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Proposal regarding public release of data Unlike the former 49 U.S.C. 11145, the Act explicitly authorizes two types of exemptions--an exemption from the reporting requirements and an exemption from public release of data. For each, the requestor must demonstrate, at a minimum, that the exemption is required to avoid competitive harm. If a carrier meets the applicable standard and is granted confidentiality, business information would not be publicly disclosed. The carrier would then no longer qualify for an exemption from filing. Therefore, BTS proposes to consider only requests for exemptions from public release, and not for exemptions from reporting requirements. With confidentiality protection, confidential information would not be released publicly, and competitive harm would no longer be a concern. Under the Act, 49 U.S.C. 14123(c), requests for confidentiality must go through a notice and comment period and DOT must make a decision within 90 days of the request. BTS proposes the following procedure. Petitions relating to a current year's report must be received by the report's due date. The petition can be made either before submission of the report or simultaneous with submission. Carriers filing a petition after a report's deadline will not be able to later request confidentiality for the report. The report either would have already been submitted, and therefore already been available to the public, or the report should have been submitted but was not. Regarding content of the petition, at a minimum it must contain specific evidence that the carrier is likely to suffer competitive harm. DOT will publish a Federal Register notice listing the petitions received for a given report and announcing a 30-day public comment period. DOT will make a decision on the petitions within 90 days of the report's due date. By waiting until all petitions for exemptions are received for a given report, those who wish to comment will be able to do so at one time rather than throughout the year. DOT will not release a petitioning carrier's reports to the public while its petition is pending. Copies of the Forms You can request copies of current or proposed forms from the contact listed in this notice. If you have access to the Internet, you can also obtain copies at http://www.bts.gov/mcs/rulemaking.htm. Proposal To Establish a Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee BTS had earlier proposed establishing a negotiated rulemaking advisory committee in 61 FR 64849 (Dec. 9, 1996). The committee was to consider relevant issues and attempt to reach a consensus in developing regulations to implement the ICC Termination Act of 1995 regarding motor carriers of property. After receiving comments on this proposal and holding a public meeting on the subject, BTS determined that this process would not provide a significant advantage over conventional informal rulemaking. One of the factors to consider before choosing negotiated rulemaking is whether there is a reasonable likelihood that a committee will reach consensus on the proposed rule within a fixed period of time. BTS believes that consensus would not be reached in these circumstances on several of the issues, primarily on public release of the reports. III. Request for Comments The goal of this proposed rulemaking is to reach an equitable and practical balance, within the context of the ICC Termination Act of 1995, between the need for information and the goal of reducing reporting burden. BTS examined the accounting and reporting requirements in an effort to continue collecting meaningful data on the motor carrier industry while streamlining these requirements where possible. This proposal would create a simplified report for those carriers earning over $10 million in annual operating revenues while continuing to provide data helpful to understanding the industry. It would also implement a process for companies to seek confidentiality protection to avoid competitive harm. BTS requests comments concerning the above revisions to the information collection. You may wish to address one or more of the following topics: (1) Whether particular data items should be included or deleted from the annual and quarterly reporting requirements and why; (2) whether the instructions for the data items should be carried over from the current forms or whether they should be modified; (3) whether BTS should continue quarterly reporting; (4) how your comments to the proposal relate to the four areas of consideration listed in 49 U.S.C. 14123(b); (5) whether BTS accurately estimated the reporting burden and costs; (6) how BTS can minimize reporting burden, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; (7) the proposed process for handling requests for exemptions; (8) ways to reduce the burden on any segments of the industry that may be disproportionately affected, such as small entities; (9) how BTS can enhance the quality, utility, or clarity of the information collected; and (10) whether the regulations are clearly written. IV. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices Executive Order 12866 and DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures This proposed rule is not considered a significant regulatory action under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, is not subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. This proposed rule is not considered significant under the regulatory policies and procedures of the Department of Transportation (44 FR 11034). The proposal would reduce industry reporting burden by 21,700 hours or 45 percent. BTS estimates that the annual cost of reporting to be just over $1 million for the industry. This breaks down to $418 per year for class I carriers and $342 per year for class II carriers. The estimate is based on reporting costs of $38 per hour including overhead. The major beneficiaries of the data collection are the federal government, the motor carrier industry, industry associations, transportation investment analysts, transportation research analysts, and motor carrier safety analysts. The program provides data that are used in developing the national accounts, data for monitoring industry trends, and data useful to the public and private sectors regarding the operation and health of the trucking industry and individual carriers. Executive Order 12612 This proposed rule has been analyzed in accordance with the principles and criteria contained in Executive Order 12612 (``Federalism'') and DOT has determined the rule does not have sufficient federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis I certify this proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The definition of ``small business'' is contained in the Small Business Administration's small business size standard regulations. For motor carriers of property, small businesses are those with annual receipts of up to $18.5 million. Under the current classification, there are about 2,800 reporting carriers of which an estimated 2,180 (or 78 percent) are small businesses (all class II carriers and 31 percent of class I carriers are classified as small businesses). The proposed amendments would decrease reporting burden for all reporting carriers. Class I carriers would realize a 67 percent reduction in burden hours while class II would realize a 10 percent reduction. Environmental Assessment The Bureau of Transportation Statistics has analyzed the proposed amendments for the purposes of the National Environmental Protection Act. The proposed amendments will not have any impact on the quality of the human environment. Accordingly, an Environmental Impact Statement is not required. Initial Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis The reporting and record keeping requirements associated with this rule are being sent to the Office of Management and Budget in accordance with 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35 under OMB Numbers 2139-0002, 2139- 0004, and 2139-0005. Administration: Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Titles: Quarterly Report of Class I Motor Carriers of Property, Annual Report of Class I Motor Carriers of Property, and Annual Report of Class II Motor Carriers of Property. Need for Information: information on the health of the motor carrier of property industry, its impact on the economy, and industry changes that may affect national transportation policy. Frequency: Annually. Burden Estimate: 27,000 annual hours. Average Annual Burden Hours per Respondent: class I carriers--11 annual hours, class II carriers--9 annual hours. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503; Attention Desk Officer for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics or David Mednick at the address listed above under For Further Information Contact. Regulation Identifier Number A regulation identifier number (RIN) is assigned to each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulations. The Regulatory Information Service Center publishes the Unified Agenda in April and October of each year. The RIN number 2139-AA05 contained in the heading of this document can be used to cross reference this action with the Unified Agenda. List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 1420 Motor carriers, Reporting and classification. Proposed Rule Accordingly, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics proposes to amend 49 CFR Part 1420 Reports of Motor Carriers, as follows: PART 1420--REPORTS OF MOTOR CARRIERS The authority citation for Part 1420 is revised to read as follows: Authority: 49 U.S.C. 14123. 2. Section 1420.1 is revised to read as follows: Sec. 1420.1 Annual reports of motor carriers of property, motor carriers of household goods, and dual authority carriers. (a) Annual Report Form M. All class I and class II common and contract carriers of property, including household goods and dual authority motor carriers, must file Motor Carrier Annual Report Form M. Carriers must file the annual report on or before March 31 of the year following the year to which it relates. For classification criteria, see Sec. 1420.2. (b) Quarterly Report Form QFR. All class I common motor carriers of property and class I household goods motor carriers must complete and file motor carrier Quarterly Report Form QFR (Form QFR). The quarterly accounting periods end on March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. The quarterly reports must be filed within 30 calendar days after the end of the reporting quarter. (c) Carriers must file the quarterly and annual reports in duplicate with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, K-27, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. You can obtain copies of the report forms from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. 3. In section 1420.2, paragraph (b)(4) is revised to read as follows: Sec. 1420.2 Classification of carriers--motor carriers of property, household goods carriers, and dual property carriers. * * * * * (b) * * * (4) Carriers must notify the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of any change in classification or any change in annual operating revenues that would cause a change in classification. The carrier may request a waiver or an exception from the regulations in this part in unusual or extenuating circumstances, where the classification process will unduly burden the carrier, such as partial liquidation or curtailment or elimination of contracted services. The request must be in writing, specifying the conditions justifying the waiver or exception. BTS will notify the carriers of any change in classification. * * * * * 4. In section 1420.2(b)(5), remove the term ``an Annual Report (Form M-1 or Form M-2)'' and add ``Annual Report Form M'' in its place. 5. In section 1420.2, paragraph (c) is removed (Note A is unchanged). 6. Section 1420.6 is added to read as follows: Sec. 1420.6 Requests for exemptions from public release. (a) In general. This section governs requests for exemptions from public release of reports filed under Sec. 1420.1. (b) Criteria. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) will grant a request upon a proper showing that: (1) The filer is not a publicly held corporation or the filer is not subject to financial reporting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and (2) The exemption is necessary to avoid competitive harm and to avoid the disclosure of information that qualifies as trade secret or privileged or confidential information under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4). (c) Valid requests. For a request to be valid, it must contain, at a minimum, assertions that the request meets the criteria in paragraph (b) of this section, including specific evidence that the carrier is likely to suffer competitive harm. (d) Procedure. Requests for an exemption under this section may be made at any time during the year. However, a request will be deemed applicable to only those reports due on or after the date the request is received. Petitions received after a report's due date will only be considered for the following year's or quarter's report. Except as provided in this paragraph, requests must be made separately for report Forms M and QFR. After each due date of reports specified in Sec. 1420.1, DOT will publish a notice in the Federal Register listing all of the valid pending requests for an exemption from public release and giving a 30-day public comment period. DOT will grant or deny each request no later than 90 days after the due date of the report for which the request applies. DOT will either publish a notice in the Federal Register specifying whether the request was granted or denied, or will give notice directly to the carrier, or will do both. A carrier submitting a petition regarding Form M can also request that it cover Form QFR, in which case DOT will decide both requests at the same time. Assuming the carrier's fiscal year coincides with the calendar year, the following table summarizes report and petition deadlines:
(e) Pendency. A request is deemed pending from the date it is received by BTS until it is granted or denied by BTS. BTS will not release publicly, unless otherwise required by law, any report for which a valid request for an exemption from public release is pending. (f) Period of exemptions. If a request for an exemption under this section is granted, BTS will not publicly release any reports covered by the granted exemption, unless otherwise required by law. Exemptions granted under this section will cover a period of three reporting years. Note: The following forms will not appear in the Code of Federal Regulations. Robert A. Knisely, BILLING CODE 4910-FE-P [FR Doc. 98-29412 Filed 11-2-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-FE-C 1 The regulations were recently transferred from 49 CFR Part 1249 to 49 CFR Part 1420. See Reports of Motor Carriers; Redesignation of Regulations Pursuant to the ICC Termination Act of 1995, 63 FR 52192 (September 30, 1998).
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