Sec. 0.341  Authority of administrative law judge.

    (a) After an administrative law judge has been designated to preside 
at a

[[Page 39]]

hearing and until he has issued an initial decision or certified the 
record to the Commission for decision, or the proceeding has been 
transferred to another administrative law judge, all motions, petitions 
and other pleadings shall be acted upon by such administrative law 
judge, except the following:
    (1) Those which are to be acted upon by the Commission. See 
Sec. 1.291(a)(1) of this chapter.
    (2) Those which are to be acted upon by the Chief Administrative Law 
Judge under Sec. 0.351.
    (b) Any question which would be acted upon by the administrative law 
judge if it were raised by the parties to the proceeding may be raised 
and acted upon by the administrative law judge on his own motion.
    (c) Any question which would be acted upon by the Chief 
Administrative Law Judge or the Commission, if it were raised by the 
parties, may be certified by the administrative law judge, on his own 
motion, to the Chief Administrative Law Judge, or the Commission, as the 
case may be.
    (d) In the conduct of routine broadcast comparative hearings 
involving applicants for only new facilities, i.e., cases that do not 
involve numerous applicants and/or motions to enlarge issues, the 
presiding administrative law judge shall make every effort to conclude 
the case within nine months of the release of the hearing designation 
order. In so doing, the presiding judge will make every effort to 
release an initial decision in such cases within 90 days of the filing 
of the last responsive pleading.
    (e) Upon assignment by the Chief Administrative Law Judge, 
Administrative Law Judges, including the Chief Judge, will act as 
settlement judges in appropriate cases. See 47 CFR 1.244 of this 
chapter.
[ 29 FR 6442 , May 16, 1964, as amended at  37 FR 19372 , Sept. 20, 1972;  41 FR 14870 , Apr. 8, 1976;  56 FR 792 , Jan. 9, 1991;  62 FR 4170 , Jan. 29, 
1997]