Sec.  0.341   Authority of administrative law judge.

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