68016 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 219 / Wednesday, November 13, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Office of the Secretary 

49 CFR Part 26 

[Docket No. OST–2012–0147] 

RIN 2105–AE08 

Disadvantaged Business Enterprise: 

Program Implementation Modifications 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), 

DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(NPRM); rescheduling public listening 

session; reopening of public comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: On September 18, 2013, the 

Department of Transportation (DOT) 

issued a notice announcing a public 

listening session on October 9, 2013 

concerning the proposed changes to the 

Department’s Disadvantaged Business 

Enterprise (DBE) program found in the 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) 

published on September 6, 2012. The 

Department also announced that it 

would be reopening the public comment 

period from the date of publication until 

October 30, 2013. However, due to the 

lapse in government funding on October 

1, 2013, the Department canceled the 

October 9, 2013 meeting. The 

Department is rescheduling the public 

listening session on this rulemaking to 

December 5, 2013 from 11:00 a.m. to 

5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The 

comment period is extended to 

December 26, 2013. 

DATES: A public listening session will be 

held on December 5, 2013, in 

Washington, DC, from 11:00 a.m. EST to 

5:00 p.m. EST. The comment period for 

the NPRM is reopened and extended to 

December 26, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: The public listening session 

will be held at DOT’s Washington, DC 

Headquarters at 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC, 20590, in 

the Media Center auditorium located on 

the ground floor of the West Building. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jo 

Anne Robinson, Office of General Law, 

Office of the General Counsel, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 

DC 20590, 202–366–6984, 

JoAnne.Robinson@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

September 6, 2012, the Department 

published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) entitled, 

‘‘Disadvantaged Business Enterprise: 

Program Implementation 

Modifications,’’ at 77 FR 54952, that 

proposed various changes to the 

Department’s DBE program, including: 

Revisions to personal net worth, 

application, and reporting forms; 

modifications to various certificationrelated provisions of the rule; and 

revisions to several other provisions of 

the rule, concerning such subjects as 

good faith efforts, transit vehicle 

manufacturers and goal setting. The 

Department then published a notice on 

October 25, 2012, at 77 FR 65164, which 

corrected minor errors in the NPRM 

related to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

and extended the public comment 

period until December 24, 2012. Several 

commenters suggested that the 

Department hold a public meeting or 

listening session on the proposed 

changes before issuing a final rule. After 

reviewing the comments, the 

Department decided to schedule a 

public listening session on October 9, 

2013, as announced in a September 18, 

2013 notice. 78 FR 57336. At that time, 

the Department also announced that it 

would be reopening the public comment 

period from the date of publication until 

October 30, 2013. 

However, due to the lapse in 

government funding on October 1, 2013, 

the Department canceled the October 9, 

2013 meeting with the intent of 

rescheduling the meeting at a future 

date and time. The rescheduled 

listening session will be held on 

December 5, 2013 from 11:00 a.m. to 

5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time at the 

Department’s Washington, DC 

Headquarters, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 

SE., Washington, DC 20590, in the 

Media Center auditorium located on the 

ground floor of the West Building. The 

public comment period is reopened and 

extended to December 26, 2013. The 

public is invited to offer its views on 

specific aspects of the NPRM set out in 

the September 18, 2013 Federal Register 

notice that are noted below. 

Listening Session Procedures 

The listening session will provide an 

opportunity for the public to speak to 

the Department about certain aspects of 

the NPRM. Specifically, the Department 

is interested in hearing from the public 

on the following: 

1. What are the specific, quantifiable 

costs and benefits associated with 

completing or reviewing the proposed 

forms (Personal Net Worth, Certification 

Application, Uniform Report on 

Awards/Commitments; DBE Payment 

Data) from the perspective of a 

certifying entity, an applicant firm, or a 

recipient (where applicable)? 

2. What are the specific, quantifiable 

costs and benefits associated with 

requiring certified DBEs to submit 

additional documents with the annual 

no change affidavit from the perspective 

of a certifying entity and a certified 

DBE? 

3. What are the specific, quantifiable 

costs and benefits associated with 

requiring good faith efforts 

documentation when bids are due and 

requiring additional documents (i.e., 

DBE and non-DBE quotes, DBE 

subcontracts) from the perspective of a 

prime contractor, a DBE, and the 

recipient letting the contract? 

We are reopening registration for the 

listening session. Due to security and 

seating limitations, any person wishing 

to participate in the listening session 

must register no later than November 

21, 2013, by going to the OSDBU Web 

site at www.dot.gov/osdbu and 

following the instructions. If you 

registered for the October 9th session, 

you must re-register for the December 

5th session. You may attend the session 

in person (to speak or listen) or 

participate by Web Conference 

(comments may be provided through the 

chat room). The registration form will 

ask you to identify the party you 

represent and provide your contact 

information. If you are attending the 

session in person, you will be asked to 

identify the subject(s) described above 

you plan to address (if any). Speakers 

will be limited to 5 minutes each; 

however, the Department may need to 

reduce the time allotted, if necessary, to 

provide all participants the opportunity 

to speak before the session ends. A copy 

of the agenda will be posted after 

registration closes. 

A panel of Department representatives 

from the Office of the Secretary and the 

Operating Administrations will be 

present to listen to the speakers and 

may ask questions, if necessary, to seek 

clarification of comments made by a 

speaker. However, there will not be a 

question and answer period during the 

session where speakers ask questions of 

the panel. The Department will not 

respond to questions posed through the 

chat room. If necessary, the Department 

may provide additional instructions at 

the time of the listening session. A 

transcript of the session will be made a 

part of the public docket in this 

rulemaking. All comments submitted 

through the chat room also will be made 

a part of the public docket in this 

rulemaking. 

For information on facilities or 

services for persons with disabilities or 

to request special assistance at the 

meeting, please contact Marilyn Hearns 

in DOT’s Office of the General Counsel 

by telephone (202–366–9154) or by 

email (Marilyn.Hearns@dot.gov) as soon 

as possible. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 219 / Wednesday, November 13, 2013 / Proposed Rules 68017 

Reopening of Comment Period 

The comment period is reopened and 

extended to December 26, 2013, to 

provide the public an additional 

opportunity to submit comments on the 

NPRM or to submit comments in 

response to views or information 

provided at the public listening session 

or in other public comments. You may 

submit comments (identified by the 

agency name and DOT Docket ID 

Number OST–2012–0147) by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: Go to 

www.regulations.gov and follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 

9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern 

Standard Time, Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

Issued this 4th day of November, 2013 at 

Washington, DC, under authority delegated 

in 49 CFR 1.27. 

Kathryn B. Thomson, 

Acting General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2013–27119 Filed 11–12–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 


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