OMB Rejects FCC Leased Access Rules

The Office of Management and Budget has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission's new leased access rules violate the Paperwork Reduction Act, a law designed to minimize the burden of bureaucratic red tape on unregulated industries. OMB repeatedly faulted the agency for failing to take into account the additional costs, additional staffing, and risks to proprietary information that the rules would impose on cable operators.

OMB, for example, invalidated the FCC's decision to reduce from 15 days to 3 days the amount of time the cable operators have to provide terms and conditions to would-be programmers. It also faulted the FCC for failing to demonstrate:

1) “[It had] taken reasonable steps to minimize the burden on [cable], ... who will be required to hire new staff in order to maintain the capacity to comply with the reduced deadline for leased access requests.”

2) “There are reasonable mechanisms in place to protect proprietary and confidential information respondents will be required to provide potential programmers, regardless of the legitimacy of the request .."

3) “[It had] taken reasonable steps to minimize the burden on respondents, who due to reduced pricing, will be required to hire new staff in order to maintain the capacity to respond to an increased number of inquiries ...”

The action by OMB was setback for leased access programmers that have been seeking better terms and conditions from cable operators. According to a cable attorney, the FCC has the authority to vote to overturn OMB's action, but such a move is considered unlikely because a federal appeals court in Cincinnati stayed all the rules in May.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6577358.html?nid=4262