60-day Federal Register Notice

67198

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 223 / Monday, November 20, 2006 / Notices

Retaliation for Engaging in Protected
Activity
A Federal agency cannot retaliate
against an employee or applicant
because that individual exercises his or
her rights under any of the Federal
antidiscrimination or whistleblower
protection laws listed above. If you
believe that you are the victim of
retaliation for engaging in protected
activity, you must follow, as
appropriate, the procedures described in
the Antidiscrimination Laws and
Whistleblower Protection Laws sections
or, if applicable, the administrative or
negotiated grievance procedures in
order to pursue any legal remedy.
Disciplinary Actions
Under the existing laws, each agency
retains the right, where appropriate, to
discipline a Federal employee for
conduct that is inconsistent with
Federal Antidiscrimination and
Whistleblower Protection Laws up to
and including removal. If OSC has
initiated an investigation under 5 U.S.C.
1214, however, according to 5 U.S.C.
1214(f), agencies must seek approval
from the Special Counsel to discipline
employees for, among other activities,
engaging in prohibited retaliation.
Nothing in the No FEAR Act alters
existing laws or permits an agency to
take unfounded disciplinary action
against a Federal employee or to violate
the procedural rights of a Federal
employee who has been accused of
discrimination.

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Additional Information
For further information regarding the
No FEAR Act regulations, refer to 5 CFR
part 724, as well as the appropriate
offices within your agency (e.g., EEO/
civil rights office, human resources
office or legal office). Additional
information regarding Federal
antidiscrimination whistleblower
protection and retaliation laws can be
found at the EEOC Web site-http://
www.eeoc.gov and the OSC Web site—
http://www.osc.gov.
Existing Rights Unchanged
Pursuant to section 205 of the No
FEAR Act, neither the Act nor this
notice creates, expands or reduces any
rights otherwise available to any
employee, former employee or applicant
under the laws of the United States,
including the provisions of law
specified in 5 U.S.C. 2302(d).
Dated: November 11, 2006.
Harry K. Thomas, Jr.,
Executive Secretary, Department of State.
[FR Doc. E6–19594 Filed 11–17–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–10–P

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 5614]

Eligibility for Participation in Summer
Work Travel Programs
Department of State.
Notice.

AGENCY:
ACTION:

SUMMARY: Pursuant to statutory
authority granted the Department of
State by Public Law 105–277, foreign
post-secondary students participating in
a cultural exchange program may be
eligible to enter the United States to
work and travel during their summer
vacations from studies. To be eligible for
participation in these programs, foreign
students must be selected, screened,
placed, and monitored by Departmentdesignated organizations that are
authorized to conduct educational and
cultural exchange programs. These
programs further the public diplomacy
efforts of the United States by providing
participants with the opportunity to
experience the United States and its
people.
Participation in these programs is
dependent upon student status. For the
purpose of determining program
eligibility, designated program sponsors
may select for program participation
only those potential participants who
are currently enrolled and participating
full-time in post-secondary studies at
the time of application. This
certification will be published in the
Federal Register.

Dated: November 9, 2006.
Stanley S. Colvin,
Director, Office of Exchange Coordination
and Designation, Department of State.
[FR Doc. E6–19593 Filed 11–17–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2006–26304]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Revision of Approved
Information Collections: OMB Control
Numbers 2126–0010 (Motor Carrier
Safety Assistance Program); 2126–
0011 (Commercial Driver Licensing
and Test Standards); and 2126–0025
(Transportation of Household Goods;
Consumer Protection)
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: FMCSA invites public
comment on its intent to request

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approval from the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) to revise three (3)
information collections (ICs), entitled
‘‘Motor Carrier Safety Assistance
Program’’ (2126–0010), ‘‘Commercial
Driver Licensing and Test Standards’’
(2126–0011), and ‘‘Transportation of
Household Goods; Consumer
Protection’’ (2126–0025). These ICs are
necessary to ensure that motor carriers
comply with changes made by various
provisions of the Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity
Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU).
We are required to publish this notice
in the Federal Register by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and
implementing regulations at 5 CFR
1320.10.
Comments must be submitted on
or before January 19, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand
deliver comments to the U.S.
Department of Transportation, Dockets
Management Facility, Room PL–401,
400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington,
DC 20590; telefax comments to 202/
493–2251; or submit them electronically
at http://dms.dot.gov. All comments
should include the docket number in
this notice’s heading. All comments
may be examined and copied at the
above address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays. If you desire a receipt you
must include a self-addressed stamped
envelope or postcard or, if you submit
your comments electronically, you may
print the acknowledgment.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search
the electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or signing the comment, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may
review DOT’s complete Privacy Act
Statement in the Federal Register on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you
may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Frederic L. Wood, Office of Chief
Counsel, Regulatory Affairs Division
(MC–CCR), Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, Room 8201, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC
20590; telephone (202) 366–0834. Office
hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
information stated below reflects the
proposed changes and the new total
annual burden hours for each.
(1) Title: Motor Carrier Safety
Assistance Program.
FMCSA IC: OMB Control No. 2126–
0010.
DATES:

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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 223 / Monday, November 20, 2006 / Notices
Form No.: Forms MCSAP–1, MCSAP–
2, and MCSAP–2A.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents: State Grant Applicants.
Number of Respondents: 52 (per
quarter).
Estimated Time Per Response: 80
hours.
Expiration Date: November 30, 2007.
Frequency: Quarterly (reports) and
Annually (grant application).
Total Annual Burden: 12,264 hours.
(2) Title: Commercial Driver Licensing
and Test Standards.
FMCSA IC: OMB Control No. 2126–
0011.
Form No.: None.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents: Holders of and
applicants for commercial driver’s
licenses.
Number of Respondents: 12,523,571/
year.
Estimated Time Per Response: 6
minutes.
Expiration Date: April 30, 2007.
Frequency: On occasion.
Total Annual Burden: 1,269,856
hours.
(3) Title: Transportation of Household
Goods; Consumer Protection.
FMCSA IC: OMB Control No. 2126–
0025.
Form No.: Form MCSA–2P.
Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents: Motor Carriers and
Individual Shippers of Household
Goods.
Number of Respondents: 6,017.
Estimated Time Per Response: Varies
from 5 minutes to display assigned U.S.
DOT number in created advertisement
to 125 minutes to distribute consumer
publication.
Expiration Date: August 31, 2008.
Frequency: On occasion.
Total Annual Burden: 4,648,370
hours.

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Background
Summarized below is background
information for all three (3) information
collection requests subject to this notice.
First, the Motor Carrier Safety
Assistance Program (MCSAP) requires
that the Secretary of Transportation
(Secretary) review reports submitted by
the States and conduct inspections to
continuously evaluate a State’s
enforcement plan. Sections 401 through
404 of the Surface Transportation
Assistance Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97–424,
Jan. 6, 1983) (STAA), as amended by 49
U.S.C. 31100 et seq., established a
program of financial assistance to the

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States to implement programs to enforce
Federal and compatible State rules,
regulations, standards, and orders
applicable to commercial motor vehicle
(CMV) safety. The Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity
Act: A Legacy for Users (Pub. L. 109–59,
119 Stat. 1144, Aug. 10, 2005)
(SAFETEA–LU) amended 49 U.S.C.
31102(b)(1) to modify the conditions a
State must meet to qualify for grant
funds through MCSAP and now requires
the following conditions be addressed
in the State’s Commercial Vehicle Safety
Plan: (1) Deploying technology as part of
performance-based activities to enhance
the efficiency and effectiveness of CMV
safety programs; (2) disseminating as
part of the CMV and non-CMV licensing
examination information on best
practices for driving safely in the
vicinity of noncommercial and
commercial motor vehicles; (3)
conducting comprehensive and highly
visible traffic enforcement and CMV
safety inspection programs in high-risk
areas; (4) ensuring that inspections of
certain passenger vehicles are
conducted at a station or other facility
where a motor carrier may make a
planned stop; and (5) allowing the use
of funds to conduct documented
enforcement of State traffic laws. The
overall impact of these provisions
increases total burden hours by an
estimated 403 burden hours, chiefly as
a result of non-CMV traffic enforcement
activities.
Second, the Commercial Driver
Licensing (CDL) and Test Standards
program ensures that licensed drivers
are properly qualified to drive the
vehicles they operate and that drivers
do not have a history of high-risk safety
behavior. The Commercial Motor
Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99–
570, Title XII, 100 Stat. 3207–170, Oct.
27, 1986), as amended by 49 U.S.C.
chapter 313, required, among other
things, that each driver have only one
license, that States be notified of any
convictions of traffic law violations, and
that employers be notified within one
business day of notification of
suspension, revocation, or cancellation
of a license or loss of the right to operate
a CMV. States must comply with CDL
program requirements and pass State
compliance reviews, or a portion of
their Federal-aid highway funds can be
withheld. SAFETEA–LU made two
amendments to the CDL program.
Section 4102(b)(2)-(4) increased the
minimum disqualification periods and
civil penalties for drivers and the
maximum civil penalties for employers
convicted of violating an out-of-service
order. Section 4124(c) modified the

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67199

State penalty for noncompliance by
adding the phrase ‘‘up to’’ before the
existing phrases ‘‘5 percent’’ and ‘‘10
percent,’’ respectively. This potentially
reduces the penalty provisions for the
first and subsequent years, respectively,
for noncompliance with the Federal
CDL requirements. Because of an
adjustment made to reflect the net effect
of an increase in the number of CDL
driver records and a decrease in the
number of active CDL driver records,
the paperwork burden has decreased by
an estimated 3,142 burden hours. This
change is independent of these
SAFETEA–LU provisions.
Third, in the Motor Carrier Safety
Improvement Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106–
159, 113 Stat. 1749, Dec. 9, 1999)
(MCSIA), Congress authorized the
Agency to regulate household goods
carriers engaged in interstate operations
for individual shippers. In earlier
legislation, Congress abolished the
Interstate Commerce Commission and
transferred the Commission’s
jurisdiction over household goods
transportation to the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT) (ICC Termination
Act of 1995, Public Law 104–88). Prior
to FMCSA’s establishment, the
Secretary delegated this household
goods jurisdiction to the Federal
Highway Administration, FMCSA’s
predecessor organization within DOT. A
General Accounting Office report,
‘‘Consumer Protection: Federal Actions
Are Needed to Improve Oversight of the
Household Goods Moving Industry,’’
No. GAO–01–318, found that DOT
needed to increase regulatory oversight
of the household goods moving industry
and increase consumer education.
FMCSA subsequently issued rules that
clarified industry requirements and
continued a requirement that motor
carriers provide individual shippers of
household goods with the consumer
pamphlet ‘‘Your Rights and
Responsibilities When You Move’’
(Appendix A to 49 CFR Part 375) to
educate consumers on their legal rights
in the moving process (70 FR 39949,
July 12, 2005).
Sections 4202 through 4216 of
SAFETEA–LU amended various
provisions of existing law regarding
household goods transportation,
specifically addressing: definitions
(section 4202); payment of rates (section
4203); registration requirements for
household goods motor carriers (section
4204); carrier operations (section 4205);
enforcement of regulations (section
4206); liability of carriers under receipts
and bills of lading (section 4207);
arbitration requirements (section 4208);
civil penalties for brokers and
unauthorized transportation (section

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67200

Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 223 / Monday, November 20, 2006 / Notices

4209); penalties for holding goods
hostage (section 4210); consumer
handbook (section 4211); release of
broker information (section 4212);
working group for Federal-State
relations (section 4213); consumer
complaint information (section 4214);
review of liability of carriers (section
4215); and application of State laws
(section 4216). These provisions require
corresponding changes to the ‘‘Your
Rights and Responsibilities When You
Move’’ consumer pamphlet. Section
4205 also requires the motor carrier to
provide to the shipper a copy of the
publication ‘‘Ready to Move?’’ (or its
successor publication). These
publications provide concise, valuable
consumer protection information
regarding the legal rights of individual
shippers.
The household goods transportation
provisions of SAFETEA–LU increase
total paperwork burden by an estimated
278,333 burden hours. The largest
portion of this increase stems from
requirements in section 4205 regarding
the estimate of the transportation
charges and the physical survey of the
household goods.
Public Comments Invited: You are
asked to comment on any aspect of the
information collections referenced here,
including: (1) Whether the proposed
collection is necessary for FMCSA’s
performance; (2) the accuracy of the
estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA
to enhance the quality, usefulness, and
clarity of the collected information; and
(4) ways that the burden could be
minimized without reducing the quality
of the collected information. The
Agency will summarize and/or include
your comments in the request for OMB’s
clearance of this information collection.
Issued on: November 9, 2006.
John H. Hill,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E6–19564 Filed 11–17–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2006–26367]

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Announcement of Establishment of the
Motor Carrier Safety Advisory
Committee; Request for Nominations
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of establishment of the
Motor Carrier Safety Advisory
Committee; request for member
nominations.
AGENCY:

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces the
establishment of the Motor Carrier
Safety Advisory Committee as required
by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users. The advisory
committee will provide advice and
recommendations to the FMCSA
Administrator on the needs, objectives,
plans, approaches, content, and
accomplishments of motor carrier safety
programs and motor carrier safety
regulations. This notice also solicits
nominations for interested persons to
serve on the advisory committee. The
Administrator will appoint up to 20
members to the Motor Carrier Safety
Advisory Committee. The advisory
committee will begin work in 2006.
DATES: Nominations for the Motor
Carrier Safety Advisory Committee must
be received on or before January 4, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Scott Poyer, Chief, Strategic Planning
and Program Evaluation Division, Office
of Policy Plans and Regulation, (202)
366–6408, Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, 400 Seventh Street,
SW., Washington, DC 20590–0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background
Section 4144 of the Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity
Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA–LU)
(Pub. L. 109–59, August 10, 2005),
requires the Secretary to establish the
Motor Carrier Safety Advisory
Committee. The Committee will provide
advice and recommendations to the
Administrator of the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
on the needs, objectives, plans,
approaches, content, and
accomplishments of motor carrier safety
programs and motor carrier safety
regulations. The Committee will be
comprised of up to 20 members
appointed by the Administrator for up
to two-year terms. They will be selected
from among individuals who are not
employees of FMCSA and who are
specially qualified to serve on the
Committee based on their education,
training, or experience. The members
will include representatives of the
motor carrier industry, safety advocates,
and safety enforcement officials.
Representatives of a single enumerated
interest group may not constitute a
majority of the Committee members.
The Administrator will designate a
chairman of the Committee from among
the members. Committee members will
not be officers or employees of the
Federal Government and will serve
without pay. The Administrator may
allow a member, when attending

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meetings of the Committee or a
subcommittee, reimbursement of
expenses authorized under Section 5703
of Title 5, United States Code and the
Federal Travel Regulation, 41 CFR part
301, relating to per diem, travel and
transportation. FMCSA anticipates
calling Committee meetings at least four
times each year (excluding the initial
year). Meetings will be open to the
general public, except as provided
under the Federal Advisory Committee
Act (5 U.S.C. App 2). Notice of each
meeting will be published in the
Federal Register at least 15 calendar
days prior to the date of the meeting.
II. Motor Carrier Safety Advisory
Committee Charter [This Is the Text of
the Charter That DOT/FMCSA Has
Filed With the General Services
Administration.]
1. Purpose: This charter establishes
the Motor Carrier Safety Advisory
Committee and provides for its
operation in accordance with provisions
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA), as amended (5 U.S.C. App. 2);
41 CFR part 102–3; DOT Order 1120.3B;
and Section 4144 of the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for
Users, Public Law 109–59. The charter
also sets forth the principles governing
the Committee’s operation.
2. Scope and Objectives: The
Committee will provide advice and
recommendations to the Administrator
of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) on motor
carrier safety programs and motor
carrier safety regulations.
3. Duties: The members of the
Committee shall:
a. attend Committee meetings;
b. gather information as necessary to
discuss issues presented by the
Designated Federal Official (DFO);
c. deliberate; and
d. provide written consensus advice
to the Administrator.
4. Support: The Administrator shall
provide support staff for the Committee.
On request of the Committee, the
Administrator shall provide
information, administrative services,
and supplies that the Administrator
considers necessary for the Committee
to carry out its duties and powers.
FMCSA’s Strategic Planning and
Program Evaluation Division shall
furnish support services for the
operation of the Committee.
5. Designated Federal Officer and
Sponsor: The Designated Federal Officer
(DFO) for the Committee and its
subcommittees is FMCSA’s Associate
Administrator for Policy and Program
Development, or his or her designee.

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