SEC. 4. [47 U.S.C. 154] PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE COMMISSION.
(a) The Federal Communications Commission (in this Act referred to as the ''Commission'') shall be composed of five Commissioners appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one of whom the President shall designate as chairman.
(1) Each member of the Commission
shall be a citizen of the United States.
(2)
(A) No member of the Commission or person employed by the Commission shall--
except that the prohibitions established in this subparagraph shall apply only to financial interests in any company or other entity which has a significant interest in communications, manufacturing, or sales activities which are subject to regulation by the Commission.
(3) The Commission, in determining whether a company or other entity has a significant interest in communications, manufacturing, or sales activities which are subject to regulation by the Commission, shall consider (without excluding other relevant factors)--
(A) the revenues, investments, profits,
and managerial efforts directed to the related communications, manufacturing,
or sales activities of the company or other entity involved, as compared
to the other aspects of the business of such company or other entity;
(B) the extent to which the Commission regulates
and oversees the activities of such company or other entity;
(C) the degree to which the economic interests of
such company or other entity may be affected by any action of the Commission;
and
(D) the perceptions held by the public regarding
the business activities of such company or other entity.
(4) Members of the Commission shall
not engage in any other business, vocation, profession, or employment while
serving as such members.
(5) The maximum number of commissioners who may be
members of the same political party shall be a number equal to the least
number of commissioners which constitutes a majority of the full membership
of the Commission.
(c) Commissioners shall be appointed for terms of five years and until their successors are appointed and have been confirmed and taken the oath of office, except that they shall not continue to serve beyond the expiration of the next session of Congress subsequent to the expiration of said fixed term of office; except that any person chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed only for the unexpired term of the Commissioner whom he succeeds. No vacancy in the Commission shall impair the right of the remaining commissioners to exercise all the powers of the Commission.
(d) Each Commissioner shall receive an annual salary at the annual rate payable from time to time for level IV of the Executive Schedule, payable in monthly installments. The Chairman of the Commission, during the period of his service as Chairman, shall receive an annual salary at the annual rate payable from time to time for level III of the Executive Schedule.
(e) The principal office of the Commission shall be in the District of Columbia, where its general sessions shall be held; but whenever the convenience of the public or of the parties may be promoted or delay or expense prevented thereby, the Commission may hold special sessions in any part of the United States.
(1) The Commission shall have authority, subject to the
provisions of the civil-service laws and the Classification Act of 1949,
as amended, to appoint such officers, engineers, accountants, attorneys,
inspectors, examiners, and other employees as are necessary in the exercise
of its functions.
(2) Without regard to the civil-service laws, but
subject to the Classification Act of 1949, each commissioner may appoint
three professional assistants and a secretary, each of whom shall perform
such duties as such commissioner shall direct. In addition, the chairman
of the Commission may appoint, without regard to the civil-service laws,
but subject to the Classification Act of 1949, an administrative assistant
who shall perform such duties as the chairman shall direct.
(3) The Commission shall fix a reasonable rate of
extra compensation for overtime services of engineers in charge and radio
engineers of the Field Engineering and Monitoring Bureau of the Federal
Communications Commission, who may be required to remain on duty between
the hours of 5 o'clock postmeridian and 8 o'clock antemeridian or on Sundays
or holidays to perform services in connection with the inspection of ship
radio equipment and apparatus for the purposes of part
II of title III of this Act or the Great Lakes Agreement, on the basis
of one-half day's additional pay for each two hours or fraction thereof
of at least one hour that the overtime extends beyond 5 o'clock postmeridian
(but not to exceed two and one-half days' pay for the full period from
5 o'clock postmeridian to 8 o'clock antemeridian) and two additional days'
pay for Sunday or holiday duty. The said extra compensation for overtime
services shall be paid by the master, owner, or agent of such vessel to
the local United States collector of customs or his representative, who
shall deposit such collection into the Treasury of the United States to
an appropriately designated receipt account: Provided, That the amounts
of such collections received by the said collector of customs or his representatives
shall be covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts; and the payments
of such extra compensation to the several employees entitled thereto shall
be made from the annual appropriations for salaries and expenses of the
Commission: Provided further, That to the extent that the annual appropriations
which are hereby authorized to be made from the general fund of the Treasury
are insufficient, there are hereby authorized to be appropriated from the
general fund of the Treasury such additional amounts as may be necessary
to the extent that the amounts of such receipts are in excess of the amounts
appropriated: Provided further, That such extra compensation shall be paid
if such field employees have been ordered to report for duty and have so
reported whether the actual inspection of the radio equipment or apparatus
takes place or not: And provided further, That in those ports where customary
working hours are other than those hereinabove mentioned, the engineers
in charge are vested with authority to regulate the hours of such employees
so as to agree with prevailing working hours in said ports where inspections
are to be made, but nothing contained in this proviso shall be construed
in any manner to alter the length of a working day for the engineers in
charge and radio engineers or the overtime pay herein fixed: and Provided
further, That, in the alternative, an entity designated by the Commission
may make the inspections referred to in this paragraph.
(A) The Commission, for purposes
of preparing or administering any examination for an amateur station operator
license, may accept and employ the voluntary and uncompensated services
of any individual who holds an amateur station operator license of a higher
class than the class of license for which the examination is being prepared
or administered. In the case of examinations for the highest class of amateur
station operator license, the Commission may accept and employ such services
of any individual who holds such class of license.
(B)
Nothing in this clause shall be construed to grant individuals recruited and trained under this subparagraph any authority to issue sanctions to violators or to take any enforcement action other than any action which the Commission may prescribe by rule.
Nothing in this clause shall be construed to grant individuals recruited and trained under this subparagraph any authority to issue sanctions to violators or to take any enforcement action other than any action which the Commission may prescribe by rule.
(D) The Commission shall have the
authority to endorse certification of individuals to perform transmitter
installation, operation, maintenance, and repair duties in the private
land mobile services and fixed services (as defined by the Commission by
rule) if such certification programs are conducted by organizations or
committees which are representative of the users in those services and
which consist of individuals who are not officers or employees of the Federal
Government.
(E) The authority of the Commission established in
this paragraph shall not be subject to or affected by the provisions of
part III of title 5, United States Code, or section 3679(b) of the Revised
Statutes (31 U.S.C. 665(b)).
(F) Any person who provides services under this paragraph
shall not be considered, by reason of having provided such services, a
Federal employee.
(G) The Commission, in accepting and employing services
of individuals under subparagraphs (A) and (B),
shall seek to achieve a broad representation of individuals and organizations
interested in amateur station operation.
(H) The Commission may establish rules of conduct
and other regulations governing the service of individuals under this paragraph.
(I) With respect to the acceptance of voluntary uncompensated
services for the preparation, processing, or administration of examinations
for amateur station operator licenses, pursuant to subparagraphs
(A) of this paragraph, individuals, or organizations which provide
or coordinate such authorized volunteer services may recover from examinees
reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs. The total amount of allowable cost
reimbursement per examinee shall not exceed $4, adjusted annually every
January 1 for changes in the Department of Labor Consumer Price Index.
(A) The Commission, for purposes of preparing and administering any examination for a commercial radio operator license or endorsement, may accept and employ the services of persons that the Commission determines to be qualified. Any person so employed may not receive compensation for such services, but may recover from examinees such fees as the Commission permits, considering such factors as public service and cost estimates submitted by such person.
(B) The Commission may prescribe regulations to select, oversee, sanction, and dismiss any person authorized under this paragraph to be employed by the Commission.
(C) Any person who provides services under this paragraph or who provides goods in connection with such services shall not, by reason of having provided such service or goods, be considered a Federal or special government employee.
(1) The Commission may make such expenditures (including expenditures for rent and personal services at the seat of government and elsewhere, for office supplies, lawbooks, periodicals, and books of reference, for printing and binding, for land for use as sites for radio monitoring stations and related facilities, including living quarters where necessary in remote areas, for the construction of such stations and facilities, and for the improvement, furnishing, equipping, and repairing of such stations and facilities and of laboratories and other related facilities (including construction of minor subsidiary buildings and structures not exceeding $25,000 in any one instance) used in connection with technical research activities), as may be necessary for the execution of the functions vested in the Commission and as may be appropriated for by the Congress in accordance with the authorizations of appropriations established in section 6. All expenditures of the Commission, including all necessary expenses for transportation incurred by the commissioners or by their employees, under their orders, in making any investigation or upon any official business in any other places than in the city of Washington, shall be allowed and paid on the presentation of itemized vouchers therefor approved by the chairman of the Commission or by such other members or officer thereof as may be designated by the Commission for that purpose.
(B) The total amount of unreimbursed expenditures made by the Commission for travel for any fiscal year, together with the total amount of reimbursements which the Commission accepts under subparagraph (A) for such fiscal year, shall not exceed the level of travel expenses appropriated to the Commission for such fiscal year.
(C) The Commission shall submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress, and publish in the Federal Register, quarterly reports specifying reimbursements which the Commission has accepted under this paragraph.
(D) The provisions of this paragraph shall cease to have any force or effect at the end of fiscal year 1994.
(E) Funds which are received by
the Commission as reimbursements under the provisions of this paragraph
after the close of a fiscal year shall remain available for obligation.
(3)
(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in furtherance of its functions the Commission is authorized to accept, hold, administer, and use unconditional gifts, donations, and bequests of real, personal, and other property (including voluntary and uncompensated services, as authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code).
(B) The Commission, for purposes of providing radio club and military-recreational call signs, may utilize the voluntary, uncompensated, and unreimbursed services of amateur radio organizations authorized by the Commission that have tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(C) For the purpose of Federal law on income taxes, estate taxes, and gift taxes, property or services accepted under the authority of subparagraph (A) shall be deemed to be a gift, bequest, or devise to the United States.
(D) The Commission shall promulgate regulations to carry out the provisions of this paragraph. Such regulations shall include provisions to preclude the acceptance of any gift, bequest, or donation that would create a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest.
(h) Three members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum thereof. The Commission shall have an official seal which shall be judicially noticed.
(i) The Commission may perform any and all acts, make such rules and regulations, and issue such orders, not inconsistent with this Act, as may be necessary in the execution of its functions.
(j) The Commission may conduct its proceedings in such manner as will best conduce to the proper dispatch of business and to the ends of justice. No commissioner shall participate in any hearing or proceeding in which he has a pecuniary interest. Any party may appear before the Commission and be heard in person or by attorney. Every vote and official act the Commission shall be entered of record, and its proceedings shall be public upon the request of any party interested. The Commission is authorized to withhold publication of records or proceedings containing secret information affecting the national defense.
(k) The Commission shall make an annual report to Congress, copies of which shall be distributed as are other reports transmitted to Congress. Such reports shall contain--
(1) such information and data collected by the Commission as may be considered of value in the determination of questions connected with the regulation of interstate and foreign wire and radio communication and radio transmission of energy;
(2) such information and data concerning the functioning of the Commission as will be of value to Congress in appraising the amount and character of the work and accomplishments of the Commission and the adequacy of its staff and equipment;
(3) an itemized statement of all funds expended during the preceding year by the Commission, of the sources of such funds, and of the authority in this Act or elsewhere under which such expenditures were made; and
(4) specific recommendations to Congress as to additional legislation which the Commission deems necessary or desirable, including all legislative proposals submitted for approval to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
(l) All reports of investigations made by the Commission shall be entered of record, and a copy thereof shall be furnished to the party who may have complained, and to any common carrier or licensee that may have been complained of.
(m) The Commission shall provide for the publication of its reports and decisions in such form and manner as may be best adapted for public information and use, and such authorized publications shall be competent evidence of the reports and decisions of the Commission therein contained in all courts of the United States and of the several States without any further proof or authentication thereof.
(n) Rates of compensation of persons appointed under this section shall be subject to the reduction applicable to officers and employees of the Federal Government generally.
(o) For the purpose of obtaining maximum
effectiveness from the use of radio and wire communications in connection
with safety of life and property, the Commission shall investigate and
study all phases of the problem and the best methods of obtaining the cooperation
and coordination of these systems.
SEC. 5. [47 U.S.C. 155] ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONING OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) 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) 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.
(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)) 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 the Administrative Procedure Act), 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). 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 Act, 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, United States Code, of any hearing to which such section
applies.
(2) As used in this subsection (d) 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).
(3) Any order, decision, report, or action made or
taken pursuant to any such delegation, unless reviewed as provided in paragraph
(4), 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).
(5) In passing upon applications for review, the Commission
may grant, in whole or in part, or deny such applications without specifying
any reasons therefore. 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.
(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). The time within which a petition
for review must be filed in a proceeding to which section
402(a) applies, or within which an appeal must be taken under section
402(b), 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 the Administrative
Procedure Act) 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 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) 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.
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