Public Inspection File Rule: The FCC Asks Again If It's Really Necessary

[Commentary] The Paperwork Reduction Act strikes again! As we all know, the PRA requires the Federal Communications Commission to get clearance from the Office of Management and Budget for “information collections” the FCC wants to impose on its regulatees. OMB clearances have a shelf-life of three years, meaning that the FCC has to truck on back to OMB every three years to re-up previously issued clearances. Those of you with reasonably long memories may see where this is heading. This time around, the corresponding estimates are: 24,558 respondents (providing a total of 63,234 responses); one hour to 104 hours per response; “Total Annual Burden” -- 2,375,336 hours; “Total Annual Cost” -- $882,236. If these numbers look a bit odd to you, join the club.

The Paperwork Reduction Act requires the Commission to justify rules like this every three years, so we all have another chance to make the case: do the public file rules serve a useful purpose, are the FCC’s burden estimates valid and, if so, does the supposedly useful purpose justify the supposedly valid burdens? And let’s not forget: the FCC must satisfy the OMB that the FCC’s assessment is correct. In other words, anyone who has any thoughts about the public file should take advantage of this opportunity to articulate them to the FCC. The Commission will be accepting comments through July 6, 2015. After that, the Commission will bundle up any and all comments submitted and send them over to OMB, along with a statement in support of the rules (assuming that the Commission is not persuaded by the comments to drop the rules entirely). OMB will then provide an additional 30-day comment period. If OMB declines to approve the rules, the FCC will be unable to enforce them.