Report No. GN-161             GENERAL ACTION                  July 22, 1994


         FCC AMENDS RULES OF COMMISSION ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNING
                   EMPLOYEE STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT

     The Commission has added a new section 0.25(a) to its rules
to delegate authority to the General Counsel to act as the
"designated agency ethics official (DAEO)."  The rule will
delegate authority to the Associate General Counsel for
Administrative Law to act as the "alternate designated agency
ethics official."

     Office of Government Ethics' (OGE) regulations require the
Commission to formally designate an agency official to coordinate
and manage the agency's ethics program.  The DAEO must be
qualified to counsel agency personnel concerning the new OGE
ethics standards and to counsel departing and former agency
officials on post-employment conflict of interest standards.  In
addition, the DAEO is responsible for managing the agency's
ethics program, including liaison with OGE, reviewing financial
disclosure reports, monitoring ethics training, and monitoring
administrative actions and sanctions.  The DAEO may appoint
"deputy" ethics officials to perform any of these functions, but
such deputies work under the DAEO's supervision.

     Under current FCC rules, the General Counsel has broad
delegated authority to provide ethics counseling and other duties
that are similar to the principal functions performed by the DAEO
under the OGE regulations.  Specifically, the General Counsel now
has overall delegated authority to act as legal counselor for the
Commission to provide guidance on matters relating to ethical
conduct and to serve as the Commission's designee to the Office
of Personnel Management on matters covered by the Office of
Personnel Management (now OGE) rules governing ethical conduct.

     Action by the Commission July 20, 1994, by Order (FCC 94-
193). Chairman Hundt, Commissioners Quello, Barrett, Ness, and
Chong.

                                   -FCC-

     News Media contact: Patricia A. Chew at (202) 418-0500.
     Office of General Counsel contact: Marjorie Bertman at (202)
254-6530.