MARTIN PUTS FORWARD SOME FCC ACTIONS HE HASN'T VOTED FOR

摘要

Chairman Kevin Martin has held off voting on some draft FCC rulemaking notices he has circulated for approval by the commissioners. That breaks the patterns of other chairmen, current and former FCC officials said. Not voting lets Martin exert more control over the timing of items' public release. And by not voting on one notice that's still circulating, Martin has been able to prevent changes he doesn't want made, the officials said. He also may put off a vote for fear that his draft lacks an FCC majority because it can't get the votes of at least two other members, commission officials said. In the past year, Martin has avoided voting immediately on a half-dozen or more items, commission officials estimated. That's a fraction of the several hundred orders, notices and waivers on which commissioners vote each year. Martin's practice appears unusual for the head of a federal regulatory agency, administrative law professors said. Yet agency chiefs are under no duty to approve items on which they seek action from their colleagues, they said.