This subpart shall be applicable to notice and comment rulemakings proceedings conducted under 5 U.S.C. 553, and shall have no application to formal rulemaking (or rate making) proceedings unless the Commission directs that it shall govern the conduct of a particular proceeding.

As used in this subpart, the term party refers to any person who participates in a proceeding by the timely filing of a petition for rule making, comments on a notice of proposed rule making, a petition for reconsideration, or responsive pleadings in the manner prescribed by this subpart. The term does not include those who submit letters, telegrams or other informal materials.

(a) Any interested person may petition for the issuance, amendment or repeal of a rule or regulation.

(b) The petition for rule making shall conform to the requirements of §§ 1.49, 1.52, and 1.419(b) (or § 1.420(e), if applicable), and shall be submitted or addressed to the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC 20554, or may be submitted electronically.

(c) The petition shall set forth the text or substance of the proposed rule, amendment, or rule to be repealed, together with all facts, views, arguments and data deemed to support the action requested, and shall indicate how the interests of petitioner will be affected.

(d) Petitions for amendment of the FM Table of Assignments (§ 73.202 of this chapter) or the Television Table of Assignments (§ 73.606) shall be served by petitioner on any Commission licensee or permittee whose channel assignment would be changed by grant of the petition. The petition shall be accompanied by a certificate of service on such licensees or permittees. Petitions to amend the FM Table of Allotments must be accompanied by the appropriate construction permit application and payment of the appropriate application filing fee.

(e) Petitions which are moot, premature, repetitive, frivolous, or which plainly do not warrant consideration by the Commission may be denied or dismissed without prejudice to the petitioner.

All petitions for rulemaking (other than petitions to amend the FM, Television, and Air-Ground Tables of Assignments) meeting the requirements of § 1.401 will be given a file number and, promptly thereafter, a “Public Notice” will be issued (by means of a Commission release entitled “Petitions for Rule Making Filed”) as to the petition, file number, nature of the proposal, and date of filing. Petitions for rulemaking are available through the Commission's Reference Information Center at the FCC's main office, and may also be available electronically at https://www.fcc.gov/.

Except for petitions to amend the FM Television or Air-Ground Tables of Assignments:

(a) Any interested person may file a statement in support of or in opposition to a petition for rule making prior to Commission action on the petition but not later than 30 days after “Public Notice”, as provided for in § 1.403, is given of the filing of such a petition. Such a statement shall be accompanied by proof of service upon the petitioner on or prior to the date of filing in conformity with § 1.47 and shall conform in other aspects with the requirements of §§ 1.49, 1.52, and 1.419(b).

(b) Any interested person may file a reply to statements in support of or in opposition to a petition for rule making prior to Commission action on the petition but not later than 15 days after the filing of such a statement. Such a reply shall be accompanied by proof of service upon the party or parties filing the statement or statements to which the reply is directed on or prior to the date of filing in conformity with § 1.47 and shall conform in other aspects with the requirements of §§ 1.49, 1.52, and 1.419(b).

(c) No additional pleadings may be filed unless specifically requested by the Commission or authorized by it.

(d) The Commission may act on a petition for rule making at any time after the deadline for the filing of replies to statements in support of or in opposition to the petition. Statements in support of or in opposition to a petition for rule making, and replies thereto, shall not be filed after Commission action.

If the Commission determines that the petition discloses sufficient reasons in support of the action requested to justify the institution of a rulemaking proceeding, and notice and public procedure thereon are required or deemed desirable by the Commission, an appropriate notice of proposed rule making will be issued. In those cases where notice and public procedure thereon are not required, the Commission may issue a final order amending the rules. In all other cases the petition for rule making will be denied and the petitioner will be notified of the Commission's action with the grounds therefor.

Rulemaking proceedings are commenced by the Commission, either on it own motion or on the basis of a petition for rulemaking. See §§ 1.401-1.407.

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, prior notice of proposed rulemaking will be given.

(1) Notice is ordinarily given by publication of a “Notice of Proposed Rule Making” in the Federal Register. A summary of the full decision adopted by the Commission constitutes a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” for purposes of Federal Register publication.

(2) If all persons subject to the proposed rules are named, the proposal may (in lieu of publication) be personally served upon those persons.

(3) If all persons subject to the proposed rules are named and have actual notice of the proposal as a matter of law, further prior notice of proposed rulemaking is not required.

(b) Rule changes (including adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule or rules) relating to the following matters will ordinarily be adopted without prior notice:

(1) Any military, naval, or foreign affairs function of the United States.

(2) Any matter relating to Commission management or personnel or to public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts.

(3) Interpretative rules.

(4) General statements of policy.

(5) Rules of Commission organization, procedure, or practice.

(c) Rule changes may in addition be adopted without prior notice in any situation in which the Commission for good cause finds that notice and public procedure are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. The finding of good cause and a statement of the basis for that finding are in such situations published with the rule changes.

(d) In addition to the notice provisions of paragraph (a) of this section, the Commission, before prescribing any requirements as to accounts, records, or memoranda to be kept by carriers, will notify the appropriate State agencies having jurisdiction over any carrier involved of the proposed requirements.

A notice of the proposed issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule will include the following:

(a) A statement of the time, nature and place of any public rulemaking proceeding to be held.

(b) Reference to the authority under which the issuance, amendment or repeal of a rule is proposed.

(c) Either the terms or substance of the proposed rule or a description of the subjects and issues involved.

(d) The docket number assigned to the proceeding.

(e) A statement of the time for filing comments and replies thereto.

(a) After notice of proposed rulemaking is issued, the Commission will afford interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking proceeding through submission of written data, views, or arguments, with or without opportunity to present the same orally in any manner.

(b) A reasonable time will be provided for submission of comments in support of or in opposition to proposed rules, and the time provided will be specified in the notice of proposed rulemaking.

(c) A reasonable time will be provided for filing comments in reply to the original comments, and the time provided will be specified in the notice of proposed rulemaking.

(d) No additional comments may be filed unless specifically requested or authorized by the Commission.

(e) For time limits for filing motions for extension of time for filing responses to petitions for rulemaking, replies to such responses, comments filed in response to notices of proposed rulemaking, replies to such comments, see § 1.46(b).

(a) Comments, replies, and other documents filed in a rulemaking proceeding shall conform to the requirements of § 1.49.

(b) Unless otherwise specified by Commission rules, an original and one copy of all comments, briefs and other documents filed in a rulemaking proceeding shall be furnished to the Commission. The distribution of such copies shall be as follows:

Participants filing the required 2 copies who also wish each Commissioner to have a personal copy of the comments may file an additional 5 copies. The distribution of such copies shall be as follows:

Similarly, members of the general public who wish to express their interest by participating informally in a rulemaking proceeding may do so by submitting an original and one copy of their comments, without regard to form, provided only that the Docket Number is specified in the heading. Informal comments filed after close of the reply comment period, or, if on reconsideration, the reconsideration reply comment period, should be labeled “ex parte” pursuant to § 1.1206(a). Letters submitted to Commissioners or Commission staff will be treated in the same way as informal comments, as set forth above. Also, to the extent that an informal participant wishes to submit to each Commissioner a personal copy of a comment and has not submitted or cannot submit the comment by electronic mail, the participant may file an additional 5 copies. The distribution of such copies shall be as follows:

(c) Any person desiring to file identical documents in more than one docketed rulemaking proceeding shall furnish the Commission two additional copies of any such document for each additional docket. This requirement does not apply if the proceedings have been consolidated.

(d) Participants that file comments and replies in electronic form need only submit one copy of those comments, so long as the submission conforms to any procedural or filing requirements established for formal electronic comments.

(e) Comments and replies and other documents filed in electronic form by a party represented by an attorney shall include the name and mailing address of at least one attorney of record. Parties not represented by an attorney that file comments and replies and other documents in electronic form shall provide their name and mailing address.

(a) Comments filed in proceedings for amendment of the FM Table of Allotments (§ 73.202 of this chapter) or the Television Table of Allotments (§ 73.622(j) of this chapter) which are initiated on a petition for rule making shall be served on petitioner by the person who files the comments.

(b) Reply comments filed in proceedings for amendment of the FM or Television Tables of Allotments shall be served on the person(s) who filed the comments to which the reply is directed.

(c) Such comments and reply comments shall be accompanied by a certificate of service.

(d) Counterproposals shall be advanced in initial comments only and will not be considered if they are advanced in reply comments.

(e) An original and 4 copies of all petitions for rulemaking, comments, reply comments, and other pleadings shall be filed with the Commission.

(f) Petitions for reconsideration and responsive pleadings shall be served on parties to the proceeding and on any licensee or permittee whose authorization may be modified to specify operation on a different channel, and shall be accompanied by a certificate of service.

(g) The Commission may modify the license or permit of a UHF TV station to a VHF channel in the same community in the course of the rule making proceeding to amend § 73.622(j), or it may modify the license or permit of an FM station to another class of channel through notice and comment procedures, if any of the following conditions are met:

(1) There is no other timely filed expression of interest, or

(2) If another interest in the proposed channel is timely filed, an additional equivalent class of channel is also allotted, assigned or available for application.

(h) Where licensees (or permittees) of television broadcast stations jointly petition to amend § 73.622(j) and to exchange channels, and where one of the licensees (or permittees) operates on a commercial channel while the other operates on a reserved noncommercial educational channel within the same band, and the stations serve substantially the same market, then the Commission may amend § 73.606(b) or § 73.622(j) and modify the licenses (or permits) of the petitioners to specify operation on the appropriate channels upon a finding that such action will promote the public interest, convenience, and necessity.

(i) In the course of the rule making proceeding to amend § 73.202(b) or § 73.622(j), the Commission may modify the license or permit of an FM or television broadcast station to specify a new community of license where the amended allotment would be mutually exclusive with the licensee's or permittee's present assignment.

(j) Whenever an expression of interest in applying for, constructing, and operating a station has been filed in a proceeding to amend the FM or TV Table of Allotments, and the filing party seeks to dismiss or withdraw the expression of interest, either unilaterally or in exchange for financial consideration, that party must file with the Commission a request for approval of the dismissal or withdrawal, a copy of any written agreement related to the dismissal or withdrawal, and an affidavit setting forth:

(1) A certification that neither the party withdrawing its interest nor its principals has received or will receive any money or other consideration in excess of legitimate and prudent expenses in exchange for the dismissal or withdrawal of the expression of interest;

(2) The exact nature and amount of any consideration received or promised;

(3) An itemized accounting of the expenses for which it seeks reimbursement; and

(4) The terms of any oral agreement related to the dismissal or withdrawal of the expression of interest.

(5) In addition, within 5 days of a party's request for approval, each remaining party to any written or oral agreement must submit an affidavit setting forth:

(i) A certification that neither it nor its principals has paid or will pay money or other consideration in excess of the legitimate and prudent expenses of the party withdrawing its expression of interest; and

(ii) The terms of any oral agreement relating to the dismissal or withdrawal of the expression of interest.

In any rulemaking proceeding where the Commission deems it warranted, a further notice of proposed rulemaking will be issued with opportunity for parties of record and other interested persons to submit comments in conformity with §§ 1.415 and 1.419.

In any rulemaking where the Commission determines that an oral argument, hearing or any other type of proceeding is warranted, notice of the time, place and nature of such proceeding will be published in the Federal Register.

The Commission will consider all relevant comments and material of record before taking final action in a rulemaking proceeding and will issue a decision incorporating its finding and a brief statement of the reasons therefor.

(a) Any rule issued by the Commission will be made effective not less than 30 days from the time it is published in the Federal Register except as otherwise specified in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section. If the report and order adopting the rule does not specify the date on which the rule becomes effective, the effective date shall be 30 days after the date on which the rule is published in the Federal Register, unless a later date is required by statute or is otherwise specified by the Commission.

(b) For good cause found and published with the rule, any rule issued by the Commission may be made effective within less than 30 days from the time it is published in the Federal Register. Rules involving any military, naval or foreign affairs function of the United States; matters relating to agency management or personnel, public property, loans, grants, benefits or contracts; rules granting or recognizing exemption or relieving restriction; rules of organization, procedure or practice; or interpretative rules; and statements of policy may be made effective without regard to the 30-day requirement.

(c) In cases of alterations by the Commission in the required manner or form of keeping accounts by carriers, notice will be served upon affected carriers not less than 6 months prior to the effective date of such alterations.

(a) Any interested person may petition for reconsideration of a final action in a proceeding conducted under this subpart (see §§ 1.407 and 1.425). Where the action was taken by the Commission, the petition will be acted on by the Commission. Where action was taken by a staff official under delegated authority, the petition may be acted on by the staff official or referred to the Commission for action.

(b) A petition for reconsideration which relies on facts or arguments which have not previously been presented to the Commission will be granted only under the following circumstances:

(1) The facts or arguments relied on relate to events which have occurred or circumstances which have changed since the last opportunity to present such matters to the Commission;

(2) The facts or arguments relied on were unknown to petitioner until after his last opportunity to present them to the Commission, and he could not through the exercise of ordinary diligence have learned of the facts or arguments in question prior to such opportunity; or

(3) The Commission determines that consideration of the facts or arguments relied on is required in the public interest.

(c) The petition for reconsideration shall state with particularity the respects in which petitioner believes the action taken should be changed.

(d) The petition for reconsideration and any supplement thereto shall be filed within 30 days from the date of public notice of such action, as that date is defined in § 1.4(b). No supplement to a petition for reconsideration filed after expiration of the 30 day period will be considered, except upon leave granted pursuant to a separate pleading stating the grounds for acceptance of the supplement. The petition for reconsideration shall not exceed 25 double-spaced typewritten pages. See also § 1.49(f).

(e) Except as provided in § 1.420(f), petitions for reconsideration need not be served on parties to the proceeding. (However, where the number of parties is relatively small, the Commission encourages the service of petitions for reconsideration and other pleadings, and agreements among parties to exchange copies of pleadings. See also § 1.47(d) regarding electronic service of documents.) When a petition for reconsideration is timely filed in proper form, public notice of its filing is published in the Federal Register. The time for filing oppositions to the petition runs from the date of public notice. See § 1.4(b).

(f) Oppositions to a petition for reconsideration shall be filed within 15 days after the date of public notice of the petition's filing and need be served only on the person who filed the petition. See also § 1.49(d). Oppositions shall not exceed 25 double-spaced typewritten pages. See § 1.49(f).

(g) Replies to an opposition shall be filed within 10 days after the time for filing oppositions has expired and need be served only on the person who filed the opposition. Replies shall not exceed 10 double-spaced typewritten pages. See also §§ 1.49(d) and 1.49(f).

(h) Petitions for reconsideration, oppositions and replies shall conform to the requirements of §§ 1.49 and 1.52, except that they need not be verified. Except as provided in § 1.420(e), an original and 11 copies shall be submitted to the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC 20554, by mail, by commercial courier, by hand, or by electronic submission through the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System. Petitions submitted only by electronic mail and petitions submitted directly to staff without submission to the Secretary shall not be considered to have been properly filed. Parties filing in electronic form need only submit one copy.

(i) The Commission may grant the petition for reconsideration in whole or in part or may deny or dismiss the petition. Its order will contain a concise statement of the reasons for the action taken. Any order addressing a petition for reconsideration which modifies rules adopted by the original order is, to the extent of such modification, subject to reconsideration in the same manner as the original order. Except in such circumstance, a second petition for reconsideration may be dismissed by the staff as repetitious. In no event shall a ruling which denies a petition for reconsideration be considered a modification of the original order.

(j) The filing of a petition for reconsideration is not a condition precedent to judicial review of any action taken by the Commission, except where the person seeking such review was not a party to the proceeding resulting in the action or relies on questions of fact or law upon which the Commission has been afforded no opportunity to pass. Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section, such a person may qualify to seek judicial review by filing a petition for reconsideration.

(k) Without special order of the Commission, the filing of a petition for reconsideration shall not excuse any person from complying with any rule or operate in any manner to stay or postpone its enforcement. However, upon good cause shown, the Commission will stay the effective date of a rule pending a decision on a petition for reconsideration. See, however, § 1.420(f).

(l) Petitions for reconsideration of a Commission action that plainly do not warrant consideration by the Commission may be dismissed or denied by the relevant bureau(s) or office(s). Examples include, but are not limited to, petitions that:

(1) Fail to identify any material error, omission, or reason warranting reconsideration;

(2) Rely on facts or arguments which have not previously been presented to the Commission and which do not meet the requirements of paragraphs (b)(1) through (3) of this section;

(3) Rely on arguments that have been fully considered and rejected by the Commission within the same proceeding;

(4) Fail to state with particularity the respects in which petitioner believes the action taken should be changed as required by paragraph (c) of this section;

(5) Relate to matters outside the scope of the order for which reconsideration is sought;

(6) Omit information required by these rules to be included with a petition for reconsideration;

(7) Fail to comply with the procedural requirements set forth in paragraphs (d), (e), and (h) of this section;

(8) Relate to an order for which reconsideration has been previously denied on similar grounds, except for petitions which could be granted under paragraph (b) of this section; or

(9) Are untimely.

The provisions of this subpart also govern proceedings commenced by issuing a “Notice of Inquiry,” except that such proceedings do not result in the adoption of rules, and Notices of Inquiry are not required to be published in the Federal Register.