(a) The Administrator shall have a Board of Directors separate from the Board of Directors of the National Exchange Carrier Association. The National Exchange Carrier Association's Board of Directors shall be prohibited from participating in the functions of the Administrator.

(b) Board composition. The independent subsidiary's Board of Directors shall consist of nineteen (19) directors:

(1) Three directors shall represent incumbent local exchange carriers, with one director representing the Bell Operating Companies and GTE, one director representing ILECs (other than the Bell Operating Companies) with annual operating revenues in excess of $40 million, and one director representing ILECs (other than the Bell Operating Companies) with annual operating revenues of $40 million or less;

(2) Two directors shall represent interexchange carriers, with one director representing interexchange carriers with more than $3 billion in annual operating revenues and one director representing interexchange carriers with annual operating revenues of $3 billion or less;

(3) One director shall represent commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) providers;

(4) One director shall represent competitive local exchange carriers;

(5) One director shall represent cable operators;

(6) One director shall represent information service providers;

(7) Three directors shall represent schools that are eligible to receive discounts pursuant to §54.501;

(8) One director shall represent libraries that are eligible to receive discounts pursuant to §54.501;

(9) Two directors shall represent rural health care providers that are eligible to receive supported services pursuant to §54.601;

(10) One director shall represent low-income consumers;

(11) One director shall represent state telecommunications regulators;

(12) One director shall represent state consumer advocates; and

(13) The Chief Executive Officer of the Administrator.

(c) Selection process for board of directors.

(1) Sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of a director's term, the industry or non-industry group that is represented by such director on the Administrator's Board of Directors, as specified in paragraph (b) of this section, shall nominate by consensus a new director. The industry or non-industry group shall submit the name of its nominee for a seat on the Administrator's Board of Directors, along with relevant professional and biographical information about the nominee, to the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Only members of the industry or non-industry group that a Board member will represent may submit a nomination for that position.

(2) The name of an industry or non-industry group's nominee shall be filed with the Office of the Secretary of the Federal Communications Commission in accordance with part 1 of this chapter. The document nominating a candidate shall be captioned “In the matter of: Nomination for Universal Service Administrator's Board of Directors” and shall reference FCC Docket Nos. 97-21 and 96-45. Each nomination shall specify the position on the Board of Directors for which such nomination is submitted. Two copies of the document nominating a candidate shall be submitted to the Wireline Competition Bureau's Telecommunications Access Policy Division.

(3) The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission shall review the nominations submitted by industry and non-industry groups and select each director of the Administrator's Board of Directors, as each director's term expires pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section. If an industry or non-industry group does not reach consensus on a nominee or fails to submit a nomination for a position on the Administrator's Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission shall select an individual to represent such group on the Administrator's Board of Directors.

(d) Board member terms. The directors of the Administrator's Board shall be appointed for three-year terms, except that the Chief Executive Officer shall be a permanent member of the Board. Board member terms shall run from January 1 of the first year of the term to December 31 of the third year of the term, except that, for purposes of the term beginning on January 1, 1999, the terms of the six directors shall expire on December 31, 2000, the terms of another six directors on December 31, 2001, and the terms of the remaining six directors on December 31, 2002. Directors may be reappointed for subsequent terms pursuant to the initial nomination and appointment process described in paragraph (c) of this section. If a Board member vacates his or her seat prior to the completion of his or her term, the Administrator will notify the Wireline Competition Bureau of such vacancy, and a successor will be chosen pursuant to the nomination and appointment process described in paragraph (c) of this section.

(e) All meetings of the Administrator's Board of Directors shall be open to the public and held in Washington, D.C.

(f) Each member of the Administrator's Board of Directors shall be entitled to receive reimbursement for expenses directly incurred as a result of his or her participation on the Administrator's Board of Directors.

[63 FR 70573, Dec. 21, 1998, as amended at 67 FR 13226, Mar. 21, 2002]