PUBLIC NOTICE
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
1919 M STREET, N.W.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554                                            DA98-1987

News media information 202/418-0500     Fax-On-Demand  202/418-2830     Internet:  http://www.fcc.gov    ftp.fcc.gov


                                                  Released: October 2, 1998


                    
               MASS MEDIA BUREAU ANNOUNCES MULTIPLE DOCKET 
                    FM ALLOTMENT RULEMAKING PROCEEDINGS


During 1997, the Allocations Branch of the Mass Media Bureau took over 448 actions in processing FM
allotment requests.  Nearly 400  of these actions consisted of Notices of Proposed Rule Making and
Reports and Orders.  Of the documents, the majority involved a single channel at a single community. 
The processing of these actions represented a significant expenditure of Commission resources.  

In reviewing the allocation procedures, the Mass Media Bureau has determined that it can significantly
improve its existing procedure.  To this end, the Allocations Branch will be instituting a procedure to
streamline this process whereby separate FM allotment proposals will be combined into a single Notice
of Proposed Rule Making.  Each proposal will have its own docket and rule making number.  The Notice
of Proposed Rule Making will consist of a series of separate dockets.  The subsequent Report and Order
will contain the appropriate resolution of each docket.  The Commission's Reference Center will maintain
a separate file for each docket. 

This procedure will conserve Commission resources and expedite the processing of FM allotment petitions
for rule making by avoiding duplicative actions.  Under our current procedure, each docket is reflected
in its own separate Notice of Proposed Rule Making with an attached Appendix advising interested parties
of the Commission's procedural requirements with respect to the rulemaking proceeding.  The Notice of
Proposed Rule Making also necessitates a Federal Register summary.  Subsequently, a separate Report
and Order  resolves each docket.  In addition to requiring another Federal Register summary, if the
Report and Order allots even a single channel, the Allocations Branch is required to comply with the
Contract With America Advancement Act of 1996.  This entails writing an abstract of the action taken
and three separate letters.

The Appendix, the Federal Register summary and compliance with the Contract With America
Advancement Act are functions that need not be repeated for each docket.  Furthermore, many Notices
of Proposed Rule Making and Reports and Orders contain identical "boilerplate" language.  We see no
public interest benefit in expending administrative resources to undertake these processing steps for each
docket.            

The initial implementation of the multiple docket procedure will be limited to Petitions for Rule Making
proposing a single FM channel to a new community.  Initially, a multiple docket proceeding will not
include upgrades, a modification of an existing license or construction permit requiring a separate Order
to Show Cause, change of community of license, or a single proposal involving multiple allotments. 
Similarly, the Report and Order will consist of a series of separate actions each involving a single channel
in a new community.  In the event a counterproposal and/or opposition comments are filed in response
to a particular docket, that docket will be resolved in a separate Report and Order.  Eventually, the use
of multiple docket proceedings will be expanded to include all types of FM allotment proposals.  In the
event a Petition for Reconsideration is directed to an action in a particular docket, a separate
Memorandum Opinion and Order will resolve that Petition for Reconsideration.

The Administrative Procedure Act exempts rules of procedure and practice from its notice and comment
rule making requirements. 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A).  Because the use of a multiple docket proceeding is
procedural in nature, and because we believe that no useful purpose would be achieved by public
comment, we will not elicit comments on this matter.