Sec. 0.251  Authority delegated.

    (a) The General Counsel is delegated authority to act as the 
``designated agency ethics official.''
    (b) Insofar as authority is not delegated to any other Bureau or 
Office, and with respect only to matters which are not in hearing 
status, the General Counsel is delegated authority:
    (1) To act upon requests for extension of time within which briefs, 
comments or pleadings may be filed.
    (2) To dismiss, as repetitious, any petition for reconsideration of 
a Commission order which disposed of a petition for reconsideration and 
which did not

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reverse, change, or modify the original order.
    (3) To dismiss or deny petitions for rulemaking which are repetitive 
or moot or which, for other reasons, plainly do not warrant 
consideration by the Commission.
    (4) To dismiss as repetitious any petition for reconsideration of a 
Commission order denying an application for review which fails to rely 
on new facts or changed circumstances.
    (c) The General Counsel is delegated authority in adjudicatory 
hearing proceedings which are pending before the Commission en banc to 
act on all requests for relief, and to issue all appropriate orders, 
except those which involve final disposition on the merits of a 
previously specified issue concerning an applicant's basic 
qualifications or two or more applicants' comparative qualifications.
    (d) When an adjudicatory proceeding is before the Commission for the 
issuance of a final order or decision, the General Counsel will make 
every effort to submit a draft order or decision for Commission 
consideration within four months of the filing of the last responsive 
pleading. If the Commission is unable to adopt an order or decision in 
such cases within five months of the last responsive pleading, it shall 
issue an order indicating that additional time will be required to 
resolve the case.
    (e) The official record of all actions taken by the General Counsel 
pursuant to Sec. 0.251 (c) and (d) is contained in the original docket 
folder, which is maintained by the Secretary in the Dockets Branch.
    (f) The General Counsel is delegated authority to issue written 
determinations on behalf of the Chairman, and otherwise act as the 
Chairman's designee on matters regarding the interception of telephone 
conversations, as required by the General Services Administration's 
regulations. 41 CFR 201-6.202 et seq.
    (g) The General Counsel is delegated authority to act upon any 
application for a determination of exempt telecommunications company 
status filed pursuant to section 34(a)(1) of the Public Utility Holding 
Company Act of 1935, as amended by section 103 of the Telecommunications 
Act of 1996.
    (h) The General Counsel is delegated authority to issue rulings on 
whether violations of the ex parte rules have occurred.
    (i) The General Counsel is delegated authority to make 
determinations regarding and waive the applicability of section 4(b) of 
the Communications Act (47 U.S.C. Sec. 154(b)) and the Federal conflict 
of interest statutes (18 U.S.C. Secs. 203, 205 and 208).

(Secs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, 315, 317, 48 Stat., as 
amended, 1064, 1065, 1066, 1068, 1081, 1082, 1083, 1084, 1085, 1088, 
1089; 47 U.S.C. 152, 153, 154, 155, 301, 303, 307, 308, 309, 315, )
[28 317 FR 12402 , Nov. 22, 1963, as amended at  31 FR 3074 , Feb. 24, 1966;  31 FR 4456 , Mar. 16, 1966;  31 FR 11756 , Sept. 8, 1966;  31 FR 13474 , Oct. 
19, 1966;  44 FR 60294 , Oct. 19, 1979;  46 FR 57050 , Nov. 20, 1981;  47 FR 16032 , Apr. 14, 1982;  48 FR 57133 , Dec. 28, 1983;  49 FR 47604 , Dec. 6, 
1984;  50 FR 85 , Jan. 2, 1985;  50 FR 49048 , Nov. 29, 1985;  56 FR 792 , 
Jan. 9, 1991;  57 FR 19387 , May 6, 1992;  59 FR 39703 , Aug. 4, 1994;  60 FR 34902 , July 5, 1995;  61 FR 26464 , May 28, 1996;  61 FR 29311 , June 10, 
1996;  62 FR 15853 , Apr. 3, 1997;  62 FR 24055 , May 2, 1997;  62 FR 51052 , 
Sept. 30, 1997]

                          International Bureau

    Source: Sections 0.261 and 0.262 appear at  60 FR 5324 , Jan. 27, 
1995, unless otherwise noted.