6/18. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and others introduced HR 5956 [LOC | WW], the "State Secret Protection Act of 2012", a bill that would codify the state secrets privilege, and to limit executive branch abuse of it. This is a belated introduction, late in the current Congress; similar bills failed to pass in previous Congresses.

The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee (HJC). While several Democrats on the HJC are sponsors, no Republican members of the HJC are original sponsors. The other original sponsors of this bill are Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Rep. Bob Bob Filner (D-CA), Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), and Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA).

Rep. Nadler, Rep. Petri, and Rep. Conyers have been trying for many years to pass this legislation, to no avail. Senators have failed to move related legislation in the Senate. See, subsection titled "Legislative History" below.

The state secrets privilege is relevant to information and communications technology (ICT) because the federal government has a history of asserting it in cases against the government, and private companies, that involve surveillance involving ICT.

Nominally, the state secrets privilege, which is a creature of judicial opinions, is a privilege that enables the government not to produce certain evidence, and to preclude certain evidence from being disclosed by others during litigation, when disclosure of the evidence might harm to the national security or diplomatic relations. However, the government has wielded it to obtain dismissals of entire lawsuits.

In addition, the Bush and Obama administrations have been substantially identical in their approach to issues regarding government surveillance, including in their invocation of the state secrets privilege in ICT related cases, in their assertion of the reach of the privilege, and in their opposition to legislation directed at limited abuse of the privilege.

See, story titled "House Judiciary Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Civil Liberties and ICT Issues" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,177, December 13, 2010, story titled "Holder Advocates Some Constitutional Principles" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,927, April 15, 2009, and story titled "Holder Issues Memorandum on State Secrets Privilege" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1988, September 24, 2009.

For a detailed discussion of the privilege, see April 28, 2009, opinion [26 pages in PDF] of the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir) in Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan, and story titled "9th Circuit Rules in State Secrets Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,927, April 29, 2009. See also, US v. Reynolds, 345 U.S. 1 (1953).

Rep. Nadler (at right) stated in a release that "The ongoing argument that the state secrets privilege requires the outright dismissal of a case is a disconcerting trend in the protection of civil liberties for our nation".

He said that this bill "recognizes that protecting sensitive information is an important responsibility for any administration and requires that courts protect legitimate state secrets while preventing the premature and sweeping dismissal of entire cases. The right to have one’s day in court is fundamental to protecting basic civil liberties and it must not be sacrificed to overbroad claims of secrecy."

Rep. Conyers stated in this release that "the federal government abused the state secrets privilege to prevent embarrassing or damaging facts from coming to light".

Rep. Petri stated in a release that "we shouldn't have to simply take the executive branch's word for it ... Shouldn’t an independent, responsible party apart from the executive branch review the material to determine when and how national security really necessitates restricting the use of sensitive material? The answer is, quite obviously, yes. We have a procedure for criminal cases, and we need one for civil cases as well."

Bill Summary. This bill is very similar to the House bills introduced in the 110th and 111th Congresses. However, while those bills would have created a privilege in some unspecified location of the U.S. Code, this just introduced bill uses the same language, but would place it in a new section of the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE).

The Senate bills in the 110th and 111th Congresses would have added a new Chapter 181, titled "State Secrets Protection", to Title 28 of the U.S. Code, which pertains to the "Judiciary and Judicial Procedure".

This bill would amend the FRE to provide that "In any civil action brought in Federal or State court, the Government has a privilege to refuse to give information and to prevent any person from giving information only if the Government shows that public disclosure of the information that the Government seeks to protect would be reasonably likely to cause significant harm to the national defense or the diplomatic relations of the United States."

The FRE states that "These rules apply to proceedings in United States courts". However, this bill would use the FRE to regulate the introduction of evidence in state courts.

Also, the usual procedure for amending the FRE is for the Supreme Court to prescribe them, pursuant to the Rules Enabling Act, at 28 U.S.C. §§ 2072 and 2075. Although, the 110th Congress wrote Rule 502, regarding the attorney client privilege, by Congressional Act.

This bill provides that "The court shall take steps to protect sensitive information that comes before the court in connection with proceedings under this Rule. These steps may include reviewing evidence or pleadings and hearing arguments ex parte, issuing protective orders, placing material under seal, and applying security procedures established under the Classified Information Procedures Act for classified information to protect the sensitive information."

It further provides that the court may conduct in camera hearings, and exclude counsel "if the court determines that the limitation is a necessary step to protect information".

It provides that the government may assert the privilege either as a party, or by intervening in an action to which it is not a party. The bill further provides that the government must support its assertion with an affidavit of the head of the relevant agency, and the the government bears the burden of proof "as to the nature of the harm and as to the likelihood of its occurrence"

Then, "In ruling on the validity of the privilege, the court shall make an independent assessment of whether the harm identified by the Government ... is reasonably likely to occur should the privilege not be upheld. The court shall weigh testimony from Government experts in the same manner as it does, and along with, any other expert testimony."

This bill provides that the privilege is an evidentiary privilege, and not a disposition of the case, or any claim. It states that "The court shall not resolve any issue or claim and shall not grant a motion to dismiss or motion for summary judgment based on the state secrets privilege and adversely to any party against whom the Government's privilege claim has been upheld until that party has had a full opportunity to complete nonprivileged discovery and to litigate the issue or claim to which the privileged information is relevant without regard to that privileged information."

Moreover, "If the court finds that the privilege is validly asserted and it is possible to craft a nonprivileged substitute, ... for the privileged information that would provide the parties a substantially equivalent opportunity to litigate the case, the court shall order the Government to produce the substitute ..."

Legislative History.  In the 111th Congress, Rep. Nadler, Rep. Petri, and Rep. Conyers introduced HR 984 [LOC | WW], the "State Secret Protection Act of 2009". In the 110th Congress, they introduced HR 5607 [LOC | WW], the "State Secret Protection Act of 2008".

The HJC, with a Democratic majority, and Rep. Conyers as Chairman, passed HR 984 on December 5, 2009. However, the full House did not pass the bill. See also, story titled "House Constitution Subcommittee Approves States Secrets Protection Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,954, June 12, 2009.

Neither the HJC nor the full House passed HR 5607.

Senators have met with similar failure. In the 111th Congress, there was S 417 [LOC | WW], the "State Secrets Protection Act", introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). In the 110th Congress, there was S 2533 [LOC | WW], the "State Secrets Protection Act", introduced by former Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA). The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC), but not the full Senate, passed S 2533. Neither the SJC nor the Senate passed S 417.

No Republican cosponsored either bill.

Moreover, half of the sponsors of S 417 are no longer in the Senate -- Sen. Kennedy, Sen. Arlen Specter (R/D-PA), Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-DE). The other half remain in the Senate, but none have reintroduced the bill. They are Sen. Leahy, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Sen. Jon Tester (D-RI) and Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD).

6/19. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) sent a letter [15 pages in PDF] to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding Facebook's May 18, 2012 initial public offering (IPO) and flaws in the IPO regulatory framework.

Rep. Issa (at right) wrote that "The Facebook IPO taught us that, at minimum, the IPO process suffers substantial flaws. In fact, it appears the entire IPO regulatory framework, based on an outdated Securities Act of 1933, fails to provide a market-based solution to IPO pricing."

He continued that "The share price decline that followed the Facebook IPO creates concerns that the securities regulation under the Securities Act of 1933 ... places substantial discretion in the hands of underwriters. One chief concern relates to the ability of underwriters to dictate pricing while only indirectly considering market supply-and-demand in their price evaluation."

He added that "it appears that underwriters have discretion to determine the price of an IPO, while subject to conflicts of interest stemming from economic relationships with those institutional clients that ultimately will purchase the bulk of an issuance."

He concluded that "Given the concerns surrounding the Facebook IPO, Congress and the Commission should take a deeper look into this regulatory structure." He said that "we must modernize regulations" and "we must revisit the Securities Act of 1933".

The letter then propounds a long list of interrogatories to be answered by the SEC.

He asked about issuing IPOs via a Dutch auction, such as that used by Google. He wrote that it "reflected free market ideals and provided ordinary investors with a unique opportunity to participate alongside institutions". He added that many would argue that it "was fairer than what was done at Facebook".

Rep. Issa is the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGRC). The Committee will hold a hearing on June 26 at 2:00 PM titled "The JOBS Act in Action: Overseeing Effective Implementation That Can Grow Jobs". See, notice. It will hold another hearing on June 28 at 9:30 AM titled "The JOBS Act in Action Part II: Overseeing Effective Implementation of the JOBS Act at the SEC". See, notice.

The Congress enacted HR 3606 [LOC | WW], the "Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012" or "JOBS Act" in March. President Obama signed it on April 5. It is now Public Law No. 112-106. It makes numerous changes to securities laws to facilitate access to public capital by new and start up companies, including by crowd funding.

6/20. The Senate Banking Committee's (SBC) Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment held a hearing on June 20, 2012, titled "Examining the IPO Process: Is It Working for Ordinary Investors?".

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) stated that as a result of the Facebook IPO, many are "questioning the integrity of the IPO process".

He also criticized the rapid process under which the Congress enacted  HR 3606 [LOC | WW], the "Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012" or "JOBS Act".

See, archived webcast. See also, prepared testimony [10 pages in PDF] of Ann Sherman (DePaul University), prepared testimony [12 pages in PDF] of Joel Trotter (Latham & Watkins), prepared testimony [13 pages in PDF] of Lise Buyer (Class V Group, LLC), and prepared testimony [7 pages in PDF] of Ilan Moscovitz (Motley Fool).

Buyer said that it is very difficult to predict what an IPO will do on day one, and day one purchasers should be viewed as speculators rather than investors.

She also said that the JOBS Act may need "refinement" and "revision", because it has rolled back investor protection.

She also stated that individuals do participate in IPOs indirectly via mutual funds.

Sherman stated that "crowd funding could be a disaster for ordinary investors", and cautioned that most nations have abandoned the auction method for IPOs.

Moscovitz argued that the JOBs Act will have a negative impact on retail investors. He said that in IPOs institutional investors have better access to information than ordinary investors. And, he discussed the benefits of Dutch auction IPOs.

6/19. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) introduced S 3314 [LOC | WW], a bill authorizing appropriations for intelligence related activities on June 19, 2012. The full Senate passed this bill the same day, by voice vote. This is a very short bill that references a secret annex. Sen. Feinstein stated in the Senate that "For reasons of classification, I can't describe the nature of these intelligence programs on the Floor."

6/18. Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL) and others introduced HR 5952 [LOC | WW], a bill to require each federal agency to submit and obtain approval from the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) of guidelines for ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of scientific information relied upon by the agency. It was referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGRC).

6/15. Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) introduced HR 5950 [LOC | WW], the "No Armed Drones Act of 2012" or "NADA Act". This bill would amend the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to provide that the "Secretary of Transportation may not authorize a person ... to operate an unmanned aircraft system in the national airspace system for the purpose, in whole or in part, of using the unmanned aircraft system as a weapon or to deliver a weapon against a person or property". It was referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (HTIC). There are no original cosponsors of this bill.

6/12. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced S 3287 [LOC | WW], the "Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act of 2012", a bill to limit the use of drones in the US by the federal government. It provides that the federal government "shall not use a drone to gather evidence or other information pertaining to criminal conduct or conduct in violation of a statute or regulation except to the extent authorized in a warrant". The bill allows the use of drones "to patrol national borders to prevent or deter illegal entry of any persons or illegal substances", "by a law enforcement party when exigent circumstances exist", and "to counter a high risk of a terrorist attack". This bill is similar, but not identical, to HR 5925 [LOC | WW], also titled the "Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act of 2012". See, story titled "Rep. Scott Introduces Drones Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,395, June 13, 2012. S 3287 was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC). There are no original cosponsors of this bill.

15th anniversary of the Supreme Court's opinion in Reno v. ACLU, 521 U.S. 844 (1997).

The House will meet at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider numerous non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM. It will resume consideration of the motion to concur in the House message to accompany S 3187 [LOC | WW], the "Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act".

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will host an event titled "National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence Workshop". The deadline to register is 5:00 PM on June 19. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 87, Friday, May 4, 2012, at Page 26511-26512. Location: Universities at Shady Grove, 9630 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD.

10:30 AM. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-TX), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) will hold a news conference on national security leaks. Location: Senate Studio, Capitol Building.

11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The National Science Board's (NSB) Committee on Science and Engineering Indicators will hold a meeting on site and by teleconference. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 114, Wednesday, June 13, 2012, at Page 35430. Location: National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a teleconferenced panel discussion titled "An Overview of the Process: A Discussion on the Procedural Aspects of Merger Review". The topics to be discussed include voluntary requests, second requests, timing agreements, privilege logs, remedies, privacy issues, and civil investigative demands. The speakers will be Vittorio Cottafavi (Shearman & Sterling), Jeremy Morrison (FTC), Richard Mosier (DOJ Antitrust Division), and Kathleen Sanderson (Baker & McKenzie). No CLE credits. Free. See, notice.

2:00 PM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGRC) will hold a hearing titled "The JOBS Act in Action: Overseeing Effective Implementation That Can Grow Jobs". See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

2:00 - 4:15 PM. There will be an event titled "Cyber Security: The Perfect Storm". The lead off speakers will be Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA). There will then be a panel discussion titled "Federal Cyber Security -- Mobility and Cloud Technologies". The speakers will include John Streufert (DHS/NPPD). See, event website. Location: Room 212, Capital Visitor Center.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed hearing or mark up titled "Intelligence Matters". See, notice. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) will hold a hearing titled "The Future of Video". The witnesses will be Charlie Ergen (Chairman, Dish Network), Robert Johnson (CEO, Sky Angel), David Hyman (General Counsel, Netflix), Jim Funk (Roku), Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge), David Barrett (P/CEO, Hearst Television), Michael O'Leary (MPAA), and Michael Powell (NCTA). See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "International IP Enforcement: Protecting Patents, Trade Secrets and Market Access". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Science Committee's (HSC) Subcommittee on Research and Science Education will hold a hearing titled "The Role of Research Universities in Securing America’s Future Prosperity: Challenges and Expectations". See, notice. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will hold a closed hearing titled "Ongoing Intelligence Activities". See, notice. Location: Room HVC-304, Capitol Visitor Center.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of Frank Geraci (USDC/WDNY), Fernando Olguin (USDC/CDCal), Malachy Mannion (USDC/MDPenn), and Matthew Brann (USDC/MDPenn). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this hearing. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

1:00 - 3:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a presentation titled "Cloud Computing Transactions Workshop: A Systems Approach to Avoiding Thunderstorms". The speakers will be Ward Classen (Computer Sciences Corporation) and Philip Porter (Hogan Lovells). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. Reporters are barred from attending most DC Bar events. CLE credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a teleconferenced presentation titled "Government, Technology and the Expectation of Privacy in the Aftermath of U.S. v. Jones". Prices vary. See, ABA notice. See also, January 23, 2012, opinion [34 pages in PDF] of the U.S. Supreme Court holding that GPS tracking of a vehicle constitutes a search within the meaning of the 4th Amendment.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

8:00 AM. Day one of a two day event hosted by the National Governors Association (NGA) titled "National Forum on Preparing Public Safety Broadband". See, notice. Location: National Conference Center, 18980 Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg, VA.

9:30 AM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGRC) will hold a hearing titled "The JOBS Act in Action Part II: Overseeing Effective Implementation of the JOBS Act at the SEC". See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security will hold a hearing titled "Identity Theft and Income Tax Preparation Fraud". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence will hold a hearing titled "Economic Espionage: A Foreign Intelligence Threat to American Jobs and Homeland Security". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

10:00 AM. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) will meet to mark up HR 5949 [LOC | WW], the "FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012". This meeting is open to the public. See, notice. See also, stories titled "House Judiciary Committee Approves FISA Bill" and "HJC Roll Call Votes on HR 5949" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,399, June 19, 2012, and stories titled "Senate Considers Bill To Extend FISA Outside the US Warrantless Wiretap Authority", "House Judiciary Committee Takes Up Bill To Extend FISA Outside the US Warrantless Wiretap Authority", and "Commentary: Warrantless Wiretaps and Senate Secrecy" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,396, June 14, 2012. Location: Room HVC-304, Capital Visitor Center.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "A Need for Privacy Protections: Is Industry Self Regulation Adequate?". The witnesses will be Bob Liodice (Association of National Advertisers), Peter Swire (Ohio State University), Berin Szoka (Tech Freedom), and Alex Fowler (Mozilla). Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of the nominations of Terrence Berg (USDC/EDMich), Jesus Bernal (USDC/CDCal), and Lorna Schofield (USDC/SDNY). See, notice. The SJC will webcast this meeting. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up numerous bills. The first item on the agenda is HR 1860 [LOC | WW], the "Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act of 2011". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed hearing or mark up titled "Intelligence Matters". See, notice. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) International Telecommunications Committee will host an event titled "The 2012 WCIT: Crafting International Telecommunication Regulations for the Twenty-First Century". There will be a government panel. The speakers will be Richard Beaird (Senior Deputy United States Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy, Department of State), Vernita Harris (Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of International Affairs, NTIA), and Al Lewis (Special Counsel, FCC). There will then be a private sector panel. The speakers will be David Gross (Wiley Rein), Richard Whitt (Google), Walter McCormick (USTelecom), Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge), and Sally Wentworth (Internet Society). Registrations and cancellations due by 12:00 NOON on June 27. CLE credits. See, notice. Location: Bingham McCutchen, 2020 K St., NW.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

Day two of a two day event hosted by the National Governors Association (NGA) titled "National Forum on Preparing Public Safety Broadband". See, notice. Location: National Conference Center, 18980 Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg, VA.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced presentation titled "The America Invents Act: An In-Depth Look at Procedures that Become Effective in September 2012". The speakers will be Orion Armon (Cooley), Robert Bahr (acting Associate Commission for Patent Examination Policy, USPTO), Elizabeth Brannen (Barnes & Noble), Michael Tierney (Lead Administrative Patent Judge, Patent Trial and Appeal Board), and David Postolski (Cantor Fitzgerald). CLE credits. The price ranges from $95 to $195. See, notice.

Effective date of the Copyright Office's (CO) rules changes eliminating the use of Form CO. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 60, Wednesday, March 28, 2012, at Pages 18705-18707. See also, story titled "Copyright Office to Eliminate Form CO" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,359, March 28, 2012.

The House will not meet on the week of Monday, July 2, through Friday, July 6.

The Senate will not meet on the week of Monday, July 2, through Friday, July 6.

12:00 NOON - 1:15 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced presentation titled "Antitrust Enforcement in South East Asian Countries: State and Trends". The speakers will be Shila Dorai Raj (Chief Executive, Malaysian Competition Commission), Adam Nakhoda ( Deputy Director Legal, Competition Commission of Singapore), Harikumar Pillay (Deputy Director Enforcement, Competition Commission of Singapore), Cao Xuan Hien (Head of Antitrust Board, Vietnam Competition Administration Department), Mochamed Fachri (Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners, Indonesia), and Ameera Ashraf (Wong Partnership, Singapore). No CLE credits. The price ranges from $15 to $25. See, notice.

Deadline to submit replies to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the American Cable Association's (ACA) Petition for Reconsideration of the FCC's Fifth Report and Order [130 pages in PDF] regarding the Emergency Alert System (EAS). This order continues the FCC's process of revising its EAS rules to specify the manner in which EAS participants must be able to receive alert messages formatted in the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP). The FCC adopted this item on January 9, 2012, and released the text on January 12, 2012. It is FCC 12-7 in EB Docket No. 04-296. The ACA asked in its April 23, 2012, petition for a streamlined waiver process for small cable systems serving fewer than 501 subscribers that lack physical connectivity to broadband Internet access. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 111, Friday, June 8, 2012, at Pages 33995-33997. See also, the ACA's April 23 release and the FCC's May 25, 2012, Public Notice (DA 12-834).

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