Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 5 / Wednesday, January 8, 2025 / Proposed Rules 1405 

openings involving work on or in 

connection with a Government contract 

placed by or on behalf of the contractor 

or subcontractor, the compensation to 

be offered to the hired applicant, for any 

position to perform work on or in 

connection with the contract. On the 

same date, DoD, GSA, and NASA 

published proposed amendments to the 

FAR to reflect the proposed OFPP 

policy. 

The OFPP Administrator’s proposed 

policy reflected a preliminary 

determination that compensation 

history bans and compensation 

disclosure requirements (the latter are 

also collectively referred to as pay 

transparency), both together and 

separately, would promote economy, 

efficiency, and effectiveness in the 

procurement of property and services by 

the Federal Government. The proposed 

rule cited to a range of studies in 

support of this conclusion, many 

analyzing practices by States and 

localities. 

In light of the limited time remaining 

in the current Administration, OFPP, 

DoD, GSA, and NASA have decided to 

withdraw the proposed policy and rule 

and focus their attention on other 

priorities, including directives in recent 

National Defense Authorization Acts. 

This will also help ensure that the 

agencies can benefit from the latest 

information on this topic if they return 

to it in the future. Accordingly, for these 

independently sufficient reasons, the 

proposed policy and rule published on 

January 30, 2024, at 89 FR 5843, are 

withdrawn and FAR Case 2023–021 is 

closed. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 1, 2, 12, 

22, and 52 

Government procurement. 

Janet Fry, 

Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, 

Office of Governmentwide Acquisition Policy, 

Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of 

Governmentwide Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00118 Filed 1–7–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials 

Safety Administration 

49 CFR Parts 107, 171, 172, 173, 174, 

176, 177, 178, 179, and 180 

[Docket No. PHMSA–2018–0080 (HM–265)] 

RIN 2137–AF41 

Hazardous Materials: Advancing 

Safety of Highway, Rail, and Vessel 

Transportation; Extension of Comment 

Period 

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration 

(PHMSA), Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; 

extension of comment period. 

SUMMARY: On October 28, 2024, PHMSA 

published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) titled ‘‘Hazardous 

Materials: Advancing Safety of 

Highway, Rail, and Vessel 

Transportation (HM–265),’’ proposing 

amendments to the Hazardous Materials 

Regulations (HMR) to adopt several 

modal-specific amendments that would 

enhance the safe transportation of 

hazardous materials in commerce by 

highway, rail, and vessel transportation. 

In response to a request for an extension 

of the comment period submitted by the 

Railway Supply Institute (RSI), PHMSA 

is extending the comment period for the 

HM–265 NPRM by an additional 90 

days. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

proposed rule published October 28, 

2024, at 89 FR 85590, is extended. 

Comments must be received by April 

28, 2025. To the extent possible, 

PHMSA will consider late-filed 

comments as a final rule is developed. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should reference 

Docket No. PHMSA–2018–0080 (HM– 

265) and may be submitted in the 

following ways: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management System; 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 

West Building, Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, Routing Symbol M–30, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590. 

• Hand Delivery: To the Docket 

Management System: Room W12–140 

on the ground floor of the West 

Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and Docket 

Number for this document (PHMSA– 

2018–0080) or Regulation Identifier 

number (RIN) (2137–AF41) for this 

rulemaking at the beginning of the 

comment. To avoid duplication, please 

use only one of these four methods. All 

comments received will be posted 

without change to the Federal Docket 

Management System (FDMS) and will 

include any personal information you 

provide. 

Docket: For access to the dockets to 

read associated documents or comments 

received, go to https://

www.regulations.gov or DOT’s Docket 

Operations Office (see ADDRESSES). 

Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 

U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments 

from the public to better inform its 

process. DOT posts these comments 

without change, including any personal 

information the commenter provides, to 

https://www.regulations.gov, as 

described in the system of records 

notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can 

be reviewed at https://www.dot.gov/ 

privacy. 

Confidential Business Information: 

Confidential Business Information (CBI) 

is commercial or financial information 

that is both customarily and actually 

treated as private by its owner. Under 

the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA; 

5 U.S.C. 552), CBI is exempt from public 

disclosure. If your comments responsive 

to this NPRM contain commercial or 

financial information that is customarily 

treated as private, that you treat as 

private, and that is relevant or 

responsive to this NPRM, it is important 

that you clearly designate the submitted 

comments as CBI. Please mark each 

page of your submission containing CBI 

as ‘‘PROPIN’’ for ‘‘proprietary 

information.’’ Submissions containing 

CBI should be sent to Eamonn Patrick, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590–0001. Any commentary that 

PHMSA receives that is not specifically 

designated as CBI will be placed in the 

public docket for this rulemaking. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Eamonn Patrick, Standards and 

Rulemaking Division, 202–366–8553, 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
1406 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 5 / Wednesday, January 8, 2025 / Proposed Rules 

1 89 FR 85590. 

2RSI’s comment may be viewed here: https://

www.regulations.gov/document/PHMSA-2018- 

0080-0005. 

3American Chemistry Council, the American 

Petroleum Institute, the Chlorine Institute, the 

Fertilizer Institute, and the Sulfur Institute’s 

comment may be viewed here: https://

www.regulations.gov/comment/PHMSA-2018-0080- 

0006. 

I. Background 

On October 28, 2024, PHMSA 

published the HM–265 NPRM.1 In this 

NPRM, PHMSA, in consultation with 

the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration, the Federal Railroad 

Administration, and the United States 

Coast Guard, proposed amendments 

identified during Departmental review 

and from industry petitions for 

rulemaking, to reform modal specific 

requirements for the transportation of 

hazardous materials set out in the HMR, 

49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 

parts 107 and 171 through 180. PHMSA 

expects the adoption of these proposals 

will maintain or enhance the safe 

transportation of hazardous materials 

while increasing the clarity of the HMR, 

and therefore decrease compliance 

burdens. The proposed amendments 

also reflect changing conditions and 

trends that affect the safe transportation 

of hazardous materials while still 

maintaining or enhancing safety. 

II. Comment Period Extension 

PHMSA initially provided a 90-day 

comment period for the HM–265 NPRM, 

which closes on January 27, 2025. In 

response to a request to extend the 

comment period from the RSI,2 and 

subsequent comment 3 by the American 

Chemistry Council, the American 

Petroleum Institute, the Chlorine 

Institute, the Fertilizer Institute, and the 

Sulfur Institute, PHMSA is extending 

the comment period for an additional 90 

days. RSI requested an extension to 

allow sufficient time to address the 

complexities of the proposed 

amendments for the NPRM and because 

the timing of the initial comment period 

is such that it spans the winter holiday 

season, which will hamper the ability of 

interested parties to submit timely 

comments. PHMSA acknowledges the 

impact of the winter holiday season on 

stakeholders’ ability to comment and 

believes a 90-day extension has merit. 

The NPRM comment period will now 

close on April 28, 2025. This extension 

provides the public with an additional 

90 days and should provide adequate 

opportunity for the public to submit 

comments, while balancing the public 

interest in timely completion of the final 

rule. To the extent possible, PHMSA 

will also continue to consider late-filed 

comments. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 

20, 2024, under authority delegated in 49 

CFR part 1.97. 

William A. Quade, 

Deputy Associate Administrator of Hazardous 

Materials Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31077 Filed 1–7–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Transit Administration 

49 CFR Part 604 

[Docket No. FTA–2024–0017] 

RIN 2132–AB38 

Charter Service 

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA), Department of Transportation 

(DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The Federal Transit 

Administration (FTA) is proposing to 

amend regulations that govern the 

provision of charter service by 

recipients of Federal financial 

assistance. The proposed changes will 

remove the Federal Financial Assistance 

Programs listed in an appendix and the 

guidance in additional appendices and 

make non-substantive technical edits 

throughout to remove outdated citations 

and provide clarity. 

DATES: Comments should be filed by 

March 10, 2025. FTA will consider 

comments received after that date to the 

extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

identified by docket number FTA– 

2024–0017, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: https:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for sending comments. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• 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/Courier: West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

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

p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

docket number or Regulatory 

Information Number (RIN) for this 

rulemaking. All comments received will 

be posted without change to https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. Docket: 

For access to the docket to read 

background documents or comments 

received, go to https://

www.regulations.gov. Background 

documents and comments received may 

also be viewed at the U.S. Department 

of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. 

SE, Docket Operations, M–30, West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001, between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m. EST, Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

program matters, Danielle Nelson, 

Office of Program Management, (202) 

366–2160 or danielle.nelson@dot.gov. 

For legal matters, contact Mark 

Montgomery, Office of Chief Counsel, 

(202) 366–1017 or mark.montgomery@

dot.gov. Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. 

to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Executive Summary 

A. Purpose and Summary of Regulatory 

Action 

B. Statutory Authority 

C. Summary of Major Provisions 

D. Benefits and Costs 

II. Section-by-Section Analysis 

III. Regulatory Analyses and Notices 

I. Executive Summary 

A. Purpose and Summary of Regulatory 

Action 

FTA is proposing to amend 

regulations which govern the provision 

of charter service by recipients of 

Federal financial assistance. The charter 

service regulation protects private 

charter operators from unauthorized 

competition from FTA grant recipients. 

Under the charter rules, with limited 

exceptions, local transit agencies are 

restricted from operating chartered 

service. One of those exceptions applies 

to charter service provided to a qualified 

human service organization (QHSO) for 

the purpose of serving persons with 

mobility limitations related to advanced 

age, disability, or low income. Under 

the current rule, QHSOs receiving 

funding from one of the Federal 

programs under appendix A are exempt 

from the charter registration 

requirements of the regulation. This 

appendix, created in 2008, is outdated. 

Through this rulemaking, FTA proposes 

to remove appendix A and keep the list 

of qualifying Federal programs for the 

QHSO exception current on its website, 

which will reduce the administrative 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1