§  0.251   Authority delegated.

   (a) The General Counsel is delegated authority to act as the
   "designated agency ethics official."

   (b) Insofar as authority is not delegated to any other Bureau or
   Office, and with respect only to matters which are not in hearing
   status, the General Counsel is delegated authority:

   (1) To act upon requests for extension of time within which briefs,
   comments or pleadings may be filed.

   (2) To dismiss, as repetitious, any petition for reconsideration of a
   Commission order which disposed of a petition for reconsideration and
   which did not reverse, change, or modify the original order.

   (3) To dismiss or deny petitions for rulemaking which are repetitive or
   moot or which, for other reasons, plainly do not warrant consideration
   by the Commission.

   (4) To dismiss as repetitious any petition for reconsideration of a
   Commission order denying an application for review which fails to rely
   on new facts or changed circumstances.

   (c) The General Counsel is delegated authority in adjudicatory hearing
   proceedings which are pending before the Commission en banc to act on
   all requests for relief, and to issue all appropriate orders, except
   those which involve final disposition on the merits of a previously
   specified issue concerning an applicant's basic qualifications or two
   or more applicants' comparative qualifications.

   (d) When an adjudicatory proceeding is before the Commission for the
   issuance of a final order or decision, the General Counsel will make
   every effort to submit a draft order or decision for Commission
   consideration within four months of the filing of the last responsive
   pleading. If the Commission is unable to adopt an order or decision in
   such cases within five months of the last responsive pleading, it shall
   issue an order indicating that additional time will be required to
   resolve the case.

   (e) The official record of all actions taken by the General Counsel
   pursuant to §  0.251 (c) and (d) is contained in the original docket
   folder, which is maintained by the Reference Information Center.

   (f) The General Counsel is delegated authority to issue written
   determinations on matters regarding the interception of telephone
   conversations. Nothing in this paragraph, however, shall affect the
   authority of the Inspector General to intercept or record telephone
   conversations as necessary in the conduct of investigations or audits.

   (g) The General Counsel is delegated authority to issue rulings on
   whether violations of the ex parte rules have occurred and to impose
   appropriate sanctions. The General Counsel shall refer to the
   Enforcement Bureau for disposition pursuant to §  0.311(b) any matter
   in which a forfeiture or a citation under 47 U.S.C. 503(b)(5) may be
   warranted. If the Enforcement Bureau determines that forfeiture or a
   citation is not warranted, the matter shall be referred back to the
   General Counsel for appropriate action.

   (h) The General Counsel is delegated authority to make determinations
   regarding and waive the applicability of section 4(b) of the
   Communications Act (47 U.S.C. §  154(b)) and the Federal conflict of
   interest statutes (18 U.S.C. § §  203, 205 and 208).

   (i) The General Counsel is delegated authority to perform all
   administrative determinations provided for by the Debt Collection
   Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104-134, 110 Stat. 1321, 1358
   (1996) (DCIA), including, but not limited to the provisions of Title
   31, U.S.C. 3711 to:

   (1) Collect claims of the United States Government of money or property
   arising out of the activities of, or referred to, the Federal
   Communications Commission,

   (2) Compromise a claim of the Government of not more than $100,000
   (excluding interest) or such higher amount as the Attorney General of
   the United States may from time to time prescribe, and

   (3) Suspend or end collection action on a claim of the Government of
   not more than $100,000 (excluding interest) when it appears that no
   person liable on the claim has the present or prospective ability to
   pay a significant amount of the claim or the cost of collecting the
   claim is likely to be more than the amount recovered.

   Note to paragraph ( i ): This delegation does not include waiver
   authority provided by 31 U.S.C. 3720B.

   (Secs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, 315, 317, 48 Stat., as
   amended, 1064, 1065, 1066, 1068, 1081, 1082, 1083, 1084, 1085, 1088,
   1089; 47 U.S.C. 152, 153, 154, 155, 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, 315, 317)

   [ 28 FR 12402 , Nov. 22, 1963]

   Editorial Note: For Federal Register citations affecting §  0.251, see
   the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids
   section of the printed volume and at www.fdsys.gov .

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International Bureau

   Source: Sections 0.261 and 0.262 appear at  60 FR 5324 , Jan. 27, 1995,
   unless otherwise noted.

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