Ways to Challenge a Final Rule
A party can file a Petition for Reconsideration within 30 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register. A Petition for Reconsideration formally requests the FCC to modify its ruling. As a last resort, the courts are an option where the FCC might not have properly followed the rulemaking process or where the final rule turns out to be entirely different from the proposed rule. FCC rules can be challenged at the D.C. Court of Appeals and then at the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the FCC has some leeway in regards to how the proposed and final rules differ. So long as the final rule is a logical outgrowth of the proposed rule, further notice and comment on the changes made to the proposed rule are not necessary.
How to File Comments
The easiest way to file comments is electronically through the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) at http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/. Comments can be as simple as a one-sentence statement and as complex as an engineering study or a memorandum of law supporting a position. Making your voice heard is an important part of the democratic process, which cannot be effective without you.
Raul Magallanes runs a Houston-based law firm focusing on telecommunications law.
He may be reached at +1 (281) 317-1397 or by email at raul@ rmtelecomlaw.com.
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