[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 17, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7376-7377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3361]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 0

[DA 04-62]


Commission Organization

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Commission's rules state that the organization and 
functions of its major staff units are described in the rules. The 
Office of Communications Business Opportunities is a major staff unit 
of the Commission, but the Office's functions and delegation of 
authority are not currently described in the rules. This action 
corrects that omission by adding the Office's functions and delegation 
of authority to the rules.

DATES: Effective February 17, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carolyn Fleming Williams, 202-418-
0990.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action was taken by order of the 
Managing Director on authority delegated by the Commission. The Order 
(DA 04-62) was released on January 22, 2004, and the full text of the 
Order is available for public inspection on-line at http://www.fcc.gov 
or in the Reference Center of the Federal Communications Commission, 
445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554. This Order amends part 0 of 
the Commission's rules to add the functions and delegation of authority 
of the Office of Communications Business Opportunities which was 
established in October 1994.
    Since this addition pertains to agency organization, procedure, and 
practice, it is not subject to review by the U.S. General Accounting 
Office under the Congressional Review Act, and the notice and comment 
provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act contained in 5 U.S.C. 
553(b) are not applicable.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 0

    Organization and functions (Government agencies).

Federal Communications Commission.
Andrew S. Fishel,
Managing Director.

0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Federal Communications 
Commission amends 47 CFR part 0 as follows:

PART 0--COMMISSION ORGANIZATION

0
1. The authority citation for part 0 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Sec. 5, 48 Stat. 1068, as amended; 47 U.S.C. 155, 
225, unless otherwise noted.

0
2. Add Sec. 0.101 and revise the undesignated center heading to read as 
follows:
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES


Sec. 0.101  Functions of the office.

    (a) The Office of Communications Business Opportunities (OCBO), as 
a staff office to the Commission, develops, coordinates, evaluates, and 
recommends to the Commission, policies, programs, and practices that 
promote participation by small entities, women, and minorities in the 
communications industry. A principal function of the Office is to lead, 
advise, and assist the Commission, including all of its component 
Bureau/Office managers, supervisors, and staff, at all levels, on ways 
to ensure that the competitive concerns of small entities, women, and 
minorities, are fully considered by the agency in notice and comment 
rulemakings. In accordance with this function, the Office:
    (1) Conducts independent analyses of the Commission's policies and 
practices

[[Page 7377]]

to ensure that those policies and practices fully consider the 
interests of small entities, women, and minorities.
    (2) Advises the Commission, Bureaus, and Offices of their 
responsibilities under the Congressional Review Act provisions 
regarding small businesses; the Report to Congress regarding Market 
Entry Barriers for Small Telecommunications Businesses (47 U.S.C. 257); 
and the Telecommunications Development Fund (47 U.S.C. 614).
    (b) The Office has the following duties and responsibilities:
    (1) Through its director, serves as the principal small business 
policy advisor to the Commission;
    (2) Develops, implements, and evaluates programs and policies that 
promote participation by small entities, women and minorities in the 
communications industry;
    (3) Manages the Regulatory Flexibility Analysis process pursuant to 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act and the Small Business Regulatory 
Enforcement Fairness Act to ensure that small business interests are 
fully considered in agency actions;
    (4) Develops and recommends Commission-wide goals and objectives 
for addressing the concerns of small entities, women, and minorities 
and reports of achievement;
    (5) Acts as the principal channel for disseminating information 
regarding the Commission's activities and programs affecting small 
entities, women, and minorities;
    (6) Develops, recommends, coordinates, and administers objectives, 
plans and programs to encourage participation by small entities, women, 
and minorities in the decision-making process;
    (7) Promotes increased awareness within the Commission of the 
impact of policies on small entities, women, and minorities;
    (8) Acts as the Commission's liaison to other federal agencies on 
matters relating to small business.

0
3. Add Sec. 0.371 and an undesignated center heading to read as 
follows:
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES


Sec. 0.371  Authority delegated.

    The Director, Office of Communications Business Opportunities, or 
his/her designee, is hereby delegated authority to:
    (a) Manage the Commission's compliance with the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act and the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act;
    (b) Develop the Commission's goals and objectives regarding 
increased opportunities for small entities, women, and minorities;
    (c) Collect and analyze data on the Commission's efforts toward 
ensuring full consideration of the interests of small entities, women, 
and minorities;
    (d) Prepare and release reports on the opportunities available and 
obstacles faced by small entities, women, and minorities in the 
communications industry;
    (e) Conduct studies and collect data on the issues and problems 
faced by small entities, women, and minorities in the communications 
industry;
    (f) Assume representational role on behalf of the Commission before 
other federal agencies and at conferences, meetings, and hearings 
regarding small entities, women, and minorities in the communications 
industry;
    (g) Develop programs and strategies designed to increase 
competition, employment opportunities and diversity of viewpoint 
through the promotion of ownership by small entities, women, and 
minorities;
    (h) Manage the Commission's efforts to increase the awareness of 
small entities, women, and minorities and to ensure that all available 
information is accessible to the same.

[FR Doc. 04-3361 Filed 2-13-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P