Commuter captain confused about WX requirement for designating an altitude.

Attributes
ACN	165949
Time
Date	199012
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : aex
State Reference	LA
Altitude	msl bound lower : 19000 msl bound upper : 19000
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tracon : aex tower : bgr
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	Light Transport, Low Wing, 2 Turboprop Eng
Flight Phase	descent : approach landing : go around
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 139 flight time total : 3695 flight time type : 1845
ASRS Report	165949
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : commercial
Events
Anomaly	inflight encounter : weather non adherence : far
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : exited adverse environment
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Weather
Air Traffic Incident	other

Narrative:

*Commuter captain is confused about the required WX minimums for designating an altitude before original dispatch, and required WX for diverting to an alternate. A non incident, except in the mind of the reporter and possibly a company dispatcher.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: COMMUTER CAPT CONFUSED ABOUT WX REQUIREMENT FOR DESIGNATING AN ALT.

Narrative: *COMMUTER CAPT IS CONFUSED ABOUT THE REQUIRED WX MINIMUMS FOR DESIGNATING AN ALT BEFORE ORIGINAL DISPATCH, AND REQUIRED WX FOR DIVERTING TO AN ALTERNATE. A NON INCIDENT, EXCEPT IN THE MIND OF THE RPTR AND POSSIBLY A COMPANY DISPATCHER.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.