Sec. 1.1212  Procedures for handling of prohibited ex parte 
          presentations.

    (a) Commission personnel who believe that an oral presentation which 
is being made to them or is about to be made to them is prohibited shall 
promptly advise the person initiating the presentation that it is 
prohibited and shall terminate the discussion.
    (b) Commission personnel who receive oral ex parte presentations 
which they believe are prohibited shall forward to the Office of General 
Counsel a statement containing the following information:
    (1) The name of the proceeding;
    (2) The name and address of the person making the presentation and 
that person's relationship (if any) to the parties to the proceeding;
    (3) The date and time of the presentation, its duration, and the 
circumstances under which it was made;
    (4) A full summary of the substance of the presentation;
    (5) Whether the person making the presentation persisted in doing so 
after being advised that the presentation was prohibited; and
    (6) The date and time that the statement was prepared.
    (c) Commission personnel who receive written ex parte presentations 
which they believe are prohibited shall forward them to the Office of 
General Counsel. If the circumstances in which the presentation was made 
are not apparent from the presentation itself, a statement describing 
those circumstances shall be submitted to the Office of General Counsel 
with the presentation.
    (d) Prohibited written ex parte presentations and all documentation 
relating to prohibited written and oral ex parte presentations shall be 
placed in a public file which shall be associated with but not made part 
of the record of the proceeding to which the presentations pertain. Such 
materials may be considered in determining the merits of a restricted 
proceeding only if they

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are made part of the record and the parties are so informed.
    (e) If the General Counsel determines that an ex parte presentation 
or presentation during the Sunshine period is prohibited by this 
subpart, he or she shall notify the parties to the proceeding that a 
prohibited presentation has occurred and shall serve on the parties 
copies of the presentation (if written) and any statements describing 
the circumstances of the presentation. Service by the General Counsel 
shall not be deemed to cure any violation of the rules against 
prohibited ex parte presentations.
    (f) If the General Counsel determines that service on the parties 
would be unduly burdensome because the parties to the proceeding are 
numerous, he or she may issue a public notice in lieu of service. The 
public notice shall state that a prohibited presentation has been made 
and may also state that the presentation and related materials are 
available for public inspection.
    (g) The General Counsel shall forward a copy of any statement 
describing the circumstances in which the prohibited ex parte 
presentation was made to the person who made the presentation. Within 
ten days thereafter, the person who made the presentation may file with 
the General Counsel a sworn declaration regarding the presentation and 
the circumstances in which it was made. The General Counsel may serve 
copies of the sworn declaration on the parties to the proceeding.
    (h) Where a restricted proceeding precipitates a substantial amount 
of correspondence from the general public, the procedures in paragraphs 
(c) through (g) of this section will not be followed with respect to 
such correspondence. The correspondence will be placed in a public file 
and be made available for public inspection.
[ 62 FR 15857 , Apr. 3, 1997]