,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #aihi  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,february #d1  
#bjad,mr4 ,heller 7for himself and ,mr4 
,coats7 introduced the following bill2  
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and 
,transportation  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend   
the ,communications ,act of #aicd to    
provide for greater transparency and    
efficiency in the procedures followed by
 the ,federal ,communications           
,commission1 and for other purposes4    
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,federal ,communications        
,commission ,process ,reform ,act of    
#bjad4  #b4 ,,fcc process reform  7a7   
,in general ,title ,i of the            
,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg      
,u4,s4,c4 #aea et seq47 is amended by   
adding at the end the following3  #ac4  
,transparency and efficiency  7a7       
,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7     
,amendment ,the term amendment includes1
 when used with respect to an existing  

rule1 the deletion of the rule4  7#b7   
,bipartisan majority ,the term          
bipartisan majority means1 when used    
with respect to a group of              
,commissioners1 that the group-- 7,a7 is
 a group of #c or more ,commissioners2  
and  7,b7 includes-- 7i7 for each       
political party of which any            
,commissioner is a member1 not less than
 #a ,commissioner who is a member of    
that political party2 and  7ii7 if any  
,commissioner has no political party    
affiliation1 not less than #a           
unaffiliated ,commissioner4  7#c7       
,performance measure ,the term          
performance measure means an objective  
and quantifiable outcome measure or     
output measure 7as those terms are      
defined in section #aaae of title #ca1  
,united ,states ,code74  7#d7 ,program  
activity ,the term program activity--   
7,a7 has the meaning given the term in  
section #aaae of title #ca1 ,united     
,states ,code2 and  7,b7 includes any   
annual collection or distribution or    

related series of collections or        
distributions by the ,commission of an  
amount that is not less than            
#ajj1jjj1jjj4  7#e7 ,other definitions  
,the terms agency action1 ex parte      
communication1 and rule have the        
meanings given the terms in section #eea
 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4    
7b7 ,initial rulemaking and inquiry     
7#a7 ,rulemaking ,not later than #a year
 after the date of enactment of the     
,federal ,communications ,commission    
,process ,reform ,act of #bjad1 the     
,commission shall complete a rulemaking 
proceeding and adopt procedural changes 
to the rules of the ,commission to      
maximize opportunities for public       
participation and efficient             
decisionmaking4  7#b7 ,requirements for 
rulemaking ,the rules adopted under     
paragraph 7#a7 shall-- 7,a7 set minimum 
comment periods for comment and reply   
comment1 subject to a determination by  
the ,commission that good cause exists  
for departing from the minimum comment  

periods1 for-- 7i7 significant          
regulatory actions1 as defined in       
,executive ,order #abhff 7#e ,u4,s4,c4  
#fja note2 relating to regulatory       
planning and review72 and  7ii7 all     
other rulemaking proceedings2  7,b7     
establish policies concerning the       
submission of extensive new comments1   
data1 or reports towards the end of a   
comment period2  7,c7 establish policies
 regarding treatment of comments1 ex    
parte communications1 and data or       
reports 7including statistical reports  
and reports to ,congress7 submitted     
after a comment period to ensure that   
the public has adequate notice of and   
opportunity to respond to the           
submissions before the ,commission      
relies on the submissions in any order1 
decision1 report1 or action2  7,d7      
establish procedures for publishing the 
status of open rulemaking proceedings   
and proposed orders1 decisions1 reports1
 or actions on circulation for review by
 the ,commissioners1 including which    

,commissioners have not cast a vote on  
an order1 decision1 report1 or action   
that has been on circulation for more   
than #fj days2  7,e7 establish deadlines
 7relative to the date of filing7 for-- 
7i7 in the case of a petition for a     
declaratory ruling under section #a4b of
 title #dg1 ,code of ,federal           
,regulations1 issuing a public notice of
 the petition2  7ii7 in the case of a   
petition for rulemaking under section   
#a4dja of title #dg1 ,code of ,federal  
,regulations1 issuing a public notice of
 the petition2 and  7iii7 in the case of
 a petition for reconsideration under   
section #a4ajf or #a4dbi of title #dg1  
,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or an   
application for review under section    
#a4aae of such title1 issuing a public  
notice of a decision on the petition or 
application by the ,commission or under 
delegated authority 7as the case may    
be72  7,f7 establish guidelines         
7relative to the date of filing7 for the
 disposition of petitions filed under   

section #a4b of title #dg1 ,code of     
,federal ,regulations2  7,g7 establish  
procedures for the inclusion of the     
specific language of the proposed rule  
or the proposed amendment of an existing
 rule in a notice of proposed           
rulemaking2  7,h7 require each notice of
 proposed rulemaking or order adopting a
 rule or amending an existing rule that 
creates 7or proposes to create7 a       
program activity to contain performance 
measures for evaluating the             
effectiveness of the program activity2  
and  7,i7 require each notice of        
proposed rulemaking or order adopting a 
rule or amending an existing rule that  
substantially changes 7or proposes to   
substantially change7 a program activity
 to contain-- 7i7 performance measures  
for evaluating the effectiveness of the 
program activity as changed 7or proposed
 to be changed72 or  7ii7 a finding that
 existing performance measures will     
effectively evaluate the program        
activity as changed 7or proposed to be  

changed74  7#c7 ,inquiry ,not later than
 #a year after the date of enactment of 
the ,federal ,communications ,commission
 ,process ,reform ,act of #bjad1 the    
,commission shall complete an inquiry to
 seek public comment on whether and how 
the ,commission should-- 7,a7 establish 
procedures for allowing a bipartisan    
majority of ,commissioners to place an  
order1 decision1 report1 or action on   
the agenda of an open meeting2  7,b7    
establish procedures for informing all  
,commissioners of a reasonable number of
 options available to the ,commission   
for resolving a petition1 complaint1    
application1 rulemaking1 or other       
proceeding2  7,c7 establish procedures  
for ensuring that all ,commissioners    
have adequate time1 prior to being      
required to decide a petition1          
complaint1 application1 rulemaking1 or  
other proceeding 7including at a meeting
 held under section #e7;d771 to review  
the proposed ,commission decision       
document1 including the specific        

language of any proposed rule or any    
proposed amendment of an existing rule2 
7,d7 establish procedures for publishing
 the text of agenda items to be voted on
 at an open meeting in advance of the   
meeting so that the public has the      
opportunity to read the text before a   
vote is taken2  7,e7 establish deadlines
 7relative to the date of filing7 for   
disposition of applications for a       
license under section #a4iac of title   
#dg1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations2    
7,f7 assign resources needed to meet the
 deadlines described in subparagraph    
7,e71 including whether the ability of  
the ,commission to meet those deadlines 
would be enhanced by assessing a fee    
from applicants for a license described 
in subparagraph 7,e72 and  7,g7 publish 
each order1 decision1 report1 or action 
not later than #cj days after the date  
of the adoption of the order1 decision1 
report1 or action4  7#d7 ,data for      
performance measures ,the ,commission   
shall develop a performance measure or  

proposed performance measure required   
under this subsection to rely1 where    
possible1 on data already collected by  
the ,commission4  7c7 ,periodic review  
,on the date that is #e years after the 
completion of the rulemaking proceeding 
under subsection 7b77#a71 and every #e  
years thereafter1 the ,commission shall 
initiate a new rulemaking proceeding to 
continue to consider any procedural     
changes to the rules of the ,commission 
that may be in the public interest to   
maximize opportunities for public       
participation and efficient             
decisionmaking4  7d7 ,nonpublic         
collaborative discussions  7#a7 ,in     
general ,notwithstanding section #eeb;b 
of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 a   
bipartisan majority of ,commissioners   
may hold a meeting that is closed to the
 public to discuss official business    
if-- 7,a7 a vote or any other agency    
action is not taken at the meeting2     
7,b7 each person present at the meeting 
is a ,commissioner1 an employee of the  

,commission1 a member of a joint board  
or conference established under section 
#daj1 or a person on the staff of such a
 joint board or conference or of a      
member of such a joint board or         
conference2 and  7,c7 an attorney from  
the ,office of ,general ,counsel of the 
,commission is present at the meeting4  
7#b7 ,disclosure of nonpublic           
collaborative discussions ,not later    
than #b business days after the         
conclusion of a meeting held under      
paragraph 7#a71 the ,commission shall   
publish a disclosure of the meeting1    
including-- 7,a7 a list of the persons  
who attended the meeting2 and  7,b7 a   
summary of the matters discussed at the 
meeting1 except for any matters that the
 ,commission determines may be withheld 
under section #eeb;b7c7 of title #e1    
,united ,states ,code4  7#c7            
,preservation of open meetings          
requirements for agency action ,nothing 
in this subsection shall limit the      
applicability of section #eeb;b of title

 #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 with respect
 to a meeting of ,commissioners other   
than that described in paragraph 7#a74  
7e7 ,access to certain information on   
,commission's website ,the ,commission  
shall provide direct access from the    
homepage of the website of the          
,commission to-- 7#a7 detailed          
information regarding-- 7,a7 the budget 
of the ,commission for the current      
fiscal year2  7,b7 the appropriations   
for the ,commission for the current     
fiscal year2 and  7,c7 the total number 
of full-time equivalent employees of the
 ,commission2 and  7#b7 the performance 
plan most recently made available by the
 ,commission under section #aaae7;b7 of 
title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4  7f7  
,federal ,register publication  7#a7 ,in
 general ,in the case of any document   
adopted by the ,commission that the     
,commission is required1 under any      
provision of law1 to publish in the     
,federal ,register1 the ,commission     
shall1 not later than the date described

 in paragraph 7#b71 complete all        
,commission actions necessary for the   
document to be so published4  7#b7 ,date
 described ,the date described in this  
paragraph is the earlier of-- 7,a7 the  
date that is #de days after the date of 
the release of the document described in
 paragraph 7#a72 or  7,b7 the date by   
which the actions described in paragraph
 7#a7 must be completed to comply with  
any deadline under any other provision  
of law4  7#c7 ,no effect on deadlines   
for publication in other form  7,a7 ,in 
general ,in the case of a deadline that 
does not specify that the form of       
publication is publication in the       
,federal ,register1 the ,commission may 
comply with the deadline by publishing  
the document in another form4  7,b7     
,applicability of ,federal ,register    
publication requirements ,publication of
 a document in another form as described
 in subparagraph 7,a7 shall not relieve 
the ,commission of any ,federal         
,register publication requirement       

applicable to the document1 including   
the requirement under paragraph 7#a74   
7g7 ,consumer complaint database  7#a7  
,in general ,in evaluating and          
processing consumer complaints1 the     
,commission shall present information   
about the complaints in a publicly      
available1 searchable database on the   
website of the ,commission that-- 7,a7  
facilitates easy use by consumers2 and  
7,b7 to the extent practicable1 is      
sortable and accessible by-- 7i7 the    
date of the filing of the complaint2    
7ii7 the topic of the complaint2  7iii7 
the party complained of2 and  7iv7 other
 elements that the ,commission considers
 in the public interest4  7#b7          
,duplicative complaints ,in the case of 
multiple complaints arising from the    
same alleged misconduct1 the ,commission
 may satisfy the requirement under      
paragraph 7#a7 by including information 
concerning only #a such complaint in the
 database described in paragraph 7#a74  
7h7 ,form of publication  7#a7 ,in      

general ,in complying with a requirement
 under this section to publish a        
document1 the ,commission shall publish 
the document on the website of the      
,commission1 in addition to publishing  
the document in any other form that the 
,commission is required to use or is    
permitted to and chooses to use4  7#b7  
,exception ,the ,commission shall by    
rule establish procedures for redacting 
documents required to be published under
 this section so that the published     
versions of the documents do not        
contain-- 7,a7 information the          
publication of which would be           
detrimental to national security1       
homeland security1 law enforcement1 or  
public safety2 or  7,b7 information that
 is proprietary or confidential4  7i7   
,transparency relating to performance in
 meeting ,,foia requirements ,the       
,commission shall take additional steps 
to inform the public about the          
performance and efficiency of the       
,commission in meeting the disclosure   

and other requirements under section    
#eeb of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code 
7commonly referred to as the ,freedom of
 ,information ,act71 including by-- 7#a7
 publishing on the website of the       
,commission the logs used by the        
,commission for tracking1 responding to1
 and managing requests submitted under  
such section1 including the             
,commission's fee estimates1 fee        
categories1 and fee request             
determinations2  7#b7 releasing to the  
public all decisions made by the        
,commission 7including decisions made by
 the ,bureaus and ,offices of the       
,commission7 granting or denying        
requests filed under such section1      
including any such decisions pertaining 
to the estimate and application of fees 
assessed under such section2  7#c7      
publishing on the website of the        
,commission electronic copies of        
documents released under such section2  
and  7#d7 presenting1 in the annual     
budget estimates of the ,commission     

submitted to ,congress and the annual   
performance and financial reports of the
 ,commission1 information about the     
handling by the ,commission of requests 
under such section1 including-- 7,a7 the
 number of requests under such section  
the ,commission received during the most
 recent fiscal year2  7,b7 the number of
 requests described in subparagraph 7,a7
 granted and denied2  7,c7 a comparison 
of the processing of requests described 
in subparagraph 7,a7 by the ,commission 
during a period of not less than the #c 
preceding fiscal years2 and  7,d7 a     
comparison of the results of the        
,commission in processing requests      
described in subparagraph 7,a7 with the 
most recent average for the ,united     
,states ,government as published on     
www4foia4gov4  7j7 ,prompt release of   
statistical reports and reports to      
,congress ,not later than ,january #ae  
of each year1 the ,commission shall     
identify1 catalog1 and publish an       
anticipated release schedule for all    

statistical reports and reports to      
,congress that are regularly or         
intermittently released by the          
,commission and will be released during 
the year4  7k7 ,annual scorecard reports
  7#a7 ,in general ,for the #a-year     
period beginning on ,january #a of each 
year1 the ,commission shall prepare a   
report on the performance of the        
,commission in conducting proceedings   
and meeting the deadlines established   
under subsection 7b77#b77;,e7 and the   
guidelines established under subsection 
7b77#b77;,f74  7#b7 ,contents ,each     
report required under paragraph 7#a7    
shall contain detailed statistics on the
 performance of the ,commission as      
described in paragraph 7#a71 including1 
with respect to each ,bureau of the     
,commission-- 7,a7 with respect to each 
type of filing specified in subsection  
7b77#b77;,e7 or 7b77#b77;,f7-- 7i7 the  
number of filings that were pending on  
the last day of the period covered by   
the report2  7ii7 the number of filings 

described in clause 7i7 for which each  
applicable deadline or guideline        
established under such subsection was   
not met and the average length of time  
those filings have been pending2 and    
7iii7 for filings that were resolved    
during the period covered by the report1
 the average time between initiation and
 resolution and the percentage for which
 each applicable deadline or guideline  
established under such subsection was   
met2  7,b7 with respect to proceedings  
before an administrative law judge-- 7i7
 the number of proceedings completed    
during the period covered by the report2
 and  7ii7 the number of proceedings    
pending on the last day of the period   
covered by the report2 and  7,c7 the    
number of independent studies or        
analyses published by the ,commission   
during the period covered by the report4
  7#c7 ,publication and submission ,the 
,commission shall publish and submit to 
the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce 
of the ,house of ,representatives and   

the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1  
and ,transportation of the ,senate each 
report required under paragraph 7#a7 not
 later than the date that is #cj days   
after the last day of the period covered
 by the report4  4  7b7 ,effective dates
 and implementing rules  7#a7 ,effective
 dates  7,a7 ,nonpublic collaborative   
discussions ,subsection 7d7 of section  
#ac of the ,communications ,act of      
#aicd1 as added by subsection 7a71 shall
 apply beginning on the first date on   
which all of the procedural changes to  
the rules of the ,federal               
,communications ,commission required    
under subsection 7b77#a7 of such section
 have taken effect4  7,b7 ,schedules and
 reports ,subsections 7j7 and 7k7 of    
section #ac of the ,communications ,act 
of #aicd1 as added by subsection 7a71   
shall apply with respect to #bjae and   
any year thereafter4  7#b7 ,rules       
,except as otherwise provided in section
 #ac of the ,communications ,act of     
#aicd1 as added by subsection 7a71 the  

,federal ,communications ,commission    
shall promulgate any rules necessary to 
carry out such section not later than #a
 year after the date of enactment of    
this ,act4  #c4 ,categorization of      
,,tcpa inquiries and complaints in      
quarterly report ,in compiling its      
quarterly report with respect to        
informal consumer inquiries and         
complaints1 the ,federal ,communications
 ,commission may not categorize an      
inquiry or complaint with respect to    
section #bbg of the ,communications ,act
 of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #bbg7 as being 
a wireline inquiry or complaint or a    
wireless inquiry or complaint unless the
 party whose conduct is the subject of  
the inquiry or complaint is a wireline  
carrier or a wireless carrier1          
respectively4  #d4 ,effect on other laws
 ,nothing in this ,act or the amendments
 made by this ,act shall relieve the    
,federal ,communications ,commission    
from any obligations under title #e1    
,united ,states ,code1 except where     

otherwise expressly provided4  #e4      
,application of ,antideficiency ,act to 
,universal ,service ,program  7a7 ,in   
general ,section #bed of the            
,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg      
,u4,s4,c4 #bed7 is amended by adding at 
the end the following3  7m7 ,application
 of ,antideficiency ,act ,section #acda 
and subchapter ,,ii of chapter #ae of   
title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 shall 
not apply to-- 7#a7 any amount collected
 or received as ,federal universal      
service contributions required under    
this section1 including any interest    
earned on such contributions2 or  7#b7  
the expenditure or obligation of amounts
 attributable to contributions described
 in paragraph 7#a7 for universal service
 support programs established under this
 section4  4  7b7 ,repeal of temporary  
provision ,the ,universal ,service      
,antideficiency ,temporary ,suspension  
,act 7title ,,iii of ,public ,law       
#ajh-did2 #aah ,stat4 #ciig7 is         
repealed4