Source: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?mc=true&node=pt49.6.553&rgn=div5
Timestamp: 2020-06-03 03:47:26
Document Index: 199415833

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', '§553', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 552', '§553', 'art 552']

Title 49 → Subtitle B → Chapter V → Part 553
§553.1 Applicability.
§553.3 Definitions.
§553.5 Regulatory docket.
§553.7 Records.
§553.11 Initiation of rulemaking.
§553.13 Notice of proposed rulemaking.
§553.14 Direct final rulemaking.
§553.15 Contents of notices of proposed rulemaking and direct final rules.
§553.17 Participation of interested persons.
§553.19 Petitions for extension of time to comment.
§553.21 Contents of written comments.
§553.23 Consideration of comments received.
§553.25 Additional rulemaking proceedings.
§553.27 Hearings.
§553.29 Adoption of final rules.
§§553.31-553.33 [Reserved]
§553.35 Petitions for reconsideration.
§553.37 Proceedings on petitions for reconsideration.
§553.39 Effect of petition for reconsideration on time for seeking judicial review.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30103, 30122, 30124, 30125, 30127, 30146, 30162, 32303, 32502, 32504, 32505, 32705, 32901, 32902, 33102, 33103, and 33107; delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.95.
Source: 60 FR 62222, Dec. 5, 1995, unless otherwise noted.
This part prescribes rulemaking procedures that apply to the issuance, amendment, and revocation of rules pursuant to Title 49, Subtitle VI of the United States Code (49 U.S.C. 30101, et seq.).
Administrator means the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or a person to whom he has delegated final authority in the matter concerned.
Rule includes any order, regulation, or Federal motor vehicle safety standard issued under Title 49.
Title 49 means 49 U.S.C. 30101, et seq.
(a) Information and data deemed relevant by the Administrator relating to rulemaking actions, including notices of proposed rulemaking; comments received in response to notices; petitions for rulemaking and reconsideration; denials of petitions for rulemaking and reconsideration; records of additional rulemaking proceedings under §553.25; and final rules are maintained in the Docket Room, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20590.
(b) Any person may examine any docketed material at the Docket Room at any time during regular business hours after the docket is established, except material ordered withheld from the public under applicable provisions of Title 49 and section 552(b) of title 5 of the U.S.C., and may obtain a copy of it upon payment of a fee.
Records of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration relating to rulemaking proceedings are available for inspection as provided in section 552(b) of title 5 of the U.S.C. and part 7 of the regulations of the Secretary of Transportation (part 7 of this title).
The Administrator may initiate rulemaking either on his own motion or on petition by any interested person after a determination in accordance with Part 552 of this title that grant of the petition is advisable. The Administrator may, in his discretion, also consider the recommendations of other agencies of the United States.
If the Administrator, for good cause, finds that notice is unnecessary, and incorporates that finding and a brief statement of the reasons for it in the rule, a direct final rule may be issued according to the following procedures.
(a) Rules that the Administrator judges to be non-controversial and unlikely to result in adverse public comment may be published as direct final rules. These may include rules that:
(1) Are non-substantive amendments, such as clarifications or corrections, to an existing rule;
(2) Update existing forms or rules, such as incorporations by reference of the latest technical standards where the standards have not been changed in a complex or controversial way;
(3) Affect NHTSA's internal procedures, such as filing requirements and rules governing inspection and copying of documents;
(4) Are minor substantive rules or changes to existing rules on which the agency does not expect adverse comment.
(b) The Federal Register document will state that any adverse comment must be received in writing by NHTSA within the specified time after the date of publication of the direct final rule and that, if no written adverse comment is received in that period, the rule will become effective a specified number of days (no less than 45) after the date of publication of the direct final rule. NHTSA will provide a minimum comment period of 30 days.
(c) If no written adverse comment is received by NHTSA within the specified time after the date of publication in the Federal Register, NHTSA will publish a document in the Federal Register indicating that no adverse comment was received and confirming that the rule will become effective on the date that was indicated in the direct final rule.
(d) If NHTSA receives any written adverse comment within the specified time after publication of the direct final rule in the Federal Register, the agency will either publish a document withdrawing the direct final rule before it becomes effective and may issue an NPRM, or proceed by any other means permitted under the Administrative Procedure Act, consistent with procedures at 49 CFR 5.13(l).
(e) An “adverse” comment, for the purpose of this subpart, means any comment that NHTSA determines is critical of any provision of the rule, suggests that the rule should not be adopted, or suggests a change that should be made in the rule. A comment suggesting that the policy or requirements of the rule should or should not also be extended to other Departmental programs outside the scope of the rule is not adverse.
[80 FR 36492, June 25, 2015, as amended at 84 FR 71733, Dec. 27, 2019]
(a) Each notice of proposed rulemaking, and each direct final rule, is published in the Federal Register, unless all persons subject to it are named and are personally served with a copy of it.
(b) Each notice, whether published in the Federal Register or personally served, includes
(1) A statement of the time, place, and nature of the rulemaking proceeding;
(3) A description of the subjects and issues involved or the substance and terms of the rule.
(5) A statement of how and to what extent interested persons may participate in the proceedings.
[60 FR 62222, Dec. 5, 1995, as amended at 80 FR 36492, June 25, 2015]
(a) Any interested person may participate in rulemaking proceeding by submitting comments in writing containing information, views or arguments.
(b) In his discretion, the Administrator may invite any interested person to participate in the rulemaking procedures described in §553.25.
A petition for extension of the time to submit comments must be received not later than 15 days before expiration of the time stated in the notice. The petitions must be submitted to: Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC, 20590. It is requested, but not required, that 10 copies be submitted. The filing of the petition does not automatically extend the time for petitioner's comments. Such a petition is granted only if the petitioner shows good cause for the extension, and if the extension is consistent with the public interest. If an extension is granted, it is granted to all persons, and it is published in the Federal Register.
All written comments shall be in English. Unless otherwise specified in a notice requesting comments, comments may not exceed 15 pages in length, but necessary attachments may be appended to the submission without regard to the 15-page limit. Any interested person shall submit as a part of his written comments all material that he considers relevant to any statement of fact made by him. Incorporation by reference should be avoided. However, if incorporation by reference is necessary, the incorporated material shall be identified with respect to document and page. It is requested, but not required, that 10 copies and attachments, if any, be submitted.
All timely comments are considered before final action is taken on a rulemaking proposal or direct final rule. Late filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable.
[80 FR 36492, June 25, 2015]
The Administrator may initiate any further rulemaking proceedings that he finds necessary or desirable. For example, interested persons may be invited to make oral arguments, to participate in conferences between the Administrator or his representative and interested persons at which minutes of the conference are kept, to appear at informal hearings presided over by officials designated by the Administrator, at which a transcript or minutes are kept, or participate in any other proceeding to assure informed administrative action and to protect the public interest.
(a) Sections 556 and 557 of title 5, United States Code, do not apply to hearings held under this part. Unless otherwise specified, hearings held under this part are informal, nonadversary, fact-finding proceedings, at which there are no formal pleadings or adverse parties. Any rule issued in a case in which an informal hearing is held is not necessarily based exclusively on the record of the hearing.
(b) The Administrator designates a representative to conduct any hearing held under this part. The Chief Counsel designates a member of his staff to serve as legal officer at the hearing.
Final rules are prepared by representatives of the office concerned and the Office of the Chief Counsel. The rule is then submitted to the Administrator for its consideration. If the Administrator adopts the rule, it is published in the Federal Register, unless all persons subject to it are named and are personally served with a copy of it.
(a) Any interested person may petition the Administrator for reconsideration of any rule issued under this part. The petition shall be submitted to: Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC, 20590. It is requested, but not required, that 10 copies be submitted. The petition must be received not later than 45 days after publication of the rule in the Federal Register. Petitions filed after that time will be considered as petitions filed under Part 552 of this chapter. The petition must contain a brief statement of the complaint and an explanation as to why compliance with the rule is not practicable, is unreasonable, or is not in the public interest. Unless otherwise specified in the final rule, the statement and explanation together may not exceed 15 pages in length, but necessary attachments may be appended to the submission without regard to the 15-page limit.
(b) If the petitioner requests the consideration of additional facts, he must state the reason they were not presented to the Administrator within the prescribed time.
The Administrator may grant or deny, in whole or in part, any petition for reconsideration without further proceedings. In the event he determines to reconsider any rule, he may issue a final decision on reconsideration without further proceedings, or he may provide such opportunity to submit comment or information and data as he deems appropriate. Whenever the Administrator determines that a petition should be granted or denied, he prepares a notice of the grant or denial of a petition for reconsideration, for issuance to the petitioner, and issues it to the petitioner. The Administrator may consolidate petitions relating to the same rule.
The filing of a timely petition for reconsideration of any rule issued under this part postpones the expiration of the statutory period in which to seek judicial review of that rule only as to the petitioner, and not as to other interested persons. For the petitioner, the period for seeking judicial review will commence at the time the agency takes final action upon the petition for reconsideration.
[60 FR 63651, Dec. 12, 1995]
It is the policy of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue notice of the action taken on a petition for reconsideration within 90 days after the closing date for receipt of such petitions, unless it is found impracticable to take action within that time. In cases where it is so found and the delay beyond that period is expected to be substantial, notice of that fact, and the date by which it is expected that action will be taken, will be published in the Federal Register.
After a proposal by a Contracting Party other than the U.S. has been referred to a working party of experts and has been made available in English by WP.29, NHTSA will make the draft proposal available in the DOT docket (http://dms.dot.gov/). The agency will then publish a notice requesting public comment on the draft proposal and will consider the comments in developing a U.S. position on the proposal.
If a working party of experts recommends a global technical regulation and sends a report and the recommended regulation to the Executive Committee, NHTSA will make an English language version of the report and the regulation available in the DOT docket (http://dms.dot.gov/) after they are made available by WP.29. The agency will publish a notice requesting public comment on the report and regulation. Before participating in a vote of the Executive Committee regarding the establishment of the regulation, the agency will consider the comments and develop a U.S. position on the recommended technical regulation.
As we obtain English versions of key documents relating to motor vehicle safety, theft or energy conservation that are generated under the 1998 Agreement (e.g., proposals referred to a working party of experts, and reports and recommendations issued by a working party), we will place them in the internet-accessible DOT docket (http://dms.dot.gov/). Within the limits of available resources, we will also place the documents on an international activities page that will be included in our Website (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/international/index.html).