[Federal Register: March 31, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 61)]
[Notices]
[Page 15549-15550]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31mr03-136]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2003-14794]
Proposed Guidance for the Use of Binding Arbitration Under the
Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT
ACTION: Notice of proposed guidance; Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a
modal administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT), proposes to use the alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
technique of binding arbitration in civil penalty forfeiture
proceedings in which the only issues remaining to be resolved are: (1)
The amount of the civil penalty owed, and (2) the length of time in
which to pay it. FMCSA will not agree to arbitrate maximum penalty
cases issued pursuant to section 222 of the Motor Carrier Safety
Improvement Act of 1999, or any cases that require interpretation of
the regulations or analysis of important policy issues. FMCSA intends
to implement binding arbitration immediately upon publication of this
notice. Binding arbitration will be implemented to provide more
efficient and effective resolution of the large volume of adjudication
cases that are now before FMCSA's Chief Safety Officer. In accordance
with section 575(c) of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of
1996, FMCSA has submitted this Guidance to the Attorney General for
consultation. The Attorney General concurs in the issuance of this
Guidance. Changes to the arbitration program may be made, however, in
accordance with any comments or information received by FMCSA
concerning implementation of binding arbitration.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 30, 2003.
ADDRESSES: You may mail, fax, hand deliver or electronically submit
written comments on the Guidance to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 7th
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001, FAX (202) 493-2251, on-line at
http://dms.dot.gov/submit. Please include the docket number that
appears in the heading of this document in your submission. Comments
may be examined at the Dockets Management Facility from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays. You may also view all comments or download an electronic copy
of this document from the DOT Docket Management System (DMS) at http://dms.dot.gov/search.htm
and by typing the last five digits of the docket
number appearing at the heading of this document. The DMS is available
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``help'' section
of the web site. If you want us to notify you that we received your
comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or
postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that appears after
submitting comments on-line.
Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the
Department of Transportation's complete Privacy Act Statement in the
Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70;
Pages 19477-78) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven B. Farbman, (202) 385-2351,
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Adjudications Counsel, 400
7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to
5:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comments Invited
Interested persons are invited to participate in finalizing this
Guidance by submitting such written comments, views, or arguments as
they may desire. All comments received will be included in the docket
and available for public inspection before and after the comment
closing date. All comments received on or before the closing date will
be considered by FMCSA. Late-filed comments will be considered to the
extent practicable. The Guidance referenced in this notice may be
changed in light of the comments received.
Availability of the Guidance
This notice and request for comments merely identifies the
Guidance. A complete copy of the Guidance has been placed in the public
docket. The docket may be accessed at the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 7th
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001, or on-line at http://dms.dot.gov.
The docket number is provided at the beginning of this
Notice.
Background
In the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 (ADRA) (Pub.
L. 104-320, 110 Stat.3870 (October 19, 1996) (now codified at 5 U.S.C.
571-583)), Congress authorizes Federal agencies to utilize binding
arbitration to resolve administrative disputes, provided that
conditions specified in the ADRA are satisfied. Among other things, the
ADRA requires interested agencies to develop and issue guidance on the
appropriate use of arbitration. FMCSA has posted its Guidance at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov
as well as in the docket for this Notice at http://dms.dot.gov and is implementing binding arbitration in civil penalty
forfeiture proceedings in which the only issues remaining to be
resolved are the amount of the civil penalty owed and the length of
time in which to pay it. The Chief Safety Officer will determine if a
case is appropriate for arbitration and notify the parties in writing
that the case will be referred to arbitration with the consent of both
parties. A detailed explanation of the notification and consent process
is provided in the Guidance. Cases requiring interpretation of the
regulations or analysis of important policy issues will not be selected
for binding arbitration. FMCSA will immediately modify or terminate the
use of binding arbitration if there is reason to believe that
continuing it is inconsistent with the goals and objectives of the
safety regulations.
[[Page 15550]]
In accordance with section 575 of the ADRA, FMCSA's Guidance for
use of binding arbitration to resolve civil penalty disputes was
developed in consultation with the Attorney General. FMCSA has been
informed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that the Attorney General
concurs in the Guidance and implementation of binding arbitration.
The Guidance satisfies the requirements regarding binding
arbitration specified by section 575 of the ADRA of 1996, and addresses
use of binding arbitration in a manner consistent with FMCSA's dispute
resolution process and its procedural rules of practice at 49 CFR part
386.
Issued: March 24, 2003.
Annette M. Sandberg,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-7656 Filed 3-28-03; 8:45 am]