13252 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 49 / Friday, March 13, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

Recently Available Data’’; in the fifth 

row titled ‘‘Standardized Readmission 

Ratio’’ remove the existing values and 

add the following values in their place: 

Measure Performance 

standard 

Achievement 

threshold Benchmark 

Standardized Readmission Ratio ................................................................................................ 0.648 1.261 0.998 

Dated: March 6, 2015. 

C’Reda Weeden, 

Executive Secretary to the Department, 

Department of Health and Human Services. 

[FR Doc. 2015–05766 Filed 3–12–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

45 CFR Part 18 

Official Symbol, Logo and Seal 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS) is 

adopting final regulations containing a 

description of its official symbol, logo, 

and seal. 

DATES: This rule is effective April 13, 

2015 without further action. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gloria Barnes, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Public Affairs 

(gloria.barnes@hhs.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HHS is 

adopting regulations (45 CFR part 18) 

describing its official logo and seal. HHS 

has developed a symbol, logo, and seal 

that signifies the authoritativeness of the 

item or document to which it is affixed 

as an official endorsement of HHS. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), notice 

and comment are not required because 

this rule only impacts HHS’ procedure 

and practice. In addition, pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to 

waive notice and comment as 

unnecessary, because this rule is noncontroversial and merely describes 

HHS’ official symbol, logo, and seal. 

HHS previously published a Direct 

Final Rule on April 14, 2014 (79 FR 

20801). In response, HHS received two 

public comments. Among other things, 

both comments argued that the rule 

violated the First Amendment. The 

commenters argued that restrictions in 

the Direct Final Rule violated the First 

Amendment by not including 

exceptions for certain uses of the seal 

(e.g., for illustrative purposes by the 

media). HHS withdrew this rule on June 

4, 2014 (79 FR 32170). HHS is now 

publishing a Final Rule that merely 

describes the Department’s symbol, seal, 

and logo. 

Executive Order No. 12866 

This rule does not meet the criteria for 

a significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866. Thus, review by 

the Office of Management and Budget is 

not required. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

This rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. Therefore, a 

regulatory flexibility analysis as 

provided by the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, as amended, is not required. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This rule does not contain any 

collections of information subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. 

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 18 

Seals and insignia. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, HHS adds Part 18 to Title 45, 

Subtitle A, subchapter A of the Code of 

Federal Regulations as follows: 

Subtitle A—DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 

AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Subchapter A—GENERAL 

ADMINISTRATION 

PART 18—OFFICIAL SYMBOL, LOGO, 

AND SEAL 

Sec. 

18.1 Description of the Symbol, Logo, and 

Seal. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 3505 and 5 U.S.C. 

301. 

§ 18.1 Description of the Symbol, Logo, 

and Seal. 

(a) The Departmental Symbol 

(Symbol) of the Department of Health 

and Human Services (HHS) is the key 

element in Department identification. It 

represents the American People 

sheltered in the wing of the American 

Eagle, suggesting the Department’s 

concern and responsibility for the 

welfare of the people. This Symbol is 

the visual link which connects the 

graphic communications of all 

components and programs of the 

Department. It is the major design 

component for the Department 

Identifiers — the Department Logo, Seal, 

and Signatures. 

(b) The Symbol is described as 

follows: The outline of an American 

Eagle, facing left, with one of its wings 

stretched upward and the other wing 

pointed downward, is flanked on its 

right side by two outlines of the profile 

of a human head, both of which are 

located in between the eagle’s wings. 

One of the profile outlines is smaller 

than the other and is nestled in the 

larger outline. 

(c) The HHS Departmental Logo 

(Logo) incorporates the Symbol and is 

described as follows: From the tip of the 

outstretched wing of the American Eagle 

in symbol to the tip of the other, 

downward-facing wing, the words, 

‘‘DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & 

HUMAN SERVICES • USA’’ form a 

circular arc. The official colors of the 

Logo are either Black or Reflex Blue. 

Reflex Blue RGB Numbers: 0/0/153 (R0, 

G0, B153) 

(d) The HHS Departmental Seal (Seal) 

incorporates the Symbol and is 

described as follows: Starting from the 

tip of the downward-facing wing of the 

American Eagle in the HHS symbol and 

forming a complete circle clockwise 

around the HHS symbol, the words, 

‘‘DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & 

HUMAN SERVICES • USA •’’ are 

printed, surrounded by a border 

composed of a solid inner ring at the 

base of the text and a triangular, 

scalloped edge at the top of the text. The 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 49 / Friday, March 13, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 13253 

official colors of the Seal are Reflex Blue 

and Gold [Reflex Blue RGB Numbers: 0/ 

0/153 (R0, G0, B153); Reflex Gold RGB 

Numbers: 254/252/1 (R254, G252, B1)]. 

The Seal may also appear in Reflex Blue 

or Black. 

(e) The HHS Departmental symbol, 

logo, and seal shall each be referred to 

as an HHS emblem and shall 

collectively be referred to as HHS 

emblems. 

Dated: March 4, 2015. 

Sylvia M. Burwell, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–05536 Filed 3–12–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4150–04–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

49 CFR Parts 27 and 37 

[Docket OST–2006–23985] 

RIN 2105–AE15 

Transportation for Individuals With 

Disabilities; Reasonable Modification 

of Policies and Practices 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary (OST), 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department is revising its 

rules under the Americans with 

Disabilities Act (ADA) and section 504 

of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as 

amended (section 504), specifically to 

provide that transportation entities are 

required to make reasonable 

modifications/accommodations to 

policies, practices, and procedures to 

avoid discrimination and ensure that 

their programs are accessible to 

individuals with disabilities. 

DATES: This rule is effective July 13, 

2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill 

Laptosky, Office of the General Counsel, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590, Room W96–488, 

202–493–0308, jill.laptosky@dot.gov. 

For questions related to transit, you may 

contact Bonnie Graves, Office of Chief 

Counsel, Federal Transit 

Administration, same address, Room 

E56–306, 202–366–0944, 

bonnie.graves@dot.gov; and, for rail, 

Linda Martin, Office of Chief Counsel, 

Federal Railroad Administration, same 

address, Room W31–304, 202–493– 

6062, linda.martin@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final 

rule concerning reasonable modification 

of transportation provider policies and 

practices is based on a notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NPRM) issued 

February 27, 2006 (71 FR 9761). The 

NPRM also concerned several other 

subjects, most notably 

nondiscriminatory access to new and 

altered rail station platforms. The 

Department issued a final rule on these 

other subjects on September 19, 2011 

(76 FR 57924). 

Executive Summary 

I. Purpose of the Regulatory Action 

This final rule is needed to clarify that 

public transportation entities are 

required to make reasonable 

modifications/accommodations to their 

policies, practices, and procedures to 

ensure program accessibility. While this 

requirement is not a new obligation for 

public transportation entities receiving 

Federal financial assistance (see section 

504 of the Rehabilitation Act), including 

the National Passenger Railroad 

Corporation (Amtrak), courts have 

identified an unintended gap in our 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 

regulations. This final rule will fill in 

the gap. The real-world effect will be 

that the nature of an individual’s 

disability cannot preclude a public 

transportation entity from providing full 

access to the entity’s service unless 

some exception applies. For example, 

an individual using a wheelchair who 

needs to access the bus will be able to 

board the bus even though sidewalk 

construction or snow prevents the 

individual from boarding the bus from 

the bus stop; the operator of the bus will 

need to slightly adjust the boarding 

location so that the individual using a 

wheelchair may board from an 

accessible location. 

Reasonable modification/

accommodation requirements are a 

fundamental tenet of disability 

nondiscrimination law—for example, 

they are an existing requirement for 

recipients of Federal assistance and are 

contained in the U.S. Department of 

Justice’s (DOJ) ADA rules for public and 

private entities, the U.S. Department of 

Transportation’s (DOT) ADA rules for 

passenger vessels, and DOT rules under 

the Air Carrier Access Act. In addition, 

section 504 has long been interpreted by 

the courts to require recipients of 

Federal financial assistance—virtually 

all public transportation entities subject 

to this final rule—to provide reasonable 

accommodations by making changes to 

policies, practices, and procedures if 

needed by an individual with a 

disability to enable him or her to 

participate in the recipient’s program or 

activity, unless providing such 

accommodations are an undue financial 

and administrative burden or constitute 

a fundamental alteration of the program 

or activity. Among the Department’s 

legal authorities to issue this rulemaking 

are section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 

of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794), 

and the Americans with Disabilities Act 

(ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101–12213. 

II. Summary of the Major Provisions of 

the Regulatory Action 

Public entities providing designated 

public transportation (e.g., fixed route, 

demand-responsive, and ADA 

complementary paratransit) service will 

need to make reasonable modifications/ 

accommodations to policies and 

practices to ensure program accessibility 

subject to several exceptions. These 

exceptions include when the 

modification/accommodation would 

cause a direct threat to the health or 

safety of others, would result in a 

fundamental alteration of the service, 

would not actually be necessary in order 

for the individual with a disability to 

access the entity’s service, or (for 

recipients of Federal financial 

assistance) would result in an undue 

financial and administrative burden. 

Appendix E of this final rule provides 

specific examples of requested 

modifications that public transportation 

entities typically would not be required 

to grant for one or more reasons. 

Public entities providing designated 

public transportation service will need 

to implement their own processes for 

making decisions and providing 

reasonable modifications under the 

ADA to their policies and practices. In 

many instances, entities already have 

compliant processes in place. This final 

rule does not prescribe the exact 

processes entities must adopt or require 

DOT approval of the processes. 

However, DOT reserves the right to 

review an entity’s process as part of its 

normal oversight. See 49 CFR 37.169. 

III. Costs and Benefits 

The Department estimates that the 

costs associated with this final rule will 

be minimal for two reasons. First, 

modifications to policies, practices, and 

procedures, if needed by an individual 

with a disability to enable him or her to 

participate in a program or activity, are 


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