47 U.S.C. § 155 — Commission

submitted 92 years ago by ch. 652 to r/title-47-TELECOMMUNICATIONS · 1,269 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

The FCC chairman acts as its chief executive and represents the Commission to Congress and other agencies. The Commission organizes its staff into bureaus and can delegate many of its functions to panels, individual commissioners, or employees. People unhappy with a delegated decision can ask the full Commission to review it.

(a) Chairman; duties; vacancy. The commissioner the President names as chairman is the FCC's chief executive officer. The chairman presides over meetings, represents the FCC on legislative matters, though any commissioner can share their own views, represents the FCC in dealings with other government officials and agencies, and generally organizes the FCC's work so business gets handled promptly. If the chairman's spot is vacant, or the chairman is absent or cannot serve, the FCC can temporarily name another member to act as chairman until the problem is fixed. (b) Organization of staff. When needed, the FCC organizes its staff into integrated bureaus, based on its main workload, plus any other divisions it thinks are necessary. Each bureau gets the legal, engineering, accounting, administrative, clerical, and other staff needed to do its job. (c) Delegation of functions. (1) When needed for the FCC to work well and handle business promptly, the FCC can hand off, by rule or order, many of its functions to a panel of commissioners, one commissioner, a board of employees, or one employee. This includes holding hearings, deciding cases, and similar actions. Some functions cannot be delegated: those covered by paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) below, and certain actions under sections 204(a)(2), 208(b), and 405(b). When delegating review of adjudication cases, as defined under section 551 of title 5, to employees, it must go to a board of at least two qualifying employees, see paragraph (8). Any delegation rule or order needs a majority vote of the sitting commissioners to adopt, change, or cancel. Except for instructional television fixed service cases or other exceptions in this chapter, the FCC cannot let anyone besides the officials named in title 5's hearing rules conduct hearings covered by that law. (2) In this subsection, "order, decision, report, or action" does not include an early, tentative, or recommended decision that can still be challenged under section 409(b). (3) A delegated order, decision, report, or action carries the same legal force as if the full Commission made it, unless it gets reviewed under paragraph (4). (4) Anyone harmed by a delegated decision can ask the full Commission to review it, following the Commission's own rules and deadlines; the Commission must consider every such request. The Commission can also review a delegated decision on its own, anytime it wants. (5) When deciding a review request, the Commission can grant or deny it, in whole or part, without giving reasons. A review request cannot raise facts or legal questions that the original decision-maker never had a chance to consider. (6) If the Commission grants a review, it can affirm, change, or cancel the decision, or order a new hearing under section 405. (7) Before anyone can challenge a delegated decision in court, they must first file a request for FCC review. The time limit for filing a court challenge starts running from the date the FCC publicly announces its decision on all review requests in that case. (8) Employees the FCC assigns to review adjudication decisions must be qualified by training, experience, and skill, and must not do other work that conflicts with that review role. They must be paid at a grade at least as high as the employees whose work they review. They get assigned to cases in rotation where practical, and cannot be supervised by anyone doing investigation or prosecution work for any agency. (9) The FCC's secretary and seal also serve every delegated panel, commissioner, employee board, or employee exercising these delegated powers. (d) Meetings. The FCC must meet regularly, at least once each month, to review its work, issue orders, and take whatever action keeps business moving. The goal is a final decision within three months of filing for cases, original applications, renewals, transfers, that do not need a hearing, and within six months of the hearing's last day for cases that do need one. (e) Managing Director. The FCC has a Managing Director, appointed by the chairman with the Commission's approval. Under the chairman's direction, the Managing Director does the administrative and executive work the chairman assigns. The Managing Director is paid at the rate for level V of the Executive Schedule.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a) Chairman; duties; vacancy

The member of the Commission designated by the President as chairman shall be the chief executive officer of the Commission. It shall be his duty to preside at all meetings and sessions of the Commission, to represent the Commission in all matters relating to legislation and legislative reports, except that any commissioner may present his own or minority views or supplemental reports, to represent the Commission in all matters requiring conferences or communications with other governmental officers, departments or agencies, and generally to coordinate and organize the work of the Commission in such manner as to promote prompt and efficient disposition of all matters within the jurisdiction of the Commission. In the case of a vacancy in the office of the chairman of the Commission, or the absence or inability of the chairman to serve, the Commission may temporarily designate one of its members to act as chairman until the cause or circumstance requiring such designation shall have been eliminated or corrected.

(b) Organization of staff

From time to time as the Commission may find necessary, the Commission shall organize its staff into (1) integrated bureaus, to function on the basis of the Commission’s principal workload operations, and (2) such other divisional organizations as the Commission may deem necessary. Each such integrated bureau shall include such legal, engineering, accounting, administrative, clerical, and other personnel as the Commission may determine to be necessary to perform its functions.

(c) Delegation of functions; exceptions to initial orders; force, effect and enforcement of orders; administrative and judicial review; qualifications and compensation of delegates; assignment of cases; separation of review and investigative or prosecuting functions; secretary; seal

(1)

When necessary to the proper functioning of the Commission and the prompt and orderly conduct of its business, the Commission may, by published rule or by order, delegate any of its functions (except functions granted to the Commission by this paragraph and by paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) of this subsection and except any action referred to in sections 204(a)(2), 208(b), and 405(b) of this title) to a panel of commissioners, an individual commissioner, an employee board, or an individual employee, including functions with respect to hearing, determining, ordering, certifying, reporting, or otherwise acting as to any work, business, or matter; except that in delegating review functions to employees in cases of adjudication (as defined in section 551 of title 5), the delegation in any such case may be made only to an employee board consisting of two or more employees referred to in paragraph (8) of this subsection. Any such rule or order may be adopted, amended, or rescinded only by a vote of a majority of the members of the Commission then holding office. Except for cases involving the authorization of service in the instructional television fixed service, or as otherwise provided in this chapter, nothing in this paragraph shall authorize the Commission to provide for the conduct, by any person or persons other than persons referred to in paragraph (2) or (3) of section 556(b) of title 5, of any hearing to which such section applies.

(2)

As used in this subsection the term “order, decision, report, or action” does not include an initial, tentative, or recommended decision to which exceptions may be filed as provided in section 409(b) of this title.

(3)

Any order, decision, report, or action made or taken pursuant to any such delegation, unless reviewed as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, shall have the same force and effect, and shall be made, evidenced, and enforced in the same manner, as orders, decisions, reports, or other actions of the Commission.

(4)

Any person aggrieved by any such order, decision, report or action may file an application for review by the Commission within such time and in such manner as the Commission shall prescribe, and every such application shall be passed upon by the Commission. The Commission, on its own initiative, may review in whole or in part, at such time and in such manner as it shall determine, any order, decision, report, or action made or taken pursuant to any delegation under paragraph (1) of this subsection.

(5)

In passing upon applications for review, the Commission may grant, in whole or in part, or deny such applications without specifying any reasons therefor. No such application for review shall rely on questions of fact or law upon which the panel of commissioners, individual commissioner, employee board, or individual employee has been afforded no opportunity to pass.

(6)

If the Commission grants the application for review, it may affirm, modify, or set aside the order, decision, report, or action, or it may order a rehearing upon such order, decision, report, or action in accordance with section 405 of this title.

(7)

The filing of an application for review under this subsection shall be a condition precedent to judicial review of any order, decision, report, or action made or taken pursuant to a delegation under paragraph (1) of this subsection. The time within which a petition for review must be filed in a proceeding to which section 402(a) of this title applies, or within which an appeal must be taken under section 402(b) of this title, shall be computed from the date upon which public notice is given of orders disposing of all applications for review filed in any case.

(8)

The employees to whom the Commission may delegate review functions in any case of adjudication (as defined in section 551 of title 5) shall be qualified, by reason of their training, experience, and competence, to perform such review functions, and shall perform no duties inconsistent with such review functions. Such employees shall be in a grade classification or salary level commensurate with their important duties, and in no event less than the grade classification or salary level of the employee or employees whose actions are to be reviewed. In the performance of such review functions such employees shall be assigned to cases in rotation so far as practicable and shall not be responsible to or subject to the supervision or direction of any officer, employee, or agent engaged in the performance of investigative or prosecuting functions for any agency.

(9)

The secretary and seal of the Commission shall be the secretary and seal of each panel of the Commission, each individual commissioner, and each employee board or individual employee exercising functions delegated pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection.

(d) Meetings

Meetings of the Commission shall be held at regular intervals, not less frequently than once each calendar month, at which times the functioning of the Commission and the handling of its work load shall be reviewed and such orders shall be entered and other action taken as may be necessary or appropriate to expedite the prompt and orderly conduct of the business of the Commission with the objective of rendering a final decision (1) within three months from the date of filing in all original application, renewal, and transfer cases in which it will not be necessary to hold a hearing, and (2) within six months from the final date of the hearing in all hearing cases.

(e) Managing Director; appointment, functions, pay

The Commission shall have a Managing Director who shall be appointed by the Chairman subject to the approval of the Commission. The Managing Director, under the supervision and direction of the Chairman, shall perform such administrative and executive functions as the Chairman shall delegate. The Managing Director shall be paid at a rate equal to the rate then payable for level V of the Executive Schedule.

Source credit: (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title I, § 5, 48 Stat. 1068; July 16, 1952, ch. 879, § 4, 66 Stat. 712; Pub. L. 87–192, §§ 1, 2, Aug. 31, 1961, 75 Stat. 420; Pub. L. 96–470, title I, § 116, Oct. 19, 1980, 94 Stat. 2240; Pub. L. 97–35, title XII, § 1252, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 738; Pub. L. 97–259, title I, § 105, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1091; Pub. L. 99–272, title V, § 5002(c), Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 118; Pub. L. 100–594, §§ 4, 8(a), Nov. 3, 1988, 102 Stat. 3021, 3023; Pub. L. 103–414, title III, § 303(a)(2), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4294; Pub. L. 104–104, title IV, § 403(c), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 130.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1934Enacted · Act of June 19, 1934, ch. 652 · 48 Stat. 1068
1952Amended · Act of July 16, 1952, ch. 879 · 66 Stat. 712
1961Amended · Pub. L. 87-192 · 75 Stat. 420
1980Amended · Pub. L. 96-470 · 94 Stat. 2240
1981Amended · Pub. L. 97-35 · 95 Stat. 738
1982Amended · Pub. L. 97-259 · 96 Stat. 1091
1986Amended · Pub. L. 99-272 · 100 Stat. 118
1988Amended · Pub. L. 100-594 · 102 Stat. 3021, 3023
1994Amended · Pub. L. 103-414 · 108 Stat. 4294
1996Amended · Pub. L. 104-104 · 110 Stat. 130

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by ch. 652 on 1934-06-19.

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