Local Governments Protest FCC's Direct Final Rule
A broad group of local governments and associations on Wednesday protested the FCC’s direct final rule (DFR) order that commissioners approved 2-1 last month, with a dissent from Commissioner Anna Gomez (see 2507240055). The order clarified that the FCC’s bureaus have delegated authority to delete rules under the process without commission votes.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
“The DFR process is intended for extremely simple, non-substantive decisions,” said a filing in docket 25-133. “But the Commission’s process falls short because it is insufficient to ensure that future Commission decisions will fall within the good cause exception of the Administrative Procedure Act.” The filing was signed by Anne Arundel County, Howard County, Montgomery County and Gaithersburg, Maryland; Boston; the District of Columbia; Eugene, Oregon; Fairfax County, Virginia; Los Angeles County; and the Texas Coalition of Cities for Utility Issues, among other local interests.
Not only is the time period for reviewing decisions made on delegated authority “too short, but the process adopted for future DFRs overly burdens the public seeking to review DFRs, and delegates to the Bureaus and Offices the key finding in such proceedings -- whether a particular decision qualifies under the good cause exception of the APA,” the filing said. "The Commission should commit to a full 30-day comment period in all cases, and a longer period when more, or more complex, rule changes are being proposed," it argued. "Condensing the time for public comment increases the likelihood that the Commission will move forward outside the good cause exception, which is narrow and should be narrowly construed."
“The point is that we are using the DFR process and opposing [the order] by filing an adverse comment,” emailed Best Best’s Cheryl Leanza. “The question is whether the FCC will withdraw the DFR under the new process.”