13034 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2001 / Proposed Rules

PART 165—REGULATED NAVIGATION

AREAS AND LIMITED ACCESS AREAS

1. The authority citation for part 165

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 1231; 50 U.S.C. 191;

33 CFR 1.05–1(g), 6.04–1, 6.04–6, 160.5; 49

CFR 1.46.

2. Add Temporary § 165.T01–015 to

read as follows:

§ 165.T01–015 Safety Zone: Queens

Millennium Concert Fireworks, East River,

NY.

(a) Location. The following area is a

safety zone: All waters of the East River

within a 180-yard radius of the

fireworks barge in approximate position

40°44°43.3′′N 073°57′43.2′′W (NAD

1983), about 240 yards east of Belmont

Island.

(b) Effective period. This section is

effective from 9 p.m. (e.s.t.) until 10:30

p.m. (e.s.t.) on May 19, 2001.

(c) Regulations. (1) The general

regulations contained in 33 CFR 165.23

apply.

(2) No vessels will be allowed to

transit the safety zone without the

permission of the Captain of the Port,

New York.

(3) All persons and vessels shall

comply with the instructions of the

Coast Guard Captain of the Port or the

designated on-scene patrol personnel.

These personnel comprise

commissioned, warrant, and petty

officers of the Coast Guard. Upon being

hailed by a U.S. Coast Guard vessel by

siren, radio, flashing light, or other

means, the operator of a vessel shall

proceed as directed.

Dated: February 15, 2001.

P.A. Harris,

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard, Captain of the

Port, New York, Acting.

[FR Doc. 01–5113 Filed 3–1–01; 8:45 am]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 50

RIN 1845–AA21

Performance Standards for Retention

of Electronic Records in the Student

Financial Assistance Programs

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed

rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Secretary will propose

rules to implement section 101(d) of the

Electronic Signatures in Global and

National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act),

Public Law 106–229. These regulations

will set forth proposed performance

standards regarding the accuracy,

integrity, and accessibility of electronic

records that would apply to lenders,

guaranty agencies, schools, and other

parties administering any student

financial assistance program authorized

under Title IV of the Higher Education

Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).

DATES: We must receive your comments

on or before March 19, 2001. We are

offering this limited comment period in

order to expedite issuance of the

proposed rule. Comments received by

this date will be considered in the

development of the proposed rule. As a

consequence of the publication of this

notice, and under section 107(b) of the

E-Sign Act, the authority of a program

participant to retain a required record in

electronic form, in instances where that

authority did not previously exist, will

become effective on June 1, 2001, rather

than on March 1, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about

this advanced notice of proposed

rulemaking to: Gail McLarnon, U. S.

Department of Education, 1990 K St.,

NW., room 8062, Washington, DC

20006–8540. If you prefer to send your

comments through the Internet, use the

following address:

gail_mclarnon@ed.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gail

McLarnon, 202/219–7048.

If you use a telecommunications

device for the deaf (TDD), you may call

the Federal Information Relay Service

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339.

Individuals with disabilities may

obtain this document in an alternative

format (e.g., Braille, large print,

audiotape, or computer diskette) on

request to the contact person listed in

the preceding paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The E-Sign Act provides, in part, that

a signature, contract, or other record

relating to a transaction may not be

denied legal effect, validity, or

enforceability solely because it is in

electronic form, or because an electronic

signature or electronic record was used

in its formation. By eliminating legal

barriers, the E-Sign Act will allow

lenders, guaranty agencies, schools, and

other parties administering the Title IV,

HEA student financial assistance

programs to use electronic records and

electronic signatures in place of records

and signatures that, under the HEA and

underlying regulations, must be

maintained and provided in writing.

Section 104(b)(3) of the E-Sign Act

authorizes the Secretary to set forth

general requirements regarding the

accuracy, integrity, and accessibility of

electronic records, and procedures

relating to the maintenance of those

records. The Secretary will be issuing

proposed regulations that will contain

such requirements and procedures.

Invitation to Comment

We are seeking comments or

suggestions on this notice. We are

interested in comments on assuring

approaches to assuring the accuracy,

integrity, and accessibility of electronic

records in the administration of the

federal student aid programs.

Specifically, we are interested in

comments related to the maintenance of

electronic records by program

participants. Areas of interest include

the following:

• The timeframe to implement the

use and maintenance of electronic

records.

• The impact of using and

maintaining electronic records on the

integrity of the Federal student financial

aid programs.

• The comparability between

electronic records and hard copy paper

records.

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view this document, as well

as all other Department of Education

documents published in the Federal

Register, in text or Adobe Portable

Document Format (PDF) on the Internet

at either of the following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm

http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use PDF you must have Adobe

Acrobat Reader, which is available free

at either of the previous sites. If you

have questions about using PDF, call the

U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO),

toll free, at 1–888–293–6498; or in the

Washington, DC, area at (202) 512–1530.

Note: The official version of this document

is the document published in the Federal

Register. Free Internet access to the official

edition of the Federal Register and the Code

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO

Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/

index.html.

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 50

Colleges and universities, Grant

programs-education, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Dated: February 27, 2001.

Rod Paige,

Secretary of Education.

[FR Doc. 01–5161 Filed 2–27–01; 4:34 pm]

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