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 STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONER  JONATHAN  ADELSTEIN 
 APPROVING  IN  PART,  CONCURRING  IN  PART 
 Re:  Assessment  and  Collection  of  Regulatory  Fees  for  Fiscal  Year  2004;  MD  Docket  No.  04-  73 


 Last  year,  I  provided  in  detail  a  number  of  concerns  with  the  methodology  used  by  the  Commission  in  determining  regulatory  fees.  I  appreciate  the  efforts  in  this  item  to  respond  to 
 some  of  the  problems  that  I  raised  at  that  time  and  the  item’s  candor  in  assessing  the  Commission’s  difficulties  in  implementing  a  more  granular  cost-  based  accounting  system.  I  also 
 want  to  thank  the  staff  of  the  Office  of  General  Counsel  and  the  Office  of  the  Managing  Director  for  their  continued  dialogue  on  these  complicated  issues. 


 Implementation  of  Section  9  of  the  Act  raises  a  number  of  challenges  for  the  Commission  in  that  it  allows  for  both  cost-  based  and  benefits-  based  adjustments  but  puts  in  place  criteria  for  certain 
 changes  to  the  regulatory  fee  schedule.  Clearly,  the  Commission  does  have  some  discretion  in  making  adjustments  to  the  fees,  and  the  Commission  is  free  to  depart  from  strictly  cost-  based 
 fees.  However,  I  can  only  concur  to  certain  portions  of  the  Report  and  Order  because  I  remain  concerned  about  the  impracticality  of  the  Commission  considering  significant  changes  that 
 undoubtedly  occur  from  time  to  time  in  the  costs  of  regulatory  fees  for  individual  services. 
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