Sec. 1.1202  Definitions.

    For the purposes of this subpart, the following definitions apply:
    (a) Presentation. A communication directed to the merits or outcome 
of a proceeding, including any attachments to a written communication or 
documents shown in connection with an oral presentation directed to the 
merits or outcome of a proceeding. Excluded from this term are 
communications which are inadvertently or casually made, inquiries 
concerning compliance with procedural requirements if the procedural 
matter is not an area of controversy in the proceeding, statements made 
by decisionmakers that are limited to providing publicly available 
information about pending proceedings, and inquiries relating solely to 
the status of a proceeding, including inquiries as to the approximate 
time that action in a proceeding may be taken. However, a status inquiry 
which states or implies a view as to the merits or outcome of the 
proceeding or a preference for a particular party, which states why 
timing is important to a particular party or indicates a view as to the 
date by which a proceeding should be resolved, or which otherwise is 
intended to address the merits or outcome or to influence the timing of 
a proceeding is a presentation.

    Note to paragraph (a): A communication expressing concern about 
administrative delay or expressing concern that a proceeding be resolved 
expeditiously will be treated as a permissible status inquiry so long as 
no reason is given as to why the proceeding should be expedited other 
than the need to resolve administrative delay, no view is expressed as 
to the merits or outcome of the proceeding, and no view is expressed as 
to a date by which the proceeding should be resolved. A presentation by 
a party in a restricted proceeding requesting action by a particular 
date or giving reasons that a proceeding should be expedited other than 
the need to avoid administrative delay (and responsive presentations by 
other parties) may be made on an ex parte basis subject to the 
provisions of Sec. 1.1204(a)(11).

    (b) Ex parte presentation. Any presentation which:
    (1) If written, is not served on the parties to the proceeding; or
    (2) If oral, is made without advance notice to the parties and 
without opportunity for them to be present.

    Note to paragraph (b): Written communications include electronic 
submissions transmitted in the form of texts, such as by Internet 
electronic mail.

    (c) Decision-making personnel. Any member, officer, or employee of 
the Commission, or, in the case of a Joint Board, its members or their 
staffs, who is or may reasonably be expected to be involved in 
formulating a decision, rule, or order in a proceeding. Any person who 
has been made a party to a proceeding or who otherwise has been excluded 
from the decisional process shall not be treated as a decision-maker 
with respect to that proceeding. Thus, any person designated as part of 
a separate trial staff shall not be considered a decision-making person 
in the designated proceeding. Unseparated Bureau or Office staff shall 
be considered decision-making personnel with respect to decisions, 
rules, and orders in which their Bureau or Office participates in 
enacting, preparing, or reviewing.
    (d) Party. Unless otherwise ordered by the Commission, the following 
persons are parties:
    (1) Any person who files an application, waiver request, petition, 
motion, request for a declaratory ruling, or other filing seeking 
affirmative relief (including a Freedom of Information Act request), and 
any person (other than an individual viewer or listener filing comments 
regarding a pending broadcast application) filing a written submission 
referencing and regarding such pending filing which is served on the 
filer, or, in the case of an application, any person filing a mutually 
exclusive application;

    Note 1 to paragraph (d): Persons who file mutually exclusive 
applications for services that the Commission has announced will be 
subject to competitive bidding or lotteries shall not be deemed parties 
with respect to each others' applications merely because their 
applications are mutually exclusive. Therefore, such applicants may make 
presentations to the Commission about their own applications provided 
that no one has

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become a party with respect to their application by other means, e.g., 
by filing a petition or other opposition against the applicant or an 
associated waiver request, if the petition or opposition has been served 
on the applicant.

    (2) Any person who files a complaint which shows that the 
complainant has served it on the subject of the complaint or which is a 
formal complaint under 47 U.S.C. 208 and Sec. 1.721, and the person who 
is the subject of such a complaint that shows service or is a formal 
complaint under 47 U.S.C. 208 and Sec. 1.721;
    (3) Any person who files a petition to revoke a license or other 
authorization or who files a petition for an order to show cause and the 
licensee or other entity that is the subject of the petition;
    (4) The subject of an order to show cause, hearing designation 
order, notice of apparent liability, or similar notice or order, or 
petition for such notice or order;
    (5) Any other person who has otherwise been given formal party 
status in a proceeding; and
    (6) In an informal rulemaking proceeding conducted under section 553 
of the Administrative Procedure Act (other than a proceeding for the 
allotment of a broadcast channel) or a proceeding before a Joint Board 
or before the Commission to consider the recommendation of a Joint 
Board, members of the general public after the issuance of a notice of 
proposed rulemaking or other order as provided under Sec. 1.1206(a) (1) 
or (2).

    Note 2 to paragraph (d): To be deemed a party, a person must make 
the relevant filing with the Secretary, the relevant Bureau or Office, 
or the Commission as a whole. Written submissions made only to the 
Chairman or individual Commissioners will not confer party status.
    Note 3 to paragraph (d): The fact that a person is deemed a party 
for purposes of this subpart does not constitute a determination that 
such person has satisfied any other legal or procedural requirements, 
such as the operative requirements for petitions to deny or requirements 
as to timeliness. Nor does it constitute a determination that such 
person has any other procedural rights, such as the right to intervene 
in hearing proceedings. The Commission or the staff may also determine 
in particular instances that persons who qualify as ``parties'' under 
Sec. 1.1202(d) should nevertheless not be deemed parties for purposes of 
this subpart.
    Note 4 to paragraph (d): Individual listeners or viewers submitting 
comments regarding a pending broadcast application pursuant to 
Sec. 1.1204(a)(8) will not become parties simply by service of the 
comments. The Mass Media Bureau may, in its discretion, make such a 
commenter a party, if doing so would be conducive to the Commission's 
consideration of the application or would otherwise be appropriate.

    (e) Matter designated for hearing. Any matter that has been 
designated for hearing before an administrative law judge or which is 
otherwise designated for hearing in accordance with procedures in 5 
U.S.C. .
[62 554 FR 15854 , Apr. 3, 1997]

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