Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2018 / Proposed Rules 2765 

Cemeteries, Claims, Courts, Crime, 

Flags, Freedom of information, 

Government contracts, Government 

employees, Government property, 

Infants and children, Inventions and 

patents, Parking, Penalties, Privacy, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Seals and insignia, 

Security measures, Wages. 

Dated: January 12, 2018. 

Janet Coleman, 

Chief, Office of Regulation Policy & 

Management, Office of the Secretary, 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, Department of Veterans 

Affairs proposes to amend 38 CFR part 

1 as follows: 

PART 1—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, and as noted in 

specific sections. 

■ 2. Amend § 1.460 by adding, in 

alphabetical order, definitions for 

‘‘health information exchange’’ and 

‘‘health information exchange 

community partner.’’ 

§ 1.460 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Health information exchange. The 

term ‘‘health information exchange’’ 

means the electronic transfer of health 

information among health care 

professionals, health plans, 

governmental agencies providing 

benefits, and other persons and entities 

according to nationally recognized 

standards that allow the participants to 

appropriately access and securely share 

patients’ vital medical information to 

improve the quality, safety, and 

efficiency of health care delivery. 

Health information exchange 

community partner. The term ‘‘health 

information exchange community 

partner’’ means a health care provider, 

health plan, governmental agency 

providing benefits, or other person or 

entity with whom VA shares patients’ 

vital medical information according to 

nationally recognized standards. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 1.475 by redesignating 

paragraph (d) as paragraph (e), adding a 

new paragraph (d) and revising newly 

redesignated paragraph (e) to read as 

follows: 

§ 1.475 Form of written consent. 

* * * * * 

(d) Establishing written consent. A 

written consent authorizing the 

disclosure may be demonstrated by: 

(1) A written consent meeting the 

criteria set forth in paragraph (a) of this 

section that is presented to VA in 

physical form; or 

(2) A written attestation by a health 

information exchange community 

partner that the patient submitted 

legally sufficient consent meeting the 

criteria set forth in paragraph (a), 

provided that: 

(i) Within 10 business days of the 

health information exchange 

community partner’s attestation, the 

partner either makes the written consent 

form available for electronic retrieval by 

VA or produces the written consent 

form to VA; or 

(ii) The health information exchange 

community partner complies with a 

memorandum of understanding signed 

by the partner and VA that outlines: 

(A) How the written consent will be 

retained in accordance with VHA 

Records Control Schedule (RCS) 10–1; 

(B) How VA can request the consent 

form from the partner; and 

(C) How the partner can send the 

consent form to VA. 

(e) Required Form. It is not necessary 

to use any particular form to establish 

a consent referred to in paragraph (a) of 

this section, however, VA Form 10– 

5345, titled Request for and 

Authorization to Release Medical 

Records or Health Information, complies 

with all applicable legal requirements 

and may be used for such purpose. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00758 Filed 1–18–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Part 395 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2017–0360] 

Hours of Service of Drivers of 

Commercial Motor Vehicles; Proposed 

Regulatory Guidance Concerning the 

Transportation of Agricultural 

Commodities; Extension of Comment 

Period 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT 

ACTION: Proposed regulatory guidance; 

extension of comment period. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA extends the public 

comment period for the Agency’s 

December 20, 2017, notice announcing 

the proposed regulatory guidance 

concerning the transportation of 

agricultural commodities. On December 

22, 2017, the American Trucking 

Associations, Inc. (ATA) requested a 30- 

day extension of the comment period. 

Additional requests for extension of the 

comment period have been received. 

The Agency extends the January 19, 

2018, deadline for the submission of 

public comments to February 20, 2018. 

DATES: FMCSA extends the comment 

period for the notice of proposed 

regulatory guidance published on 

December 20, 2017 at 82 FR 60360. You 

must submit comments on or before 

February 20, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may insert comments 

identified by Federal Docket 

Management System Number FMCSA– 

2017–0360 by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 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, 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

To avoid duplication, please use only 

one of these four methods. See the 

‘‘Public Participation and Request for 

Comments’’ portion of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for 

instructions on submitting comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Thomas Yager, Chief, Driver and Carrier 

Operations Division, Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590, phone (614) 942–6477, email 

MCPSD@dot.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation and Request for 

Comments 

A. Submitting Comments 

If you submit a comment, please 

include the docket number listed above, 

indicate the specific section of this 

document to which your comment 

applies, and provide a reason for each 

suggestion or recommendation. You 

may submit your comments and 

material online or by fax, mail, or hand 

delivery. FMCSA recommends that you 

include your name and a mailing 

address, an email address, or a phone 

number in the body of your document 

so that FMCSA can contact you if there 

are questions regarding your 

submission. 

To submit your comment online, go to 

http://www.regulations.gov, put the 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
2766 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

docket number, FMCSA–2017–0360, in 

the keyword box, and click ‘‘Search.’’ 

When the new screen appears, click on 

the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ button and type 

your comment into the text box on the 

following screen. Choose whether you 

are submitting your comment as an 

individual or on behalf of a third party 

and then submit. 

If you submit your comments by mail 

or hand delivery, submit them in an 

unbound format, no larger than 81⁄2 by 

11 inches, suitable for copying and 

electronic filing. If you submit 

comments by mail and would like to 

know that they reached the facility, 

please enclose a stamped, self-addressed 

postcard or envelope. 

FMCSA will consider all comments 

and material received during the 

comment period and may change this 

guidance based on your comments. 

B. Viewing Comments and Documents 

To view comments, go to http://

www.regulations.gov. Insert the docket 

number, FMCSA–2017–0360, in the 

keyword box, and click ‘‘Search.’’ Next, 

click the ‘‘Open Docket Folder’’ button 

and choose the document to review. If 

you do not have access to the internet, 

you may view the docket online by 

visiting the Docket Management Facility 

in Room W12–140 on the ground floor 

of the DOT West Building, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 

20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., e.t., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

C. Privacy Act 

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), 

DOT solicits comments from the public 

to better inform its regulatory process. 

DOT posts these comments, without 

edit, including any personal information 

the commenter provides, to 

www.regulations.gov, as described in 

the system of records notice (DOT/ALL– 

14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 

www.transportation.gov/privacy. 

II. Background 

On December 20, 2017 (82 FR 60360), 

FMCSA published a notice of proposed 

regulatory guidance concerning the 

transportation of agricultural 

commodities. That proposed guidance 

provides clarity to the agricultural 

exception in 49 CFR 395.1(k)(1) and 

specifically addresses two scenarios: (1) 

Driving an unladen commercial motor 

vehicle to either pick up an agricultural 

community or on a return trip following 

the delivery of an agricultural 

commodity; and (2) application of the 

agricultural commodity exemption to 

trips involving transportation of the 

commodity more than 150 air-miles 

from its source. In addition, the Agency 

requested comment on scenarios where 

a trip involves the loading of 

agricultural commodities at multiple 

sources and the meaning of the term 

‘‘source’’ in connection with the loading 

of certain commodities. Finally, the 

Agency requested comment on what 

segments of the industry that would 

take advantage of the proposed change, 

how would the flexibility provided 

impact the need for electronic logging 

devices, and what is the population of 

carriers and drivers transporting various 

categories of agricultural commodities. 

In the December 20, 2017, notice the 

Agency proposed new regulatory 

guidance question and answer numbers 

34 and 35 to 49 CFR 395.1. A copy of 

the proposed regulatory guidance is 

available for review in the docket 

referenced at the beginning of this 

notice. 

Requests for Extension of the Comment 

Period 

On December 22, 2017, the American 

Trucking Associations, Inc. (ATA), 

asked that the Agency provide a 30-day 

extension of the comment period. ATA 

expressed concern that end-of-year tasks 

and holiday periods might make it 

difficult for many interested parties to 

prepare comments by the original 

January 19 deadline. A copy of the ATA 

request is in the docket identified at the 

beginning of this notice. Similar 

requests were subsequently submitted 

by other organizations. 

FMCSA acknowledges the concerns of 

ATA and others. After reviewing the 

requests, FMCSA hereby grants a 30-day 

extension of the comment period to 

February 20, 2018, to provide all 

interested parties additional time to 

respond to the notice of proposed 

regulatory guidance. 

Issued on: January 12, 2018. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00847 Filed 1–18–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 


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