[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 122 (Monday, June 26, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32960-32961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-15537]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[DA 95-1368]
Mass Media Bureau
Assignment and Transfer Backlog Reduction and New Speed of
Service Initiatives
The Mass Media Bureau has instituted a plan to eliminate the
existing backlog of contested assignment and transfer applications and
to reduce, to the maximum extent possible, the time between the filing
of new assignment and transfer applications and action on such
applications. Additionally, the Bureau is exploring improved procedural
techniques to expedite review of all applications filed with it.
Backlog Reduction Effort
Under the sales backlog reduction plan the Bureau will:
Maintain its current speed of service for all routine
assignment and transfer applications (i.e., applications
[[Page 32961]] that do not involve a waiver and are uncontested) at 60
days or less from the date of filing.
By June 30, dispose of all non-routine assignment and
transfer applications (i.e., applications that are contested or involve
a waiver) that have been pending for over 180 days, except for cases
that are blocked because of circumstances beyond the Bureau's control.
By July 31, dispose of all petitions for reconsideration
of staff action on sales applications in cases where the petition has
been pending for over 180 days; submit for Commission consideration
draft decisions on all applications for review of staff action on sales
applications in cases where the application for review has been pending
for over 180 days.
With regard to newly filed assignment and transfer
applications, dispose of all non-routine applications in no more than
180 days from the date of filing, respond to all petitions for
reconsideration of those decisions in no more than 180 days from the
filing of the petition, and submit for Commission review draft
documents responding to applications for review of such decisions in no
more than 180 days from the filing of the application for review. The
180 day time-frame for initial action on a non-routine assignment and
transfer application represents a worst-case scenario. The Bureau will
act on most newly filed non-routine assignment and transfer
applications in no more than 120 days. Frivolous petitions to deny will
be acted on within 30 days of the close of the pleading cycle and
frivolous informal objections will be acted on within 30 days of the
close of the period established by the public notice announcing
acceptance of the application. Applications will be approved
simultaneously if otherwise grantable.
To achieve its backlog reduction plan, the Bureau has recently
detailed several attorneys from other parts of the Bureau to the Audio
Services Division, which receives the highest percentage of assignment
and transfer applications. That Division is also reorganizing to permit
its attorneys to focus on the more difficult legal issues raised in
sales applications and to reduce the levels of internal review. These
changes, coupled with certain procedural improvements, have within the
last three months permitted the Division to reduce the number of non-
routine sales cases over six months old by 65%, from 144 to 50, and the
appeals of such cases by 20%, from 53 to 42. In the Video Services
Division, the backlog of pending sales cases over six months old is
currently 20 and, with the exception of a few complex cases, will be
reduced according to the schedule above. On a separate matter, the
Video Services Division, since June of 1994 when it assumed
responsibility for processing MMDS applications, has reduced the number
of applications for new or improved facilities by approximately 2200,
or 33%, and has reduced the backlog of MMDS petitions for
reconsideration from 5523 to 207, or 96%.
In addition to reallocating resources, the Bureau is applying
improved procedural techniques to expedite review of all assignment and
transfer applications filed with it and is exploring additional ways to
facilitate timely processing:
The Bureau will screen receipt all incoming pleadings to
determine whether they conform to procedural rules and to assess the
seriousness of the allegations. Petitions to deny, petitions for
reconsideration, and applications for review that fail to comply with
relevant procedural requirements including, for example, requirements
concerning standing, jurisdiction, and supporting affidavits, will be
summarily dismissed unless the staff determines that consideration of
the document despite its procedural flaws is in the public interest.
The Bureau urges attorneys to state with specificity, and to support
with facts and legal authority, how each pleading filed complies with
procedural requirements in the Commission's rules.
Though all issues raised in pleadings will be carefully
and thoroughly considered, staff decisions denying petitions to deny
and petitions for reconsideration will generally contain a concise
statement of reasons disposing of all substantial issues raised by the
petition rather than a detailed issue-by-issue analysis. Decisions
denying informal objections will generally indicate only that the
objection failed to present a public interest reason for denying the
application. Parties may submit draft decision documents to the staff
together with their authorized pleadings.
The Bureau plans to request expansion of its delegated
authority to permit waivers of the multiple ownership rules and
resolution of routine EEO complaints without full Commission review.
Action by the Chief, Mass Media Bureau.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Blair or Stuart Bedell at 202-
418-2788 or Clay Pendarvis at 202-418-1630.
Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-15537 Filed 6-23-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-M
