John Dunbar, an Associated Press reporter, requested from the Federal Communications Commission a copy of its Second Report and Order regarding the service rules for the 700 megahertz auction as approved by the FCC on July 31, 2007, prior to editorial revisions. The FCC is denying this request citing a deliberative process privilege FOIA Exemption. The FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau explained that the document that was before the Commission on July 31, 2007 is not the same document that was released to the public on August 10, 2007. The July 31, 2007 document was a draft generated as part of the continuing process of agency decision-making, whereas the publicly-released document reflects the Commission's final deliberations and editorial changes. The FCC has decided that when FCC Commissioners vote to adopt an item at an open meeting, their deliberations concerning the item are not at an end. Following adoption of an item, the Commissioners may continue to consider possible edits to the item until all Commissioners in the majority agree on the language of the draft to be released. Dunbar contended that not releasing the text of the rule at the meeting is detrimental to the public interest. The FCC disagrees, arguing that the final editorial process results in well thought-out decisions of a higher quality. Release of the item still in draft form followed by a final version after all post-adoption editing is complete, the FCC contends, could result in public confusion and would be contrary to the public interest. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-08-156A1.doc
