Commissioners Back Martin on Earlier Meeting Disclosure
All FCC commissioners back Chairman Kevin Martin on an unprecedented move to give three weeks public notice of items the chairman wants voted on at a meeting. Under the plan, around the time Martin circulates so-called white paper copies of proposed orders, rulemaking notices and the like for meeting votes, he'll publicly list them, he told reporters Friday. This is a deviation from long- standing agency pattern, he and others familiar with agency history said. Meanwhile, Martin defended his leadership style Friday saying he is not to blame for long delays in meeting start times or procedural breakdowns at the agency.
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The public now learns of matters set for meeting votes seven days before the event, when the commission issues a so-called sunshine notice delineating its agenda. Martin wants to issue public notices three weeks before each meeting, listing everything circulated on the agency’s top floor for a vote before or at that meeting. “We do need to change the process -- that everybody needs to understand what is going to be on each item,” he said. “That has not traditionally been the process at the commission.”
At a news conference held next to his office, Martin released six orders and rulemaking notices on which he wants votes Feb. 26. (See separate report in this issue.) Until other commissioners formally endorse his three- weeks-notice plan, he said, he wants to get word out by any means necessary. “What I'd like to do is to find a regular way of releasing that, but I've got to change some of our internal rules and work with commissioners to do that,” Martin said. “But in the meantime I'll make sure and alert everybody to all of the items I've proposed.” Commissioners also must be swifter in noting changes they want made to orders before meetings, to avoid delays, he said.
In Congress, members of both parties have criticized the FCC for offering inadequate advance notice of actions it plans to take. House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey, D-Mass., endorsed Martin’s idea. “This is a welcome development,” he said. “I commend Chairman Martin for taking this step. Transparency and adequate notice in FCC proceedings is important and reassuring to the public.” House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., called the proposal “an important step towards greater transparency.” He added: “I'm glad to see Chairman Martin taking this action. As always, the devil is in the details, so I look forward to reviewing this proposal closely.” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D- Hawaii, had no comment by our deadline.
Commissioner Robert McDowell’s assessment of the Martin move embodied his colleagues’ comments. He “thinks it is a great idea,” a McDowell representative said, and an aide to Deborah Tate said she agrees. “Sounds like it could be a good first step towards meaningful FCC reform,” said commissioner Michael Copps. “I look forward to hearing the details.”
Jonathan Adelstein said Martin essentially embraced an earlier proposal by the Democratic commissioner to give three weeks’ notice of agenda items. “I've championed this approach because if we wait until the so-called ‘Sunshine Notice,’ the public won’t find out until the very moment [that] they can no longer contact us with their concerns or suggestions,” Adelstein said in a written statement. The FCC bars lobbying on matters in the seven days before it votes on them. “While we still have a long way to go to ensure all of our undertakings are open, transparent and fair, this is a good step,” added Adelstein.
The FCC never has announced meeting items more than a week or two ahead, said George Washington University Professor Chris Sterling, a 1980s-era commission official who now teaches communications policy. Sterling traced Martin’s gesture to Congressional pressure. “I think he’s just getting some heat from Dingell and others on the Hill, and more power to those supplying the heat,” he said. “I think a little more transparency is a good idea.”
Martin Defends Management Style
Martin also went on the attack Friday against complaints about his leadership. He pointed to other commissioners and their aides as the frequent cause of FCC meetings starting many hours late. That was so with the Sept. 12 agenda meeting that started 11 hours after it was supposed to, Martin said.
“I'm always happy to engage the other offices… they do have to be prepared to say what they want to do,” Martin said. “If they don’t like the proposal that I've put forward then they have to propose what they would do differently… Oftentimes I think that people may be unsure about some of my proposals but may not have any other ideas.”
Martin said guidelines developed during William Kennard’s chairmanship require the chairman to send a proposed order to fellow commissioners three weeks before a meeting, with those commissioners required to propose changes seven days before that meeting. Often, other offices miss that deadline, Martin said. “If you propose edits the night before the meeting… and then you say you don’t want to start the meeting until you see the redlines and incorporate those edits, it’s going to take the staff sometimes hours to produce it,” he said.
FCC sources said Friday that Martin’s office often lags in responding to requests for changes in proposed orders. At times, all other commissioners and their aides have had complaints about delays emanating from Martin’s office, agency sources said.
Recent weeks have found Martin under fire over varied issues. An NPR story last week quoted a source likening his stress on secrecy to that seen in the latter days of Richard Nixon’s second term as president. The House Oversight and Investigation subcommittee is expected to send Martin a document request in the next few weeks as its investigation of the FCC deepens, a source said Friday.
Also at the news conference, Martin said questions about hearing aid-compatible phones will be addressed in a notice of proposed rulemaking, and the Wireless Bureau hasn’t reached conclusions. The order only asks, “What should we do with Wi-Fi capability?” Martin said. Sources said the bureau changed direction on the rules only after the rules were shared with eighth floor staff (CD Feb 8 p1). The revisions have not circulated among commissioners.
Martin remains optimistic that a bidder will meet the reserve for the nationwide 700 MHz D-block license. “Until the auction closes, I'm going to continue to be optimistic that someone will end up coming forward,” he said: “If someone doesn’t, then the commission will end up dealing with it.” Martin said a majority of commissioners must decide when the agency can release auction results if the D-block auction falls short. “I hesitate to make any kind of a guess about what the other commissioners will end up doing,” he said.