§  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
   § 1.291(a)(1) of this chapter.

   (2) Those which are to be acted upon by the Chief Administrative Law
   Judge under § 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]