Federal Communications Commission	"FCC  XX-XXX"


STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER BRENDAN CARR

Re: 	Amendment of Procedural Rules Governing Formal Complaint Proceedings Delegated to the Enforcement Bureau, EB Docket No. 17-245.

Today’s decision is another win for good government.  Over the course of the FCC’s twenty years of experience running formal complaint proceedings in front of the Enforcement Bureau, three different and somewhat inconsistent sets of procedural rules have developed.  The lack of uniformity has made it more difficult for parties to present their case and for FCC staff to conduct the proceedings.  We fix this today by adopting a uniform set of procedural rules that will govern all of these cases.  This will provide certainty to stakeholders while helping the Enforcement Bureau conduct efficient reviews as they work under tight statutory deadlines.  

I want to thank my colleagues for accommodating my request that we also codify our existing approach to motions to dismiss.  Under the FCC’s existing case law, parties may file motions to dismiss that are similar to ones that would be filed in federal court under Rule 12(b)(6).  When applicable, these motions can provide parties with a more efficient path to dispute resolution.  But since the FCC has never codified the practice, not all parties have been able to benefit from it.  So as part of our efforts to ensure that all stakeholders have a level playing field when it comes to our procedural rules, I am glad that my colleagues agreed that we should codify this unwritten rule.  

	I want to thank the staff of the Enforcement Bureau for your work on this item.  It has my support.



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