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 Federal  Communications  Commission  FCC  01-  508 
 Before  the 
 Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 


 In  the  Matter  of 
 Federal-  State  Joint  Board  on  Universal 
 Service 


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 ) 
 CC  Docket  No.  96-  45 


 ORDER 
 Adopted:  February  26,  2001  Released:  February  27,  2001 
 By  the  Common  Carrier  Bureau: 
 1.  On  January  23,  2001,  the  Commission  released  a  Further  Notice  of  Proposed 
 Rulemaking  (FNPRM)  in  CC  Docket  No.  96-  45,  seeking  comment  on  implementation  of  the 
 Children’s  Internet  Protection  Act  (the  CHIP  Act),  which  was  signed  into  law  on  December  21, 
 2000  as  part  of  the  Consolidated  Appropriations  Act,  2001  (Pub.  L.  106-  554).  1  The  FNPRM 
 directed  that  comments  regarding  the  CHIP  Act  be  submitted  to  the  Commission  within  15  days 
 of  publication  of  the  FNPRM  in  the  Federal  Register,  with  reply  comments  due  seven  days  later. 
 The  FNPRM  was  published  on  January  31,  2001.  Comments  therefore  were  due  on  February  15, 
 2001,  and  reply  comments  were  due  by  February  22,  2001.  On  February  15,  2001,  the  American 
 Library  Association  (ALA)  submitted  a  Motion  for  Extension  of  Time  to  File  Reply  Comments.  2 


 2.  In  its  pleading,  the  ALA  requests  that  the  Commission  extend  the  period  of  time 
 for  filing  reply  comments  in  this  matter  for  seven  days,  through  March  1,  2001.  3  Noting  the  brief 
 comment  cycle,  the  ALA  states  that  the  extension  is  necessary  in  order  to  adequately  obtain  and 
 analyze  others’  comments,  obtain  views  from  its  own  members,  and  prepare  reply  comments.  The 
 ALA  suggests  that  the  quality  of  the  rules  adopted  by  the  Commission  would  be  improved  if 
 affected  parties  could  have  additional  time  in  which  to  analyze  the  comments  of  others  and 
 respond  thoughtfully.  4 


 3.  We  deny  the  ALA’s  request  for  an  extension  of  the  February  22,  2001  date  for 
 filing  reply  comments.  Although  the  current  pleading  schedule  is  compressed,  we  do  not  believe 
 that  we  can  extend  the  filing  date  for  reply  comments  without  compromising  the  Commission’s 
 ability  to  meet  the  implementation  schedule  mandated  by  Congress,  which  requires  that  the 


 1  Federal-  State  Joint  Board  on  Universal  Service,  CC  Docket  No.  96-  45,  Further  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking, 
 FCC  01-  31  (rel.  January  23,  2001). 
 2  American  Library  Association,  Motion  for  Extension  of  Time  to  File  Reply  Comments,  filed  February  15,  2001. 


 3  Id.  at  1-  2. 
 4  Id. 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  508 
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 Commission  have  rules  governing  implementation  of  the  CHIP  Act  in  effect  by  April  20,  2001.  5 
 4.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED  that  the  Motion  for  Extension  of  Time  to  File 
 Reply  Comments  filed  by  the  American  Library  Association  is  DENIED. 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 
 Carol  E.  Mattey 
 Deputy  Chief,  Common  Carrier  Bureau 


 5  47  U.  S.  C.  §  254(  h)(  7)(  h).  The  Commission  must  prescribe  regulations  pursuant  to  section  254(  l)  as  of  April 
 20,  2001  as  well.  See  the  Consolidated  Appropriations  Act,  2001  (Pub.  L.  106-  554)  §  1733. 
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