[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 290 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 290
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 24, 2017
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for greater
transparency and efficiency in the procedures followed by the Federal
Communications Commission, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Communications Commission
Process Reform Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION PROCESS REFORM.
(a) In General.--Title I of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 13. TRANSPARENCY AND EFFICIENCY.
``(a) Initial Rulemaking and Inquiry.--
``(1) Rulemaking.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this section, the Commission shall complete a
rulemaking proceeding and adopt procedural changes to its rules
to maximize opportunities for public participation and
efficient decisionmaking.
``(2) Requirements for rulemaking.--The rules adopted under
paragraph (1) shall--
``(A) set minimum comment periods for comment and
reply comment, subject to a determination by the
Commission that good cause exists for departing from
such minimum comment periods, for--
``(i) significant regulatory actions, as
defined in Executive Order No. 12866; and
``(ii) all other rulemaking proceedings;
``(B) establish policies concerning the submission
of extensive new comments, data, or reports towards the
end of the comment period;
``(C) establish policies regarding treatment of
comments, ex parte communications, and data or reports
(including statistical reports and reports to Congress)
submitted after the comment period to ensure that the
public has adequate notice of and opportunity to
respond to such submissions before the Commission
relies on such submissions in any order, decision,
report, or action;
``(D) establish procedures for, not later than 14
days after the end of each quarter of a calendar year
(or more frequently, as the Commission considers
appropriate), publishing on the Internet website of the
Commission and submitting to Congress a report that
contains--
``(i) the status of open rulemaking
proceedings and proposed orders, decisions,
reports, or actions on circulation for review
by the Commissioners, including which
Commissioners have not cast a vote on an order,
decision, report, or action that has been on
circulation for more than 60 days;
``(ii) for the petitions, applications,
complaints, and other requests for action by
the Commission that were pending at the
Commission on the last day of such quarter (or
more frequent period, as the case may be)--
``(I) the number of such requests,
broken down by the bureau primarily
responsible for action and, for each
bureau, the type of request (such as a
petition, application, or complaint);
and
``(II) information regarding the
amount of time for which such requests
have been pending, broken down as
described in subclause (I); and
``(iii) a list of the congressional
investigations of the Commission that were
pending on the last day of such quarter (or
more frequent period, as the case may be) and
the cost of such investigations, individually
and in the aggregate;
``(E) establish deadlines (relative to the date of
filing) for--
``(i) in the case of a petition for a
declaratory ruling under section 1.2 of title
47, Code of Federal Regulations, issuing a
public notice of such petition;
``(ii) in the case of a petition for
rulemaking under section 1.401 of such title,
issuing a public notice of such petition; and
``(iii) in the case of a petition for
reconsideration under section 1.106 or 1.429 of
such title or an application for review under
section 1.115 of such title, issuing a public
notice of a decision on the petition or
application by the Commission or under
delegated authority (as the case may be);
``(F) establish guidelines (relative to the date of
filing) for the disposition of petitions filed under
section 1.2 of such title;
``(G) establish procedures for the inclusion of the
specific language of the proposed rule or the proposed
amendment of an existing rule in a notice of proposed
rulemaking; and
``(H) require notices of proposed rulemaking and
orders adopting a rule or amending an existing rule
that--
``(i) create (or propose to create) a
program activity to contain performance
measures for evaluating the effectiveness of
the program activity; and
``(ii) substantially change (or propose to
substantially change) a program activity to
contain--
``(I) performance measures for
evaluating the effectiveness of the
program activity as changed (or
proposed to be changed); or
``(II) a finding that existing
performance measures will effectively
evaluate the program activity as
changed (or proposed to be changed).
``(3) Inquiry.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Commission shall complete an
inquiry to seek public comment on whether and how the
Commission should--
``(A) establish procedures for allowing a
bipartisan majority of Commissioners to place an order,
decision, report, or action on the agenda of an open
meeting;
``(B) establish procedures for informing all
Commissioners of a reasonable number of options
available to the Commission for resolving a petition,
complaint, application, rulemaking, or other
proceeding;
``(C) establish procedures for ensuring that all
Commissioners have adequate time, prior to being
required to decide a petition, complaint, application,
rulemaking, or other proceeding (including at a meeting
held pursuant to section 5(d)), to review the proposed
Commission decision document, including the specific
language of any proposed rule or any proposed amendment
of an existing rule;
``(D) establish procedures for publishing the text
of agenda items to be voted on at an open meeting in
advance of such meeting so that the public has the
opportunity to read the text before a vote is taken;
``(E) establish deadlines (relative to the date of
filing) for disposition of applications for a license
under section 1.913 of title 47, Code of Federal
Regulations;
``(F) assign resources needed in order to meet the
deadlines described in subparagraph (E), including
whether the Commission's ability to meet such deadlines
would be enhanced by assessing a fee from applicants
for such a license; and
``(G) except as otherwise provided in section 4(p),
publish each order, decision, report, or action not
later than 30 days after the date of the adoption of
such order, decision, report, or action.
``(4) Data for performance measures.--The Commission shall
develop a performance measure or proposed performance measure
required by this subsection to rely, where possible, on data
already collected by the Commission.
``(5) GAO audit.--Not less frequently than every 6 months,
the Comptroller General of the United States shall audit the
cost estimates provided by the Commission under paragraph
(2)(D)(iii) during the preceding 6-month period.
``(b) Periodic Review.--On the date that is 5 years after the
completion of the rulemaking proceeding under subsection (a)(1), and
every 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall initiate a new
rulemaking proceeding to continue to consider such procedural changes
to its rules as may be in the public interest to maximize opportunities
for public participation and efficient decisionmaking.
``(c) Nonpublic Collaborative Discussions.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 552b of title 5,
United States Code, a bipartisan majority of Commissioners may
hold a meeting that is closed to the public to discuss official
business if--
``(A) a vote or any other agency action is not
taken at such meeting;
``(B) each person present at such meeting is a
Commissioner, an employee of the Commission, a member
of a joint board or conference established under
section 410, or a person on the staff of such a joint
board or conference or of a member of such a joint
board or conference; and
``(C) an attorney from the Office of General
Counsel of the Commission is present at such meeting.
``(2) Disclosure of nonpublic collaborative discussions.--
Not later than 2 business days after the conclusion of a
meeting held under paragraph (1), the Commission shall publish
a disclosure of such meeting, including--
``(A) a list of the persons who attended such
meeting; and
``(B) a summary of the matters discussed at such
meeting, except for such matters as the Commission
determines may be withheld under section 552b(c) of
title 5, United States Code.
``(3) Preservation of open meetings requirements for agency
action.--Nothing in this subsection shall limit the
applicability of section 552b of title 5, United States Code,
with respect to a meeting of Commissioners other than that
described in paragraph (1).
``(d) Access to Certain Information on Commission's Website.--The
Commission shall provide direct access from the homepage of its website
to--
``(1) detailed information regarding--
``(A) the budget of the Commission for the current
fiscal year;
``(B) the appropriations for the Commission for
such fiscal year; and
``(C) the total number of full-time equivalent
employees of the Commission; and
``(2) the performance plan most recently made available by
the Commission under section 1115(b) of title 31, United States
Code.
``(e) Internet Publication of Certain FCC Policies and
Procedures.--The chairman of the Commission shall--
``(1) publish on the Internet website of the Commission any
policies or procedures of the Commission that--
``(A) are established by the chairman; and
``(B) relate to the functioning of the Commission
or the handling of the agenda of the Commission; and
``(2) update such publication not later than 48 hours after
the chairman makes changes to any such policies or procedures.
``(f) Federal Register Publication.--
``(1) In general.--In the case of any document adopted by
the Commission that the Commission is required, under any
provision of law, to publish in the Federal Register, the
Commission shall, not later than the date described in
paragraph (2), complete all Commission actions necessary for
such document to be so published.
``(2) Date described.--The date described in this paragraph
is the earlier of--
``(A) the day that is 45 days after the date of the
release of the document; or
``(B) the day by which such actions must be
completed to comply with any deadline under any other
provision of law.
``(3) No effect on deadlines for publication in other
form.--In the case of a deadline that does not specify that the
form of publication is publication in the Federal Register, the
Commission may comply with such deadline by publishing the
document in another form. Such other form of publication does
not relieve the Commission of any Federal Register publication
requirement applicable to such document, including the
requirement of paragraph (1).
``(g) Consumer Complaint Database.--
``(1) In general.--In evaluating and processing consumer
complaints, the Commission shall present information about such
complaints in a publicly available, searchable database on its
website that--
``(A) facilitates easy use by consumers; and
``(B) to the extent practicable, is sortable and
accessible by--
``(i) the date of the filing of the
complaint;
``(ii) the topic of the complaint;
``(iii) the party complained of; and
``(iv) other elements that the Commission
considers in the public interest.
``(2) Duplicative complaints.--In the case of multiple
complaints arising from the same alleged misconduct, the
Commission shall be required to include only information
concerning one such complaint in the database described in
paragraph (1).
``(h) Form of Publication.--
``(1) In general.--In complying with a requirement of this
section to publish a document, the Commission shall publish
such document on its website, in addition to publishing such
document in any other form that the Commission is required to
use or is permitted to and chooses to use.
``(2) Exception.--The Commission shall by rule establish
procedures for redacting documents required to be published by
this section so that the published versions of such documents
do not contain--
``(A) information the publication of which would be
detrimental to national security, homeland security,
law enforcement, or public safety; or
``(B) information that is proprietary or
confidential.
``(i) Transparency Relating to Performance in Meeting FOIA
Requirements.--The Commission shall take additional steps to inform the
public about its performance and efficiency in meeting the disclosure
and other requirements of section 552 of title 5, United States Code
(commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), including by
doing the following:
``(1) Publishing on the Commission's website the
Commission's logs for tracking, responding to, and managing
requests submitted under such section, including the
Commission's fee estimates, fee categories, and fee request
determinations.
``(2) Releasing to the public all decisions made by the
Commission (including decisions made by the Commission's
Bureaus and Offices) granting or denying requests filed under
such section, including any such decisions pertaining to the
estimate and application of fees assessed under such section.
``(3) Publishing on the Commission's website electronic
copies of documents released under such section.
``(4) Presenting information about the Commission's
handling of requests under such section in the Commission's
annual budget estimates submitted to Congress and the
Commission's annual performance and financial reports. Such
information shall include the number of requests under such
section the Commission received in the most recent fiscal year,
the number of such requests granted and denied, a comparison of
the Commission's processing of such requests over at least the
previous 3 fiscal years, and a comparison of the Commission's
results with the most recent average for the United States
Government as published on www.foia.gov.
``(j) Prompt Release of Statistical Reports and Reports to
Congress.--Not later than January 15th of each year, the Commission
shall identify, catalog, and publish an anticipated release schedule
for all statistical reports and reports to Congress that are regularly
or intermittently released by the Commission and will be released
during such year.
``(k) Annual Scorecard Reports.--
``(1) In general.--For the 1-year period beginning on
January 1st of each year, the Commission shall prepare a report
on the performance of the Commission in conducting its
proceedings and meeting the deadlines established under
subsection (a)(2)(E) and the guidelines established under
subsection (a)(2)(F).
``(2) Contents.--Each report required by paragraph (1)
shall contain detailed statistics on such performance,
including, with respect to each Bureau of the Commission--
``(A) with respect to each type of filing specified
in subsection (a)(2)(E) or (a)(2)(F)--
``(i) the number of filings that were
pending on the last day of the period covered
by such report;
``(ii) the number of filings described in
clause (i) for which each applicable deadline
or guideline established under such subsection
was not met and the average length of time such
filings have been pending; and
``(iii) for filings that were resolved
during such period, the average time between
initiation and resolution and the percentage
for which each applicable deadline or guideline
established under such subsection was met;
``(B) with respect to proceedings before an
administrative law judge--
``(i) the number of such proceedings
completed during such period; and
``(ii) the number of such proceedings
pending on the last day of such period; and
``(C) the number of independent studies or analyses
published by the Commission during such period.
``(3) Publication and submission.--The Commission shall
publish and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate each report required
by paragraph (1) not later than the date that is 30 days after
the last day of the period covered by such report.
``(l) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Amendment.--The term `amendment' includes, when used
with respect to an existing rule, the deletion of such rule.
``(2) Bipartisan majority.--The term `bipartisan majority'
means, when used with respect to a group of Commissioners, that
such group--
``(A) is a group of three or more Commissioners;
and
``(B) includes, for each political party of which
any Commissioner is a member, at least one Commissioner
who is a member of such political party, and, if any
Commissioner has no political party affiliation, at
least one unaffiliated Commissioner.
``(3) Performance measure.--The term `performance measure'
means an objective and quantifiable outcome measure or output
measure (as such terms are defined in section 1115 of title 31,
United States Code).
``(4) Program activity.--The term `program activity' has
the meaning given such term in section 1115 of title 31, United
States Code, except that such term also includes any annual
collection or distribution or related series of collections or
distributions by the Commission of an amount that is greater
than or equal to $100,000,000.
``(5) Other definitions.--The terms `agency action', `ex
parte communication', and `rule' have the meanings given such
terms in section 551 of title 5, United States Code.''.
(b) Effective Dates and Implementing Rules.--
(1) Effective dates.--
(A) Nonpublic collaborative discussions.--
Subsection (c) of section 13 of the Communications Act
of 1934, as added by subsection (a), shall apply
beginning on the first date on which all of the
procedural changes to the rules of the Federal
Communications Commission required by subsection (a)(1)
of such section have taken effect.
(B) Report release schedules.--Subsection (j) of
such section 13 shall apply with respect to 2018 and
any year thereafter.
(C) Annual scorecard reports.--Subsection (k) of
such section 13 shall apply with respect to 2017 and
any year thereafter.
(D) Internet publication of certain fcc policies
and procedures.--Subsection (e) of such section 13
shall apply beginning on the date that is 30 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) Rules.--Except as otherwise provided in such section
13, the Federal Communications Commission shall promulgate any
rules necessary to carry out such section not later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. CATEGORIZATION OF TCPA INQUIRIES AND COMPLAINTS IN QUARTERLY
REPORT.
In compiling its quarterly report with respect to informal consumer
inquiries and complaints, the Federal Communications Commission may not
categorize an inquiry or complaint with respect to section 227 of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 227) as being a wireline inquiry
or complaint or a wireless inquiry or complaint unless the party whose
conduct is the subject of the inquiry or complaint is a wireline
carrier or a wireless carrier, respectively.
SEC. 4. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall
relieve the Federal Communications Commission from any obligations
under title 5, United States Code, except where otherwise expressly
provided.
SEC. 5. APPLICATION OF ANTIDEFICIENCY ACT TO UNIVERSAL SERVICE PROGRAM.
Section 302 of Public Law 108-494 (118 Stat. 3998) is amended by
striking ``December 31, 2017'' each place it appears and inserting
``December 31, 2021''.
SEC. 6. REPORT ON IMPROVING SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FCC
PROCEEDINGS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Federal Communications Commission, in consultation with the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration, shall submit to
Congress a report on--
(1) actions that the Commission will take to improve the
participation of small businesses in the proceedings of the
Commission; and
(2) recommendations for any legislation that the Commission
considers appropriate to improve such participation.
SEC. 7. TIMELY AVAILABILITY OF ITEMS ADOPTED BY VOTE OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) Amendment.--Section 4 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 154) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(p) In the case of any item that is adopted by vote of the
Commission, the Commission shall publish on the Internet website of the
Commission the text of such item not later than 24 hours after the
Secretary of the Commission has received dissenting statements from all
Commissioners wishing to submit such a statement with respect to such
item.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
with respect to an item that is adopted after the date that is 30 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives January 23, 2017.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.