Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 26, 2011 / Notices 23353 

to Public Law 99–399 (Omnibus 

Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism 

Act of 1986), as amended; Public Law 

107–56 (USA PATRIOT Act); and 

Executive Order 13356. The purpose of 

the collection is to validate the identity 

of individuals who enter Department 

facilities. The data will be entered into 

the Visitor Access Control System 

(VACS–D) database. Please see the 

Privacy Impact Assessment for VACS–D 

at http://www.state.gov/documents/ 

organization/100305.pdf for additional 

information. 

The U.S. Advisory Commission on 

Public Diplomacy is charged with 

appraising U.S. Government activities 

intended to understand, inform, and 

influence foreign publics and 

submitting reports on the same to the 

President, the Secretary of State, and the 

Congress. The Commission may conduct 

studies, inquiries, and meetings, as it 

deems necessary. It may assemble and 

disseminate information and issue 

reports and other publications, subject 

to the approval of the Chairperson, in 

consultation with the Executive 

Director. 

The members of the Commission are: 

William Hybl of Colorado, Chairman; 

Ambassador Lyndon Olson of Texas, 

Vice Chairman; Jay Snyder of New York; 

Ambassador Penne Korth-Peacock of 

Texas; John Osborn of Pennsylvania; 

and Lezlee Westine of Virginia. The 

seventh seat on the Commission is 

currently vacant. 

The following individuals are 

nominated to the Commission but await 

Senate confirmation as of this writing: 

Ambassador Ryan Crocker of Texas, Sim 

Farar of California, and Anne Wedner of 

Illinois. 

The Commission is a bipartisan panel 

established under Section 604 of the 

United States Information and 

Educational Exchange Act of 1948, 

commonly known as the Smith-Mundt 

Act, as amended (22 U.S.C. 1469) and 

Section 8 of Reorganization Plan 

Numbered 2 of 1977. The U.S. Advisory 

Commission on Public Diplomacy is 

authorized by Public Law 101–246 

(2009), 22 U.S.C. 6553, and has been 

further authorized through September 

20, 2011. 

Dated: April 18, 2011. 

Matthew C. Armstrong, 

Executive Director, Department of State. 

[FR Doc. 2011–10074 Filed 4–25–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4710–11–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

Public Meeting: U.S. Registration of 

Aircraft in the Name of Owner Trustees 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The FAA will be holding a 

public meeting on Wednesday, June 1, 

2011, on the U.S. registration of aircraft 

in the name of owner trustees. The FAA 

is seeking the views from the public 

with respect to the use of owner trusts 

to register aircraft for the benefit of 

beneficiaries that are neither U.S. 

citizens nor resident aliens. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Wednesday, June 1, 2011, beginning at 

9 a.m. Central Time and ending no later 

than 5 p.m. Central Time. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Marriott Renaissance Convention 

Center Hotel, 10 North Broadway 

Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 

Phone 405–228–8000 or 1–800–468– 

3571. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

LaDeana Peden at 405–954–3296, Office 

of Aeronautical Center Counsel, Federal 

Aviation Administration. [Assistance for 

the hearing impaired is available 

through the Sign Language Resource 

Service (SLRS), Inc. at: 1–888–842–9460 

or 405–721–0800 or http:// 

www.SLRSinc.com.] 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: During the 

first part of the meeting, FAA will 

review the provisions of 49 U.S.C. 

44102 and 14 CFR 47.7(c) and identify 

the issues that are relevant to 

compliance with those statutory and 

regulatory requirements in the context 

of trusts with foreign beneficiaries. The 

second part of the meeting will provide 

an opportunity for attendees to provide 

their views to the FAA regarding the 

appropriate application of the statute 

and regulations in this context and, in 

particular, to answer the specific 

questions set forth below. At some later 

time, after considering comments made 

during the meeting, FAA will notify the 

public about any further action it 

contemplates taking. 

Background: The Federal Aviation 

Administration has a history of 

registering U.S. civil aircraft to trustees, 

some of which have beneficiaries that 

are neither U.S. citizens nor resident 

aliens. Title 49 U.S.C. 44102 describes 

the conditions under which an aircraft 

may be registered on the U.S. Civil 

Aircraft Registry under 49 U.S.C. 44103: 

the aircraft may not be registered under 

the laws of a foreign country and must 

be owned by a citizen of the United 

States (See 49 U.S.C. 40102), a foreign 

citizen lawfully admitted for permanent 

residence in the United States, or a 

foreign corporation that is organized 

and doing business under the laws of 

the United States or a State and the 

aircraft is based and primarily used in 

the United States. In addition, 14 CFR 

47.7 makes special provision for trustees 

to register aircraft and, when any 

beneficiary of the trust is not a U.S. 

citizen or a resident alien, imposes 

additional requirements and limitations 

with respect to the power of such 

beneficiaries to influence or limit the 

exercise of the trustee’s authority or to 

direct or remove a trustee. In addition, 

the Federal Aviation Regulations 

impose particular obligations on the 

owners (and not just the pilots in 

command and operators) of aircraft (See 

14 CFR 91.403(a)). 

The FAA has issued several 

interpretations of its regulations as they 

apply to the relationship and 

permissible interactions between a 

trustee and beneficiaries that are not 

U.S. citizens or resident aliens, two of 

which have held that ‘‘there can be no 

other relationship between the trustee 

and beneficiaries other than that created 

by the trust. For example, there cannot 

be a lessor/lessee or bailor/bailee 

relationship.’’ (Interpretation 1981–56; 

similarly: Interpretation 1982–6). 

In order to clarify the appropriate 

interpretation and application of the 

statutes and FAA regulations in 

connection with the U.S. registration of 

aircraft to owner trusts with 

beneficiaries that are neither U.S. 

citizens nor resident aliens, the FAA 

seeks a discussion with interested 

members of the public. In order to have 

a robust and productive discussion with 

members of the public, the FAA 

presents the following questions and 

scenarios in order to highlight some of 

the salient issues around which it 

desires discussion. 

Trust Registration Questions: At this 

meeting, the FAA is seeking the views 

from the public on the appropriate 

structures for using a trust to register an 

aircraft for the benefit of a beneficiary 

that is not a U.S. citizen or resident 

alien. The FAA would like to hear from 

members of the public on how a trust 

can be structured and implemented for 

purposes of aircraft registrations that 

satisfy statutory and regulatory 

requirements regarding ownership and 

U.S. citizenship. Simply expressed, 

which practices and contractual 

provisions must exist, and which 

practices and contractual provisions 

must be prohibited, in order to satisfy 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
23354 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 26, 2011 / Notices 

the statutory and regulatory 

requirements. 

In order to clarify the appropriate 

interpretation and application of 

statutory provisions, FAA regulations 

and FAA policy in connection with U.S. 

registration of aircraft to owner trustees, 

the FAA seeks a discussion with 

interested members of the public about 

the factors that would weigh in favor of 

or against a finding that a trustee is an 

‘‘owner’’ of an aircraft. 

The following questions are intended 

to elicit robust discussion: 

1. What are the appropriate 

obligations to impose on a trustee of a 

trust with beneficiaries that are neither 

U.S. citizens nor resident aliens in order 

to satisfy the statute and regulations? 

2. In the case of a trust with 

beneficiaries that are neither U.S. 

citizens nor resident aliens, which 

rights and actions must be prohibited on 

the part of the beneficiaries in order to 

satisfy the statute and regulations? 

3. Which forms of granting 

possession, use or operational control of 

an aircraft by a trustee to its 

beneficiaries that are not U.S. citizens or 

resident aliens are permitted and which 

are prohibited under the statute and 

regulations? 

4. What are the specific elements of 

‘‘the trustee’s authority’’ (14 CFR 

47.7(c)(iii)) about which the FAA 

should be concerned, and what are the 

forms of influence or limitation that the 

FAA should proscribe? 

5. How may a beneficiary that is not 

a U.S. citizen or resident alien 

participate in the decision to remove a 

trustee in accordance with the statute 

and regulations? 

6. To what extent, if any, are the FAA 

interpretations cited above in need of 

amendment? 

7. Which, if any, knowledge and 

information requirements (e.g., address 

of operator, location of maintenance 

records, principal hangar location) are 

appropriate for the FAA to impose on 

trustees of trusts beneficiaries that are 

not U.S. citizens or resident aliens? 

Issued in Washington, DC on April 20, 

2011. 

Marc L. Warren, 

Acting Chief Counsel, Federal Aviation 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2011–10013 Filed 4–25–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

[FTA Docket No. FTA–2011–0026] 

Notice of Request for the Extension of 

Currently Approved Information 

Collection 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Request for 

Comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the intention of the 

Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to 

request the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) to approve the following 

information collection: 49 U.S.C. 

Sections 5309 and 5307 Capital 

Assistance Programs 

DATES: Comments must be submitted 

before June 27, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: To ensure that your 

comments are not entered more than 

once into the docket, submit comments 

identified by the docket number by only 

one of the following methods: 

1. Web site: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

on the U.S. Government electronic 

docket site. (Note: –The U.S. 

Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) 

electronic docket is no longer accepting 

electronic comments.) All electronic 

submissions must be made to the U.S. 

Government electronic docket site at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

Commenters should follow the 

directions below for mailed and handdelivered comments. 

2. Fax: 202–366–7951. 

3. Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Docket Operations, M–30, 

West Building, Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

4. Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Docket Operations, M–30, 

West Building, Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, Washington, DC 20590–0001 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except federal holidays. 

Instructions: You must include the 

agency name and docket number for this 

notice at the beginning of your 

comments. Submit two copies of your 

comments if you submit them by mail. 

For confirmation that FTA has received 

your comments, include a selfaddressed stamped postcard. Note that 

all comments received, including any 

personal information, will be posted 

and will be available to Internet users, 

without change, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. You may review 

DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement 

in the Federal Register published April 

11, 2000, (65 FR 19477), or you may 

visit http://www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents and 

comments received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov at any time. 

Background documents and comments 

received may also be viewed at the U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building, 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001 between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Joyce Larkins, FTA Office of Program 

Management, (202) 366–1728, or e-mail: 

Joyce.Larkins@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested 

parties are invited to send comments 

regarding any aspect of this information 

collection, including: (1) The necessity 

and utility of the information collection 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the FTA; (2) the accuracy 

of the estimated burden; (3) ways to 

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 

of the collected information; and (4) 

ways to minimize the collection burden 

without reducing the quality of the 

collected information. Comments 

submitted in response to this notice will 

be summarized and/or included in the 

request for OMB approval of this 

information collection. 

Title: 49 U.S.C. 5309 Capital 

Assistance Programs. 

(OMB Number: 2132–0502). 

Background: 49 U.S.C. 5309 Capital 

Program and section 5307 Urbanized 

Area Formula Program authorize the 

Secretary of Transportation to make 

grants to State and local governments 

and public transportation authorities for 

financing mass transportation projects. 

Grant recipients are required to make 

information available to the public and 

to publish a program of projects for 

affected citizens to comment on the 

proposed program and performance of 

the grant recipients at public hearings. 

Notices of hearings must include a brief 

description of the proposed project and 

be published in a newspaper circulated 

in the affected area. FTA also uses the 

information to determine eligibility for 

funding and to monitor the grantees’ 

progress in implementing and 

completing project activities. The 

information submitted ensures FTA’s 

compliance with applicable federal 

laws, OMB Circular A–102, and 49 CFR 

part 18, ‘‘Uniform Administrative 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES