The FCC and NAB petitioned Thursday for a full panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a three-judge panel’s 2-1 decision against the FCC in the Prometheus IV ownership case, as expected (see 1910250006). For 15 years, “the same divided panel of this Court has frustrated the Commission’s repeated attempts to modernize its media ownership rules,” the FCC said. Prometheus is “irreconcilable” with “the proper role of courts in reviewing agency action,” NAB wrote.

FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly appears to have the support of several top Republicans to remain for another term, a factor officials told us makes him strongly favored for renomination. One stumbling block appears to be the timeline for President Donald Trump to re-up him amid a souring confirmations atmosphere on Capitol Hill caused by the House impeachment inquiry and 2020 presidential campaign. O'Rielly's term expired June 30 (see 1412170031). He can remain until this Congress ends at the beginning of 2021.

The Supreme Court won’t hear Minnesota’s appeal of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision that VoIP is an information service exempt from state regulation (see 1910090048). The high court denied the Public Utilities Commission’s petition for writ of certiorari Monday. Agreeing cert should be denied, Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should, “in an appropriate case ... consider whether a federal agency’s policy can pre-empt state law.” Thomas doubts "a federal policy -- let alone a policy of nonregulation -- is ‘Law’ for purposes of the Supremacy Clause,” he wrote, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch. “Giving pre-emptive effect to a federal agency policy of nonregulation thus expands the power of both the Executive and the Judiciary.” The view of two justices has “no precedential value” but “is nonetheless an indicator of the difficulties of the FCC’s position on preemption of state net neutrality provisions based on its asserted policies of non-regulation,” emailed Benton Institute Senior Counselor Andy Schwartzman. The PUC didn't comment Monday. Charter Communications, which brought the original suit against the agency, declined comment. The telecom industry endorses a draft declaratory ruling, which the FCC will consider at commissioners' meeting Friday, on regulatory parity for 911 fees between VoIP and traditional phone services (see 1910210055).

The Supreme Court won’t hear Minnesota’s appeal of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision that VoIP is an information service exempt from state regulation (see 1910090048). The high court denied the Public Utilities Commission’s petition for writ of certiorari Monday. Agreeing cert should be denied, Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should, “in an appropriate case ... consider whether a federal agency’s policy can pre-empt state law.” Thomas doubts "a federal policy -- let alone a policy of nonregulation -- is ‘Law’ for purposes of the Supremacy Clause,” he wrote, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch. “Giving pre-emptive effect to a federal agency policy of nonregulation thus expands the power of both the Executive and the Judiciary.” The view of two justices has “no precedential value” but “is nonetheless an indicator of the difficulties of the FCC’s position on preemption of state net neutrality provisions based on its asserted policies of non-regulation,” emailed Benton Institute Senior Counselor Andy Schwartzman. The PUC didn't comment Monday. Charter Communications, which brought the original suit against the agency, declined comment. The telecom industry endorses a draft declaratory ruling, which the FCC will consider at commissioners' meeting Friday, on regulatory parity for 911 fees between VoIP and traditional phone services (see 1910210055).

Broadcasters aren't expected to have to make sweeping changes to how they maintain political files after an FCC order made clearer what information needs to be in them. The clarification could make it easier to get compliance from advertising agencies that sometimes provide incomplete information. That order and a related one were ostensibly released Wednesday afternoon but not available online that night. The agency said at a little past noon Thursday that the links were working.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is unlikely to rush to address a remand on public safety, an issue remanded for further work by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Tuesday that largely upheld the FCC 2017 order overturning 2015 net neutrality rules (see 1910010018). Others said Wednesday because the issues involve public safety, the agency may feel compelled to respond (see 1910020028).

Evan Swarztrauber, an aide to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, is expected to be tapped this week to replace Nathan Leamer as a policy adviser to Chairman Ajit Pai. Leamer was widely viewed as providing Pai with ties to key interest groups, especially those on the right. Other Pai aides have more of a legal or policy rather than communications background.

The FCC’s fourth court loss on quadrennial updates to media ownership rules (see 1906130052) rolls those updates back and could have consequences for pending and just-completed deals such as Nexstar/Tribune and Apollo/Cox and for future radio deregulation, said broadcast attorneys on both sides of the issue in interviews Monday.

Changing name to Benton Institute for Broadband & Society (see 1909170012), it hires current Benton Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman from Georgetown Law’s Communications and Technology Law Clinic; he also keeps teaching at Johns Hopkins University ... New at Accenture: Cybersecurity expert Aaron Faulkner heads Accenture Federal Services Federal Cyber practice ... Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Robert Adler takes over as acting chairman effective Oct. 1 and was elected vice chairman by commissioners Friday, and heads CPSC until Senate OKs a new chairman; he succeeds acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle, whose term ends Oct. 27; she withdraws nominations as chairman and commissioner for another term.

Changing name to Benton Institute for Broadband & Society (see 1909170012), it hires current Benton Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman from Georgetown Law’s Communications and Technology Law Clinic; he also keeps teaching at Johns Hopkins University ... New at Accenture: Cybersecurity expert Aaron Faulkner heads Accenture Federal Services Federal Cyber practice ... Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Robert Adler takes over as acting chairman effective Oct. 1 and was elected vice chairman by commissioners Friday, and heads CPSC until Senate OKs a new chairman; he succeeds acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle, whose term ends Oct. 27; she withdraws nominations as chairman and commissioner for another term.