Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 13, 2008 / Proposed Rules 47123 

2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4). 

The Provisions of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980 do not apply to 

this proceeding. Members of the public 

should note that from the time a Notice 

of Proposed Rule Making is issued until 

the matter is no longer subject to 

Commission consideration or court 

review, all ex parte contacts are 

prohibited in Commission proceedings, 

such as this one, which involve channel 

allotments. See 47 CFR 1.1204(b) for 

rules governing permissible ex parte 

contacts. 

For information regarding proper 

filing procedures for comments, see 47 

CFR 1.415 and 1.420. 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73 

Radio, Radio broadcasting. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR 

part 73 as follows: 

PART 73—RADIO BROADCAST 

SERVICES 

1. The authority citation for part 73 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 334, 336. 

§ 73.202 [Amended] 

2. Section 73.202(b), the Table of FM 

Allotments under Michigan, is amended 

by removing Channel 263A and by 

adding Channel 227A at Custer. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

John A. Karousos, 

Assistant Chief, Audio Division, Media 

Bureau. 

[FR Doc. E8–18614 Filed 8–12–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Parts 501, 549, and 552 

[GSAR Case 2008–G515; Docket 2008–0007; 

Sequence 17] 

RIN 3090–AI62 

General Services Acquisition 

Regulation; GSAR Case 2008–G515; 

Rewrite of GSAR Part 549, Termination 

of Contracts 

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Acquisition 

Officer, General Services 

Administration (GSA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The General Services 

Administration (GSA) is proposing to 

amend the General Services Acquisition 

Regulation (GSAR) to revise language 

that provides requirements for 

termination of contracts. 

DATES: Interested parties should submit 

written comments to the Regulatory 

Secretariat on or before October 14, 

2008 to be considered in the 

formulation of a final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

identified by GSAR Case 2008–G515 by 

any of the following methods: 

• Regulations.gov: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Submit comments 

via the Federal eRulemaking portal by 

inputting ‘‘GSAR Case 2008–G515’’

under the heading ‘‘Comment or 

Submission’’. Select the link ‘‘Send a 

Comment or Submission’’ that 

corresponds with GSAR Case 2008–

G515. Follow the instructions provided 

to complete the ‘‘Public Comment and 

Submission Form’’. Please include your 

name, company name (if any), and 

‘‘GSAR Case 2008–G515’’ on your 

attached document. 

• Fax: 202–501–4067. 

• Mail: General Services 

Administration, Regulatory Secretariat 

(VPR), 1800 F Street, NW, Room 4041, 

ATTN: Laurieann Duarte, Washington, 

DC 20405. 

Instructions: Please submit comments 

only and cite GSAR Case 2008–G515 in 

all correspondence related to this case. 

All comments received will be posted 

without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal and/or business confidential 

information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

clarification of content, contact Ms. 

Jeritta Parnell at (202) 501–4082, or by 

e-mail at jeritta.parnell@gsa.gov. For 

information pertaining to the status or 

publication schedules, contact the 

Regulatory Secretariat (VPR), Room 

4041, GS Building, Washington, DC 

20405, (202) 501–4755. Please cite 

GSAR Case 2008–G515. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

The General Services Administration 

(GSA) is amending the General Services 

Administration Acquisition Regulation 

(GSAR) to delete two outdated clauses 

and the prescriptions for the two 

clauses. This proposed rule is a result of 

the General Services Administration 

Acquisition Manual (GSAM) rewrite 

initiative. The initiative was undertaken 

by GSA to revise the GSAM so as to 

maintain consistency with the FAR and 

implement streamlined and innovative 

acquisition procedures that contractors, 

offerors, and GSA contracting personnel 

can use when entering into and 

administering contractual relationships. 

The GSAM incorporates the General 

Services Administration Acquisition 

Regulation (GSAR) as well as internal 

agency acquisition policy. 

GSA will rewrite each part of the 

GSAR and GSAM, and as each GSAR 

part is rewritten, GSA will publish it in 

the Federal Register. 

This proposed rule revises GSAR Part 

549 by deleting the prescriptive 

language at section 549.502 for two 

outdated clauses. The clause at 

552.249–70, Termination for 

Convenience of the Government (Fixed 

Price) (Short Form), and the clause at 

552.249–71, Submission of Termination 

Liability Schedule, are being deleted. 

These are two GSA-unique clauses for 

acquisition and maintenance of 

telephone systems funded through the 

Information Technology (IT) Fund. This 

fund no longer exists. These clauses are 

obsolete. 

Discussion of Comments 

There were no comments received in 

response to the ‘‘Advanced Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking’’ at 71 FR 7910, 

February 15, 2006, pertaining to this 

GSAR Part 549. 

This is not a significant regulatory 

action and, therefore, was not subject to 

review under Section 6(b) of Executive 

Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review, dated September 30, 1993. This 

rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 

804. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The General Services Administration 

does not expect this proposed rule to 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

within the meaning of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., 

because the revisions are not considered 

substantive. The revisions delete 

obsolete coverage. An Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis has, therefore, not 

been performed. We invite comments 

from small businesses and other 

interested parties. GSA will consider 

comments from small entities 

concerning the affected GSAR Parts 501, 

549, and 552 in accordance with 5 

U.S.C. 610. Interested parties must 

submit such comments separately and 

should cite 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq. (GSAR 

case 2008–G515), in correspondence. 

C. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act does 

not apply because the proposed changes 

to the GSAM do not impose information 

collection requirements that require the 

approval of the Office of Management 

and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et 

seq. 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS
47124 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 13, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

1FRA notes that extending the comment period 

to September 15, 2008, would remove all 

possibilities of any final rule becoming effective 

prior to the fourth quarter (October–December), in 

which the majority of the adjacent-track fatalities 

have occurred. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 501, 

549, and 552 

Government procurement. 

Dated: August 6, 2008. 

Al Matera, 

Director, Office of Acquisition Policy. 

Therefore, GSA proposes to amend 48 

CFR parts 501, 549 and 552 as set forth 

below: 

PART 501—GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION ACQUISITION 

REGULATION SYSTEM 

1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

part 501 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c). 

501.106 [Amended] 

2. Amend section 501.106 by 

removing the GSAR Reference 

‘‘549.502(b)’’ and corresponding OMB 

Control Number ‘‘3090–0027’’; and 

removing the GSAR Reference 

‘‘552.249–71’’ and corresponding OMB 

Control Number ‘‘3090–0227’’. 

PART 549—TERMINATION OF 

CONTRACTS 

3. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

part 549 is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c). 

549.5 [Removed] 

4. Remove subpart 549.5. 

549.502 [Removed] 

5. Remove section 549.502. 

PART 552—SOLICITATION 

PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT 

CLAUSES 

6. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

part 552 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c). 

552.249–70 and 552.249–71 [Removed] 

7. Remove sections 552.249–70 and 

552.249–71. 

[FR Doc. E8–18722 Filed 8–12–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–61–S 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Railroad Administration 

49 CFR Part 214 

[Docket No. FRA–2008–0059, Notice No. 2] 

RIN 2130–AB93 

Railroad Workplace Safety; AdjacentTrack On-Track Safety for Roadway 

Workers 

AGENCY: Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM); withdrawal. 

SUMMARY: On July 17, 2008, FRA 

published an NPRM in the Federal 

Register addressing adjacent-track ontrack safety procedures for roadway 

workers. For the reasons stated below, 

FRA has decided to withdraw the 

NPRM. 

DATES: The NPRM published on July 17, 

2008 at 73 FR 41214 is withdrawn as of 

August 13, 2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kenneth Rusk, Staff Director, Track 

Division, Office of Safety Assurance and 

Compliance, FRA, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., RRS–15, Mail Stop 25, 

Washington, DC 20590 (telephone 202–

493–6236); or Anna Winkle, Trial 

Attorney, Office of Chief Counsel, FRA, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., RCC–12, 

Mail Stop 10, Washington, DC 20590 

(telephone 202–493–6166 or 202–493–

6052). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

NPRM was developed in order to 

respond to fatal train incidents and in 

response to recommendations from the 

Railroad Safety Advisory Committee 

(RSAC). The NPRM was published with 

an abbreviated comment period in order 

to address the issue in a more timely 

fashion, in response to a joint petition 

for Emergency Order that was filed by 

the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way 

Employes Division (BMWED) and the 

Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen 

(BRS). However, since the publication of 

the NPRM, FRA received a joint request 

from BMWED and BRS that FRA extend 

the comment period for this NPRM to 60 

days, due to concern that parts of the 

NPRM failed to accurately capture the 

consensus recommendations of the 

RSAC.1 The joint request did not specify 

which parts of the NPRM failed to 

reflect the consensus recommendations, 

and no formal comments have been 

submitted by the BMWED or BRS to that 

effect. However, there have been several 

‘‘ex parte’’ communications subsequent 

to the filing of the joint request in which 

a representative of the BMWED has 

recommended that FRA make very 

specific changes to the proposed rule. In 

accordance with the Department of 

Transportation’s Policy (Order No. 

2100.2 (1970)), all communications 

between FRA employees and other 

parties since the publication of the 

NPRM have been reduced to writing and 

placed in the public docket. 

It should be noted that while the 

proposed rule text was intended to be 

responsive to the intent of the 

consensus language recommended to 

FRA by the RSAC, FRA may not 

delegate its rulemaking authority to a 

committee, and may choose to accept or 

reject any or all of the consensus 

proposals for cause stated. However, in 

consideration of the assistance provided 

by the RSAC, FRA does endeavor to 

ensure that FRA representatives to the 

consensus process reflect the policies of 

the Federal Railroad Administrator. In 

reviewing the consensus language, there 

were several areas that FRA thought 

needed clarification in order to ensure 

uniform application of the law, as well 

as enforceability of the consensus 

language if it were to be adopted as 

written. In crafting the NPRM, FRA 

presented the RSAC consensus language 

in the preamble verbatim and 

transparently explained its rationale for 

all changes it made to the consensus 

language. As this was an NPRM, FRA 

sought comment on the entire proposal, 

including those portions that FRA 

sought to clarify. 

FRA recognizes that inadvertent 

errors do sometimes occur in 

formulating a proposal and expects that 

interested parties would provide 

comments to both FRA and all other 

interested parties through the 

established comment process detailed in 

the NPRM. Given the alleged 

discrepancies between the consensus 

language and the proposed rule, the 

need to clarify the essential issues and 

move toward resolution of the safety 

concern at hand, and the ex parte 

communications regarding this 

proposed rule, FRA has decided to 

withdraw this rulemaking and will take 

such further regulatory steps as safety 

requires. The docket for this rulemaking 

has been closed. Any formal comments 

submitted on this NPRM will need to be 

resubmitted by the commenter, if still 

applicable, to a future rulemaking 

docket. 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with PROPOSALS