No big surprise, but Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), ranking member of the House Communications Subcommittee, says she can't support the three Republican-backed bills being marked up and likely voted on in the subcommittee Wednesday (May 20).
That is according to her opening statement for the markup.
"Simply put, enhanced transparency should not come at the expense of regulatory certainty or potential legal challenges on every Commission action," she said of the bills she opposes.
Subcommittee Democrats, including Eshoo and ranking Energy & Commerce Committee member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) brought up the legal threat issue in a hearing two weeks ago on the Republican bills, subsequently offering up a trio of their own bills as alternatives. Republicans seemed OK with those.
The Republican bills would 1) require the FCC to publish the text of any action it wants to vote on within 24 hours of being circulated, or 21 days before a vote; 2) require that the text of regulations be published online within 24 hours of being adopted; and that 3) "the Commission to identify and describe all items to be adopted by Commission staff on delegated authority to increase the public’s awareness of the FCC’s day-to-day decisions."
Eshoo plans to support the three Democratic FCC reform proposals, as well as a bipartisan reintroduction of an FCC process reform bill from last session that includes one of her key issues, allowing more than two commissioners to get together outside of public meetings. Currently sunshine laws prevent that.
