Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 75 / Monday, April 20, 2015 / Notices 21799 

1 23 U.S.C. 410 was repealed by the Moving 

Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP–21) 

Act, Public Law 112–141 section 31109(d), 126 Stat. 

756 (2012), and recodified at 23 U.S.C. 405(d). 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2015–0020] 

Notice of Buy America Waiver 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Buy America waiver. 

SUMMARY: This notice provides 

NHTSA’s finding with respect to a 

request to waive the requirements of 

Buy America from the New York 

Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee 

(GTSC). NHTSA finds that a nonavailability waiver of the Buy America 

requirement is appropriate for the 

purchase of 205 Samsung Galaxy Note 

10.1 Tablet packages using Federal 

highway traffic safety grant funds 

because there are no suitable products 

produced in the United States. 

DATES: The effective date of this waiver 

is April 30, 2015. Written comments 

regarding this notice may be submitted 

to NHTSA and must be received on or 

before: May 5, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted using any one of the 

following methods: 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

M–30, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, West Building, Ground 

Floor, Rm. W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

• Fax: Written comments may be 

faxed to (202) 493–2251. 

• Internet: To submit comments 

electronically, go to the Federal 

regulations Web site at http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Hand Delivery: West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Instructions: All comments submitted 

in relation to this waiver must include 

the agency name and docket number. 

Please note that all comments received 

will be posted without change to 

http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided. You 

may also call the Docket at 202–366– 

9324. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

program issues, contact Barbara Sauers, 

Office of Regional Operations and 

Program Delivery, NHTSA (phone: 202– 

366–0144). For legal issues, contact 

Andrew DiMarsico, Office of Chief 

Counsel, NHTSA (phone: 202–366– 

5263). You may send mail to these 

officials at the National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice provides NHTSA’s finding that a 

waiver of the Buy America requirement, 

23 U.S.C. 313, is appropriate for New 

York’s GTSC to purchase Samsung 

Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) Tablet 

packages using grant funds authorized 

under 23 U.S.C. 405(d) (section 405) and 

its predecessor, 23 U.S.C. 410(d) 

(section 410).1 Section 405(d) funds are 

available for use by State highway safety 

programs to support effective programs 

to reduce driving under the influence of 

alcohol, drugs, or the combination of 

alcohol and drugs, including 

enforcement efforts. 23 U.S.C. 405(d). 

States may use Section 405(d) grant 

funds for drug recognition expert 

training for law enforcement and 

equipment and related expenditures 

used in connection with impaired 

driving enforcement. States may use 

Section 410 grant funds for the 

procurement of technology and 

equipment, including video equipment 

and passive alcohol sensors, to counter 

directly impaired operation of motor 

vehicles. 

Buy America provides that NHTSA 

‘‘shall not obligate any funds authorized 

to be appropriated to carry out the 

Surface Transportation Assistance Act 

of 1982 (96 Stat. 2097) or [Title 23] and 

administered by the Department of 

Transportation, unless steel, iron, and 

manufactured products used in such 

project are produced in the United 

States.’’ 23 U.S.C. 313. However, 

NHTSA may waive those requirements 

if ‘‘(1) their application would be 

inconsistent with the public interest; (2) 

such materials and products are not 

produced in the United States in 

sufficient and reasonably available 

quantities and of a satisfactory quality; 

or (3) the inclusion of domestic material 

will increase the cost of the overall 

project contract by more than 25 

percent.’’ 23 U.S.C. 313(b). In this 

instance, NHTSA has determined that 

non-availability waivers are appropriate 

for the tablet packages that New York’s 

GTSC seeks to purchase using Federal 

grant funds. 

The GTSC seeks a waiver to purchase 

205 Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Tablet 

packages, including a tablet, power 

cord, HD card, and case, at $529 per 

unit to be used by New York’s Drug 

Recognition Experts (DREs) to conduct 

drug impaired driving evaluations in the 

field. New York tested three tablets, 

including the Samsung Note, a Lenovo 

ThinkPad, and an Asus, to determine 

which tablet was best suited to meet the 

GTSC’s needs. All of the tablets tested 

are manufactured outside the United 

States: The Samsung tablet tested is 

made in Vietnam, and the ThinkPad and 

Asus tablets are made in China. New 

York states that the most important 

feature needed on the tablet is a stylus 

that is capable of drawing clear graphics 

related to the various tests conducted 

during the course of an evaluation. New 

York states that the stylus is important 

because the DREs need a drawing 

capability to fill out the multiple images 

on a Drug Influence Evaluation form. 

For example, DREs may use a stylus to 

draw dots on a diagram of an arm to 

signify drug track marks and to indicate 

on a diagram the exact location a 

suspect touches on his or her face when 

asked to touch a finger to the nose or 

other areas on the face. New York states 

that a stylus is necessary to perform 

these tasks. Further, a stylus will enable 

a DRE to use these tablet functions 

while wearing gloves in cold field 

conditions. 

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 was 

selected by GTSC because it has an S 

Pen that, according to New York, allows 

for smooth writing and drawing. The 

Samsung Note is also preferred because 

the Samsung S Pen has a dedicated slot 

in the tablet and does not require 

additional batteries, such that it is 

lighter than other actively digitized 

styluses. The Samsung Note has an 8 

megapixel camera with flash and can 

take videos. It has a 2560 x 1600 pixel 

resolution that is able to distinguish 

between a finger and a stylus and can 

display its screen onto a television using 

an HDMI adapter. It has a quad core 1.3 

GHz processor and 3 GB of ram. It also 

has a 32 GB hard drive, which New 

York states is needed to ensure that the 

DREs do not run out of space. New York 

also states that the Samsung Note has a 

more than 9 hour battery life when in 

use and can last up to 200 hours while 

idling. Finally, the Samsung Note is an 

Android device that runs on the 

Android KitKat 4.4.2 operating system, 

which is compatible with the 

application that will be used by DREs to 

capture evaluation data in the field on 

the tablets that the DREs will then 

upload to the DRE database. 

New York’s GTSC conducted phone 

calls, emails, and web searches, but was 

unable to identify any domestically 

manufactured tablet packages. NHTSA 

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21800 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 75 / Monday, April 20, 2015 / Notices 

2NHTSA conducted internet searches and 

reviewed several Web sites that catalog domestic 

made products: www.usaonly.us; 

www.americansworking.com; 

www.madeinamericaforever.com; 

www.unionbuiltpc.com; www.madeinusa.org; and 

www.computersmadeinusa.com. 

3Union Built PC’s internet Web site states that 

final assembly and/or configuration of its products 

occur in the United States and that it uses foreign 

and domestic parts. 

1 In October 2014, FDOT submitted a request to 

waive Buy America for the purchase of motorcycle 

helmets using section 403 funds only. This notice 

responds to a January 2015 waiver request that 

superseded the October 2014 request and seeks a 

waiver to use both sections 402 and 403 funds. 

conducted similar assessments 2 and 

was unable to locate domestic 

manufacturers of tablet packages with 

the specifications required by New 

York’s GTSC. Through this assessment, 

NHTSA learned that Union Built PC, a 

Maryland-based hardware and software 

company, assembles tablets in the 

United States.3 Union Built PC produces 

one tablet, the UBW–Q410. The UBW– 

Q410 runs on an Android 4.1.1 

operating system. It has a 1.5 GHz Quad 

Core processor and 3 GB of ram. It has 

a max resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels 

and a 5 megapixel camera. Unlike the 

Samsung Note, the UBW–Q410 is not 

sold with a stylus. Customers may 

purchase this tablet through Union Built 

PC’s Web site. Although this tablet is 

made in the United States, it appears 

insufficient to meet the New York 

GTSC’s purposes because it is not 

designed for use with a stylus. Since 

NHTSA agrees that a tablet package that 

meets the requirements identified by 

GTSC for use by its DREs is unavailable 

from a domestic manufacturer, the Buy 

America waiver is appropriate. NHTSA 

invites public comment on this 

conclusion. 

In light of the above discussion, and 

pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 313(b)(2), NHTSA 

finds that it is appropriate to grant a 

waiver from the Buy America 

requirements to GTSC in order to 

purchase 205 Samsung Galaxy Note 

Tablets. This waiver applies to New 

York and all other States seeking to use 

section 405(d) and eligible section 410 

funds to purchase Samsung Galaxy Note 

10.1 Tablet packages for the purposes 

mentioned herein. This waiver will 

continue through fiscal year 2015 and 

will allow the purchase of these items 

as required for New York’s GTSC. 

Accordingly, this waiver will expire at 

the conclusion of fiscal year 2015 

(September 30, 2015). In accordance 

with the provisions of Section 117 of the 

Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy of 

Users Technical Corrections Act of 2008 

(Pub. L. 110–244, 122 Stat. 1572), 

NHTSA is providing this notice as its 

finding that a waiver of the Buy 

America requirements is appropriate for 

the Samsung Galaxy Note Tablet 

packages. 

Written comments on this finding 

may be submitted through any of the 

methods discussed above. NHTSA may 

reconsider this finding if, through 

comment, it learns of additional 

relevant information regarding its 

decision to grant the New York GTSC’s 

waiver request. 

This finding should not be construed 

as an endorsement or approval of any 

products by NHTSA or the U.S. 

Department of Transportation. The 

United States Government does not 

endorse products or manufacturers. 

Authority: 23 U.S.C. 313; Pub. L. 110–161. 

Issued in Washington, DC, under authority 

delegated in 49 CFR 1.95. 

Stephen P. Wood, 

Acting Chief Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2015–08955 Filed 4–17–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2015–0019] 

Notice of Buy America Waiver 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Buy America waiver. 

SUMMARY: This notice provides 

NHTSA’s finding that a non-availability 

waiver of the Buy America requirements 

is appropriate for the purchase of 

consumer-use motorcycle helmets by 

the Florida Department of 

Transportation (FDOT), using Federal 

grant funds. NHTSA has determined 

that a waiver is appropriate because 

there are no suitable motorcycle helmets 

produced in the United States that are 

designed for consumer-use. 

DATES: The effective date of this waiver 

is April 30, 2015. Written comments 

regarding this notice may be submitted 

to NHTSA and must be received on or 

before: May 5, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted using any one of the 

following methods: 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

M–30, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, West Building, Ground 

Floor, Rm. W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

• Fax: Written comments may be 

faxed to (202) 493–2251. 

• Internet: To submit comments 

electronically, go to the Federal 

regulations Web site at http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Hand Delivery: West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Instructions: All comments submitted 

in relation to this waiver must include 

the agency name and docket number. 

Please note that all comments received 

will be posted without change to 

http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided. You 

may also call the Docket at 202–366– 

9324. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

program issues, contact Barbara Sauers, 

Office of Regional Operations and 

Program Delivery, NHTSA (phone: 202– 

366–0144). For legal issues, contact 

Andrew DiMarsico, Office of Chief 

Counsel, NHTSA (phone: 202–366– 

5263). You may send mail to these 

officials at National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice provides NHTSA’s finding that a 

waiver of the Buy America 

requirements, 23 U.S.C. 313, is 

appropriate for the Florida Department 

of Transportation (FDOT) to purchase 

approximately 239 consumer-use 

motorcycle helmets, using grant funds 

authorized under 23 U.S.C. 402 (section 

402) and 23 U.S.C. 403 (section 403).1

Section 402 funds are available for use 

by State Highway Safety Programs that, 

among other things, aim to reduce 

injuries and deaths resulting from 

motorcycle accidents. 23 U.S.C. 402(a). 

Section 403 funds are available for use 

by State Highway Safety Research and 

Development Activities including 

research of motorcyclist characteristics 

and safety. 23 U.S.C. 403. The Buy 

America provision states that NHTSA 

‘‘shall not obligate any funds authorized 

to be appropriated to carry out the 

Surface Transportation Assistance Act 

of 1982 (96 Stat. 2097) or [Title 23] and 

administered by the Department of 

Transportation, unless steel, iron, and 

manufactured products used in such 

project are produced in the United 

States.’’ 23 U.S.C. 313. However, 

NHTSA may waive those requirements 

if (1) their application would be 

inconsistent with the public interest; (2) 

such materials and products are not 

produced in the United States in 

sufficient and reasonably available 

quantities and of a satisfactory quality; 

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