decisionmakers that are limited to providing publicly available information about pending proceedings, and inquiries relating solely to the status of a proceeding, including inquiries as to the approximate time that action in a proceeding may be taken. However, a status inquiry which states or implies a view as to the merits or outcome of the proceeding or a preference for a particular party, which states why timing is important to a particular party or indicates a view as to the date by which a proceeding should be resolved, or which otherwise is intended to address the merits or outcome or to influence the timing of a proceeding is a presentation.
Note to paragraph (a): A communication expressing concern about administrative delay or expressing concern that a proceeding be resolved expeditiously will be treated as a permissible status inquiry so long as no reason is given as to why the proceeding should be expedited other than the need to resolve administrative delay, no view is expressed as to the merits or outcome of the proceeding, and no view is expressed as to a date by which the proceeding should be resolved. A presentation by a party in a restricted proceeding not designated for hearing requesting action by a particular date or giving reasons that a proceeding should be expedited other than the need to avoid administrative delay (and responsive presentations by other parties) may be made on an ex parte basis subject to the provisions of § 1.1204(a)(11).
(2) If oral, is made without advance notice to the parties and without opportunity for them to be present.
Note to paragraph (b): Written communications include electronic submissions transmitted in the form of texts, such as by Internet electronic mail.
(c) Decision-making personnel. Any member, officer, or employee of the Commission, or, in the case of a Joint Board, its members or their staffs, who is or may reasonably be expected to be involved in formulating a decision, rule, or order in a proceeding. Any person who has been made a party to a proceeding or who otherwise has been excluded from the decisional process shall not be treated as a decision-maker with respect to that proceeding. Thus, any person designated as part of a separate trial staff shall not be considered a decision-making person in the designated proceeding. Unseparated Bureau or Office staff shall be considered decision-making personnel with respect to decisions, rules, and orders in which their Bureau or Office participates in enacting, preparing, or reviewing.
Note 1 to paragraph (d): Persons who file mutually exclusive applications for services that the Commission has announced will be subject to competitive bidding or lotteries shall not be deemed parties with respect to each others' applications merely because their applications are mutually exclusive. Therefore, such applicants may make presentations to the Commission about their own applications provided that no one has become a party with respect to their application by other means, e.g., by filing a petition or other opposition against the applicant or an associated waiver request, if the petition or opposition has been served on the applicant.
(5) In an informal rulemaking proceeding conducted under section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act (other than a proceeding for the allotment of a broadcast channel) or a proceeding before a Joint Board or before the Commission to consider the recommendation of a Joint Board, members of the general public after the issuance of a notice of proposed rulemaking or other order as provided under § 1.1206(a)(1) or (2).
Note 2 to paragraph (d): To be deemed a party, a person must make the relevant filing with the Secretary, the relevant Bureau or Office, or the Commission as a whole. Written submissions made only to the Chairman or individual Commissioners will not confer party status.
Note 3 to paragraph (d): The fact that a person is deemed a party for purposes of this subpart does not constitute a determination that such person has satisfied any other legal or procedural requirements, such as the operative requirements for petitions to deny or requirements as to timeliness. Nor does it constitute a determination that such person has any other procedural rights, such as the right to intervene in hearing proceedings. The Commission or the staff may also determine in particular instances that persons who qualify as "parties" under § 1.1202(d) should nevertheless not be deemed parties for purposes of this subpart.
Note 4 to paragraph (d): Individual listeners or viewers submitting comments regarding a pending broadcast application pursuant to § 1.1204(a)(8) will not become parties simply by service of the comments . The Mass Media Bureau may, in its discretion, make such a commenter a party, if doing so would be conducive to the Commission's consideration of the application or would otherwise be appropriate.
Note 5 to paragraph (d): A member of Congress or his or her staff, or other agencies or branches of the federal government or their staffs will not become a party by service of a written submission regarding a pending proceeding that has not been designated for hearing unless the submission affirmatively seeks and warrants grant of party status.
(e) Matter designated for hearing. Any matter that has been designated for hearing before an administrative law judge or which is otherwise designated for hearing in accordance with procedures in 5 U.S.C. § 554.
§ 1.1203 Sunshine period prohibition.
(4) The presentation is made by a member of Congress or his or her staff, or by other agencies or branches of the Federal government or their staffs in a proceeding exempt under § 1.1204 or subject to permit-but-disclose requirements under § 1.1206. Except as otherwise provided in § 1.1204(a)(6), if the presentation is of substantial significance and clearly intended to affect the ultimate decision, and is made in a permit-but-disclose proceeding, the presentation (or, if oral, a summary of the presentation) must be placed in the record of the proceeding by Commission staff or by the presenter in accordance with the procedures set forth in § 1.1206(b).
(3) Issues a public notice stating that the matter has been returned to the staff for further consideration, whichever occurs first.
(c) The prohibition set forth in paragraph (a) of this section shall not apply to the filing of a written ex parte presentation or a memorandum summarizing an oral ex parte presentation made on the day before the Sunshine period begins, or a permitted reply thereto.
§ 1.1204 Exempt ex parte presentations and proceedings.
(3) The presentation directly relates to an emergency in which the safety of life is endangered or substantial loss of property is threatened, provided that, if not otherwise submitted for the record, Commission staff promptly places the presentation or a summary of the presentation in the record and discloses it to other parties as appropriate.
Note 1 to paragraph (a): Under paragraphs (a) (5) and (a)(6) of this section, information will be relied on and disclosure will be made only after advance coordination with the agency involved in order to ensure that the agency involved retains control over the timing and extent of any disclosure that may have an impact on that agency's jurisdictional responsibilities. If the agency involved does not wish such information to be disclosed, the Commission will not disclose it and will disregard it in its decision-making process, unless it fits within another exemption not requiring disclosure (e.g., foreign affairs). The fact that an agency's views are disclosed under these subsections does not preclude further discussions pursuant to, and in accordance with, the exemption.
Note 2 to paragraph (a): If the Commission or its staff dispenses with the service or notice requirement to avoid interference with an investigation, a determination will be made in the discretion of the Commission or its staff as to when and how disclosure should be made if necessary. See Amendment of Subpart H, Part I, 2 FCC Rcd 6053, 6054 ¶¶ 10-14 (1987).
(v) In situations where new information regarding the merits is disclosed during settlement discussions, and the Commission or staff intends that the product of the settlement discussions will be disclosed to the other parties or the public for comment before any action is taken, the Commission or staff in its discretion may defer disclosure of such new information until comment is sought on the settlement proposal or the settlement discussions are terminated.
(11) The presentation is an oral presentation in a restricted proceeding not designated for hearing requesting action by a particular date or giving reasons that a proceeding should be expedited other than the need to avoid administrative delay. A detailed summary of the presentation shall promptly be filed in the record and served by the person making the presentation on the other parties to the proceeding, who may respond in support or opposition to the request for expedition, including by oral ex parte presentation, subject to the same service requirement.
(vi) The Pooling Administrator relating to the administration of thousands-block number pooling pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 251(e).
Note to paragraph (b): In the case of petitions for rulemaking that seek Commission preemption of state or local regulatory authority, the petitioner must serve the original petition on any state or local government, the actions of which are specifically cited as a basis for requesting preemption. Service should be made on those bodies within the state or local governments that are legally authorized to accept service of legal documents in a civil context. Such pleadings that are not served will be dismissed without consideration as a defective pleading and treated as a violation of the ex parte rules unless the Commission determines that the matter should be entertained by making it part of the record under § 1.1212(d) and the parties are so informed.
(6) A complaint against a cable operator regarding its rates that is not filed on the standard complaint form required by § 76.951 of this chapter (FCC Form 329).
Note 1 to paragraph (a): In the case of petitions for declaratory ruling that seek Commission preemption of state or local regulatory authority, the petitioner must serve the original petition on any state or local government, the actions of which are specifically cited as a basis for requesting preemption. Service should be made on those bodies within the state or local governments that are legally authorized to accept service of legal documents in a civil context. Such pleadings that are not served will be dismissed without consideration as a defective pleading and treated as a violation of the ex parte rules unless the Commission determines that the matter should be entertained by making it part of the record under § 1.1212(d) of this section and the parties are so informed.
Note 2 to paragraph (a): Where the requested information is the subject of a request for confidentiality, the person filing the request for confidentiality shall be deemed a party.
(11) A cable rate complaint proceeding pursuant to section 623(c) of the Communications Act where the complaint is filed on FCC Form 329.
(13) Petitions for Commission preemption of authority to review interconnection agreements under § 252(e)(5) of the Communications Act and petitions for preemption under § 253 of the Communications Act.
Note 3 to paragraph (a): In a permit-but-disclose proceeding involving only one "party," as defined in § 1.1202(d) of this subpart, the party and the Commission may freely make presentations to each other and need not comply with the disclosure requirements of paragraph (b) of this section.
(1) Oral presentations. A person who makes an oral ex parte presentation subject to this section shall submit to the Commission’s Secretary a memorandum that lists all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meetingat which the ex parte presentation was made, and summarizes all data presented and arguments made during the oral ex parte presentation. Memoranda must contain a summary of the substance of the ex parte presentation and not merely a listing of the subjects discussed. More than a one or two sentence description of the views and arguments presented is generally required. If the oral ex parte presentation consisted in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already reflected in the presenter’s written comments, memoranda or other filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the memorandum.
Note 1 to paragraph (b) : Where, for example, presentations occur in the form of discussion at a widely attended meeting, preparation of a memorandum as specified in the rule might be cumbersome. Under these circumstances, the rule may be satisfied by submitting a transcript or recording of the discussion as an alternative to a memorandum. Likewise, Commission staff in its discretion may file an ex parte summary of a multiparty meeting as an alternative to having each participant file a summary.
(2) Written and oral presentations. A written ex parte presentation and a memorandum summarizing an oral ex parte presentation (and cover letter, if any) shall clearly identify the proceeding to which it relates, including the docket number, if any, and must be labeled as an ex parte presentation. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and, accordingly, must be filed consistent with the provisions of this section. Consistent with the requirements of § 1.49 paragraphs (a) and (f), additional copies of all written ex parte presentations and notices of oral ex parte presentations, and any replies thereto, shall be mailed, e-mailed or transmitted by facsimile to the Commissioners or Commission employees who attended or otherwise participated in the presentation.
(i) In proceedings governed by § 1.49(f) or for which the Commission has made available a method of electronic filing, written ex parte presentations and memoranda summarizing oral ex parte presentations, and all attachments thereto, shall, when feasible, be filed through the electronic comment filing system available for that proceeding, and shall be filed in a native format (e.g., .doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). If electronic filing would present an undue hardship, the person filing must request an exemption from the electronic filing requirement, stating clearly the nature of the hardship, and submitting an original and one copy of the written ex parte presentation or memorandum summarizing an oral ex parte presentation to the Secretary, with a copy by mail or by electronic mail to the Commissioners or Commission employees who attended or otherwise participated in the presentation.
(ii) Confidential Information. In cases where a filer believes that one or more of the documents or portions thereof to be filed should be withheld from public inspection, the filer should file electronically a request that the information not be routinely made available for public inspection pursuant to § 0.459 of this chapter. Accompanying any such request, the filer shall include in paper form a copy of the document(s) containing the confidential information, and also shall file electronically a copy of the same document(s) with the confidential information redacted. The redacted document shall be machine-readable whenever technically possible. Where the document to be filed electronically contains metadata that is confidential or protected from disclosure by a legal privilege (including, for example, the attorney-client privilege), the filer may remove such metadata from the document before filing it electronically.
(iii) Filing dates outside the Sunshine period. Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (b)(2)(iv) and (v) of this section, all written ex parte presentations and all summaries of oral ex parte presentations must be filed no later than two business days after the presentation. As set forth in § 1.4(e)(2), a “business day” shall not include a holiday (as defined in § 1.4(e)(1)). In addition, for purposes of computing time limits under the rules governing ex parte presentations, a “business day” shall include the full calendar day (i.e., from 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time until 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time).
Example: On Tuesday a party makes an ex parte presentation in a permit-but-disclose proceeding to a Commissioner. The second business day following the ex parte presentation is the following Thursday (absent an intervening holiday). The presenting party must file its ex parte notice before the end of the day (11:59:59 p.m.) on Thursday. Similarly, if an ex parte presentation is made on Friday, the second business day ordinarily would be the following Tuesday, and the ex parte notice must be filed no later than 11:59:59 p.m. on that Tuesday.
(iv) Filing dates for presentations made on the day that the Sunshine notice is released. For presentations made on the day the Sunshine notice is released, any written ex parte presentation or memorandum summarizing an oral ex parte presentation required pursuant to § 1.1206 or § 1.1208 must be submitted no later than the end of the next business day. Written replies, if any, shall be filed no later than two business days following the presentation, and shall be limited in scope to the specific issues and information presented in the ex parte filing to which they respond.
Example: On Tuesday, a party makes an ex parte presentation in a permit-but-disclose proceeding to a Commissioner. That same day, the Commission’s Secretary releases the Sunshine Agenda for the next Commission meeting and that proceeding appears on the Agenda. The Sunshine period begins as of Wednesday, and therefore the presenting party must file its ex parte notice by the end of the day (11:59:59 p.m.) on Wednesday. A reply would be due by the end of the day (11:59:59 p.m.) on Thursday.
(v) Filing dates during the Sunshine Period. If an ex parte presentation is made pursuant to an exception to the Sunshine period prohibition, the written ex parte presentation or memorandum summarizing an oral ex parte presentation required under this paragraph shall be submitted by the end of the same business day on which the ex parte presentation was made. The memorandum shall identify plainly on the first page the specific exemption in § 1.1203(a) on which the presenter relies, and shall also state the date and time at which any oral ex parte presentation was made. Written replies to permissible ex parte presentations made pursuant to an exception to the Sunshine period prohibition, if any, shall be filed no later than the next business day following the presentation, and shall be limited in scope to the specific issues and information presented in the ex parte filing to which they respond.
Example: On Tuesday, the Commission’s Secretary releases the Sunshine Agenda for the next Commission meeting, which triggers the beginning of the Sunshine period on Wednesday. On Thursday, a party makes an ex parte presentation to a Commissioner on a proceeding that appears on the Sunshine Agenda. That party must file an ex parte notice by the end of the day (11:59:59 p.m.) on Thursday. A reply would be due by the end of the day (11:59:59 p.m.) on Friday.
(vi) If a notice of an oral ex parte presentation is incomplete or inaccurate, staff may request the filer to correct any inaccuracies or missing information. Failure by the filer to file a corrected memorandum in a timely fashion as set forth in paragraph (b) of this section, or any other evidence of substantial or repeated violations of the rules on ex parte contacts, should be reported to the General Counsel.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs(b)(1) and (2) of this section, permit-but-disclose proceedings involvingpresentations made by members of Congress or their staffs or by an agency or branch of the Federal Government or its staff shall be treated as ex parte presentations only if the presentations are of substantial significance and clearly intended to affect the ultimate decision. The Commission staff shall prepare written summaries of any such oral presentations and place them in the record in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section and also place any written presentations in the record in accordance with that paragraph.
(4) Notice of ex parte presentations. The Commission’sSecretary shall issue a public notice listing any written ex parte presentations or written summaries of oral ex parte presentations received by his or heroffice relating to any permit-but-disclose proceeding. Such public notices generally should be released at least twice per week.
Note 2 to paragraph (b): Interested persons should be aware that some ex parte filings, for example, those not filed in accordance with the requirements of this paragraph (b), might not be placed on the referenced public notice. All ex parte presentations and memoranda filed under this section will be available for public inspection in the public file or record of the proceeding, and parties wishing to ensure awareness of all filings should review the public file or record.
Unless otherwise provided by the Commission or its staff pursuant to § 1.1200(a) of this section, ex parte presentations (other than ex parte presentations exempt under § 1.1204 (a) of this section) to or from Commission decision-making personnel are prohibited in all proceedings not listed as exempt in § 1.1204(b) or permit-but-disclose in § 1.1206(a) of this section until the proceeding is no longer subject to administrative reconsideration or review or judicial review. Proceedings in which ex parte presentations are prohibited, referred to as "restricted" proceedings, include, but are not limited to, all proceedings that have been designated for hearing, proceedings involving amendments to the broadcast table of allotments, applications for authority under Title III of the Communications Act, and all waiver proceedings (except for those directly associated with tariff filings). A party making a written or oral presentation in a restricted proceeding, on a non-ex parte basis, must file a copy of the presentation or, for an oral presentation, a summary of the presentation in the record of the proceeding using procedures consistent with those specified in § 1.1206.
Note 1 to § 1.1208: In a restricted proceeding involving only one "party," as defined in § 1.1202(d), the party and the Commission may freely make presentations to each other because there is no other party to be served or with a right to have an opportunity to be present. See § 1.1202(b). Therefore, to determine whether presentations are permissible in a restricted proceeding without service or notice and an opportunity for other parties to be present the definition of a "party" should be consulted.
Examples: After the filing of an uncontested application or waiver request, the applicant or other filer would be the sole party to the proceeding. The filer would have no other party to serve with or give notice of any presentations to the Commission, and such presentations would therefore not be "ex parte presentations" as defined by § 1.1202(b) and would not be prohibited. On the other hand, in the example given, because the filer is a party, a third person who wished to make a presentation to the Commission concerning the application or waiver request would have to serve or notice the filer. Further, once the proceeding involved additional "parties" as defined by § 1.1202(d) (e.g., an opponent of the filer who served the opposition on the filer), the filer and other parties would have to serve or notice all other parties.
Note 2 to § 1.1208: Consistent with § 1.1200(a), the Commission or its staff may determine that a restricted proceeding not designated for hearing involves primarily issues of broadly applicable policy rather than the rights and responsibilities of specific parties and specify that the proceeding will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of § 1.1206 governing permit-but-disclose proceedings.
§ 1.1210 Prohibition on solicitation of presentations.
No person shall solicit or encourage others to make any improper presentation under the provisions of this section.
§ 1.1212 Procedures for handling of prohibited ex parte presentations.
(a) Commission personnel who believe that an oral presentation which is being made to them or is about to be made to them is prohibited shall promptly advise the person initiating the presentation that it is prohibited and shall terminate the discussion.
(6) The date and time that the statement was prepared.
(c) Commission personnel who receive written ex parte presentations which they believe are prohibited shall forward them to the Office of General Counsel. If the circumstances in which the presentation was made are not apparent from the presentation itself, a statement describing those circumstances shall be submitted to the Office of General Counsel with the presentation.
(d) Prohibited written ex parte presentations and all documentation relating to prohibited written and oral ex parte presentations shall be placed in a public file which shall be associated with but not made part of the record of the proceeding to which the presentations pertain. Such materials may be considered in determining the merits of a restricted proceeding only if they are made part of the record and the parties are so informed.
(e) If the General Counsel determines that an ex parte presentation or presentation during the Sunshine period is prohibited by this subpart, he or she shall notify the parties to the proceeding that a prohibited presentation has occurred and shall serve on the parties copies of the presentation (if written) and any statements describing the circumstances of the presentation. Service by the General Counsel shall not be deemed to cure any violation of the rules against prohibited ex parte presentations.
(f) If the General Counsel determines that service on the parties would be unduly burdensome because the parties to the proceeding are numerous, he or she may issue a public notice in lieu of service. The public notice shall state that a prohibited presentation has been made and may also state that the presentation and related materials are available for public inspection.
(g) The General Counsel shall forward a copy of any statement describing the circumstances in which the prohibited ex parte presentation was made to the person who made the presentation. Within ten days thereafter, the person who made the presentation may file with the General Counsel a sworn declaration regarding the presentation and the circumstances in which it was made. The General Counsel may serve copies of the sworn declaration on the parties to the proceeding.
(h) Where a restricted proceeding precipitates a substantial amount of correspondence from the general public, the above procedures will not be followed with respect to such correspondence. The correspondence will be placed in a public file and be made available for public inspection.
§ 1.1214 Disclosure of information concerning violations of this subpart.
Any party to a proceeding or any Commission employee who has substantial reason to believe that any violation of this subpart has been solicited, attempted, or committed shall promptly advise the Office of General Counsel in writing of all the facts and circumstances which are known to him or her.
(a)Parties. Upon notice and hearing, any party to a proceeding who directly or indirectly violates or causes the violation of any provision of this subpart, or who fails to report the facts and circumstances concerning any such violation as required by this subpart, may be subject to sanctions as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, or disqualified from further participation in that proceeding. In proceedings other than a rulemaking, a party who has violated or caused the violation of any provision of this subpart may be required to show cause why his or her claim or interest in the proceeding should not be dismissed, denied, disregarded, or otherwise adversely affected. In any proceeding, such alternative or additional sanctions as may be appropriate may also be imposed.
(b) Commission personnel. Commission personnel who violate provisions of this subpart may be subject to appropriate disciplinary or other remedial action as provided in Part 19 of this chapter.
(c) Other persons. Such sanctions as may be appropriate under the circumstances shall be imposed upon other persons who violate the provisions of this subpart.
(d) Penalties. A party who has violated or caused the violation of any provision of this subpart may be subject to admonishment, monetary forfeiture, or to having his or her claim or interest in the proceeding dismissed, denied, disregarded, or otherwise adversely affected. In any proceeding, such alternative or additional sanctions as may be appropriate also may be imposed. Upon referral from the General Counsel following a finding of an ex parte violation pursuant to § 0.251(g) of this chapter, the Enforcement Bureau shall have delegated authority to impose sanctions in such matters pursuant to § 0.111(a)(15) of this chapter.

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