Still Room for FCC Action Amid Pause on Controversial Votes
While most view the nearly empty agenda for Nov. 17's commissioners' meeting as an indication the agency is on pause (see 1611150052) until the next administration takes over, there's room for commission action in the final gathering of this FCC, attorneys and industry officials told us. Legislators directed the FCC not to take up controversial topics. The agency has a statutorily required meeting Dec. 15, and many industry officials said there’s a lobbying opportunity during this limbo period for advocates of items that could receive support from all five commissioners or be resolved at the bureau level. The January meeting is after Inauguration Day. With the stance of the next FCC still unclear, many regulated entities may seek to conduct business in front of this commission while they still can, because of the increased certainty, said Fletcher Heald broadcast lawyer Peter Tannenwald.
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The agency still has work to do, one industry official said, rejecting the idea that Chairman Tom Wheeler “put his pencil down” when he cleared the agenda save for one consent item from the November meeting, in response to Congress. The items pulled from the agenda remain on circulation, numerous industry officials noted, and Wheeler said Thursday he's still trying to have set-top box rules approved, despite the legislators' directive. Though the set-top order is largely seen as dead despite Wheeler’s remarks, advocates for less hot-button topics may be able to push them now without the distraction of the more controversial items, a content company official told us.
Though it’s not clear which policies might fit the noncontroversial criteria, filings from industry groups and companies show such pushes being made. The National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters asked the FCC Friday (see 1611180058) to take up the issue of skywave AM interference protection “now.” The video description draft item from November’s agenda could get Republican support if the increase in video description hours were rolled back to conform more precisely with the legislative language on the matter, one industry official said. Several items on the 21st Century Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) were unanimously approved by the current FCC in the past, suggesting such policies could be approved in the time remaining in this administration. Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing pushed for a draft item on closed captions and user interfaces to be approved despite the Hill letter. “While we acknowledge the Committee’s preference that the Commission cease action in deference to the new administration, we strongly urge the Commission to finalize pending accessibility items now, or as soon as is practicable,” said a TDI filing.
Not everyone agrees lobbying the FCC under its current constraints is still useful. With a great deal of turnover likely in the near future, especially among bureau leadership, lobbying done now is unlikely to yield much of a return down the road, a broadcast attorney said. Though the FCC is required by law to have a December meeting, the substantiveness of that meeting isn’t specified. The final commissioners' meeting under then-Chairman Kevin Martin was conducted by conference call, several industry officials noted.