Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 92 / Friday, May 10, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 21387

1 These commodities were food and other edible

products included for human consumption

(excluding alcoholic beverages and drugs),

agricultural limestone, and fertilizers and other soil

conditioners. For brevity, these commodities will be

referred to as food products.

2 The statute limited this provision to

transportation by the owner of the vehicle, except

in emergency situations, and to situations in which

the annual tonnage of food products transported did

not exceed the annual tonnage of exempt

commodities transported. Former 49 U.S.C.

11145(c) required the ICC to ‘‘streamline’’ the

annual method of reporting tonnage.

3 These regulations were originally found in 49

CFR part 1138, but they were redesignated at 49

CFR part 1164 on November 1, 1982 (47 FR 49534).

They defined the term ‘‘emergency situations’’ and

promulgated an annual reporting requirement to

certify compliance with the statute’s annual

tonnage limitation.

4 Effective January 1, 1995, the ICC was to issue

authorities to carriers upon finding that the

applicant was in compliance with (1) ICC

regulations and safety requirements; (2) DOT safety

fitness requirements; and (3) minimum financial

responsibility requirements established by the ICC

pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 10927.

5 Truck licensing was again changed under the

ICCTA. Permanent licensing for motor carriers of

property was eliminated. 49 U.S.C. 13902. Now,

motor carriers are registered for a term determined

by the Secretary of Transportation based on fitness

standards (safety and insurance) similar to those in

TIRRA. A two-year transition period is established

to allow motor common and contract carriers to be

issued certificates and permits under the TIRRA

framework. 49 U.S.C. 13902(d). Although ICCTA

eliminates the distinction between motor common

and contract carriage, each carrier can be separately

registered during the transition period.

49 CFR Part 90

Audits, Grant programs, Grants

administration.

Issued this 1st day of May 1996 at

Washington, D.C.

Federico Pen ̃ a,

Secretary of Transportation.

Accordingly, for the reasons set forth

above, Subpart A of Title 49 of the Code

of Federal Regulations is amended as set

forth below.

PART 18—UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE

REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS AND

COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS TO

STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

1. The authority for Part 18 continues

to read as follows:

Authority: 49 USC 322(a).

2. Section 18.26 is amended by

adding paragraphs (d) and (e) to read as

follows:

§ 18.26 Non-Federal Audits.

* * * * *

(d) Governmental recipients and

subrecipients are subject to the Single

Audit Act of 1984 (31 U.S.C. 7501–

7507), and OMB Circular A–128,

‘‘Audits of State and Local

Governments.’’

(e) Subrecipients of Federal assistance

that are institutions of higher education

or other nonprofit organizations are

subject to OMB Circular A–133,

Revised, ‘‘Audits of Institutions of

Higher Education and Other Non-Profit

Institutions.’’ State and local

governments may choose to apply the

provisions of OMB Circular A–128 to

certain public hospitals and institutions

of higher education.

PART 90—[REMOVED]

3. Part 90 is hereby removed.

[FR Doc. 96–11607 Filed 5–9–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–62–P

Surface Transportation Board

49 CFR Parts 1164 and 1311

[STB Ex Parte No. 545]

Removal of Obsolete Regulations

Concerning Owner-Operators

AGENCY: Surface Transportation Board.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Surface Transportation

Board (the Board) is removing from the

Code of Federal Regulations obsolete

regulations concerning owner-operators.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 10, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Beryl Gordon, (202) 927–7513. [TDD for

the hearing impaired: (202) 927–5721.]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Effective

January 1, 1996, the ICC Termination

Act of 1995, Pub. L. No. 104–88, 109

Stat. 803 (ICCTA) abolished the

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)

and established the Board within the

Department of Transportation. Section

204(a) of ICCTA provides that ‘‘[t]he

Board shall promptly rescind all

regulations established by the [ICC] that

are based on provisions of law repealed

and not substantively reenacted by this

Act.’’

Generally, prior to enactment of the

Motor Carrier Act of 1980 (MCA–80),

motor common and contract carriers

needed licenses from the ICC

(certificates for common carriers,

permits for contract carriers) in order to

operate. These licenses were based on

public convenience and necessity and

fitness standards. Motor common and

contract carriers could only charge rates

that were filed with the ICC in tariffs or

schedules.

The regulations involved here relaxed

these regulatory requirements for

owner-operators transporting food. The

part 1164 regulations were based on

former 49 U.S.C. 10922(b)(4)(E),

10923(b)(5)(A), and 11145(c). The part

1311 regulations were based on former

49 U.S.C. 10762(a)(1) and 10762(g), as

well as former sections 10922(b)(4)(E)

and 10923(b)(5)(A). Under the Trucking

Industry Regulatory Reform Act

(TIRRA), Title II of the Hazardous

Materials Transportation Act

Amendments of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103–

311 (August 26, 1994), and the ICCTA,

these statutory provisions were

repealed, and we are accordingly

removing the obsolete part 1164 and

part 1311 regulations.

PART 1164—LICENSING

Sections 5(a)(3) and 10(a)(2) of the

MCA–80 provided exceptions for

owner-operators to the licensing

provisions then generally applicable for

obtaining certificates and permits. These

sections of the MCA–80 were codified,

as here relevant, at former 49 U.S.C.

10922(b)(4)(E) and 49 U.S.C.

10923(b)(5)(A). Owner-operators were

allowed to obtain operating authority

from the ICC to transport food and

certain other commodities 1 through a

fitness-only application procedure.2 The

ICC issued regulations implementing

the new statute in Owner-Operator Food

Transportation, 132 M.C.C. 521 (1981)

(Owner-Operator).3

TIRRA again amended former sections

10922 and 10923. Sections 207 and 208

of TIRRA eliminated the provisions of

49 U.S.C. 10922(b)(4)(E) and 49 U.S.C.

10923(b)(5)(A) and also modified other

parts of sections 10922 and 10923 to

apply the fitness-only standard to all

non-household goods motor property

common and contract carrier applicants.

See Revised MC-Licensing Appl. Forms

and Regs., 10 I.C.C.2d 386, 387 (1994).4

Thus, since the passage of TIRRA,

owner operators have been able to

obtain authority to transport food

products under that standard regardless

of the annual tonnage and ownership of

the vehicle.5

Because former sections

10922(b)(E)(5), 10923(b)(5)(A), and

11145(c) have been eliminated, we will

remove the obsolete regulations at 49

CFR part 1164.

PART 1311—RATE FILINGS

Section 5(a) of the MCA–80 modified

for owner-operators the requirement to

file tariffs and schedules: former 49

U.S.C. 10762 was amended by the

addition of a new subsection (g)

mandating the streamlining of rate filing

requirements of motor carriers holding

authority issued under former section

10922(b)(4)(E) and 10923(b)(5)(a). Also,

former section 10762(a)(1) was amended
21388 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 92 / Friday, May 10, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

6The ICC later eliminated by exemption the

requirement that motor contract carriers file a

schedule of rates. Exemption—Mtr. Contr. Car.—

Tariff Filing Requirements, 133 M.C.C. 150 (1983),

aff’d sub nom. Central & Southern Motor Freight

Ass’n v. United States, 757 F.2d 301 (D.C. Cir.

1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1019 (1985).

7Although sections 207 and 208 of TIRRA

eliminated former sections 10922(b)(4)(E) and

10923(b)(5)(A), TIRRA did not remove former

section 10762(g), the provision for streamlined rate

filing for owner-operator transportation of food

products.

to require the filing of only minimum

rates for owner-operator transportation

of food products. In Owner-Operator,

supra, the ICC adopted regulations at 49

CFR part 1311 that permitted owneroperators of food products to file, in lieu

of tariffs or schedules, a letter statement

containing the transportation services

performed and the minimum rates.6

Section 206 of TIRRA further

amended former section 10762(a)(1) by

removing the tariff filing requirement

for individually (as distinguished from

collectively) set rates of motor common

carriers of property (other than

household goods and carriers involved

with water carriers in the

noncontiguous domestic trade). Motor

contract carriers were no longer

required to file actual or minimum

rates.7

The ICCTA further modified the rate

filing requirements. Former section

10762(g) was removed. Now, under 49

U.S.C. 13702, motor carriers only need

to file a tariff with the Board for

transportation in noncontiguous

domestic trade (with certain

exceptions).

Because the statutory bases for the

part 1311 regulations have been

repealed, we are eliminating these

obsolete rules.

This action will not significantly

affect either the quality of the human

environment or the conservation of

energy resources.

List of Subjects

49 CFR Part 1164

Foods, Freight, Motor carriers,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

49 CFR Part 1311

Foods, Freight, Motor carriers.

Decided: April 24, 1996.

By the Board, Chairman Morgan, Vice

Chairman Simmons, and Commissioner

Owen.

Vernon A. Williams,

Secretary.

PARTS 1164 AND 1311—[REMOVED]

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble and under the authority of 49

U.S.C. 721(a), title 49, chapter X of the

Code of Federal Regulations is amended

by removing parts 1164 and 1311.

[FR Doc. 96–11742 Filed 5–9–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4915–00–P