13048 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2001 / Notices

1Section 103 of ESIGN provides exceptions for

testamentary and domestic relations documents,

court orders, notices of cancellation for utility

services and health benefits, housing or rental

foreclosure and default notices, and product safety

and hazardous material notices. ESIGN does not

affect state or federal laws that require a writing for

these types of documents and notices.

Dated: February 27, 2001.

William T. Hogarth,

Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,

National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–5131 Filed 3–1–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 021301D]

New England Fishery Management

Council; Public Meetings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of rescheduling and

cancellation of public meetings.

SUMMARY: The New England Fishery

Management Council (Council) has

rescheduled a March meeting of its

Skate Oversight Committee and

Advisory Panel and changed the

location of the meeting, and has

cancelled a meeting of its Habitat

Oversight Committee.

DATES: The Skate Oversight Committee

and Advisory Panel meeting will be

held on March 13, 2001, at 9:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Radisson Hotel, 35 Governor

Winthrop Boulevard, New London, CT

06320; telephone: (860) 443-7000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul

J. Howard, Executive Director, New

England Fishery Management Council

(978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

original notice (66 FR 11001, February

21, 2001) stated that the Skate Oversight

meeting would be held on March 6,

2001 at 9:30 a.m. It also stated that the

location was the Radisson Airport Hotel

in Warwick, RI. The meeting of the

Habitat Oversight Committee scheduled

for March 7, 2001 at 9:30 a.m. is

cancelled.

Special Accommodations

The meeting is physically accessible

to people with disabilities. Requests for

sign language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to Paul

J. Howard (see ADDRESSES) at least 5

days prior to the meeting dates.

All other previously published

information remains unchanged.

Dated: February 27, 2001.

Bruce C. Morehead,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 01–5149 Filed 3–1–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and

Information Administration

[Docket No. 010222048–1048–01]

RIN 0660–XX11

Notice, Request or Comments on

Section 105(a) of the Electronic

Signatures in Global and National

Commerce Act

AGENCY: National Telecommunications

and Information Administration, U.S.

Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Request for comments on the

Section 105(a) of the Electronic

Signatures in Global and National

Commerce Act.

SUMMARY: The National

Telecommunications and Information

Administration (NTIA) invites

interested parties to review and

comment on section 105(a) of the

Electronic Signatures in Global and

National Commerce Act (‘‘ESIGN’’ or

‘‘the Act’’) (Pub. L. 106–229, 114 Stat.

464). Section 105(a) requires the

Secretary of Commerce to conduct an

inquiry and report to Congress on the

effectiveness of delivery of electronic

records to consumers using electronic

mail as compared with the delivery of

written records via the United States

Postal Service and private express mail

services. In connection with this report,

this Federal Register notice is intended

to solicit comments from interested

parties. NTIA invites the public to

submit comments on section 105(a) of

the ESIGN Act in paper or electronic

form. All comments submitted in

response to this Notice will be posted

on the NTIA website.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to

submit comments no later than April 2,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to

Josephine Scarlett, Office of the Chief

Counsel, National Telecommunications

and Information Administration, Room

4713 HCHB, 1401 Constitution Ave.,

NW, Washington, DC 20230. Paper

submissions should include a diskette

in ASCII, WordPerfect (please specify

version) or Microsoft Word (please

specify version) format. Diskettes

should be labeled with the name and

organizational affiliation of the filer, and

the name version of the word processing

program used to create the document.

In the alternative, comments may be

submitted electronically to the

following electronic mail address:

<esign105a@ntia.doc.gov>. Comments

submitted via electronic mail should be

submitted in one or more of the formats

specified above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Josephine Scarlett, Office of the Chief

Counsel, telephone: (202) 482–1816; or

electronic mail:

<jscarlett@ntia.doc.gov>. Media

inquiries should be directed to the

Office of Public Affairs, National

Telecommunications and Information

Administration, at (202) 482–7002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Advances in information technology

and increased Internet usage in

domestic and international business

transactions have produced significant

benefits to U.S. businesses and

consumers. Electronic commerce or ‘‘ecommerce’’ has contributed

significantly to the growth of the U.S.

economy in recent years. Census Bureau

statistics show that total retail ecommerce sales for 2000 reached an

estimated $25.8 billion, and accounted

for .08 percent of the total retail sales.

Although commercial transactions over

the Internet have increased over

previous years, one of the greatest

burdens to the growth of Internet

commerce has been the lack of

consistent, national rules that govern

the use of electronic documents and

signatures in electronic business

transactions.

In order to promote continued growth

in electronic commerce, Congress

enacted ESIGN on June 30, 2000. ESIGN

facilitates the use of electronic

documents in domestic and

international commerce and reinforces

the validity and enforceability of

electronic contracts and signatures. The

Act gives businesses the option of

transmitting electronic copies of

documents that are legally required to

be provided to consumers in written

form, and provides consumers with the

option of receiving electronic copies of

these documents. ESIGN does not apply,

however, to all documents and notices

that are required to be presented in

writing.1

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2001 / Notices 13049

2See Request for Comment and Notice of Public

Workshop: Electronic Signatures in Global and

National Commerce Act, 66 FR 10011 (Feb. 13,

2001). The notice and comments received

concerning the joint study are also available on

NTIA’s homepage at <http://www.ntia.doc.gov>.

Section 105(a) of ESIGN directs the

Secretary of Commerce to prepare a

study comparing the effectiveness of

electronic mail in the delivery of

electronic records with the effectiveness

of traditional methods of document

delivery (e.g. mail, express delivery

services), and to report the findings of

the study to Congress no later than June

30, 2001. NTIA invites interested parties

to submit comments on the general

issue of the effectiveness of electronic

mail in the delivery of electronic

documents in comparison to the

traditional methods of document

delivery and on the specific issues set

out in this Notice.

NTIA recently sought public comment

on a joint study conducted with the

Federal Trade Commission on section

105(b) of the ESIGN Act.2 The joint

study being conducted under section

105(b) concerns the consumer consent

provisions of the ESIGN Act and is

separate from the study being prepared

for this Notice. Comments submitted in

this proceeding may be used in

preparation of the report to Congress

regarding the consumer consent

provisions of the Act under section

105(b). Parties should note or

incorporate by reference any comment

that was submitted in conjunction with

the joint study under 105(b) that also

should be considered in this study.

II. Statutory Language Requiring a

Report to Congress

The statutory language requiring the

Secretary of Commerce to submit a

report to Congress on the effectiveness

of electronic mail is found in section

105(a) of ESIGN and is set forth below.

Sec. 105. STUDIES.

(a) DELIVERY.—Within 12 months

after the date of the enactment of this

Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall

conduct an inquiry regarding the

effectiveness of the delivery of

electronic records to consumers using

electronic mail as compared with

delivery of written records via the

United States Postal Service and private

express mail services. The Secretary

shall submit a report to the Congress

regarding results of such inquiry by the

conclusion of such 12-month period.

III. Specific Questions

The Department seeks comment on

the following specific questions. Parties

need not address all questions, but are

encouraged to respond to those about

which they have particular knowledge

or information.

1. General Issues

a. Provide an estimate of the

percentage of transactions that you

conduct per month that require next

day, or same day, delivery.

b. Of the transactions included in 1(a)

above, approximately what percentage

of these are complicated by the fact that

mail services do not have Sunday

delivery?

c. Describe any delivery problems that

you experience with electronic

transmissions. How do these problems

compare with any problems you

experience using the Postal Service,

private express, or courier services for

delivery of records?

2. Business Issues

a. Do you offer consumers a choice of

delivery mechanisms (i.e. electronic or

traditional)? Has the market evolved

enough to give consumers the choices

they need? State whether you conduct a

mail or express delivery service, or an

electronic mail business.

b. Explain any benefits to your

business of providing consumers with a

choice between electronic transmission,

postal service, or express mail service

delivery of documents. Is cost a large

factor in your decision to offer more

than one method of delivery?

c. How important is the elimination of

paper to your business?

d. Does your software enable your

company or business to accurately keep

track of customer confirmations and

electronically ‘‘file’’ correspondence

and consents received from customers?

e. What method(s), if any, do you

employ for sender/signature verification

for electronic transactions?

f. What types of consent mechanisms

does your business employ?

g. What methods do you employ for

third parties who are authenticating

electronic delivery?

h. Under what circumstances will

information received from a customer be

shared?

i. Do you provide universal service

(i.e. delivery to all geographic

locations)?

(i) Please estimate the percentage of

the population that your business serves

that receives daily deliveries, as

opposed to deliveries every few days

(e.g. to areas less populated). Estimate

the number of those who receive

deliveries every few days that also use

your electronic services, if available, for

faster delivery.

(ii) What percentage of your electronic

customers are small businesses, what

percentage are large businesses, and

what percentage are individuals?

3. Consumer Issues

a. Do you have access to the necessary

tools to enable you to receive

documents electronically?

b. If you have the option of receiving

electronic records but choose not to, is

this decision related to a lack of

technology to conduct business in this

manner?

c. Describe any burdens that you as a

consumer experience, or expect to

experience, in receiving electronic

records (such as the inability to open,

store, or print electronic records).

d. Compare the usefulness and

burdens of receiving an electronic

record, and confirming receipt

electronically, with the usefulness and

burdens of receiving a written record.

e. Describe how the existence of

electronic records affects the

convenience of record-keeping, both

negatively and positively.

f. How concerned are you with online

privacy and security issues? Describe

any specific issues you have

encountered (e.g. viruses).

g. Describe any concerns you have

with keeping paper documents

confidential during their transmission

or storage. Are the same concerns

present for electronic documents

received through electronic mail? If so,

state whether you are more concerned

with preserving the confidentiality of

paper documents or electronic

documents.

h. Are electronic transactions

complicated by the fact that the

consumer must notify a business when

the consumer’s e-mail address changes?

If so, how significantly?

i. Do electronic transactions increase

or decrease the potential for fraud or

identity theft?

4. Technology Issues

a. What are the estimated costs, either

to businesses or consumers, of updating

software to ensure compatibility for the

electronic transmission of electronic

records?

b. What types of technology are being

employed to ensure security of

transmissions? For example, does your

business utilize smart cards, encryption,

or password protection devices? Are

these devices effective?

c. Are anonymizer-type programs

effective in protecting online privacy?

Do such programs render authentication

ineffective?

d. Does your business use/provide

biometrics?

e. Does your business provide

consumers with technical support in the

13050 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2001 / Notices

event that consumers encounter

difficulties in making electronic

transmissions?

Kathy D. Smith,

Chief Counsel.

[FR Doc. 01–5053 Filed 3–1–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–60–P

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY

COMMISSION

Sunshine Act Meeting

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety

Commission.

TIME AND DATE: Wednesday, March 7,

2001, 2:30 p.m.

LOCATION: Room 410, East West Towers,

4330 East West Highway, Bethesda,

Maryland.

STATUS: Closed to the Public—Pursuant

to 5 U.S.C. 5532(f)(1) and 16 CFR

1013.4(b) (3) (7) (9) and (10) and

submitted to the Federal Register

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(e)(3).

MATTER TO BE CONSIDERED: 

Compliance Status Report

The staff will brief the Commission on

the status of various compliance

matters.

For a recorded message containing the

latest agenda information, call (301)

504–0709.

CONTACT PERSON FOR ADDITIONAL

INFORMATION: Sadye E. Dunn, Office of

the Secretary, 4330 East West Highway,

Bethesda, MD 20207 (301) 504–0800.

Dated: February 26, 2001.

Sadye E. Dunn,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–5212 Filed 2–28–01; 10:03 am]

BILLING CODE 6355–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

[Transmittal No. 01–02]

36(b)(1) Arms Sales Notification

AGENCY: Defense Security Cooperation

Agency, Department of Defense.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of Defense is

publishing the unclassified text of a

section 36(b)(1) arms sales notification.

This is published to fulfill the

requirements of section 155 of Pub. Law

104–164 dated 21 July 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

J. Hurd, DSCA/COMPT/RM, (703) 604–

6575.

The following is a copy of a letter to

the Speaker of the House of

Representatives, and Transmittal 01–02

with attached transmittal and policy

justification.

Dated: February 26, 2001.

L.M. Bynum,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison

Officer, Department of Defense.

BILLING CODE 5001–10–M