5508 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 21 / Tuesday, February 2, 2016 / Notices 

fax (202) 481–6128. Additionally, if you 

need accommodations because of a 

disability, translation services, or 

require additional information, please 

contact Yolanda Swift as well. 

For more information on the Office of 

the National Ombudsman, see our Web 

site at www.sba.gov/ombudsman. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to the Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act (Pub. L. 104– 

121), Sec. 222, SBA announces the 

hearing for Small Business Owners, 

Business Organizations, Trade 

Associations, Chambers of Commerce 

and related organizations serving small 

business concerns to report experiences 

regarding unfair or excessive Federal 

regulatory enforcement issues affecting 

their members. 

Dated: January 20, 2016. 

Miguel J. L’Heureux, 

SBA Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2016–01878 Filed 2–1–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

Small Business Investment 

Companies—Early Stage SBICs 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Call for early stage fund 

managers. 

SUMMARY: This call for proposals 

(‘‘Call’’) invites experienced early stage 

fund managers to submit the 

preliminary materials discussed in 

Section II below, in the form of the 

Small Business Investment Company 

(‘‘SBIC’’) Management Assessment 

Questionnaire (‘‘MAQ’’), for 

consideration by the Small Business 

Administration (‘‘SBA’’) to be licensed 

as Early Stage Small Business 

Investment Companies. Licensed Early 

Stage SBICs may receive SBAguaranteed debenture leverage of up to 

100 percent of their Regulatory Capital, 

up to a maximum of $50 million. 

However, Early Stage SBICs may, and 

most existing Early Stage SBICs do, 

request less than 100 percent of their 

Regulatory Capital. Importantly, Early 

Stage SBICs must invest at least 50% of 

their investment dollars in early stage 

small businesses. For the purposes of 

this initiative, an ‘‘early stage’’ business 

is one that has never achieved positive 

cash flow from operations in any fiscal 

year. By licensing and providing SBA 

guaranteed leverage to Early Stage 

SBICs, SBA seeks to expand 

entrepreneurs’ access to capital and 

encourage innovation as part of 

President Obama’s Start-Up America 

Initiative launched on January 31, 2011. 

More information on the Early Stage 

SBIC Initiative and the regulations 

governing these SBICs may be found at 

www.sba.gov/inv/earlystage. 

DATES: The following table provides the 

key milestones for the Early Stage SBIC 

Initiative. 

Milestones Dates/Times 

MAQ Submission Period/Initial Review 

Management Assessment Questionnaires (‘‘MAQs’’) may be submitted at any time between the 

following dates:.

5 p.m. EST—April 1, 2016–September 30, 

2016. 

Applications considered as they are received. 

Licensing 

Funds have 12 months from issuance of a Green Light to submit their license application .......... Applications considered as they are received. 

ADDRESSES: Visit www.sba.gov/inv/MAQ 

to download a copy of the Management 

Assessment Questionnaire (the 

‘‘MAQ’’). You must submit via express 

or next day delivery service (i) the 

relevant MAQ signature pages and (ii) 

the completed MAQ on a CD–ROM in 

Word and Excel format to the following: 

Scott Schaefer, Senior Investment 

Officer, Office of Investment and 

Innovation, U.S. Small Business 

Administration, 409 3rd St. SW., Suite 

#6300, Washington, DC 20416. 

SBA will not accept MAQs in .pdf 

format or MAQs delivered via regular 

mail (due to irradiation requirements), 

or hand delivery or courier service. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background Information 

SBA invites early stage fund managers 

to submit the preliminary materials, as 

discussed in Section II below, in the 

form of a Management Assessment 

Questionnaire (‘‘MAQ’’) for the 

formation and management of an Early 

Stage SBIC. In 2012, SBA introduced the 

Early Stage Initiative. Early Stage SBICs 

represent a new sub-category of SBICs 

that will focus on making investments 

in early stage small businesses. Go to 

www.sba.gov/inv/earlystage for 

information on the Early Stage Initiative 

and links to the Early Stage SBIC Final 

Rule (‘‘Final Rule’’). This initiative is 

part of President Obama’s ‘‘Start-Up 

America Initiative’’ to promote 

American innovation and job creation 

by encouraging private sector 

investment in job-creating startups and 

small firms, accelerating research, and 

addressing barriers to success for 

entrepreneurs and small businesses. In 

the Final Rule, SBA stated that it 

intended to allocate $200 million per 

year ($1 billion total) of leverage 

commitments to Early Stage SBICs over 

the five year period from Fiscal Year 

(‘‘FY’’) 2012 through FY 2016. The Early 

Stage initiative is scheduled to 

terminate at the end of FY 2016. 

However, in FY 2016 SBA intends to 

make certain modifications to the Early 

Stage regulations and make clear SBA’s 

intent to make the Early Stage program 

(including issuing new Early Stage 

licenses and leverage commitments) an 

ongoing part of the SBIC program. 

II. Management Assessment 

Questionnaire/License Application 

Materials 

The first required submission in the 

Early Stage Licensing process is SBA’s 

MAQ. The MAQ consists of two forms 

that cover qualitative and quantitative 

information on the management team, 

the proposed strategy for the SBIC, the 

principals’ investment track record, and 

the proposed fund structure and 

economics. The MAQ consists of SBA 

Form 2181 and Exhibits A–F of SBA 

Form 2182. 

Should SBA issue you a ‘‘Green Light 

letter,’’ you must submit the SBIC 

License Application, consisting of SBA 

Forms 2181, 2182 and 2183 (each of 

SBA Forms 2181 and 2182 updated to 

reflect any changes), for the final 

licensing phase. Exhibit O in SBA Form 

2183 includes the fund’s limited 

partnership agreement (‘‘LPA’’). 

Applicants should review this notice for 

special instructions associated with the 

LPA for Early Stage SBICs. 

III. Early Stage Licensing Process 

There are four stages in SBA’s Early 

Stage Licensing Process: (A) Call Period; 


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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 21 / Tuesday, February 2, 2016 / Notices 5509 

(B) Initial Review; (C) Applicant 

Fundraising and Document Preparation; 

and (D) Licensing. Each of these stages 

is discussed below. 

A. Call Period. This notice signals the 

start of the FY 2016 Early Stage SBIC 

call period. Interested parties should 

download a MAQ from https://

www.sba.gov/content/applicationforms. You should also review the 

information at www.sba.gov/inv/

earlystage which includes a list of 

frequently asked questions (‘‘FAQs’’) 

regarding the Early Stage Initiative. If 

you still have questions regarding the 

Early Stage process, please email your 

questions to erikka.robinson@sba.gov. 

SBA will endeavor to respond to your 

question within three business days, 

depending on volume. SBA may not be 

able to respond to fund-specific 

questions or questions that require a 

legal opinion. 

B. Initial Review. After completing its 

Initial Review of a submitted MAQ, SBA 

will issue a Green Light letter to the 

applicant if it has preliminarily met the 

evaluation criteria for an Early Stage 

SBIC, including the vintage year and 

geographic diversification criteria. The 

process for SBA’s Initial Review is as 

follows: 

1. Submit MAQ. SBA must receive 

your completed MAQ no later than 

September 30, 2016. SBA will send a 

confirmation that it has received your 

MAQ within three (3) business days of 

your submission. 

2. Due Diligence. SBA will review all 

MAQs against the evaluation criteria 

identified in this notice. SBA may 

engage a contractor to assist in 

evaluating MAQs received in response 

to this Call. The Investment Committee 

(composed of senior managers from the 

Office of Investment and Innovation) 

will consider each MAQ, and if the 

Investment Committee concludes that 

the management team may be qualified 

for an Early Stage SBIC license, the 

entire team will be invited to SBA 

Headquarters at 409 Third Street SW., 

Washington, DC for an interview. Those 

applicants not invited for interviews 

will be notified. SBA will provide 

feedback upon request to applicants not 

selected for an interview. 

3. Interview. SBA’s invitation for an 

interview will identify a 1-hour time 

block, along with the topics that the 

applicant should be prepared to 

address. SBA will conduct interviews at 

SBA Headquarters. 

4. Green Light Letter. Following the 

interview, the SBA will issue a Green 

Light letter to an applicant that has met 

the criteria identified in this notice, as 

determined by the Investment 

Committee. Applicants approved by the 

Investment Committee can expect to 

receive the Green Light letter via email 

within a few days of the Investment 

Committee’s decision. The Green Light 

letter formally invites an applicant to 

submit its application for an SBIC 

License. The Green Light letter is only 

an invitation to proceed to the next 

stage in the process, not a guarantee that 

a fund will be issued an Early Stage 

SBIC license. Those applicants that do 

not receive a Green Light letter will also 

be notified by email within a few days 

of the Investment Committee’s decision. 

C. Fundraising and Document 

Preparation. If you receive a Green Light 

letter, you will need to raise the 

minimum Regulatory Capital needed to 

execute your strategy (which can be no 

less than $20 million) and submit your 

completed license application within 

one year from the date of the letter. 

1. Raise Regulatory Capital. An Early 

Stage SBIC applicant must have signed 

capital commitments for at least $20 

million in Regulatory Capital prior to 

filing its license application. 

2. SBIC Education. All principals of 

the Early Stage SBIC applicant must 

attend a one-day SBIC Regulations 

training class. This training is held 

quarterly in Washington, DC The 

purpose of this class is to familiarize 

principals with the SBIC rules, 

regulations and compliance procedures. 

Although an applicant may receive a 

license before all principals have 

completed the training, a majority of 

principals must do so before licensing 

and all must do so before a licensed 

Early Stage SBIC will be permitted to 

draw leverage. Information concerning 

registration for classes can be obtained 

at www.sbia.org. Certain non-principals 

such as members of a board of directors 

may also be required to take the class. 

In addition, any employees or 

consultants whom you have assigned to 

handle regulatory matters or to interact 

with the Office of Investment and 

Innovation should attend the class. 

3. Finalize Documents & Perform 

Checklist. The following items must be 

completed and submitted in order to 

proceed to the Licensing phase: 

Item 

Updated SBA Form 2181. 

SBA Forms 2182 & 2183. 

At least $20 million in Regulatory Capital evidenced by signed Capital Certificate in 

Form 2183 (Exhibit K). 

$25,000 Non-refundable licensing fee. 

D. Licensing. During this last stage, 

SBA will review your completed 

application, perform further due 

diligence and analysis as needed, and 

make the final licensing decision. 

Applicants must apply within one year 

of the issuance of their Green Light 

letter. The process for Licensing is 

detailed below. 

1. SBA acceptance of license 

application. Upon receipt of the 

application, SBA will acknowledge 

receipt by email. Within three business 

days, SBA will determine whether the 

application is complete, meets the 

minimum capital requirements and 

satisfies management ownership 

diversity requirements. If so, SBA will 

send the applicant an acceptance letter. 

If not, SBA will ask the applicant to 

resolve the issues identified. 

2. Background and Documentation 

Review. Once the application has been 

accepted, SBA will forward the 

fingerprint cards and Statements of 

Personal History to SBA’s Office of 

Inspector General for processing by the 

FBI. Following a review of the 

application and legal documents, SBA 

will provide the applicant with a 

‘‘comment letter.’’ Applicants must 

respond in writing to the comment 

letter. Applicants should respond as 

quickly as possible, but in any event 

within 30 days. Failure to address all 

comments to SBA’s satisfaction will 

slow down the licensing process. Please 

note that pre-licensing investments, 

which SBA must review and approve 

before they are closed, will also add to 

the licensing time. 

3. Divisional Licensing Committee. 

After SBA’s licensing staff and Office of 

General Counsel have completed their 

review, the license application is 

presented to the Divisional Licensing 

Committee. This committee is 

composed of the senior managers of the 

Office of Investment and Innovation. If 

approved by the Divisional Licensing 

Committee, the application is presented 

to the Agency Licensing Committee 

which consists of certain senior 

managers of SBA. Prior to consideration 

by the Agency Licensing Committee, an 

applicant must provide a signed, up-todate capital certificate showing that it 

has at least $2.5 million in Leverageable 

Capital, consisting of cash on deposit, 

approved pre-licensing investments 

funded with partners’ contributed 

capital, and/or approved organizational 

and operational expenses paid out of 

partners’ contributed capital, and at 

least $20 million in Regulatory Capital. 

The applicant’s bank must certify that 

the requisite funds are in the applicant’s 

account and unencumbered. 

4. Agency Licensing Committee and 

Administrator Approval. If the Agency 

Licensing Committee recommends 

approval of your license application, it 

will be forwarded to the SBA 

Administrator or her designee for final 


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action as soon as you submit fully 

executed copies of all legal documents. 

(Please note that your counsel must 

certify that the executed documents are 

identical to the ‘‘final form’’ of the 

documents approved by SBA.) If the 

Administrator or her designee approves 

your application, your Early Stage SBIC 

license is issued. 

5. Leverage Commitments. As noted 

above, the Early Stage initiative is 

scheduled to terminate at the end of FY 

2016, but during FY 2016 SBA intends 

make certain modifications to the Early 

Stage regulations and make clear SBA’s 

intent to continue making Early Stage 

leverage commitments to current and 

newly licensed Early Stage SBICs. 

IV. Early Stage SBIC LPA and 

Organizational Instructions 

A. Early Stage SBIC Model LPA. In 

order to expedite the review of Early 

Stage SBIC license applications, SBA 

has adopted a Model Early Stage SBIC 

Limited Partnership Agreement (‘‘Model 

LPA’’). The Model LPA includes 

required provisions shown in Bold Arial 

type and optional provisions in a 

different font. Please email SBA at 

erikka.robinson@sba.gov for the 

appropriate version of the Model LPA. 

Applicants must use the Model LPA as 

a template and must follow the 

organizational structure of the Model 

LPA. Further, applicants must include 

in their limited partnership agreements 

all of the required provisions of the 

Model LPA that appear in Bold Arial 

type. SBA will not accept additions, 

deletions and other changes or 

modifications to any of those required 

provisions. Applicants are required to 

submit a copy of their limited 

partnership agreement blacklined 

against the Model LPA, as explained in 

the instructions provided at the 

beginning of the Model LPA. SBA 

provides the following further guidance 

on limited partnership agreements: 

1. SBA encourages applicants to 

adhere to the Model LPA to the 

maximum extent possible. The entire 

agreement is subject to SBA’s approval. 

2. Conditions or restrictions on the 

ability of the general partner to call 

private capital commitments are limited 

to those permitted by the Model LPA. 

3. Withdrawal rights are limited to 

those permitted by the Model LPA. 

4. Applicants must adhere to SBA’s 

management fee policies available at 

http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/

files/SBICTechnote07arev200804.pdf. 

This policy sets a maximum allowable 

management fee only. The actual 

management fee will be set by 

negotiation between the management 

team and the limited partners and may 

be less than the maximum. Early Stage 

SBIC applicants should be aware that 

the calculation of an SBIC’s capital 

impairment percentage is affected by all 

fund expenses, including management 

fees. SBA will consider the management 

fee in its licensing evaluation criteria as 

part of fund economics. SBA believes 

that the primary incentive for fund 

managers should be carried interest 

rather than fees. 

5. The designation of fund expenses 

and expenses to be paid out of the 

management fee must be consistent with 

SBIC program regulations (see 13 CFR 

107.520) and policies. 

a. Organizational costs, expenses 

incurred in applying for a license and 

forming the SBIC and its entity general 

partner (but not its parent fund or any 

other affiliate), are considered a 

partnership expense. Organizational 

expenses typically include items such 

as the licensing fee, cost of legal and 

other professional and consulting 

services, travel and other fundraising 

expenses, costs of preparing, printing 

and distributing the private placement 

memorandum or other offering 

materials, and other related expenses 

such as telephone and supply costs. 

SBA strongly encourages, and may 

require, applicants to include in the 

LPA a reasonable cap on the total 

organizational costs to be paid by the 

applicant. Costs that SBA deems 

excessive can be paid by an affiliate of 

the applicant or deducted from the 

applicant’s Regulatory Capital prior to 

licensing (Regulatory Capital must still 

be at least $20 million after the 

deduction). 

b. Unreimbursed expenses on 

investments in small businesses that do 

not close may be designated as a 

partnership expense but must be capped 

at a reasonable level. 

6. Right of limited partners to remove 

general partner—Provisions allowing 

removal of the general partner without 

cause (‘‘no-fault divorce’’ provisions) 

are permitted only after the Early Stage 

SBIC has repaid all outstanding leverage 

and any other amounts payable to SBA 

and has surrendered its SBIC license. 

7. Any amendments to the limited 

partnership agreement required by SBA 

must be executed before licensing. Any 

amendments initiated by the applicant 

during the licensing process must be 

submitted to SBA in draft form as early 

as possible. 

B. Organization. Early Stage SBIC 

applicants must adhere to the following 

rules regarding organizational structure: 

1. Applicant cannot be a BDC or other 

public entity or a subsidiary of any such 

entity. 

2. All provisions governing the 

operation of the SBIC must be included 

in the limited partnership agreement. 

While SBA does not encourage the use 

of side letters, SBA recognizes that side 

letters form the basis of the 

understanding of the investment in an 

SBIC for certain investors, and, in 

particular, certain investors subject to 

regulatory oversight. If an investor 

requests a side letter provision that is of 

general interest to all investors (e.g., a 

provision regarding the fund’s efforts to 

invest in certain geographic areas), that 

provision should be incorporated into 

the limited partnership agreement. Any 

provision of a side letter that purports 

to control, alter or supplement a section 

of the partnership agreement must 

expressly identify each such section. If 

a side letter fails to expressly identify 

any such section, SBA will consider the 

conflicting provision of the side letter to 

be without force or effect. All side 

letters require SBA’s prior written 

approval. 

3. Applicant must adopt SBA Model 

Valuation Guidelines. 

4. Drop-down SBICs 

a. The drop-down structure should be 

used only when it has a clear business 

purpose: 

i. Example 1—Parent fund has already 

raised capital and begun operating and 

wants to commit a portion of its capital 

to an Early Stage SBIC. 

ii. Example 2—Substantial capital 

will be retained for investment at the 

parent level (SBA suggests that 

managers consider the alternative of 

structuring a non-SBIC fund side by side 

with the SBIC). 

b. Drop-down funds must have one 

parent fund only and the parent fund 

must be a U.S. entity. 

c. Parent must qualify as a traditional 

investment company based on 

established SBA precedent. 

d. Parent must disclose the identity of 

all of its investors. 

e. All of the investors in the parent 

fund (the SBIC’s ‘‘Class A’’ limited 

partner) must agree to be ‘‘Class B’’ 

limited partners of the SBIC with an 

obligation to fund the Early Stage SBIC 

capital calls if the Class A limited 

partner does not. The obligation of the 

Class B limited partners to the Early 

Stage SBIC is reduced dollar for dollar 

as the parent fund contributes capital to 

the SBIC. The Model LPA contains 

required provisions for drop-down 

funds. 

f. The Class B limited partners’ 

commitments to the SBIC applicant 

must be expressed as a specific dollar 

amount (not just as the ‘‘proportionate 

share’’ of parent fund’s commitment). 


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g. The total dollar amount of Class B 

commitments must be equal to the Class 

A limited partner’s unfunded 

commitment to the SBIC. SBA will not 

require Class B commitments if the 

SBIC’s Regulatory Capital will not 

include any unfunded commitments 

from the Class A limited partner. 

C. Capitalization. Applicants must 

raise the minimum $20 million in 

Regulatory Capital by the time the 

license application is submitted. 

1. Capital commitments from limited 

partners must be made directly to the 

SBIC (and its parent fund, in the case of 

a drop-down) with no intermediaries 

involved. 

2. The Early Stage SBIC applicant 

must have the unconditional ability to 

legally enforce collection of each capital 

commitment. 

3. Capital Certificate. Capital 

commitments must be documented in 

the capital certificate (Exhibit K of SBA 

Form 2183) and comply with the 

following: 

a. A signed Capital Certificate must be 

submitted with the license application. 

b. SBA will permit only the sole 

following condition on private capital 

commitments: the receipt of an Early 

Stage SBIC license. 

c. Individual investors must list 

primary residence address, not a 

business address. 

d. Street addresses are required (no 

P.O. Box addresses). 

4. A dual commitment may be 

obtained to back up the commitment of 

any direct investor in the SBIC who is 

not an Institutional Investor. 

5. Capital commitments by the 

principals, general partner, or their 

affiliates must be payable in cash when 

called (cannot be satisfied with notes or 

management fee waivers). 

D. General Partner 

1. All principals must: 

a. Hold direct ownership interests in 

and be the direct individual managers of 

the general partner, with no intervening 

entities. 

b. Receive carried interest directly 

from the general partner; for drop-down 

SBICs, carried interest may be received 

from the parent fund’s general partner. 

2. A maximum of 25% of the carried 

interest may be allocated to nonprincipals. 

3. Any provision to remove or 

terminate a principal must be spelled 

out within the general partner’s 

organizational document and must not 

be tied to events occurring under other 

agreements (e.g., a principal’s 

employment agreement with the 

management company). 

E. Investment Advisor (‘‘Management 

Company’’). Ownership of the 

Management Company that is highly 

disproportionate to the ownership of the 

general partner (e.g., one principal is the 

100% owner) is not viewed favorably by 

SBA, but may be acceptable if there are 

adequate checks and balances on the 

powers of the dominant owner. Areas 

that cannot be subject to unilateral 

decision-making include the following: 

1. Power to remove or terminate other 

principals. 

2. Power to change the composition of 

the Early Stage SBIC’s investment 

committee. 

V. Early Stage SBIC Licensing 

Evaluation Criteria 

A. General Criteria. SBA will evaluate 

an Early Stage SBIC license applicant 

based on the submitted application 

materials, Investment Committee 

interviews with the applicant’s 

management team, and the results of 

background investigations, public 

record searches, and other due diligence 

conducted by SBA and other Federal 

agencies. SBA will evaluate an Early 

Stage SBIC license applicant based on 

the same factors applicable to other 

license applicants, as set forth in 13 CFR 

107.305, with particular emphasis on 

managers’ skills and experience in 

evaluating and investing in early stage 

companies. As discussed in the Final 

Rule, evaluation criteria fall into four 

areas: (A) Management Team; (B) Track 

Record; (C) Proposed Investment 

Strategy; and (D) Organizational 

Structure and Fund Economics. You 

should review these regulations prior to 

completing your MAQ. 

B. Managing SBA Leverage. SBA will 

pay particular attention to how a team’s 

investment strategy works with 

proposed SBA leverage. Early Stage 

Debenture leverage either requires a 5 

year interest and annual charge reserve 

from the date of issue or is structured 

with an original issue discount that 

covers the interest and annual charges 

for the first 5 years. In either case, Early 

Stage SBICs must identify how quarterly 

interest payments beginning in the 6th 

year from Debenture issue will be met. 

Sources of liquidity to make interest 

payments may include (a) private 

capital; (b) realizations; or (c) current 

income. As part of your plan of 

operations, you should carefully 

consider how your investment strategy 

will work with SBA leverage and make 

appropriate suggestions to manage risk. 

Risk mitigation strategies might include 

making some investments in current pay 

instruments, taking down less than a 

full tier of leverage (i.e., leverage less 

than 100% of Regulatory Capital), taking 

leverage down later in the fund’s life, 

lowering management expenses, and 

reserving more private capital. The 

strategies you choose to employ should 

be appropriate for your management 

team’s track record and investment 

strategy. 

C. SBA Diversification Rights. Per 13 

CFR 107.320, SBA reserves the right to 

maintain diversification among Early 

Stage SBICs with respect to (i) the year 

in which they commence operations 

(‘‘vintage year’’) and (ii) geographic 

location. 

1. Vintage Year Diversification. 

Vintage year has a major impact on the 

return expectations of a fund and 

excessive concentration in a single year 

could substantially increase program 

risk. Therefore, SBA reserves the right, 

when licensing Early Stage SBICs, to 

maintain diversification across vintage 

years. If SBA receives an extraordinary 

number of qualified applicants in FY 

2016, it may not approve all such 

applicants in the same Fiscal Year. 

2. Geographic Diversification. All 

Early Stage SBICs must first meet SBA’s 

basic licensing criteria. After those 

criteria are met, SBA reserves the right 

to maintain diversification among Early 

Stage SBICs with respect to the 

geographic location in which the Early 

Stage SBIC expects to invest. 

Michele Schimpp, 

Deputy Associate Administrator Office of 

Investment and Innovation. 

[FR Doc. 2016–01879 Filed 2–1–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Maritime Administration 

[Docket No. MARAD–2016 0001] 

Requested Administrative Waiver of 

the Coastwise Trade Laws: Vessel 

NN59; Invitation for Public Comments 

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, 

Department of Transportation. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: As authorized by 46 U.S.C. 

12121, the Secretary of Transportation, 

as represented by the Maritime 

Administration (MARAD), is authorized 

to grant waivers of the U.S.-build 

requirement of the coastwise laws under 

certain circumstances. A request for 

such a waiver has been received by 

MARAD. The vessel, and a brief 

description of the proposed service, is 

listed below. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

March 3, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to 

docket number MARAD–2016–0001. 

Written comments may be submitted by 


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