[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 30, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69096-69097]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-31039]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the 
Federal Communications Commission for Extension Under Delegated 
Authority, Comments Requested

December 22, 2009.
SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general 
public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment 
on the following information collection(s), as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520. An agency 
may not collect or sponsor a collection of information unless it 
displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. No person shall be 
subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of 
information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not 
display a valid OMB Control Number. Comments are requested concerning 
(a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including 
whether the information shall have

[[Page 69097]]

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden 
estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on the respondents, including the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

DATES: Persons wishing to comment on this information collection should 
submit comments on or before March 1, 2010. If you anticipate that you 
will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the 
period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the contact 
listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB), via fax at (202) 395-5167, or via the 
Internet at [email protected] and to Leslie F. Smith, 
Federal Communications Commission, at [email protected]. To submit 
your comments by e-mail, send them to [email protected]. Include in the e-
mail the OMB Control Number of the collection or, if there is no OMB 
control number, the Title shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section below. If you are unable to submit your comments by e-mail, 
contact the person listed below to make alternate arrangements.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection(s) or to obtain a copy of the collection, send 
an e-mail to [email protected] and include the collection's OMB control 
number as shown in the Supplementary Information section below, or call 
Leslie F. Smith at (202) 418-0217.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control No.: 3060-0411.
    Title: Procedures for Formal Complaints Filed Against Common 
Carriers.
    Form Number: FCC 485.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Businesses or other for-profit, Not-for-profit 
institutions, Federal Government, and State, Local or Tribal 
Government.
    Number of Respondents: 26; 26 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.5-12 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping, On occasion reporting 
requirements; and Third party disclosure.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Total Annual Burden: 1,001 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $1,409,600.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impacts.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 47 CFR 1.731 provides for 
confidential treatment of materials disclosed or exchanged during the 
course of formal complaint proceedings when those materials have been 
identified by the disclosing party as proprietary or confidential. In 
the rare case in which a producing party believes that Section 1.731 
will not provide adequate protection for its asserted confidential 
material, it may request either that the opposing party consent to 
greater protection, or that the staff supervising the proceeding order 
greater protection.
    Needs and Uses: Sections 206-209 of the Communications Act of 1934, 
as amended (the ``Act''), provide the statutory framework for the 
Commission's rules for resolving formal complaints against common 
carriers. Section 208(a) authorizes complaints by any person 
``complaining of anything done or omitted to be done by any common 
carrier'' subject to the provisions of the Act. Section 208(a) states 
that if a carrier does not satisfy a complaint or there appears to be 
any reasonable ground for investigating the complaint, the Commission 
shall ``investigate the matters complained of in such manner and by 
such means as it shall deem proper.'' Certain categories of complaints 
are subject to a statutory deadline for resolution. See, e.g., 47 
U.S.C. 208(b)(1) (imposing a five-month deadline for complaints 
challenging the ``lawfulness of a charge, classification, regulation, 
or practice''); 47 U.S.C. 271(d)(6) (imposing a 90-day deadline for 
complaints alleging that a Bell operating company (BOC) has ceased to 
meet conditions imposed in connection with approval to provide in-
region interLATA services).
    Formal complaint proceedings before the Commission are similar to 
civil litigation in federal district court. In fact, under section 207 
of the Act, a party claiming to be damaged by a common carrier, may 
file its complaint with the Commission or in any district court of the 
United States, ``but such person shall not have the right to pursue 
both such remedies'' (47 U.S.C. 207). The Commission has promulgated 
rules (the ``Formal Complaint Rules'') to govern its formal complaint 
proceedings that are similar in many respects to the Federal Rules of 
Civil Procedure. See 47 CFR 1.720-1.736. These rules require the 
submission of information from the parties necessary to create a record 
on which the Commission can decide complex legal and factual issues. As 
described in Section 1.720 of the Commission's rules, formal complaint 
proceedings are resolved on a written record consisting of a complaint, 
answer or response, and joint statement of stipulated facts, disputed 
facts and key legal issues, along with all associated affidavits, 
exhibits and other attachments.
    This collection of information includes the process for submitting 
a formal complaint. The Commission uses this information to determine 
the sufficiency of complaints and to resolve the merits of disputes 
between the parties. Orders issued by the Commission in formal 
complaint proceedings are based upon evidence and argument produced by 
the parties in accordance with the Formal Complaint Rules. If the 
information were not collected, the Commission would not be able to 
resolve common carrier-related complaint proceedings, as required by 
Section 208 of the Act.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-31039 Filed 12-29-09; 8:45 am]
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