§ 54.703   The Administrator's Board of Directors.

   (a) The Administrator shall have a Board of Directors separate from the
   Board  of  Directors of the National Exchange Carrier Association. The
   National  Exchange  Carrier  Association's Board of Directors shall be
   prohibited from participating in the functions of the Administrator.

   (b) Board composition. The independent subsidiary's Board of Directors shall
   consist of nineteen (19) directors:

   (1) Three directors shall represent incumbent local exchange carriers, with
   one director representing the Bell Operating Companies and GTE, one director
   representing ILECs (other than the Bell Operating Companies) with annual
   operating revenues in excess of $40 million, and one director representing
   ILECs  (other than the Bell Operating Companies) with annual operating
   revenues of $40 million or less;

   (2) Two directors shall represent interexchange carriers, with one director
   representing interexchange carriers with more than $3 billion in annual
   operating revenues and one director representing interexchange carriers with
   annual operating revenues of $3 billion or less;

   (3) One director shall represent commercial mobile radio service (CMRS)
   providers;

   (4) One director shall represent competitive local exchange carriers;

   (5) One director shall represent cable operators;

   (6) One director shall represent information service providers;

   (7) Three directors shall represent schools that are eligible to receive
   discounts pursuant to § 54.501;

   (8) One director shall represent libraries that are eligible to receive
   discounts pursuant to § 54.501;

   (9) Two directors shall represent rural health care providers that are
   eligible to receive supported services pursuant to § 54.601;

   (10) One director shall represent low-income consumers;

   (11) One director shall represent state telecommunications regulators;

   (12) One director shall represent state consumer advocates; and

   (13) The Chief Executive Officer of the Administrator.

   (c) Selection process for board of directors. (1) Sixty (60) days prior to
   the expiration of a director's term, the industry or non-industry group that
   is represented by such director on the Administrator's Board of Directors,
   as specified in paragraph (b) of this section, shall nominate by consensus a
   new director. The industry or non-industry group shall submit the name of
   its nominee for a seat on the Administrator's Board of Directors, along with
   relevant professional and biographical information about the nominee, to the
   Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Only members of the
   industry or non-industry group that a Board member will represent may submit
   a nomination for that position.

   (2) The name of an industry or non-industry group's nominee shall be filed
   with the Office of the Secretary of the Federal Communications Commission in
   accordance with part 1 of this chapter. The document nominating a candidate
   shall be captioned “In the matter of: Nomination for Universal Service
   Administrator's Board of Directors” and shall reference FCC Docket Nos.
   97-21 and 96-45. Each nomination shall specify the position on the Board of
   Directors for which such nomination is submitted. Two copies of the document
   nominating  a candidate shall be submitted to the Wireline Competition
   Bureau's Telecommunications Access Policy Division.

   (3) The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission shall review the
   nominations submitted by industry and non-industry groups and select each
   director of the Administrator's Board of Directors, as each director's term
   expires  pursuant  to paragraph (d) of this section. If an industry or
   non-industry group does not reach consensus on a nominee or fails to submit
   a nomination for a position on the Administrator's Board of Directors, the
   Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission shall select an individual
   to represent such group on the Administrator's Board of Directors.

   (d) Board member terms. The directors of the Administrator's Board shall be
   appointed for three-year terms, except that the Chief Executive Officer
   shall be a permanent member of the Board. Board member terms shall run from
   January 1 of the first year of the term to December 31 of the third year of
   the term, except that, for purposes of the term beginning on January 1,
   1999, the terms of the six directors shall expire on December 31, 2000, the
   terms of another six directors on December 31, 2001, and the terms of the
   remaining six directors on December 31, 2002. Directors may be reappointed
   for subsequent terms pursuant to the initial nomination and appointment
   process  described in paragraph (c) of this section. If a Board member
   vacates his or her seat prior to the completion of his or her term, the
   Administrator will notify the Wireline Competition Bureau of such vacancy,
   and a successor will be chosen pursuant to the nomination and appointment
   process described in paragraph (c) of this section.

   (e) All meetings of the Administrator's Board of Directors shall be open to
   the public and held in Washington, D.C.

   (f) Each member of the Administrator's Board of Directors shall be entitled
   to receive reimbursement for expenses directly incurred as a result of his
   or her participation on the Administrator's Board of Directors.

   [ 63 FR 70573 , Dec. 21, 1998, as amended at  67 FR 13226 , Mar. 21, 2002]

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