[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 206 (Tuesday, October 25, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66066-66068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-27470]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


Information Collection(s) Being Submitted for Review to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 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), Public Law 
104-13. 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 practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's 
burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information collected; (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; (e) ways to further reduce the information collection 
burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.

[[Page 66067]]

    The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) Control Number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for 
failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA 
that does not display a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
Control Number.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before November 25, 
2011. 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 contacts 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 e-mail 
to: [email protected]; and to Leslie F. Smith, Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC), Room 1-C216, 445 12th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, or via e-mail to: [email protected] and to: 
[email protected]. Please include in the comments the OMB Control Number as 
shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies 
of the information collection(s), contact Leslie F. Smith at (202) 418-
0217 or via e-mail at: [email protected].
    To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) 
submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the Web page called ``Currently 
Under Review,'' (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the 
``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading, (4) 
select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of agencies 
presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the ``Submit'' button 
to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, (6) when the list of FCC 
ICRs currently under review appears, look for the title of this ICR (or 
its OMB Control Number, if there is one) and then click on the ICR 
Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be 
displayed.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0430.
    Title: Section 1.1206, Permit-but-Disclose Proceedings.
    Form Number(s): N/A.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions; Federal Government; and State, 
local, or tribal governments.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 11,500 respondents; 34,500 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 45 minutes (0.75 hours).
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirements.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Total Annual Burden: 25,875 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $0.00.
    Privacy Impact Assessment: No Impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: Consistent with the 
Commission's rules on confidential treatment of submissions, under 47 
CFR Section 0.459, a presenter may request confidential treatment of ex 
parte presentations. In addition, the Commission will permit parties to 
remove metadata containing confidential or privileged information, and 
the Commission will also not require parties to file electronically ex 
parte notices that contain confidential information. The Commission 
will, however, require a redacted version to be filed electronically at 
the same time the paper filing is submitted, and that the redacted 
version must be machine-readable whenever technically possible.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission's rules, under 47 CFR Section 
1.1206, require that a public record be made of ex parte presentations 
(i.e., written presentations not served on all parties to the 
proceeding or oral presentations as to which all parties have not been 
given notice and an opportunity to be present) to decision-making 
personnel in ``permit-but-disclose'' proceedings, such as notice-and-
comment rulemakings and declaratory ruling proceedings.
    On February 2, 2011, the FCC released a Report and Order and 
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, GC Docket Number 10-43, FCC 11-
11, which amended and reformed the Commission's rules on ex parte 
presentations (47 CFR Section 1.1206(b)(2)) made in the course of 
Commission rulemakings and other permit-but-disclose proceedings. The 
modifications to the existing rules adopted in this Report and Order 
require that parties file more descriptive summaries of their ex parte 
contacts, by ensuring that other parties and the public have an 
adequate opportunity to review and respond to information submitted ex 
parte, and by improving the FCC's oversight and enforcement of the ex 
parte rules. The modified ex parte rules provide as follows: (1) Ex 
parte notices will be required for all oral ex parte presentations in 
permit-but-disclose proceedings, not just for those presentations that 
involve new information or arguments not already in the record; (2) If 
an oral ex parte presentation is limited to material already in the 
written record, the notice must contain either a succinct summary of 
the matters discussed or a citation to the page or paragraph number in 
the party's written submission(s) where the matters discussed can be 
found; (3) Notices for all ex parte presentations must include the name 
of the person(s) who made the ex parte presentation as well as a list 
of all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at 
which the presentation was made; (4) Notices of ex parte presentations 
made outside the Sunshine period must be filed within two business days 
of the presentation; (5) The Sunshine period will begin on the day 
(including business days, weekends, and holidays) after issuance of the 
Sunshine notice, rather than when the Sunshine Agenda is issued (as the 
current rules provide); (6) If an ex parte presentation is made on the 
day the Sunshine notice is released, an ex parte notice must be 
submitted by the next business day, and any reply would be due by the 
following business day. If a permissible ex parte presentation is made 
during the Sunshine period (under an exception to the Sunshine period 
prohibition), the ex parte notice is due by the end of the same day on 
which the presentation was made, and any reply would need to be filed 
by the next business day. Any reply must be in writing and limited to 
the issues raised in the ex parte notice to which the reply is 
directed; (7) Commissioners and agency staff may continue to request ex 
parte presentations during the Sunshine period, but these presentations 
should be limited to the specific information required by the 
Commission; (8) Ex parte notices must be submitted electronically in 
machine-readable format. PDF images created by scanning a paper 
document may not be submitted, except in cases in which a word-
processing version of the document is not available. Confidential 
information may continue to be submitted by paper filing, but a 
redacted version must be filed electronically at the same time the 
paper filing is submitted. An exception to the electronic filing 
requirement will be made in cases in which the filing party claims 
hardship. The basis for the hardship claim must be substantiated in the 
ex parte filing; (9) To facilitate stricter enforcement of the ex parte 
rules, the Enforcement Bureau is authorized to levy forfeitures for ex

[[Page 66068]]

parte rule violations; (10) Copies of electronically filed ex parte 
notices must also be sent electronically to all staff and Commissioners 
present at the ex parte meeting so as to enable them to review the 
notices for accuracy and completeness. Filers may be asked to submit 
corrections or further information as necessary for compliance with the 
rules; and (11) Minor conforming and clarifying rule changes proposed 
in the Notice are adopted. The only changes entailing increased 
information collection are the requirement that parties making 
permissible ex parte presentations in restricted proceedings file an ex 
parte notice, and that ex parte notices contain either a summary of the 
presentation or a reference to where the information can be found in 
the written record, and that ex parte notices list all persons 
attending the presentation.
    The information is used by parties to permit-but-disclose 
proceedings, including interested members of the public, to respond to 
the arguments made and data offered in the presentations. The responses 
may then be used by the Commission in its decision-making. The 
availability of the ex parte materials ensures that the Commission's 
decisional processes are fair, impartial, and comport with the concept 
of due process in that all interested parties can know of and respond 
to the arguments made to the decision-making officials.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Office of Managing Director.
[FR Doc. 2011-27470 Filed 10-24-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P