Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 97 / Friday, May 18, 2001 / Proposed Rules 27621

EFFECTIVE DATES: Meetings of the

Committee are as follows:

1. June 11–12, 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; June

13, 8:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m., St. Paul, MN.

2. July 10–12, 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.,

Seattle WA,

3. July 30–August 1, 8:30 a.m.–5:00

p.m., Anchorage, AK.

ADDRESSES: The meeting locations are:

1. St. Paul, MN—Radisson City Center,

411 Minnesota St., St. Paul, MN

55101, Phone: 1–800–333–3333.

2. Seattle, WA—Red Lion Hotel in

South Center Area, 205 Strander

Blvd., Seattle, WA 98188, Phone:

206–575–8220.

3. Anchorage, AK—Hilton Anchorage,

500 West 3rd Avenue, Anchorage, AK

99501, Phone: 1–800–245–2527.

Written statements may be submitted to

Paula Williams, Director, Office of

Tribal Self-Governance, Indian Health

Service, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 5A–

55, Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Paula Williams, Director, Office of

Tribal Self-Governance, Indian Health

Service, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 5A–

55, Rockville, MD 20857, Telephone

301–443–7821. (This is not a toll-free

number.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: All

meetings are open to the public without

advance registration. Public attendance

may be limited to the space available.

Members of the public may make

statements during the meetings to the

extent time permits and file written

statements with the Committee for its

consideration. Submit your written

statements to the address listed above.

Summaries of the Committee meetings

will be available for public inspection

and copying ten days following each

meeting at the same address.

Dated: May 14, 2001.

Michel E. Lincoln,

Deputy Director.

[FR Doc. 01–12531 Filed 5–17–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–16–M

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

49 CFR Part 578

[Docket No. NHTSA 2001–9404; Notice 1]

RIN 2127–AI42

Civil Penalties

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking

(NPRM).

SUMMARY: This document proposed to

adjust certain civil penalties authorized

for violations of odometer tampering

and theft prevention statutes

administered by the National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The Federal Civil Monetary Penalty

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as

amended by the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996, requires us to

take this action at least every four years.

The penalties that would be increased

were last adjusted in March 1997.

DATES: Comments on the proposal are

due June 18, 2001.

Proposed effective date: 30 days after

date of publication of the final rule in

the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: All comments on this

document should refer to the docket and

notice number set forth above and be

submitted to Dockets Management,

Room PL–401, 400 Seventh St., SW.,

Washington, DC 20590. The docket

room hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00

p.m., Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Taylor Vinson, Office of Chief Counsel,

NHTSA, telephone (202) 366–5263,

facsimile (202) 366–3820, electronic

mail ‘‘ATVinson@nhtsa.dot.gov’’, 400

Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC

20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In order to preserve the remedial

impact of civil penalties and to foster

compliance with the law, the Federal

Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation

Adjustment Act of 1990 ((‘‘Adjustment

Act’’), 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2461 note, Public

Law 101–410), as amended by the Debt

Collection Improvement Act of 1996

(‘‘Collection Act,’’ Pub. L. 104–134),

requires us and other Federal agencies

to regularly adjust certain civil penalties

for inflation. Under these laws, each

agency must make an initial inflationary

adjustment for all applicable civil

penalties, and must make further

adjustments of these penalty amounts at

least once every four years. The

Collection Act limited the initial

increase to 10 percent of the penalty

being adjusted.

Our initial adjustment of civil

penalties under these legislative

authorities was published on February

4, 1997 (62 FR 5167). We established 49

CFR part 578, Civil Penalties, which

applies to violations that occur on and

after March 6, 1997. These adjustments

resulted in the maximum permissible

increases of 10 percent. On July 14,

1999, we further adjusted certain

penalties to enhance their deterrent

effect (64 FR 37876), effective August

13, 1999. As we are now at the end of

the four-year period following the initial

adjustment, the purpose of this notice is

to review the penalties that have

remained unchanged since 1997, and to

propose adjusting those penalties where

the statutory formulae authorize it.

Method of Calculation

Under the Adjustment Act as

amended by the Collection Act, we

determine the inflation adjustment for

each applicable civil penalty by

increasing the maximum civil penalty

amount per violation by the cost-ofliving adjustment, and then applying a

rounding factor. Sec. 5(b) of the

Adjustment Act defines the ‘‘cost-ofliving’’ adjustment as:

The percentage (if any) for each civil

monetary penalty by which—

(1) the Consumer Price Index for the month

of June of the calendar year preceding the

adjustment exceeds

(2) the Consumer Price Index for the month

of June of the calendar year in which the

amount of such civil monetary penalty was

last set or adjusted pursuant to law.

Since the proposed adjustment is

intended to be effective before

December 31, 2001, the ‘‘Consumer

Price Index [CPI] for the month of June

of the calendar year preceding the

adjustment’’ would be the CPI for June

2000. This figure is 172.4. NHTSA’s

penalties were initially adjusted in

February 1997 based on the CPI figure

for June 1996, which was 156.7. The

factor that we are using in calculating

the increase, then, is 172.4 divided by

156.7, or 1.1001914. We shall use 1.1 as

the appropriate figure. Any calculated

increase under this adjustment is then

subject to a specific rounding formula

set forth in Sec. 5(a) of the Adjustment

Act. Under the formula:

Any increase shall be rounded to the

nearest

(1) multiple of $10 in the case of

penalties less than or equal to $100;

(2) multiple of $100 in the case of

penalties greater than $100 but less than

or equal to $1,000;

(3) multiple of $1,000 in the case of

penalties greater than $1,000 but less

than or equal to $10,000;

(4) multiple of $5,000 in the case of

penalties greater than $10,000 but less

than or equal to $100,000;

(5) multiple of $10,000 in the case of

penalties greater than $100,000 but less

than or equal to $200,000; and

(6) multiple of $25,000 in the case of

penalties greater than $200,000.

27622 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 97 / Friday, May 18, 2001 / Proposed Rules

Review of Civil Penalties Prescribed by

Section 578.6

Section 578.6 contains the civil

penalties authorized by the statutes that

we enforce. We have reviewed these

penalties, multiplied each of them by

1.1, considered the nearest higher

multiple specified in the rounding

provisions, and concluded that only the

penalties discussed below may be

increased.

Section 578.6(f) Odometer Tampering

and Disclosure

The maximum civil penalty for a

related series of violations of 49 U.S.C.

Chapter 327 is $110,000, as specified in

§ 578.6(f)(1). The inflation factor raises

this figure to $121,000. Under the

formula, any increase in a penalty shall

be rounded to the nearest multiple of

$10,000 in the case of penalties greater

than $100,000 but less than or equal to

$200,000. Accordingly, we propose that

§ 576.8(f)(1) be amended to increase the

maximum civil penalty to $120,000 for

a related series of violations of the

odometer tampering and disclosure

provisions. However, the maximum

civil penalty for a single violation

remains at $2,200 because the inflationadjusted figure of $2,420 is not yet at a

level to be rounded to the nearest

multiple of $1,000.

Section 578.6(g) Vehicle Theft

Prevention

Under § 578.6(g)(1), the maximum

civil penalty for a related series of

violations of 49 U.S.C. 33114(a)(1–4) is

$275,000. The inflation factor raises this

figure to $302,500. Under the formula,

any increase in a penalty shall be

rounded to the nearest multiple of

$25,000 in the case of penalties greater

than $200,000. Accordingly, we propose

that Sec. 576.8(g)(1) be amended to

increase the maximum civil penalty to

$300,000 for a related series of

violations of the vehicle theft

prevention provisions. However, the

maximum penalty for a single violation

remains at $1,100.

Under § 578.6(g)(2), a person that

violates 49 U.S.C. 33114(a)(5) is liable

for a civil penalty of not more than

$110,000 a day for each violation. The

inflation factor modified by the

rounding factor results in this penalty

being raised to $120,000, and we are

proposing this adjustment as well.

Effective Date

The amendments would be effective

30 days after publication of the final

rule in the Federal Register. The

adjusted penalties would apply to

violations occurring on and after the

effective date.

Request for Comments

How Do I Prepare and Submit

Comments?

Your comments must be written and

in English. To ensure that your

comments are correctly filed in the

Docket, please include the docket

number of this document in your

comments.

Your comments must not be more

than 15 pages long (49 CFR 553.21). We

established this limit to encourage you

to write your primary comments in a

concise fashion. However, you may

attach necessary additional documents

to your comments. There is no limit on

the length of the attachments.

Please submit two copies of your

comments, including the attachments,

to Docket Management at the beginning

of this document, under ADDRESSES.

How Can I Be Sure That My Comments

Were Received?

If you wish Docket Management to

notify you upon its receipt of your

comments, enclose a self-addressed,

stamped postcard in the envelope

containing your comments. Upon

receiving your comments, Docket

Management will return the postcard by

mail.

How Do I Submit Confidential Business

Information?

If you wish to submit any information

under a claim of confidentiality, you

should submit three copies of your

complete submission, including the

information you claim to be confidential

business information, to the Chief

Counsel, NHTSA (NCC–30), at the

address given at the beginning of this

document under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. In addition, you

should submit two copies from which

you have deleted the claimed

confidential business information, to

Docket Management at the address

given at the beginning of this document

under ADDRESSES. When you send a

comment containing information

claimed to be confidential business

information, you should include a cover

letter setting forth the information

specified in our confidential business

information regulation, 49 CFR Part 512.

Will the Agency Consider Late

Comments?

We will consider all comments that

Docket Management receives before the

close of business on the comment

closing date indicated at the beginning

of this notice under DATES. Because we

must issue a final rule not later than

June 30, 2002, and a proposed rule in

the interim, we are unlikely to extend

the comment closing dates for this

notice or for the proposed rule.

However, in accordance with our

policies, to the extent possible, we will

also consider comments that Docket

Management receives after the specified

comment closing date. If Docket

Management receives a comment too

late for us to consider in developing the

proposed rule, we will consider that

comment as an informal suggestion for

future rulemaking action.

How Can I Read the Comments

Submitted by Other People?

You may read the comments received

by Docket Management at the address

and times given near the beginning of

this document under ADDRESSES.

You may also see the comments on

the internet. To read the comments on

the internet, take the following steps:

(1) Go to the Docket Management

System (DMS) Web page of the

Department of Transportation (http://

dms.dot.gov/).

(2) On that page, click on ‘‘search.’’

(3) On the next page (http://

dms.dot.gov/search/), type in the fourdigit docket number shown at the

heading of this document. Example: if

the docket number were ‘‘NHTSA–

2001–1234,’’ you would type ‘‘1234.’’

(4) After typing the docket number,

click on ‘‘search.’’

(5) The next page contains docket

summary information for the docket you

selected. Click on the comments you

wish to see.

You may download the comments.

The comments are imaged documents,

in either TIFF or pdf format. Please note

that even after the comment closing

date, we will continue to file relevant

information in the Docket as it becomes

available. Further, some people may

submit late comments. Accordingly, we

recommend that you periodically search

the Docket for new material.

Rulemaking Analyses and Notices

Executive Order 12866 and DOT

Regulatory Policies and Procedures

We have considered the impact of this

rulemaking action under Executive

Order 12866 and the Department of

Transportation’s regulatory policies and

procedures. This rulemaking document

was not reviewed under Executive

Order 12866, ‘‘Regulatory Planning and

Review.’’ This action is limited to the

proposed adoption of adjustments of

civil penalties under statutes that the

agency enforces, and has been

determined to be not ‘‘significant’’

under the Department of

Transportation’s regulatory policies and

procedures.

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 97 / Friday, May 18, 2001 / Proposed Rules 27623

Regulatory Flexibility Act

We have also considered the impacts

of this notice under the Regulatory

Flexibility Act. I certify that a final rule

based on this proposal will have no

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

The following is my statement

providing the factual basis for the

certification (5 U.S.C. 605(b)). The

proposed amendments primarily affect

manufacturers of motor vehicles.

Manufacturers of motor vehicles are

generally not small businesses within

the meaning of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act.

The Small Business Administration’s

regulations define a small business in

part as a business entity ‘‘which

operates primarily within the United

States.’’ (13 CFR 121.105(a)) SBA’s size

standards are organized according to

Standard Industrial Classification Codes

(SIC), SIC Code 3711 ‘‘Motor Vehicles

and Passenger Car Bodies’’ has a small

business size standard of 1,000

employees or fewer.

For manufacturers of passenger cars

and light trucks, NHTSA estimates there

are at most five small manufacturers of

passenger cars in the U.S. Since each

manufacturer serves a niche market,

often specializing in replicas of

‘‘classic’’ cars, production for each

manufacturer is fewer than 100 cars per

year. Thus, there are at most 500 cars

manufactured per year by U.S. small

businesses.

In contrast, in 2001, there are

approximately nine large manufacturers

producing passenger cars, and light

trucks in the U.S. Total U.S.

manufacturing production per year is

approximately 15 to 15 and a half

million passenger cars and light trucks.

We do not believe small businesses

manufacture even 0.1 percent of total

U.S. passenger car and light truck

production per year.

Further, small organizations and

governmental jurisdictions would not be

significantly affected as the price of

motor vehicles ought not to change as

the result of this proposed rule. As

explained above, this action is limited

to the proposed adoption of a statutory

directive, and has been determined to be

not ‘‘significant’’ under the Department

of Transportation’s regulatory policies

and procedures.

Finally, this action would not affect

our civil penalty policy under the Small

Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act (62 FR 37115, July 10,

1997). We shall continue to consider the

appropriateness of the penalty to the

size of the business charged.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96–511),

we state that there are no requirements

for information collection associated

with this rulemaking action.

National Environmental Policy Act

We have also analyzed this

rulemaking action under the National

Environmental Policy Act and

determined that it has no significant

impact on the human environment.

Executive Order 12612 (Federalism)

We have analyzed this proposed rule

in accordance with the principles and

criteria contained in Executive Order

12612, and have determined that it has

no significant federalism implications to

warrant the preparation of a Federalism

Assessment.

Civil Justice Reform

This proposed rule does not have a

retroactive or preemptive effect. Judicial

review of a rule based on this proposal

may be obtained pursuant to 5 U.S.C.

§ 702. That section does not require that

a petition for reconsideration be filed

prior to seeking judicial review.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4) requires

agencies to prepare a written assessment

of the cost, benefits and other effects of

proposed or final rules that include a

Federal mandate likely to result in the

expenditure by State, local, or tribal

governments, in the aggregate, or by the

private sector, of more than $100

million annually. Because this rule will

not have a $100 million effect, no

Unfunded Mandates assessment will be

prepared.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 578

Imports, Motor vehicle safety, Motor

vehicles, Rubber and Rubber Products,

Tires, Penalties.

1. The authority citation for 49 CFR

Part 578 would continue to read as

follows:

Authority: Pub. L. 101–410, Pub. L. 104–

134, 49 U.S.C. 30165, 30505, 32308, 32309,

32507, 32709, 32710, 32912, and 33115;

delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

2. Section 578.6 would be amended

by revising the last sentence of

paragraph (f)(1), the last sentence of

paragraph (g)(1), and paragraph (g)(2) to

read as follows:

PART 578—CIVIL AND CRIMINAL

PENALTIES

* * * * *

§ 578.6 Civil penalties for violations of

specified provisions of Title 49 of the United

States Code.

* * * * *

(f) Odometer tampering and

disclosure. (1) * * * The maximum

civil penalty under this paragraph for a

related series of violations is $120,000.

* * * * *

(g) Vehicle theft prevention. (1) * * *

The maximum penalty under this

paragraph for a related series of

violations is $300,000.

(2) A person that violates 49 U.S.C.

33114(a)(5) is liable to the United States

government for a civil penalty of not

more than $120,000 a day for each

violation.

* * * * *

Issued on: May 15, 2001.

Kenneth N. Weinstein,

Associate Administrator for Safety

Assurance.

[FR Doc. 01–12551 Filed 5–17–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 660

[Docket No. 010419099–1099–01; I.D.

040201A]

RIN 0648–AP19

Fisheries off West Coast States and in

the Western Pacific; Western Pacific

Pelagic Fisheries; Hawaiian Islands;

Control Date

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed

rulemaking; consideration of a control

date; request for comments.

SUMMARY: This document announces

that persons who enter the offshore

pelagic handline fishery around the

Cross Seamount, four NOAA weather

buoys, and the ‘‘Bigeye Buoy’’ in the

U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ)

around Hawaii, after February 15, 2001

(control date), may not be assured of

continued participation in the fishery if,

in the future, the Western Pacific

Fishery Management Council (Council)

prepares, and NMFS approves, a

program limiting entry or effort. This

control date supersedes the previous

control date of July 2, 1992. This

document does not commit the Council

to limiting effort or preclude the