82 FR 24560 - Procedures for Paper Filings and Collecting Application and Regulatory Fees

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 102 (May 30, 2017)

In this document, the Commission commences the process of migrating away from using P.O. Boxes (``Lockboxes'') to collect application and regulatory fees, as well as paper filings. As the Commission gravitates toward an all-electronic payment and filing system, the P.O. Boxes once established to collect filings and fees via check or money order will be gradually closed, and the Commission's rules changed accordingly. In this, the first step of this process, the Commission amends its rules to close P.O. Box 979092, used to collect petitions filed under of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), as well as associated fee payments. Permittees wishing to file future petitions will need to do so electronically through the Commission's electronic filing system and pay the pertinent fees through the Fee Filer Online System, or through another electronic payment mechanism designated by the Commission.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 30, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24560-24561]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11034]



[[Page 24560]]

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 1

[MD Docket No. 17-123; FCC 17-53]


Procedures for Paper Filings and Collecting Application and 
Regulatory Fees

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission commences the process of 
migrating away from using P.O. Boxes (``Lockboxes'') to collect 
application and regulatory fees, as well as paper filings. As the 
Commission gravitates toward an all-electronic payment and filing 
system, the P.O. Boxes once established to collect filings and fees via 
check or money order will be gradually closed, and the Commission's 
rules changed accordingly. In this, the first step of this process, the 
Commission amends its rules to close P.O. Box 979092, used to collect 
petitions filed under of the Communications Assistance for Law 
Enforcement Act (CALEA), as well as associated fee payments. Permittees 
wishing to file future petitions will need to do so electronically 
through the Commission's electronic filing system and pay the pertinent 
fees through the Fee Filer Online System, or through another electronic 
payment mechanism designated by the Commission.

DATES: Effective June 29, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Warren Firschein, Office of Managing 
Director at (202) 418-0844.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    1. In this Order, we reduce Commission expenditures and modernize 
our procedures by amending section 1.1109 \1\ of our rules, which sets 
forth the application fee for petitions filed with the Federal 
Communications Commission (Commission) under section 109(b) of the 
Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA).\2\
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    \1\ 47 CFR 1.1109.
    \2\ 47 U.S.C. 1008(b).
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    2. Enacted in 1994, CALEA was designed to respond to advances in 
technology and eliminate obstacles faced by law enforcement personnel 
in conducting electronic surveillance.\3\ CALEA imposed certain 
technical requirements on telecommunications carriers and provided 
carriers with certain rights to petition the Commission for relief from 
these requirements.\4\ CALEA also amended the Commission's fee schedule 
under section 8 of the Communications Act \5\ to require payment of an 
application fee for one type of CALEA filing--petitions filed under 
section 109(b) of CALEA.\6\ Such section 109(b) petitions allowed 
telecommunications carriers to petition the Commission for an order 
declaring the petitioning carrier's obligation to comply with CALEA's 
section 103 capability requirements ``not reasonably achievable.'' \7\ 
The section 109(b) fee requirement was codified in section 1.1109 of 
the Commission's rules \8\ providing for payment of the fee to P.O. Box 
979092 at U.S. Bank in St. Louis, Missouri.\9\ The only current use of 
section 1.1109 and P.O. Box 979092 is to collect fees for section 
109(b) petitions. The FCC has not received a section 109(b) petition 
since 2002.
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    \3\ See generally Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement 
Act, Second Report and Order, 15 FCC Rcd 7105 (1999).
    \4\ Id. at 7121-33, paras. 30-46; see also Communications 
Assistance for Law Enforcement Act and Broadband Access and 
Services, ET Docket No. 04-295, Second Report and Order and 
Memorandum Opinion and Order, 21 FCC Rcd 5360 (2006).
    \5\ 47 U.S.C. 158.
    \6\ Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, Public 
Law 103-414, 302, 108 Stat. 4279, 4294 (1994). Section 302 of CALEA 
provided for modification of the Commission's schedule of 
application fees. In 1994, when CALEA was enacted, that fee was 
established at $5,000, which was subsequently adjusted for 
inflation.
    \7\ 47 U.S.C. 1008(b)(1).
    \8\ 47 CFR 1.1109.
    \9\ Id.
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    3. The Commission has started to migrate away from using P.O. Boxes 
\10\ and toward using an all-electronic payment system for all 
application and regulatory fees.\11\ This change is based on U.S. 
Treasury guidance and is being implemented to the extent practicable 
and otherwise permitted by law.\12\ Utilizing an all-electronic payment 
system will increase the agency's financial efficiency by reducing 
expenditures, including the annual fee for utilizing the bank's 
services as well as the cost to manually process each transaction, and 
will have no measurable impact on telecommunications carriers.
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    \10\ The FCC collects fees using a series of P.O. Boxes located 
at U.S. Bank in St. Louis, Missouri. 47 CFR 1.1101-1.1109 (setting 
forth the fee schedule for each type of application remittable to 
the Commission along with the correct lockbox).
    \11\ In 2015, the Commission revised its payment rules to 
encourage electronic payment of application fees and require 
electronic payment of regulatory fees. 47 CFR 1.1112 (application 
fees) and 1.1158 (regulatory fees). These rules became effective 
November 30, 2015. 80 FR 66816 (Oct. 30, 2015).
    \12\ Treasury Financial Manual, Bulletin Number 2014-08, 
``Agency No-Cash or No-Check Policies,'' released on August 5, 2014 
(Explaining the circumstances under which agencies may decide not to 
accept payments made in cash or by check and also noting that the 
U.S. Treasury's move to an all-electronic Treasury as well as the 
purposes of Federal cash-management statutes.) Available at https://tfm.fiscal.treasury.gov/v1/bull/14-08.pdf (last visited March 10, 
2017); see also https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/06/13/executive-order-13576-delivering-efficient-effective-and-accountable-gov.
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    4. As part of this effort, we are closing P.O. Box 979092. With 
this Order, we amend our rules to reflect this change as indicated in 
the Final Rules section of this Order. Future payments for any section 
109(b) petition filed with the Commission will be made in accordance 
with the procedures set forth on the Commission's Web site, https://www.fcc.gov/licensing-databases/fees. For now, such payments will be 
made through the Fee Filer Online System, accessible at https://www.fcc.gov/licensing-databases/fees/fee-filer, but as we assess and 
implement U.S. Treasury guidance on an all-electronic payment system, 
we may transition to other secure payment systems with appropriate 
public notice and guidance. We make this change without notice and 
comment because it is a rule of agency organization, procedure, or 
practice exempt from the general notice-and-comment requirements of the 
Administrative Procedure Act.\13\ To file section 109(b) petitions 
electronically, parties should utilize the Commission's ECFS filing 
system, which can be found at http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/upload/display. 
Petitions filed in hard copy format should be submitted according to 
the procedures set forth on the Web page of the FCC's Office of the 
Secretary, https://www.fcc.gov/secretary.
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    \13\ 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A).
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    5. This document does not contain new or modified information 
collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA), Public Law 104-13. In addition, therefore, it does not contain 
any new or modified information collection burden for small business 
concerns with fewer than 25 employees, pursuant to the Small Business 
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(4).
    6. Accordingly, it is ordered, that pursuant to sections 4(i), 
4(j), 201(b), and 229(a) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 
47 U.S.C. 154(i), 154(j), 201(b), 229(a), 47 CFR part 1 is amended as 
set forth below.
    7. It is further ordered, that the Commission shall send a copy of 
this Order to Congress and the Government Accountability Office 
pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).


[[Page 24561]]


Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 1 as follows:

PART 1--PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

0
1. The authority citation for part 1 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j), 155, 157, 160, 201, 
225, 227, 303, 309, 332, 1403, 1404, 1451, 1452, and 1455.


0
2. Revise Sec.  1.1109 to read as follows:


Sec.  1.1109  Schedule of charges for applications and other filings 
for the Homeland services.

    Remit filings and/or payment for these services electronically 
using the Commission's electronic filing and payment system, in 
accordance with the procedures set forth on the Commission's Web site, 
https://www.fcc.gov/licensing-databases/fees.

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                                                                                                   Payment type
                    Service                               FCC Form No.              Fee amount         code
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1. Communication Assistance for Law             Correspondence & 159............       $6,695.00            CLEA
 Enforcement (CALEA) Petitions.
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[FR Doc. 2017-11034 Filed 5-26-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P