Editor’s Note: For information on the purpose and value of the PRA process, see here. For Commissioner Clyburn’s remarks on the FCC being hampered by adherence to OMB’s PRA requirements, see here.
From: CommLawBlog
A recent notice about DTV construction permit applications got us thinking about our old friend, the PRA.
Has the FCC changed the process for applying for DTV construction permits? Probably not, but a recent notice in the Federal Register seemed to suggest otherwise. It turns out, though, that the real story here is the hypnotic effect of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
The PRA – usually referred to as “hilariously named” here in the CommLawBlog bunker – is a pleasant vestige of the 1980s. It was intended to curb the wretched excesses of federal regulatory agencies. The idea was that, before an agency could impose a new paperwork burden on the public, the agency would have to take the time to quantify, and justify, the anticipated burden. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was appointed the final checkpoint on the regulatory assembly line to ensure that agencies were not overstepping.
