Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2002/12/11/02-30933/coast-guard-board-for-correction-of-military-records-procedural-regulation
Timestamp: 2018-03-20 20:31:57
Document Index: 361945376

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A Proposed Rule by the Transportation Department and the Coast Guard on 12/11/2002
76142-76150 (9 pages)
Section 52.1 Purpose.
Section 52.2 Authority.
Section 52.11 Establishment and Composition
Section 52.12 Function
Section 52.13 Jurisdiction
Section 52.21 General Requirements
Section 52.22 Time Limit for Filing Application
Section 52.23 Counsel
Section 52.24 Evidence and Burden of Proof
Section 52.25 Access to Official Records
Section 52.26 Right to Timely Decision; Effect of Requests for Extensions, Changes in Requests for Relief, and Late Submissions of Evidence
Section 52.27 Withdrawal of Application
Section 52.28 Stay of Proceedings
Section 52.31 Consideration of Application
Section 52.32 Administrative Closure
Section 52.41 Assistance
Section 52.42 Views of the Coast Guard
Section 52.43 Requests for Further Information; Submissions of Classified, Privileged, and Sensitive Information
Section 52.51 General provision
Section 52.52 Notice of Hearing
Section 52.53 Witnesses
Section 52.54 Expenses
Section 52.55 Nonappearance
Section 52.56 Conduct of Hearing
Section 52.57 Record of Hearing
Section 52.61 Deliberations and Decision
Section 52.62 Minority Report
Section 52.63 Record of Proceedings
Section 52.64 Final Action
Section 52.65 Orders
Section 52.66 Notification
Section 52.67 Reconsideration
Old Section 52.68 Time Limit for Final Action
Section 52.71 Authority to Pay
Section 52.72 Implementation of Orders
Section 52.73 Interpretation
Section 52.74 Report of Settlement
Section 52.81 Reading Room and Index
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/02-30933 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/02-30933
Office of the Secretary, Coast Guard, DOT.
The Department proposes to revise and reissue its procedural regulations for the Coast Guard Board for Correction of Military Records (Board). This action is taken on the Department's initiative in order to clarify application procedures; to explain applicants' legal rights and burden of proof; to allow applicants to change their requests for relief, to submit evidence after their applications have been docketed, or to request extensions of the time to respond to the advisory opinion of the Coast Guard without filing a new application or waiving their right to a timely decision; to provide for administrative closure of cases without Board action when the Chair determines that an application has been erroneously docketed; to facilitate Board decisions when the advisory opinions of the Coast Guard are not timely received; to increase the time provided for applicants to respond to the advisory opinions; to facilitate the Board's review of privileged, classified, and sensitive information; to clarify the Board's authority to order the Coast Guard to convene medical boards to evaluate applicants pursuant to applications for separations by reason of disability; to clarify actions that may be taken by the delegate of the Secretary; and to notify the public of the Board's reading room.
Anyone wishing to file a comment should refer to the OST docket and notice numbers (OST Docket No. OST 2002-13439, Notice No.1 ). You may submit your comments and related material by only one of the following methods: You may mail your comments to the Docket Management System, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room PL-401, 400 7th Street SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001; or you may submit your comments electronically through the Web site for the Docket Management System at http://dms.dot.gov. For instructions on how to submit comments electronically, visit the Docket Management System Web site and click on the “Help” menu.
Dorothy J. Ulmer, Chair, Board for Correction of Military Records of the Coast Guard, C-60, Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 7th Street SW., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-9335.
The Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Department of Transportation Board for Correction of Military Records of the Coast Guard, is authorized by section 1552 of title 10 of the United States Code to correct the military records of active duty, reserve, retired, and discharged Coast Guard military personnel who apply for a correction of an error or injustice in their records.
The Board's current rules at 33 CFR part 52 have become disorganized over time by amendments and have several shortcomings that may negatively affect the Board's applicants and the timeliness of the Board's decisions. This proposed revision of 33 CFR part 52 is intended to better organize the rules, notify applicants of their rights and Board procedures, and remove other shortcomings as described below.
The current rules fail to inform the public of the following important matters: The proper format for briefs in support of an application; the need for a family member or legal representative to submit proof of his or her proper interest before applying on behalf of a deceased or incompetent veteran; the requirement that applicants inform the Board of any change in their mailing address prior to final action by the Board; the fact that applicants whose cases are processed under the Whistleblower Protection Act and who are granted a hearing may be entitled to representation by a Coast Guard law specialist in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 1034(f)(3)(A); the presumption of regularity accorded military records and the burden of proof borne by applicants; the possible actions the delegate of the Secretary may take when reviewing a recommended decision of the Board; the possible reduction of monetary awards resulting from record corrections because of setoffs required by law or regulation; and the availability of copies of the Board's final decisions, redacted to protect the privacy of applicants, for review in the Board's reading room and on a Web site. These are matters that should be addressed in the Board's rules.
Furthermore, the current rule allows an applicant only 15 days to respond to the written views of the Coast Guard on his or her application. § 52.82(d). In light of the underway schedules of some of the Board's active duty applicants assigned to sea duty, 15 days is insufficient time for some applicants to respond. No provision addresses applicants' requests for extensions of that time in order to consult counsel or gather more evidence. The current rule requires members who submit evidence after submitting their applications to waive their right to a final decision Start Printed Page 76143within ten months and makes no provision for a new deadline. § 52.61(c). Moreover, no provision addresses the consequences of an applicant's decision to change his or her request for relief.
The current rule states that the Board shall consider any written recommendation submitted by the Chief Counsel of the Coast Guard before issuing a decision. § 52.82(e). However, it provides no deadline for the Chief Counsel's submission even though the Board must take final action on each application within ten months. 14 U.S.C. 425. Delayed submissions by the Chief Counsel's office can leave the Board with little or no time to receive the applicant's response, issue a final decision, and have it reviewed by the delegate of the Secretary before the statutory ten-month deadline has expired. The current rule also does not take into account written views submitted by a delegate of the Commandant of the Coast Guard other than the Chief Counsel. In addition, the current rule fails to require the Coast Guard to describe what “significant issue of Coast Guard policy” is at stake when he or she invokes review of a Board decision by the delegate of the Secretary. § 52.64(a)(2).
The current rule permits the Board to specify any correction of a record in its order and to order the Coast Guard to take “any other action deemed necessary to carry out the Board's recommendation,” but it does not expressly permit the Board to order the Coast Guard to convene medical boards to determine an applicant's disability rating so that his or her separation can be corrected. § 52.61(e). The current rule also requires the delegate of the Secretary to review cases in which the Board corrects a record to show that a member is entitled to a medal or award contrary to the Coast Guard's recommendation. In addition, the current rule does not address what the Coast Guard should do if it finds that an order of the Board is incomplete because of an oversight.
This section remains unchanged under the proposal.
This section would be amended to reflect the codification of the Board's ten-month deadline for issuing decisions under 14 U.S.C. 425 and to add a citation (10 U.S.C. 1552(a)(4)) for the finality and conclusiveness of the Board's orders.
Throughout this section and all of the proposed rule, the term Chair would be substituted for the term Chairman to establish gender neutrality. This section would also be amended to remove a citation to 49 U.S.C. 108(a).
This section would be amended to reflect the fact that the Board considers submissions from the Coast Guard and other Government offices along with applications and military records in reaching its decisions.
No changes are proposed for this section.
No changes are proposed for paragraph (a). Paragraph (b) would be amended to inform family members and legal representatives that they must submit proof of their proper interest before applying to the Board for the correction of the military record of a deceased or incompetent veteran. Paragraph (c) would be amended to reflect the fact that applications are not docketed by the Board until they are complete and to reflect the need for substantial evidence or information and all military and medical records before an application is considered complete. Paragraph (d) would be added to advise applicants of the necessity of keeping the Board informed of any changes in mailing address so that they will receive the Board's correspondence. Paragraph (e) would be added to ensure that briefs submitted in support of applications are readable, replicable, and not unduly lengthy.
This section would be slightly reworded to clarify why an applicant must provide reasons for submitting an application after the three-year statute of limitations has passed.
Paragraph (a) would be added to inform applicants that they may be represented by counsel at their own expense but that applicants whose cases are processed under the Whistleblower Protection Act may be entitled to representation by a law specialist at a hearing convened in accordance with Subpart F. The previous text of this section would appear in paragraph (b) and would be amended by updating two citations and by making the Chair, rather than the Board, responsible for deciding the competence of an applicant's chosen representative.
Paragraph (a) would be revised to encourage the timely submission of evidence with the initial application and to direct attention toward the new rule concerning late submissions of evidence in section 52.26. Paragraph (b) would be added to inform applicants of the presumption of regularity accorded military records and of the burden of proof they must meet to be granted relief, which is the preponderance of the evidence.
This section would be amended to consolidate the sentences.
This new section, which would incorporate the provisions in old sections 52.68 and 52.61(c), would inform applicants of their right to a final decision on their applications within ten months of the completion of their applications. It would also permit applicants to request extensions, submit evidence after their applications have been docketed, and alter their requests for relief without waiving their right to Start Printed Page 76144a timely decision. It would provide that, if an applicant requests an extension or unreasonably delays responding to a request from the Board, the Board's ten-month deadline would be extended by the duration of the extension or of the unreasonably delay. It would further provide that, if in the determination of the Chair, an applicant has submitted significant new evidence or has significantly altered his or her request for relief after his or her application has been docketed, the application would be considered newly completed and the applicant would have the right to a final decision within ten months of the new date of completion.
This section (old § 52.26) would be revised to allow the Chair to permit an applicant to withdraw his or her application without Board action.
No changes are proposed for this section (old § 52.33), apart from its renumbering. It should be renumbered because it belongs better under this Subpart C-General Provisions Regarding Applications than where it was under Subpart D-Consideration of Application.
This section would be amended to show that the Chair's initial review of an application to determine whether it is complete occurs before the application is docketed.
This section would be renamed and expanded to clarify the circumstances under which the Chair may close a case without prejudice and without Board action. Paragraph (a) would permit the Chair to close a case when he or she determines that the application was erroneously documented because it was never completed, the Board lacks authority to grant the requested relief, the applicant failed to exhaust an administrative remedy before applying to the Board, or the Coast Guard has already made the requested corrections. Paragraph (b) addresses how applicants might reapply after their cases have been administratively closed. Paragraph (c) would require the Chair to inform applicants of their right to reapply whenever he or she administratively closes a case.
Old section 52.33 Stay of proceedings. This old section would be renumbered as section 52.28 under the proposed rule.
This new Subpart E would embody old Subpart I—Miscellaneous Provisions. It would be renamed and repositioned to better reflect its contents and the order of the Board's procedures. Old Subpart E would be included in Subpart F.
No changes are proposed for this section (old § 52.81), apart from its renumbering.
Paragraph (a) (old § 52.82(a)) would be amended to reflect the amendments to sections 52.21 and 52.32. Paragraphs (a) and (b) (old § 52.82(c)) would be amended to reflect the fact that the views of the Coast Guard may be submitted in an advisory opinion by any delegate of the Commandant. Paragraph (c) (old § 52.82(e)) would be amended to require the Board to consider the advisory opinion of the Coast Guard only if it is submitted within 135 days of the date the application is complete but to permit the Board to consider advisory opinions submitted after the 135-day deadline has passed. The proposed rule would facilitate timely decisions when submissions of advisory opinions by the Coast Guard are delayed to the point where little or no time would remain for the Board to receive the applicant's response to the advisory opinion, issue a final decision, and have it reviewed by the delegate of the Secretary before the statutory ten-month deadline has expired. Paragraph (d) (old § 52.82(d)) would increase the time provided for the applicant's response to the advisory opinion from 15 to 30 days and allow the Chair to grant extensions of the time to respond. Paragraph (e), which is new, would require advisory opinions and applicants' briefs in response to advisory opinions to be readable, replicable, and not unduly lengthy.
This section (old § 52.82(b)) would be expanded to address the Board's ability to seek information from applicants and from other Government offices, as well as from the Coast Guard. It addresses how the Board can receive and review classified, privileged, and sensitive information from the Coast Guard or another Government office while providing the applicant with a copy of any part of that information that would be released to him or her if requested by the applicant from the custodian of the information under 49 CFR parts 7 or 10.
This subpart would incorporate both old Subpart E—Hearings and old Subpart F—Procedure at Hearings because both concern hearings.
No changes other than renumbering and substituting the term Chair for the term Chairman are proposed for this section (old § 52.41).
No changes other than renumbering, substituting the term Chair for the term Chairman, and adding a comma for stylistic consistency are proposed for this section (old § 52.42).
This section (old § 52.43) would be renumbered and amended by substituting the term Chair for the term Chairman, adding a comma for stylistic consistency, and clarifying the language to indicate that the applicant is only responsible for ensuring the appearance of his or her own witnesses at a hearing.
This section (old § 52.44) would be renumbered and amended to inform applicants that they may be entitled to representation by a law specialist if they are granted a hearing and their cases are processed under the Whistleblower Protection Act.
No change is proposed for this section (old § 52.45), apart from its renumbering.
No amendments other than renumbering, substituting the term Chair for the term Chairman, and adding a comma for stylistic consistency are proposed for this section (old § 52.51).
No change is proposed for this section (old § 52.52), apart from its renumbering.
No amendments other than substituting the term Chair for the term Start Printed Page 76145Chairman are proposed for paragraphs (a) and (b). Old paragraph (c) would be amended and moved to proposed paragraphs 52.24(a) and 52.26(c). New paragraph (c) (old paragraph (d)) would be amended only by substituting the term Chair for the term Chairman and by capitalizing the letter b in Board for stylistic consistency. Paragraph (d) (old paragraph (e)) would be revised to show that the Board's authority to order the Coast Guard to take “any other action deemed necessary to carry out the Board's recommendation,” as previously provided, includes the authority to order the Coast Guard to convene medical boards to help determine an applicant's proper disability rating for a correction of his or her separation. No changes are proposed for paragraph (e) (old paragraph (f)).
Paragraph (a) would contain the existing, unamended text of this section. Paragraph (b) would be added to provide for the return of classified, privileged, or sensitive information reviewed by the Board to the custodial Government office and the inclusion of the redacted copy of the information that was provided to the applicant in the Board's permanent record of proceedings after final action is taken.
Paragraph (a)(2) would be amended to require the delegate of the Commandant of the Coast Guard to identify and describe in his or her advisory opinion the significant issue of Coast Guard policy challenged in an application that requires its review by the delegate of the Secretary under paragraph (b) if the Board grants relief contrary to the Coast Guard's advisory opinion or if the Board grants substantially different relief than that recommended by the Coast Guard. Paragraph (a)(2) would also be amended to make the Board's decision on an application to receive a medal or award final unless the Coast Guard describes a significant issue of Coast Guard policy that is challenged in the application. Paragraph (b) would be amended to reflect the range of actions the delegate of the Secretary may take in reviewing a decision of the Board.
This section would be amended to make only the permanent record of proceedings, as compiled in accordance with section 52.63(b), available for the applicant's inspection.
In paragraphs (a), (b), and (e), the term Chair would be substituted for the term Chairman. Paragraph (a)(1) would be amended for clarification. Paragraph (c) would be amended to better explain who can serve on a Board to reconsider a case. Paragraph (d) would be amended to make applications for reconsideration subject to the provisions in section 52.26 for permitting applicants to request extensions, submit evidence late, and alter their requests for relief.
This old section would be incorporated in proposed section 52.26.
This section would be renamed for clarity and the words “shall transmit” would be substituted for the word “transmits.” Paragraph (b) would be amended to specify that applicants must furnish to the Board or to the Coast Guard information needed to determine the proper parties to a claim. Paragraph (c) would be amended to notify applicants that monetary awards resulting from record corrections may be reduced by setoffs required by law or regulation.
This section would be amended to provide that the Coast Guard should return a decision to the Board for clarification or technical amendment if it believes that the Board's order is incomplete because of an oversight.
The old Subpart I—Miscellaneous Provisions would be repositioned and renamed as Subpart E—Submissions by the Coast Guard and Other Offices.
This new section would inform the public of the availability of copies of its final decisions, redacted to protect the privacy of applicants, for public review in the Board's reading room and on the Web.
This proposed rule does not constitute a significant rule under Executive Order 12866 or the Department's Regulatory Policies and Procedures. The costs of these procedural changes would be negligible, their effect on industry would be negligible, and they are not of general policy interest.
Under 5 U.S.C. 604, we certify that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because it would affect only the procedures followed by the Board, the Coast Guard, and applicants in the submission and processing of applications for correction of individuals' personal military records. There are no Federalism factors to warrant the preparation of a Federalism assessment.
This NPRM does not propose any information collection requirements subject to review under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Issued this 26th day of November 2002 at Washington, DC.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Department proposes to revise 33 CFR Part 52 to read as follows:
Start Printed Page 76146 Subpart C—General Provisions Regarding Applications
Authority: 10 U.S.C. 1552, 14 U.S.C. 425.
(a) The Secretary of Transportation, acting through boards of civilians, is authorized to correct any military record of the Coast Guard when the Secretary considers it necessary to correct an error or remove an injustice. 10 U.S.C. 1552. The Secretary shall ensure that final action on a complete application for correction is taken within 10 months of its receipt. 14 U.S.C. 425.
An application for correction of a record must be filed within three years after the applicant discovered or reasonably should have discovered the alleged error or injustice. If an Start Printed Page 76147application is untimely, the applicant shall set forth reasons in the application why it is in the interest of justice for the Board to consider the application. An untimely application shall be denied unless the Board finds that sufficient evidence has been presented to warrant a finding that it would be in the interest of justice to excuse the failure to file timely.
(a) It is the responsibility of the applicant to procure and submit with his or her application such evidence, including official records, as the applicant desires to present in support of his or her case. All such evidence should be submitted with the applicant's DD Form 149 in accordance with § 52.21(c)(1). Evidence submitted by an applicant after an application has been filed and docketed shall be considered late and its acceptance is subject to the provisions in §§ 52.26(a)(4) and (c).
(a) Each applicant has a right to have final action taken on his or her application within 10 months after all the elements of a complete application, as defined in § 52.21(c), have been received by the Board, unless the applicant
(3) The Board does not have jurisdiction to determine the issues presented or the applicant has not exhausted an available administrative remedy, as required under § 52.13(b); or
(a) The Board shall transmit to the Commandant of the Coast Guard or his or her delegate a copy of each application for relief submitted and docketed under subpart C of this part, Start Printed Page 76148together with any briefs, memoranda, and documentary evidence submitted or obtained in the case.
(a) The Board shall prepare a complete record of each proceeding. The record shall include the application for relief; the written views of the Coast Guard, if any; any transcript of testimony; affidavits and documents considered by the Board; briefs and Start Printed Page 76149written arguments filed in the case; the findings, decisions, and recommendations of the Board; minority reports, if any; and all other materials necessary to reflect a true and complete history of the proceedings.
If the intent or import of the final decision is not clear to the Coast Guard, if the Coast Guard believes that executing all or part of the order in the Start Printed Page 76150final decision is beyond the Coast Guard's authority, or if the Coast Guard believes that the order is incomplete because of an oversight, the final decision shall be returned to the Board for clarification or technical amendment.
[FR Doc. 02-30933 Filed 12-10-02; 8:45 am]