FCC Staffers Urge Sunshine Act Change
WHITE SULFUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- If FCC staff could change communications law, they'd get the agency Sunshine Act relief, many said when asked at an FCBA seminar here for their “wish lists” for Congressional action. Another top wish: Expanding Universal Service Fund contributions by including intrastate and interstate revenue, now barred by statute. Both changes are pending in a bill introduced by Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska).
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“I know of no other country we deal with in the ITU that has such a rule,” FCC International Bureau Chief Don Abelson said. “There are ways to have sunshine and fairness” without that restriction, he said on a Fri. panel of bureau chiefs. All the Sunshine Act does is “create a second tier of people who can talk to one another” -- the legal advisors, he said. The Sunshine Act bars meetings of more than 2 commissioners unless held in public.
The Universal Service Federal-State Joint Board shows how “problematic” Sunshine Act restrictions are, said FCC Comr. Tate’s legal advisor, Dana Shafer, during a Sat. panel. There are 3 FCC commissioners on the joint board but all can’t meet at the same time, she said. “There’s a sort of comedic aspect to it,” especially on conference calls, when commissioners have to take turns participating, said Barry Ohlson, legal advisor to Comr. Adelstein. Having to schedule commissioners for a conference call is awkward, Shafer said: “You almost need a stopwatch.”
Ohlson said he'd broaden the support base for universal service by ending the intrastate-interstate distinction so it better reflects technological changes. Michelle Carey, Chmn. Martin’s legal advisor, said the chairman favors both Sunshine Act changes and changing the USF base.
Enforcement Bureau Chief Kris Monteith would muscle up rules such as limits on fines. With a “deregulatory approach to telecommunications,” comes the need for strong enforcement, she said. Media Bureau Chief Donna Gregg said her bureau has gotten one of its wish list items -- a hard date for digital transition. “Anything that can bring clarity and finality” is going to be high on the list, she said.
Asked to name priority issues at FCC, legal advisors and bureau chiefs answered predictably. Carey listed intercarrier compensation and universal service reforms among Martin’s big priorities, adding she'd hoped those issues would be resolved by the time she returned from maternity leave. Martin also is interested in public safety issues and beyond that, “my boss is broadband, broadband, broadband,” said Carey, a wireline advisor. Ohlson cited media ownership, payola and the AWS wireless auction.
The Enforcement Bureau faces many issues, from CPNI and junk faxes to E-911 compliance and indecency, Monteith said. “Chairman Martin is very focused on indecency and has committed to processing complaints in 9 months from the time they are filed,” she said. Gregg said the Media Bureau is turning to the Quadrennial Review of media ownership, ordered by Congress in 2004. The International Bureau is gearing up for international events occurring soon, such as the ITU plenipotentiary in the fall and the 2007 World Radio Conference.
Answering a question, Ohlson and Carey said they see the flow of orders differently, having moved from bureaus to commissioners’ offices. Ohlson said in his Wireless Bureau days he'd send items to the 8th floor “where they would sit and sit,” causing him to wonder what became of them. Now an 8th floor denizen, he said he realizes it takes time to get all commissioners’ views represented. When Carey was at the Wireline Bureau, she said, “the 8th floor seemed like a black box.” She'd think, “the order is perfect, why is it not moving, especially when you ask me to write it overnight?” Now she sees how much time it takes to get consensus on orders and realizes “some of these random words and sentences added to the order mean a lot.” Martin “works hard to get a product all the commissioners can support,” she said. “It’s compromise by my boss, compromise by others.”
No FCC commissioners attended the seminar, most due to schedule conflicts. Comr. Adelstein, for example, attended a seminar in Fla. put on by consultant Julia Johnson, a former NARUC official. Comr. Tate went to Salt Lake City to get a Junior League award for volunteer work in Nashville. -- Edie Herman
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Communications attorneys need not worry about where their business will be coming from -- it will be international, and in the near term, David Gross, U.S. State Dept. international communications coordinator, said: “Your clients are likely to become more international,” so attorneys should get to work studying foreign communications issues, said Gross, speaking at the seminar on Sat. Independent regulatory bodies, many modeled on the FCC, now number more than 100 worldwide, he said. U.S. communications attorneys are among the few with expertise at dealing with an independent regulator, Gross said: “The skill set you have is dealing with regulators and competitive markets, which are new to the rest of the world. The skill set you have is in great demand internationally.”