Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 24 / Monday, February 6, 2012 / Proposed Rules 5735 

1The comments we received in response to this 

ANPRM are available at: http:// 

www.regulations.gov, under Docket SSA–2006– 

0179. 

2The full transcripts for the Policy Conference are 

available at: http://www.regulations.gov, under 

Document IDs SSA–2006–0179–0002 and SSA– 

2006–0179–0003. 

Internet. Please visit the Federal 

eRulemaking portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Use the Search 

function to find docket number SSA– 

2006–0179. The system will issue you a 

tracking number to confirm your 

submission. You will not be able to 

view your comment immediately 

because we must post each comment 

manually. It may take up to a week for 

your comment to be viewable. 

2. Fax: Fax comments to (410) 966– 

2830. 

3. Mail: Address your comments to 

the Office of Regulations, Social 

Security Administration, 107 Altmeyer 

Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, 

Baltimore, MD 21235–6401. 

Comments are available for public 

viewing on the Federal eRulemaking 

portal at http://www.regulations.gov or 

in person, during regular business 

hours, by arranging with the contact 

person identified below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cheryl A. Williams, Office of Medical 

Listings Improvement, Social Security 

Administration, 6401 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235– 

6401, (410) 965–1020. For information 

on eligibility or filing for benefits, call 

our national toll-free number, 1–(800) 

772–1213, or TTY 1–(800) 325–0778, or 

visit our Internet site, Social Security 

Online, at http:// 

www.socialsecurity.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

What is the purpose of this advance 

notice of proposed rulemaking 

(ANPRM)? 

We are considering whether to add to 

our listings a new body system for 

evaluating language and speech 

disorders. The new listings would apply 

to claims involving language and speech 

disorders in adults and children under 

titles II and XVI of the Act. This notice 

gives you an opportunity to send us 

comments about whether we should 

establish these new rules and, if so, 

suggestions about what the proposed 

rules should include. 

Why are we considering new listings 

for language and speech disorders? 

Our current listings provide criteria 

for evaluating language and speech 

disorders in several body systems, 

including Special Senses and Speech, 

Neurological, and Mental Disorders. 

Some of these listings describe language 

or speech disorders that result from or 

occur with specific disorders, such as 

cerebral palsy (listing 11.07C). Other 

listings describe language or speech 

disorders in terms of the resulting 

limitations in functioning, such as loss 

of speech with the inability to produce 

by any means speech that can be heard, 

understood, or sustained (listing 2.09). 

We are considering whether it would be 

better to establish a new body system 

that would: 

• Use consistent terminology for 

describing language or speech disorders; 

• Describe listing-level impairments 

for people who have very serious 

language or speech problems; and 

• Provide clear and comprehensive 

criteria for evaluating all language and 

speech problems in adults and children, 

regardless of their cause. 

Who should send us comments and 

suggestions? 

We invite comments and suggestions 

from anyone who has an interest in how 

we evaluate claims for benefits in our 

disability programs that are filed by 

people who have language and speech 

disorders. We are interested in 

comments and suggestions from people 

who apply for or receive benefits from 

us, members of the general public, 

advocates and organizations that 

represent people who have language or 

speech disorders, State agencies that 

make disability determinations for us, 

experts in the evaluation of language or 

speech disorders, and researchers. 

What should you comment about? 

We are interested in knowing whether 

you think it is a good idea to establish 

a new body system in our listings for 

language and speech disorders and, if 

so, what the new listings should say. 

For example, do you have any ideas 

about how we should: 

• Describe listing-level severity for 

particular kinds of language and speech 

disorders in both adults and children? 

• Consider language and speech 

disorders when they result from 

neurological disorders? 

• Consider language and speech 

disorders when they have no 

identifiable cause? 

• Consider language and speech 

problems in young children when they 

have delayed or disordered language 

and speech development? 

• Consider communication demands 

in a school setting when we evaluate 

language and speech disorders in 

children? 

• Consider communication demands 

in a work setting when we evaluate 

language and speech disorders in 

adults? 

We are also interested in knowing 

what guidelines for documenting and 

evaluating language and speech 

disorders you believe we should include 

in the introductory section for the new 

body system. 

Will we respond to your comments? 

We will not respond directly to the 

comments you send in response to this 

ANPRM. When we decide whether to 

propose new rules for evaluating 

language and speech disorders, we will 

consider: 

• All comments and suggestions we 

receive in response to this notice; 

• The comments and suggestions that 

we received in response to the ANPRM 

that we published on April 13, 2005 (70 

FR 19351); 1

• Information we received at a Policy 

Conference on Language and Speech 

Disorders in the Disability Program, 

held September 26–27, 2005; 2

• Information about advances in 

medical knowledge, treatment, and 

methods of evaluating impairments that 

affect language or speech; and 

• Our disability program experience. 

If we propose new rules, we will 

publish an NPRM in the Federal 

Register and you will have a chance to 

comment on the proposed rules. 

List of Subjects in 20 CFR Part 404 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Blind, Disability benefits, 

Old-age, survivors and disability 

insurance, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Social Security. 

Michael J. Astrue, 

Commissioner of Social Security. 

[FR Doc. 2012–2498 Filed 2–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, 

and Explosives 

27 CFR Parts 447 and 479 

[Docket No. ATF 43P; AG Order No. 3320– 

2012] 

RIN 1140–AA42 

Importation of Arms, Ammunition and 

Implements of War and Machine Guns, 

Destructive Devices, and Certain Other 

Firearms; Extending the Term of 

Import Permits (2010R–26P) 

AGENCY: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 

Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), 

Department of Justice. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
5736 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 24 / Monday, February 6, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

SUMMARY: The Department of Justice is 

proposing to amend the regulations of 

the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 

Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to 

extend the term of import permits for 

firearms, ammunition, and defense 

articles from 1 year to 2 years. The 

additional time will allow importers 

sufficient time to complete the 

importation of the authorized 

commodity. In addition, it will 

eliminate the need for the importer to 

submit a new import application, ATF 

Form 6, where the importation was not 

completed within the 1-year period. 

Extending the term of import permits 

will result in a substantial cost and time 

savings for both the industry and ATF. 

This proposed change would be 

consistent with Executive Order 13563 

of January 18, 2011, which directs 

agencies to review existing significant 

rules to make regulatory programs more 

effective or less burdensome in 

achieving regulatory objectives. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

postmarked and electronic comments 

must be submitted on or before May 7, 

2012. Commenters should be aware that 

the electronic Federal Docket 

Management System will not accept 

comments after midnight Eastern Time 

on the last day of the comment period. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to any of 

the following addresses— 

• Deborah G. Szczenski, Industry 

Operations Specialist, Mailstop 6N–602, 

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, 

and Explosives, 99 New York Avenue 

NE., Washington, DC 20226; ATTN: 

ATF 43P. Written comments must 

appear in minimum 12-point size of 

type (.17 inches), include the 

commenter’s mailing address, be signed, 

and may be of any length. 

• (202) 648–9741 (facsimile). 

• http://www.regulations.gov. Federal 

eRulemaking portal; follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

You may also view an electronic 

version of this proposed rule at the 

http://www.regulations.gov site. 

See the Public Participation section at 

the end of the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section for instructions and 

requirements for submitting comments, 

and for information on how to request 

a public hearing. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Deborah G. Szczenski, Enforcement 

Programs and Services, Bureau of 

Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 

Explosives, U.S. Department of Justice, 

99 New York Avenue NE., Washington, 

DC 20226; telephone: (202) 648–7087. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Attorney General is responsible 

for enforcing the provisions of section 

38 of the Arms Export Control Act of 

1976 (AECA), 22 U.S.C. 2778, that relate 

to the importation of defense articles 

and defense services, and also for 

enforcing the provisions of the National 

Firearms Act (NFA), 26 U.S.C. Chapter 

53. The Attorney General is also 

responsible for enforcing the provisions 

of the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), 

18 U.S.C. Chapter 44, relating to 

commerce in firearms and ammunition. 

He has delegated all of those 

responsibilities to the Director of ATF 

(‘‘Director’’), subject to the direction of 

the Attorney General and the Deputy 

Attorney General. 28 CFR 0.130. 

A. Importation of Arms, Ammunition, 

and Implements of War (27 CFR Part 

447) 

Regulations that implement the 

provisions of the AECA that are 

concerned with the importation of arms, 

ammunition, and implements of war are 

set forth in 27 CFR part 447. The 

regulation at 27 CFR 447.41(a) generally 

provides that articles on the U.S. 

Munitions Import List may not be 

imported into the United States except 

pursuant to a permit. Section 447.42(a) 

states that persons required to obtain a 

permit must file with ATF an ATF Form 

6—Part I (5330.3A), Application and 

Permit for Importation of Firearms, 

Ammunition, and Implements of War 

(‘‘ATF Form 6’’). The application must 

be signed and dated and must contain 

the information requested on the form, 

including: 

1. The name, address, telephone 

number, license and registration 

number, if any (including expiration 

date), of the importer; 

2. The country from which the 

defense article is to be imported; 

3. The name and address of the 

foreign seller and foreign shipper; 

4. A description of the defense article 

to be imported, including— 

a. The name and address of the 

manufacturer; 

b. The type (e.g., rifle, shotgun, pistol, 

revolver, aircraft, vessel, and in the case 

of ammunition only, ball, wadcutter, 

shot, etc.); 

c. The caliber, gauge, or size; 

d. The model; 

e. The length of barrel, if any (in 

inches); 

f. The overall length, if a firearm (in 

inches); 

g. The serial number, if known; 

h. Whether the defense article is new 

or used; 

i. The quantity; 

j. The unit cost of the firearm, firearm 

barrel, ammunition, or other defense 

article to be imported; 

k. The category of U.S. Munitions 

Import List under which the article is 

regulated; 

5. The specific purpose of 

importation, including final recipient 

information if different from the 

importer; and 

6. Certification of origin. 

Section 447.43(a) provides that import 

permits are valid for 1 year from their 

issuance date unless a different period 

of validity is stated thereon. 

Furthermore, under § 447.43(b), if 

shipment cannot be completed during 

the period of validity of the permit, 

another application must be submitted 

for a permit to cover the unshipped 

balance. 

B. Importation of Machine Guns, 

Destructive Devices, and Certain Other 

Firearms Under the NFA (27 CFR Part 

479) 

Regulations that implement the 

provisions of the NFA are set forth in 27 

CFR part 479, which contains the 

procedural and substantive 

requirements relative to the importation, 

manufacture, making, exportation, 

transfer, taxing, identification and 

registration of, and the dealing in, 

machine guns, destructive devices, and 

certain other firearms. With respect to 

NFA firearms, the regulation at 27 CFR 

479.111(a) provides that no firearm may 

be imported or brought into the United 

States or any territory under its control 

or jurisdiction unless the person 

importing or bringing in the firearm 

establishes to the satisfaction of the 

Director that the firearm to be imported 

or brought in is being imported or 

brought in for certain specified 

purposes, e.g., scientific or research 

purposes. This paragraph further 

provides that any person desiring to 

import or bring a firearm into the United 

States must file with the Director an 

application on ATF Form 6. As 

specified, the approval of an application 

to import a firearm shall be 

automatically terminated at the 

expiration of 1 year from the date of 

approval unless, upon request, it is 

further extended by the Director. 

Section 479.113 provides that the 

Director shall permit the conditional 

importation of any NFA firearm for the 

purpose of examining and testing to 

determine whether the importation of 

such firearm will be authorized. As 

specified, an application on ATF Form 

6 shall be filed with the Director. The 

Director may impose conditions upon 

any importation, and the person 

importing the firearm must agree to 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 24 / Monday, February 6, 2012 / Proposed Rules 5737 

either export or destroy the weapon if a 

final determination is made that it may 

not be imported. 

C. Importation of Firearms and 

Ammunition (27 CFR Part 478) 

Regulations in Subpart G of part 478 

provide the procedural and substantive 

requirements of the GCA relative to the 

importation of firearms and 

ammunition. Section 478.112 states that 

no firearm, firearm barrel, or 

ammunition shall be imported or 

brought into the United States by a 

licensed importer unless the Director 

has authorized the importation of the 

firearm, firearm barrel, or ammunition. 

This section further provides that the 

licensed importer must file with the 

Director an application for a permit, 

ATF Form 6, to import or bring a 

firearm, firearm barrel, or ammunition 

into the United States. If the Director 

approves the application, such 

approved application will serve as the 

permit to import the firearm, firearm 

barrel, or ammunition described on the 

permit, and importation of such 

firearms, firearm barrels, or ammunition 

may continue to be made by the 

licensed importer under the approved 

application (permit) during the period 

specified on the permit. 

Similar procedures are set forth in 

section 478.113 with respect to the 

importation of a firearm, firearm barrel, 

or ammunition into the United States by 

a licensee other than a licensed 

importer. 

Requirements for the conditional 

importation of firearms, firearm barrels, 

and ammunition for the purpose of 

examination and testing to determine 

whether the Director will authorize their 

importation are set forth in § 478.116. 

This section provides that an 

application on ATF Form 6 for such 

conditional importation must be filed 

with the Director. If approved, the 

Director may impose conditions on the 

importation, and the person importing 

the firearm, firearm barrel, or 

ammunition must agree to either export 

or destroy the imported item if it is 

determined that the item may not be 

imported. 

II. FAIR Trade Group Petition 

ATF received a petition, dated August 

10, 2010, filed on behalf of the FireArms 

Import-Export Roundtable (FAIR) Trade 

Group. As stated in the petition, FAIR 

is an organization that represents 

importers and exporters of firearms, 

ammunition, firearms parts, and 

accessories. The petitioner requested an 

amendment of the regulations to change 

the ATF Form 6 period of validity from 

1 year to 2 years. According to the 

petitioner, this amendment would be 

beneficial to both the industry and to 

ATF, without having any impact on 

public safety or compliance with the 

law. As stated in the petition: 

[E]xtending the period a license [permit] is 

valid could reduce the workload for [ATF] 

examiners by lowering the number of 

renewals submitted to ATF and reduce the 

uncertainty importers face when dealing with 

long-lead time deals. [Many licensed and/or 

registered importers import the same defense 

articles year after year. ATF processes these 

‘‘renewal’’ permits.] 

Renewals are a relatively common 

procedure—whether for items stored in a 

CBD [sic] or for transactions that take longer 

than a year to complete—that the industry 

must undertake at this time. Renewals of 

existing permits are perfunctory processes 

that consume the valuable resources of both 

the industry and the ATF. The time 

necessary to log, process and approve these 

permits does not appear to provide any 

additive compliance or enforcement value to 

the importation process. 

The petitioner contends that 

extending the term of an import permit 

from 1 year to 2 years will not 

significantly impact compliance with 

the law and that ‘‘ATF would clearly 

retain all authorities to revoke permits 

should such action be necessary based 

on changes to the law, interpretations of 

the law, or changes to the regulations 

governing imports.’’ 

Of the approximately 11,000 ATF 

Form 6 import applications ATF 

processes each year, 9,000 are submitted 

by an ATF licensed or registered 

importer. Subsequent information 

provided by the petitioner indicates that 

the renewal rate on import permits for 

industry members is approximately 50 

percent. If the term of an import permit 

is changed from 1 year to 2 years, ATF 

estimates the number of import permit 

applications submitted by licensed or 

registered importers would be reduced 

to 4,500 each year. This would result in 

significant economic savings for both 

the industry and ATF. As indicated, 

there is a substantial amount of 

information requested on the import 

permit application. ATF estimates that 

it takes a compliance officer employed 

by a federally licensed or registered 

importer approximately 30 minutes to 

complete an ATF Form 6 permit 

application. According to the 

Occupational Employment Statistics 

(May 2009), published by the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of 

Labor, the average hourly wage of a 

compliance officer is $26.50. Reducing 

the number of permits submitted by the 

industry by half (4,500) would result in 

an annual savings of approximately 

$59,625. 

Increasing the term of an import 

permit to 2 years would also result in an 

economic benefit for ATF. ATF employs 

data entry contractors who spend an 

average of 2 hours completing quality 

review and data entry functions for each 

import application. The average salary 

of a contractor is $14 per hour. ATF 

examiners typically spend 4 hours 

processing an ATF Form 6 application. 

The average hourly rate for an examiner 

is $24.74. If the number of applications 

was reduced to 4,500 each year, the 

annual savings to ATF would be 

approximately $571,320. 

III. Proposed Rule—Extending the Term 

of Import Permits From 1 Year to 2 

Years 

The Department has determined that 

an amendment of the regulations to 

extend the term of import permits for 

firearms, ammunition, and defense 

articles from 1 year to 2 years is 

warranted. The additional time will 

allow importers sufficient time to 

complete the importation of the 

authorized commodity, and will 

eliminate the need for the importers to 

submit a new import application when 

the importation is not completed within 

the 1-year period. Accordingly, in order 

to reduce the paperwork burden on the 

industry and to increase the efficiency 

of ATF in processing requests for 

importation, the Department is 

proposing to amend the regulations in 

parts 447 and 479 to increase the term 

of import permits from 1 year to 2 years. 

The regulations in part 478 do not 

specify the period of validity for import 

permits as 1 year, and therefore, the 

Department is not proposing to amend 

the regulations in part 478. The 

regulations in part 478 provide that 

importation may continue to be made by 

the applicant during the period 

specified on the approved application 

(permit). As stated on the ATF Form 6, 

the permit is valid for 12 months from 

the Director’s approval date on the 

permit. If this proposed rule is adopted, 

the ATF Form 6 will be revised to 

reflect the amended period of validity 

for importation as 2 years from the 

Director’s approval date on the permit. 

The term of validity for import 

permits filed by members of the United 

States military returning to the United 

States from abroad with firearms and for 

non-immigrant aliens temporarily 

importing firearms into the United 

States for lawful hunting and sporting 

purposes is unaffected by this proposed 

rule and will remain at 1 year. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
5738 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 24 / Monday, February 6, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

IV. How This Document Complies With 

the Federal Administrative 

Requirements for Rulemaking 

A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

This proposed rule has been drafted 

and reviewed in accordance with 

Executive Order 12866, ‘‘Regulatory 

Planning and Review,’’ section 1(b), 

Principles of Regulation and in 

accordance with Executive Order 13563, 

‘‘Improving Regulation and Regulatory 

Review,’’ section 1(b) General Principles 

of Regulation and section 6 

Retrospective Analysis of Existing 

Rules. The Department of Justice has 

determined that this proposed rule is a 

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under 

Executive Order 12866, section 3(f), 

Regulatory Planning and Review, and 

accordingly this proposed rule has been 

reviewed by the Office of Management 

and Budget. 

Further, both Executive Orders 12866 

and 13563 direct agencies to assess all 

costs and benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, of 

reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, 

and of promoting flexibility. The 

Department has assessed the costs and 

benefits of this regulation and believes 

that the regulatory approach selected 

maximizes net benefits. 

This proposed rule will not have an 

annual effect on the economy of $100 

million, nor will it adversely affect in a 

material way the economy, a sector of 

the economy, productivity, competition, 

jobs, the environment, public health or 

safety, or State, local, or tribal 

governments or communities. 

Accordingly, this proposed rule is not 

an ‘‘economically significant’’ 

rulemaking as defined by Executive 

Order 12866. 

Executive Order 13563 section 6, 

Retrospective Analysis of Existing 

Rules, directs agencies to develop a plan 

to review existing significant rules that 

may be ‘‘outmoded, ineffective, 

insufficient, or excessively 

burdensome,’’ and to make appropriate 

changes where warranted. The 

Department selected and reviewed this 

rule under the criteria set forth in its 

Plan for Retrospective Analysis of 

Existing Rules. During this review, ATF 

calculated that it processes 

approximately 11,000 import 

applications each year. Approximately 

82 percent of those applications (9,000) 

are submitted by federally licensed or 

registered importers. ATF estimates that 

it takes a compliance officer employed 

by a federally licensed or registered 

importer approximately 30 minutes to 

complete an ATF Form 6 permit 

application. According to the 

Occupational Employment Statistics 

(May 2009), published by the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of 

Labor, the average hourly wage of a 

compliance officer is $26.50. If the term 

of an import permit was extended to 2 

years, ATF estimates that the number of 

ATF Form 6 permit applications 

submitted by licensed or registered 

importers would be reduced to 4,500 

each year. Reducing the number of 

permits submitted by the industry by 

half (4,500) would result in an annual 

savings of approximately $59,625. 

Increasing the term of an import 

permit to 2 years would also result in an 

economic benefit for ATF. ATF employs 

data entry contractors who spend an 

average of 2 hours completing quality 

review and data entry functions for each 

import application. The average salary 

of a contractor is $14 per hour. ATF 

examiners typically spend 4 hours 

processing an ATF Form 6 application. 

The average hourly rate for an examiner 

is $24.74. If the number of applications 

was reduced to 4,500 each year, the 

annual savings to ATF would be 

approximately $571,320. The 

Department invites comments on 

whether this proposed revision will 

reduce the administrative burdens on 

the industry and ATF as anticipated, 

thereby making this rule less 

burdensome in achieving its regulatory 

objectives, consistent with Executive 

Order 13563. 

B. Executive Order 13132 

This proposed regulation will not 

have substantial direct effects on the 

States, on the relationship between the 

Federal Government and the States, or 

on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. Therefore, in 

accordance with section 6 of Executive 

Order 13132, the Attorney General has 

determined that this proposed 

regulation will not have sufficient 

federalism implications to warrant the 

preparation of a federalism summary 

impact statement. 

C. Executive Order 12988 

This proposed regulation meets the 

applicable standards set forth in 

sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive 

Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform. 

D. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 605(b)) requires an agency to 

conduct a regulatory flexibility analysis 

of any rule subject to notice and 

comment rulemaking requirements 

unless the agency certifies that the rule 

will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. Small entities include small 

businesses, small not-for-profit 

enterprises, and small governmental 

jurisdictions. The Attorney General has 

reviewed this proposed rule and, by 

approving it, certifies that this proposed 

rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. 

The Department believes that this 

proposed rule will have a positive 

economic impact on both the industry 

and ATF. The number of permits and 

the time required for industry to file 

those permits and for ATF to process 

them will be significantly reduced. 

An industry compliance officer 

spends approximately 30 minutes 

completing an ATF Form 6. According 

to the Occupational Employment 

Statistics (May 2009), published by the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States 

Department of Labor, the average hourly 

wage of a compliance officer is $26.50. 

Reducing the number of permits 

submitted by the industry by half 

(4,500) would result in an annual 

savings of approximately $59,625. 

E. Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 

This proposed rule is not a major rule 

as defined by section 251 of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996, 5 U.S.C. 804. This 

proposed rule will not result in an 

annual effect on the economy of $100 

million or more; a major increase in 

costs or prices; or significant adverse 

effects on competition, employment, 

investment, productivity, innovation, or 

on the ability of United States-based 

companies to compete with foreignbased companies in domestic and 

export markets. 

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This proposed rule will not result in 

the expenditure by State, local, and 

tribal governments, in the aggregate, or 

by the private sector of $100 million or 

more in any one year, and it will not 

significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments. Therefore, no actions were 

deemed necessary under the provisions 

of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 24 / Monday, February 6, 2012 / Proposed Rules 5739 

G. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule does not impose 

any new reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. ATF Form 6 currently 

states that a permit is valid for 12 

months from the Director’s date of 

approval, which is specified on the 

permit. If this proposed rule is adopted, 

the ATF Form 6 will be revised under 

currently approved OMB control 

number 1140–0005 to reflect the 2 year 

(24 months) amended period of validity 

for import permits. 

Public Participation 

A. Comments Sought 

ATF is requesting comments on the 

proposed rule from all interested 

persons. All comments must reference 

this document docket number (ATF 

43P), be legible, and include your name 

and mailing address. ATF will treat all 

comments as originals and will not 

acknowledge receipt of comments. 

Comments received on or before the 

closing date will be carefully 

considered. Comments received after 

that date will be given the same 

consideration if it is practical to do so, 

but assurance of consideration cannot 

be given except as to comments received 

on or before the closing date. 

B. Confidentiality 

Comments, whether submitted 

electronically or in paper, will be made 

available for public viewing at ATF, and 

on the Internet as part of the 

eRulemaking initiative, and are subject 

to the Freedom of Information Act. 

Commenters who do not want their 

name or other personal identifying 

information posted on the Internet 

should submit their comment by mail or 

facsimile, along with a separate cover 

sheet that contains their personal 

identifying information. Both the cover 

sheet and comment must reference this 

docket number. Information contained 

in the cover sheet will not be posted on 

the Internet. Any personal identifying 

information that appears within the 

comment will be posted on the Internet 

and will not be redacted by ATF. 

Any material that the commenter 

considers to be inappropriate for 

disclosure to the public should not be 

included in the comment. Any person 

submitting a comment shall specifically 

designate that portion (if any) of his 

comments that contains material that is 

confidential under law (e.g., trade 

secrets, processes, etc.). Any portion of 

a comment that is confidential under 

law shall be set forth on pages separate 

from the balance of the comment and 

shall be prominently marked 

‘‘confidential’’ at the top of each page. 

Confidential information will be 

included in the rulemaking record but 

will not be disclosed to the public. Any 

comments containing material that is 

not confidential under law may be 

disclosed to the public. In any event, the 

name of the person submitting a 

comment is not exempt from disclosure. 

C. Submitting Comments 

Comments may be submitted in any of 

three ways: 

• Mail: Send written comments to the 

address listed in the ADDRESSES section 

of this document. Written comments 

must appear in minimum 12-point size 

of type (.17 inches), include the 

commenter’s mailing address, be signed, 

and may be of any length. 

• Facsimile: You may submit 

comments by facsimile transmission to 

(202) 648–9741. Faxed comments must: 

(1) Be legible and appear in minimum 

12-point size of type (.17 inches); 

(2) Be on 81⁄2′′ × 11′′ paper; 

(3) Contain a legible, written 

signature; and 

(4) Be no more than five pages long. 

ATF will not accept faxed comments 

that exceed five pages. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: To 

submit comments to ATF via the 

Federal eRulemaking portal, visit 

http://www.regulations.gov and follow 

the instructions for submitting 

comments. 

D. Request for Hearing 

Any interested person who desires an 

opportunity to comment orally at a 

public hearing should submit his or her 

request, in writing, to the Director of 

ATF within the 90-day comment period. 

The Director, however, reserves the 

right to determine, in light of all 

circumstances, whether a public hearing 

is necessary. 

Disclosure 

Copies of this proposed rule and the 

comments received will be available for 

public inspection by appointment 

during normal business hours at: ATF 

Reading Room, Room 1E–062, 99 New 

York Avenue NE., Washington, DC 

20226; telephone: (202) 648–8740. 

Drafting Information 

The author of this document is 

Deborah G. Szczenski; Enforcement 

Programs and Services; Bureau of 

Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 

Explosives. 

List of Subjects 

27 CFR Part 447 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Arms control, Arms and 

munitions, Authority delegations, 

Chemicals, Customs duties and 

inspection, Imports, Penalties, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Scientific equipment, 

Seizures and forfeitures. 

27 CFR Part 479 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Arms and munitions, 

Authority delegations, Customs duties 

and inspection, Exports, Imports, 

Military personnel, Penalties, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, 

Research, Seizures and forfeitures, 

Transportation. 

Authority and Issuance 

Accordingly, for the reasons 

discussed in the preamble, 27 CFR parts 

447 and 479 are proposed to be 

amended as follows: 

PART 447—IMPORTATION OF ARMS, 

AMMUNITION AND IMPLEMENTS OF 

WAR 

1. The authority citation for 27 CFR 

part 447 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 22 U.S.C. 2778. 

§ 447.43 [Amended] 

2. Section 447.43 is amended by 

removing the phrase ‘‘one year’’ in 

paragraph (a) and adding in its place the 

phrase ‘‘two years’’. 

PART 479—MACHINE GUNS, 

DESTRUCTIVE DEVICES, AND 

CERTAIN OTHER FIREARMS 

3. The authority citation for 27 CFR 

part 479 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805. 

§ 479.111 [Amended] 

4. Section 479.111 is amended by 

removing the phrase ‘‘one year’’ in the 

eighth sentence in paragraph (a)(3) and 

adding in its place the phrase ‘‘two 

years’’. 

Dated: January 30, 2012. 

Eric H. Holder, Jr., 

Attorney General. 

[FR Doc. 2012–2472 Filed 2–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–FY–P 


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