47 C.F.R. § 1.242
When the Commission designates itself as the presiding officer in a hearing proceeding, it may delegate authority to a case manager to develop the record in a written hearing (see §§ 1.370 through 1.377 ). The case manager must be a staff attorney who qualifies as a neutral under 5 U.S.C. 571 and 573 . The Commission shall not designate any of the following persons to serve as case manager in a case, and they may not advise or assist the case manager: Staff who participated in identifying the specific issues designated for hearing; staff who have taken or will take an active part in investigating, prosecuting, or advocating in the case; or staff who are expected to investigate and act upon petitions to deny (including challenges thereto). A case manager shall have authority to perform any of the functions generally performed by the presiding officer, except that a case manager shall have no authority to resolve any new or novel issues, to issue an order on the merits resolving any issue designated for hearing in a case, to issue an order on the merits of any motion for summary decision filed under § 1.251 , or to perform any other functions that the Commission reserves to itself in the order appointing a case manager.
47 C.F.R. §1.242