Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

[e] 10

(f) The Commission shall have a Managing Director who shall be appointed by the Chairman subject to the approval of the Commission. The Managing Director, under the supervision and direction of the Chairman, shall perform such administrative and executive functions as the Chairman shall delegate. The Managing Director shall be paid at a rate equal to the rate then payable for level V of the Executive Schedule. 42

(g) The Commission shall submit an annual report to the Congress not later than March 31 of each year. Such report shall—

(1) list the specific goals, objectives, and priorities of the Commission which shall be projected over 12-month, 24-month, and 36-month periods;

(2) describe in detail the programs which are, or shall be, established to meet or carry out such goals, objectives, and priorities;

(3) provide an evaluation of actions taken during the preceding year with regard to fulfilling the functions of the Commission; and

(4) contain recommendations for legislative action required to enable the Commission to meet its objectives.43

AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 6. [47 U.S.C. 156] 44 There are authorized to be appropriated for the administration of this Act by the Commission

Provided, however, That this authority shall not extend to investigations instituted upon the Commission's own motion or, without the consent of the parties, thereto, to contested proceedings involving the taking of testimony at public hearings, or to investigations specifically required by this Act. All such orders shall take effect forthwith and remain in effect until otherwise ordered by the Commission. In case of the absence or inability for any other reason to act of any such individual commissioner or employee designated to serve upon any such board, the chairman of the Commission may designate another commissioner or employee, as the case may be, to serve temporarily until the Commission shall otherwise order. In conformity with and subject to the order or orders of the Commission, in the premises, any such individual commissioner, or board acting by a majority thereof, shall have power and authority to hear and determine order, certify, report, or otherwise act as to any of said work, business, or functions so assigned or referred to him or it for action by the Commission and in respect thereof shall have all the jurisdiction and powers now or then conferred by law upon the Commission and be subject to the same duties and obligations. Any order, decision, or report made or other action taken by any such individual commissioner or board in respect of any matters so assigned or referred shall have the same force and effect, and may be made, evidenced, and enforced in the same manner as if made or taken by the Commission. Any party affected by any order, decision, or report of any such individual commissioner or board may file a petition for rehearing by the Commission or a division thereof and every such petition shall be passed upon by the Commission or a division thereof. Any action by a division upon such a petition shall itself be subject to rehearing by the Commission, as provided in section 405 of the Act and in subsection (c). The Commission may make and amend rules for the conduct of proceedings before such individual commissioner or board and for the rehearing of such action before a division of the Commission or the Commission. The secretary and seal of the Commission shall be the secretary and seal of such individual commissioner or board.

Section 5(e) was amended by section 116 of Public Law 96-470, 94 Stat. at 2240, which deleted from the end of the subsection the following: "; and the Commission shall promptly report to the Congress each such case which has been pending before it more than such three- or six-month period, respectively, stating the reasons therefor.

42 Subsection (f) was added by Public Law 97-35, 95 Stat. 357, 738, Aug. 13, 1981.

43 Subsection (g) was added by Public Law 97-35, 95 Stat. 357, 732, Aug. 13, 1981; amended by Public Law 99-272, 100 Stat. 82, 118, April 7, 1986.

44 Section 6 was added by Public Law 97-35, 95 Stat. 357, 738, Aug. 13, 1981; amended by Public Law 99-272, 100 Stat. 82, 117, April 7, 1986.

Appropriations pursuant to this section were made or adjusted by Public Law 99-180, 99 Stat. 1136, 116, Dec. 13, 1985; Public Law 99-177, 99 Stat. 1037, Dec. 12, 1985; Public Law 99-500, 100 Stat. 1783, Oct. 18, 1986.

The amounts available under these appropriations are as follows:

Continued

$98,100,000 for fiscal year 1986 and $97,600,000 for fiscal year 1987, together with such sums as may be necessary for increases resulting from adjustments in salary, pay, retirement, other employee benefits required by law, and other nondiscretionary costs, for each of the fiscal years 1986 and 1987.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES

SEC. 7. [47 U.S.C. 157] 45 (a) It shall be the policy of the United States to encourage the provision of new technologies and services to the public. Any person or party (other than the Commission) who opposes a new technology or service proposed to be permitted under this Act shall have the burden to demonstrate that such proposal is inconsistent with the public interest.

(b) The Commission shall determine whether any new technology or service proposed in a petition or application is in the public interest within one year after such petition or application is filed or twelve months after the date of the enactment of this section, if later. If the Commission initiates its own proceeding for a new technology or service, such proceeding shall be completed within 12 months after it is initiated or twelve months after the date of the enactment of this section, if later.

[blocks in formation]

SEC. 8. [47 U.S.C. 158] (a) The Commission shall assess and collect charges at such rates as the Commission shall establish or at such modified rates as it shall establish pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section. The Schedule of Charges established under this subsection shall be implemented not later than 360 days after the date of enactment of this section.

(b)1) The Schedule of Charges established under this section shall be reviewed by the Commission every two years after the date of enactment of this section and adjusted by the Commission to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. Increases or decreases in charges shall apply to all categories of charges, except that individual fees shall not be adjusted until the increase or decrease, as determined by the net change in the Consumer Price Index since the date of enactment of this section, amounts to at least $5.00 in the case of fees under $100.00, or 5 percent in the case of fees of $100.00 or more. All fees which require adjustment will be rounded upward to the next $5.00 increment. The Commission shall transmit to the Congress notification of any such adjustment not later than 90 days before the effective date of such adjustment.

(2) Increases or decreases in charges made pursuant to this subsection shall not be subject to judicial review.

(c)(1) The Commission shall prescribe by regulation an additional charge which shall be assessed as a penalty for late payment of

Fiscal Year 1986, $90,341,000.

Fiscal Year 1987, $95,000,000.

45 Section 7 was added by Public Law 98-214, 97 Stat. 1471, Dec. 8, 1983.

454 The Schedules of Charges appears in the appendix to this volume. Public Law 99-500, 100 Stat. 1783-67, Oct. 18, 1986, provided as follows: "That notwithstanding any other provision of law the Federal Communications Commission, during fiscal year 1987 may recover the costs incurred to assess and collect charges authorized by section 5002 of Public Law 99-272 from receipts generated by such charges.'

charges required by subsection (a) of this section. Such penalty shall be 25 percent of the amount of the charge which was not paid in a timely manner.

(2) The Commission may dismiss any application or other filing for failure to pay in a timely manner any charge or penalty under this section.

(d)(1) The charges established under this section shall not be applicable to the following radio services: Local Government, Police, Fire, Highway Maintenance, Forestry-Conservation, Public Safety, and Special Emergency Radio, or to governmental entities licensed in other services.

(2) The Commission may waive or defer payment of a charge in any specific instance for good cause shown, where such action would promote the public interest.

(e) Moneys received from charges established under this section shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury to reimburse the United States for amounts appropriated for use by the Commission in carrying out its functions under this Act.

(f) The Commission shall prescribe appropriate rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this section.

TITLE II-COMMON CARRIERS

SERVICE AND CHARGES

SEC. 201. [47 U.S.C. 201] (a) It shall be the duty of every common carrier engaged in interstate or foreign communication by wire or radio to furnish such communication service upon reasonable request therefor; and, in accordance with the orders of the Commission, in cases where the Commission, after opportunity for hearing, finds such action necessary or desirable in the public interest, to establish physical connections with other carriers, to establish through routes and charges applicable thereto and the divisions of such charges, and to establish and provide facilities and regulations for operating such through routes.

(b) All charges, practices, classifications, and regulations for and in connection with such communication service, shall be just and reasonable, and any such charge, practice, classification, or regulation that is unjust or unreasonable is hereby declared to be unlawful: Provided, That communications by wire or radio subject to this Act may be classified into day, night, repeated, unrepeated, letter, commercial, press, Government 45B and such other classes as the

45B Section 5266 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (U.S.C. 1940 edition, title 47, sec. 3), concerning telegrams between several departments of the Government, their priority and rates, was amended by Public No. 4, 78th Congress, 1st Session, approved March 6, 1943, 57 Stat. 12, and repealed effective July 26, 1947 by Public Law 193, 80th Congress, 1st Session, 61 Stat. 327, sec. 2, Public Law 193 provided as follows:

SEC. 2. Nothing in this Act shall limit the authority of the Federal Communications Commission under the provisions of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, to prescribe charges, classifications, regulations and practices, including priorities, applicable to Government communications.

Public Law 48, 80th Congress, 1st Session, May 13, 1947, 61 Stat. 83, provides "That nothing in the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, or any other provision of law shall be construed to prohibit United States common carriers from rendering free communication services to official participants in the world telecommunication conferences to be held in the United States in 1947, subject to such rules and regulations as the Federal Communications Commission may prescribe."

Commission may decide to be just and reasonable, and different charges may be made for the different classes of comunications: Provided further, That nothing in this Act or in any other provision of law shall be construed to prevent a common carrier subject to this Act from entering into or operating under any contract with any common carrier not subject to this Act, for the exchange of their services, if the Commission is of the opinion that such contract is not contrary to the public interest: Provided further, That nothing in this Act or in any other provision of law shall prevent a common carrier subject to this Act from furnishing reports of positions of ships at sea to newspapers of general circulation, either at a nominal charge or without charge, provided the name of such common carrier is displayed along with such ship position reports. The Commissioner may prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary in the public interest to carry out the provisions of this Act.46

DISCRIMINATION AND PREFERENCES

SEC. 202. [47 U.S.C. 202] (a) It shall be unlawful for any common carrier to make any unjust or unreasonable discrimination in charges, practices, classifications, regulations, facilities, or services for or in connection with like communication service, directly or indirectly, by any means or device, or to make or give any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person, class of persons, or locality, or to subject any particular person, class of persons, or locality to any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage.

(b) Charges or services, whenever referred to in this Act, include charges for, or services in connection with, the use of common carrier lines of communication, whether derived from wire or radio facilities, in chain broadcasting or incidental to radio communication of any kind.47

(c) Any carrier who knowingly violates the provisions of this section shall forfeit to the United States the sum of $500 for each such offense and $25 for each and every day of the continuance of such offense.

SCHEDULES OF CHARGES

SEC. 203. [47 U.S.C. 203] (a) Every common carrier, except connecting carriers, shall, within such reasonable time as the Commission shall designate, file with the Commission and print and keep open for public inspection schedules showing all charges for itself and its connecting carriers for interstate and foreign wire or radio communication between the different points on its own system, and between points on its own system and points on the system of its connecting carriers or points on the system of any other carrier

46 This proviso was added by an Act "To amend the Act approved June 19, 1934, entitled the 'Communication Act of 1934' Public Law 561, 75th Congress, approved May 31, 1938, 52 Stat.

588.

47 Section 202(b) was amended to read as above by Public Law 86-751, approved September 13, 1960, 74 Stat. 888. It formerly read as follows:

(b) Charges or services, whenever referred to in this Act, include charges for, or services in connection with, the use of wires in chain broadcasting or incidental to radio communication of any

subject to this Act when a through route has been established, whether such charges are joint or separate, and showing the classifications, practices, and regulations affecting such charges. Such schedules shall contain such other information, and be printed in such form, and be posted and kept open for public inspection in such places, as the Commission may by regulation require, and each such schedule shall give notice of its effective date; and such common carrier shall furnish such schedules to each of its connecting carriers, and such connecting carriers shall keep such schedules open for inspection in such public places as the Commission may require.

(b)(1) No change shall be made in the charges, classifications, regulations, or practices which have been so filed and published except after ninety days notice to the Commission and to the public, which shall be published in such form and contain such information as the Commission may by regulations prescribe.

(2) The Commission may, in its discretion and for good cause shown, modify any requirement made by or under the authority of this section either in particular instances or by general order applicable to special circumstances or conditions except that the Commission may not require the notice period specified in paragraph (1) to be more than ninety days.48

(c) No carrier, unless otherwise provided by or under authority of this Act, shall engage or participate in such communication unless schedules have been filed and published in accordance with the provisions of this Act and with the regulations made thereunder; and no carrier shall (1) charge, demand, collect, or receive a greater or less or different compensation, for such communication, or for any service in connection therewith, between the points named in any such schedule than the charges specified in the schedule then in effect, or (2) refund or remit by any means or device any portion of the charges so specified, or (3) extend to any person any privileges or facilities, in such communication, or employ or enforce any classifications, regulations, or practices affecting such charges, except as specified in such schedule.

(d) The Commission may reject and refuse to file any schedule entered for filing which does not provide and give lawful notice of its effective date. Any schedule so rejected by the Commission shall be void and its use shall be unlawful.

(e) In case of failure or refusal on the part of any carrier to comply with the provisions of this section or of any regulation or order made by the Commission thereunder, such carrier shall forfeit to the United States the sum of $500 for each such offense, and $25 for each and every day of the continuance of such offense.

HEARING AS TO LAWFULNESS OF NEW CHARGES; SUSPENSION SEC. 204. [47 U.S.C. 204] (a) Whenever there is filed with the Commission any new or revised charge, classification, regulation, or practice, the Commission may either upon complaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, upon reasonable notice, enter

48 Public Law 94-376, approved August 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1080, amended subsection 203(b) by making slight changes in language and by increasing the notice from thirty to ninety days.

« AnteriorContinuar »