Federal Communications Commission DA 20-333 DA 20-333 Released: March 25, 2020 FCC ANNOUNCES THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HOSPITAL ROBOCALL PROTECTION GROUP AND SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP By this Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) announces the formation of a new federal advisory committee, the Hospital Robocall Protection Group (“Group”), pursuant to section 14(c) of the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act of 2019, Pub. L., 116-105, 133 Stat 3274 (TRACED Act). The TRACED Act requires the Commission to establish the Group, for the purpose of issuing best practices regarding the following: 1. How voice service providers can better combat unlawful robocalls made to hospitals. 2. How hospitals can better protect themselves from such calls, including by using unlawful robocall mitigation techniques. 3. How the Federal Government and State governments can help combat such calls. The Commission also seeks nominations for membership on and a Chairperson to the Group. The Commission intends to establish the Group by June 2020 consistent with the requirements of the TRACED Act and anticipates holding the first meeting of the group in July 2020. As required by the TRACED Act, it is anticipated that the Group will complete its work of developing best practices within 180 days of its establishment. Nominations for membership to the Hospital Robocall Protection Group should be submitted to the FCC no later than May 1, 2020. Procedures for submitting nominations are set forth below. The Group will be organized under, and will operate in accordance with, the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (“FACA”). 5 U.S.C. App. 2. As permitted by FACA, the Group is authorized to facilitate its work through informal subcommittees or other subgroups, which would report their activities and recommendations to the Group as a whole. Members of the Group will be composed of an equal number of representatives from only the following: Voice service providers that serve hospitals, companies that focus on mitigating unlawful robocalls, consumer advocacy organizations. providers of one-way voice over internet protocol services as described in subsection (e)(3)(B)(ii) of the TRACED Act, See Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act, Public Law No: 116-105. Subsection (c)(3)(B)(ii) defines “voice service” to include “without limitation, any service that enables real-time, two-way voice communications, including any service that requires internet protocol-compatible customer premises equipment (commonly known as “CPE”) and permits out-bound calling, whether or not the service is one-way or two-way voice over internet protocol.” hospitals, state government officials focused on combating unlawful robocalls, one representative of the Commission, and one representative of the Federal Trade Commission. Members will be selected to balance the expertise and viewpoints that are necessary to address effectively the issues to be considered by the Group. Consistent with the TRACED Act, membership appointments shall be made to ensure that there are an equal number of representatives from each of the groups specified above. In addition, membership will include one representative of the Commission and one representative of the Federal Trade Commission. Members of the Group, including the Chairperson, shall be selected by the Chairman of the Commission, in consultation with appropriate Commission staff. Members will serve at the discretion of the Chairman of the Commission. Members must be willing to commit to serving on the Group until the best practices are completed and issued, which is expected to be approximately 180 days from the date of establishment of the Group. Members should be willing and able to attend in person or electronically the Group meetings scheduled during the Group’s term. Attendance in person at Group meetings in Washington, D.C. shall be at the member’s own expense. Members also will be expected to participate in deliberations of at least one subcommittee or other subgroups, if established. The time commitment for participation in any subcommittee or other subgroup may be substantial. However, subcommittee or other subgroup meetings may be conducted informally, using suitable technology to facilitate the meetings, subject to oversight by the Designated Federal Officer of the Group. Meetings of the full Group shall be open to the public (either in person or electronically) and timely notice of each meeting shall be published in the Federal Register and shall be further publicized through other appropriate vehicles. All such meetings will be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities. APPLICATION PROCEDURE, DEADLINE AND MEMBER APPOINTMENTS All nominations should be received by the Commission as soon as possible, but no later than May 1, 2020 No specific nomination form is required; however, each nomination must include the following information: · Name, title, and organization of the nominee and a description of the organization, sector or other interest the nominee will represent; · Nominee’s mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number; · A statement summarizing the nominee’s qualifications and reasons why the nominee should be appointed to the Group; · A statement describing the organization the nominee would represent as well as the benefit of having the organization represented on the Group. The applicant’s nomination to the Group also must be confirmed by an authorized person (e.g., organization or company official) stating that such organization or company wants the nominated person to represent it on the Group. For example, this confirmation may be in the following format: “I am [insert official’s name], the [insert official’s title] at the [insert name of organization - e.g., company, government entity, trade association, etc.], with responsibilities for [concise description of position]. My organization would like [insert proposed member’s name], who is currently [an employee of/consultant/attorney to the company] to serve as our representative on the Commission’s Hospital Robocall Protection Group.” This Public Notice is not intended to be the exclusive method by which the Commission will solicit nominations to identify qualified candidates; however, all candidates for membership on the Group will be subject to the same evaluation criteria. All nominations, including the requisite statements listed above, should be submitted by e-mail to HRPG@fcc.gov. To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).] For additional information about the Group, please contact Donna Cyrus, Designated Federal Officer of the Group, at 202-418-7325 or Donna.Cyrus@fcc.gov; or Aliza Katz, Deputy Designated Federal Officer, at 202-418-1737, or Aliza.Katz@fcc.gov. 3