---

49 C.F.R. Subpart C—Procedures

Title 49 - Transportation

Title 49: Transportation
PART 5—RULEMAKING PROCEDURES

Browse Previous

Subpart C—Procedures

§ 5.21   General.

(a) Unless the Secretary finds, for good cause, that notice is impractical, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, a notice of proposed rule making is issued and interested persons are invited to participate in the rulemaking proceedings with respect to each substantive rule.

(b) Unless the Secretary determines that notice and public rulemaking proceedings are necessary or desirable, interpretive rules, general statements of policy, and rules relating to organization, procedure, or practice are prescribed as final without notice or other public rulemaking proceedings.

(c) In his discretion, the Secretary may invite interested persons to participate in the rulemaking proceedings described in §5.29 of this subpart.

(d) For rules for which the Secretary determines that notice is unnecessary because no adverse public comment is anticipated, the direct final rulemaking procedure described in §5.35 of this subpart may be followed.

[32 FR 10363, July 14, 1967, as amended at 69 FR 4458, Jan. 30, 2004]

§ 5.23   Contents of notices.

(a) Each notice of proposed rulemaking is published in the Federal Register, unless all persons subject to it are named and are personally served with a copy of it.

(b) Each notice, whether published in the Federal Register or personally served, includes:

(1) A statement of the time, place, and nature of the proposed rule-making proceeding;

(2) A reference to the authority under which it is issued;

(3) A description of the subjects or issues involved or the substance or terms of the proposed rule;

(4) A statement of the time within which written comments must be submitted and the required number of copies; and

(5) A statement of how and to what extent interested persons may participate in the proceeding.

§ 5.25   Petitions for extension of time to comment.

(a) Any person may petition the Secretary for an extension of time to submit comments in response to a notice of proposed rulemaking. The petition must be submitted in duplicate not later than 3 days before expiration of the time stated in the notice. The filing of the petition does not automatically extend the time for petitioner's comments.

(b) The Secretary grants the petition only if the petitioner shows a substantive interest in the proposed rule and good cause for the extension, and if the extension is in the public interest. If an extension is granted, it is granted as to all persons and is published in the Federal Register.

§ 5.27   Consideration of comments received.

All timely comments are considered before final action is taken on a rule-making proposal. Late filed comments may be considered so far as possible without incurring additional expense or delay.

§ 5.29   Additional rulemaking proceedings.

The Secretary may initiate any further rulemaking proceedings that he finds necessary or desirable. For example, he may invite interested persons to present oral arguments, participate in conferences, appear at informal hearings, or participate in any other proceeding.

§ 5.31   Hearings.

(a) Sections 556 and 557 of title 5, United States Code, do not apply to hearings held under this part. As a fact-finding proceeding, each hearing is nonadversary and there are no formal pleadings or adverse parties. Any rule issued in a case in which a hearing is held is not necessarily based exclusively on the record of the hearing.

(b) The Secretary designates a representative to conduct any hearing held under this part. The General Counsel designates a member of his staff to serve as legal officer at the hearing.

§ 5.33   Adoption of final rules.

Final rules are prepared by representatives of the office concerned and the Office of the General Counsel. The rule is then submitted to the Secretary for his consideration. If the Secretary adopts the rule, it is published in the Federal Register, unless all persons subject to it are named and are personally served with a copy of it.

§ 5.35   Procedures for direct final rulemaking.

(a) Rules that the Secretary judges to be noncontroversial and unlikely to result in adverse public comment may be published as direct final rules. These include noncontroversial rules that:

(1) Affect internal procedures of the Office of the Secretary, such as filing requirements and rules governing inspection and copying of documents,

(2) Are nonsubstantive clarifications or corrections to existing rules,

(3) Update existing forms,

(4) Make minor changes in the substantive rules regarding statistics and reporting requirements,

(5) Make changes to the rules implementing the Privacy Act, and

(6) Adopt technical standards set by outside organizations.

(b) The Federal Register document will state that any adverse comment or notice of intent to submit adverse comment must be received in writing by the Office of the Secretary within the specified time after the date of publication and that, if no written adverse comment or written notice of intent to submit adverse comment is received, the rule will become effective a specified number of days after the date of publication.

(c) If no written adverse comment or written notice of intent to submit adverse comment is received by the Office of the Secretary within the specified time of publication in the Federal Register, the Office of the Secretary will publish a notice in the Federal Register indicating that no adverse comment was received and confirming that the rule will become effective on the date that was indicated in the direct final rule.

(d) If the Office of the Secretary receives any written adverse comment or written notice of intent to submit adverse comment within the specified time of publication in the Federal Register, a notice withdrawing the direct final rule will be published in the final rule section of the Federal Register and, if the Office of the Secretary decides a rulemaking is warranted, a notice of proposed rulemaking will be published in the proposed rule section of the Federal Register.

(e) An “adverse” comment for the purpose of this subpart means any comment that the Office of the Secretary determines is critical of the rule, suggests that the rule should not be adopted, or suggests a change that should be made in the rule. A comment suggesting that the policy or requirements of the rule should or should not also be extended to other Departmental programs outside the scope of the rule is not adverse.

[69 FR 4458, Jan. 30, 2004]

Appendix A to Part 5

Pursuant to §5.1(b), the following officials of the Office of the Secretary of Transportation are authorized to conduct rulemaking proceedings under this part, as specified in this appendix:

(1) The General Counsel is authorized to conduct all rule-making proceedings, except the issuance of final rules, under the Act of March 19, 1918, ch. 24, as amended (15 U.S.C. 261–264); the Uniform Time Act of 1966 (80 Stat. 107, 15 U.S.C. 260–267); and section 6(e)(5) of the Department of Transportation Act (80 Stat. 939, 49 U.S.C. 1655 (e)(5)).

(2) The General Counsel is authorized to determine the practicability of applying the standard time of any standard time zone to the movements of any common carrier engaged in interstate or foreign commerce, and, under section 2 of the Act of March 19, 1918, ch. 24, as amended (15 U.S.C. 262), to issue operating exceptions in any case in which he determines that it is impractical to apply the standard time.

[Amdt. 5–1, 32 FR 11473, Aug. 9, 1967]

Browse Previous