TWIC Exemption Notice

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 19, 2012 / Rules and Regulations
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
47 CFR Parts 51 and 54

[FR Doc. 2012–14303 Filed 6–18–12; 8:45 am]

[WC Docket Nos. 10–90, 07–135, 05–337,
03–109; GN Docket No. 09–51; CC Docket
Nos. 01–92, 96–45; WT Docket No. 10–208;
FCC 12–47]

Connect America Fund; a National
Broadband Plan for Our Future;
Establishing Just and Reasonable
Rates for Local Exchange Carriers;
High-Cost Universal Service Support;
Correction
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Final rule; correction.
AGENCY:

The Federal Communications
Commission published in the Federal
Register of May 29, 2012, a document
that reconsiders and modifies certain
provisions of the Commission’s rules
that were adopted in the USF/ICC
Transformation Order. This final rule
correction states that the amendments
made to 47 CFR part 51 shall be
effective on July 13, 2012, and, the
amendments made to 47 CFR part 54
shall be effective on June 28, 2012.
DATES: Effective June 19, 2012, the
effective date of the amendments to 47
CFR part 51 in the final rule published
May 29, 2012 (77 FR 31520) is corrected
to July 13, 2012. The effective date of
the amendments to 47 CFR part 54 shall
remain June 28, 2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Amy Bender, Wireline Competition
Bureau, (202) 418–1469, Victoria
Goldberg, Wireline Competition Bureau,
(202) 418–1520
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FCC
published a document in the Federal
Register of May 29, 2012, (77 FR 31520)
stating that 47 CFR part 51, is amended,
and such rule amendments shall be
effective 45 days after the date of
publication of the rule amendments in
the Federal Register. The document also
states that 47 CFR part 54, is amended,
and such rule amendments shall be
effective 30 days after the date of
publication of the rule amendments in
the Federal Register. This document
specifies the actual effective dates of the
rule amendments. The DATES heading of
the May 29, 2012, Federal Register
document only included the effective
date of the revisions to 47 CFR part 51.
This final rule correction specifies the
separate effective dates for the part 51
amendments and the part 54
amendments as follows: The
amendments to part 51 are effective July
13, 2012. The amendments to part 54
are effective June 28, 2012.

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Transportation Security Administration
49 CFR Part 1572
[Docket No. TSA–2006–24191]

Exemption From Transportation
Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
Expiration Provisions for Certain
Individuals Who Hold a Valid TWIC
Transportation Security
Administration, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of Exemption.
AGENCY:

The Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) is granting a
temporary exemption from certain
TWIC regulations regarding card
expiration and replacement
requirements. This exemption applies to
U.S. nationals 1 who hold a valid TWIC
expiring on or before December 31,
2014. The exemption permits eligible
TWIC holders to obtain a replacement
card that extends the expiration date of
their current security threat assessment
and TWIC by three years. During 2012,
DHS intends to publish a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to seek
comment on card reader requirements
and deployment requirement plans. At
the end of the three-year extension
period, pending the outcome of this
rulemaking activity, DHS expects card
reader requirements to be in place and
readers to be deployed at facilities with
the highest risk.
DATES: This exemption becomes
effective August 30, 2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
David Baker, Office of Security Policy
and Industry Engagement, TWIC
Program Office, TSA–28, Transportation
Security Administration, 601 South
12th Street, Arlington, VA 20598–6028;
telephone (571) 227–2659; facsimile
(571) 227–1376; email:
[email protected].
SUMMARY:

This
document grants a temporary exemption
to certain TWIC regulations contained at
49 CFR part 1572. The background,
purpose, and terms of the exemption are
explained below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1 The term U.S. nationals includes U.S. citizens
and noncitizen nationals of the United States.

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Background
The Maritime Transportation Security
Act (MTSA) of 2002 2 and the Security
and Accountability for Every Port Act of
2006 3 require TSA and the U.S. Coast
Guard to establish regulations requiring
certain merchant mariners and
individuals with unescorted access to
secure areas of certain vessels and
facilities to undergo a security threat
assessment (STA) and receive a
biometric credential called the
Transportation Worker Identification
Credential (TWIC). The STA consists of
criminal, immigration and terrorism
checks. TSA and the U.S. Coast Guard
implemented these requirements in a
joint final rulemaking.4
TSA is issuing this exemption to give
eligible individuals the option to extend
for an additional three years their
current STAs for five-year TWICs that
are set to expire on or before December
31, 2014,5 rather than require them to
renew the card. Through this notice, we
are exempting eligible individuals from
49 CFR 1572.23(a) and (a)(1) and
1572.501(d) of the TWIC regulation. If
card holders so choose, they will have
the option to renew the card for a full
five years, as detailed in the TWIC
regulation, codified at 49 CFR 1572.17,
1572.19, and 1572.21. The process for
exercising the three-year TWIC
extension option will be similar to the
card replacement procedures outlined
in the TWIC regulation at 49 CFR
1572.19(f) and 1572.501(d).
Eligible individuals choosing the
three-year TWIC extension may obtain it
by ordering the credential via telephone,
paying a $60 card replacement fee, and
visiting a TWIC enrollment center to
pick up and activate the card. For the
purposes of this exemption, the threeyear TWIC is considered a valid TWIC,
in that it can be used to enter maritime
facilities and vessels just as the five-year
TWIC is used currently. The three-year
TWIC will expire three years from the
expiration date of the TWIC that is being
replaced. Eligible individuals selecting
the three-year TWIC option do not have
to go through the standard renewal
process that includes providing new
biometric and biographic information at
an enrollment center, new STA,
payment of the renewal fee of $129.75,
and a second trip to an enrollment
center to retrieve and activate the
credential.
2 Public Law 107–295, 116 Stat. 2064 (November
25, 2002).
3 Public Law 109–347, 120 Stat. 1884 (October 13,
2006).
4 Transportation Worker Identification Credential
(TWIC) Implementation in the Maritime Sector
Final Rule, 72 FR 3492 (January 25, 2007).
5 49 CFR 1572.23.

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 19, 2012 / Rules and Regulations
This exemption will reduce the
burden and cost 6 associated with
obtaining a new TWIC for the majority
of individuals holding expiring TWICs,
while the U.S. Coast Guard develops the
TWIC reader regulation. This exemption
(and the option that it will provide to
certain TWIC holders with expiring
TWICs) and the U.S. Coast Guard TWIC
reader rulemaking are part of the
Department of Homeland Security’s
overall proposed effort to ensure that
TWIC readers are deployed, through a
risk-based approach, to appropriate
vessels and facilities throughout the
Nation in the coming three-year period.
In particular, over the next three
years, during the STA extension period,
DHS intends to issue a U.S Coast Guard
NPRM and final rulemaking to establish
a risk-based reader deployment and
implementation schedule. DHS
anticipates that the highest risk facilities
will be required to implement TWIC
card readers prior to the expiration of
the TWIC STA extension period
detailed in this notice. If a card holder
chooses not to exercise this extension,
the individual must follow TWIC
renewal provisions as specified in the
TWIC regulation at 49 CFR 1572.17,
1572.19 and 1572.21. For card holders
that opt to follow renewal procedures in
the final rule, renewal cards will be
valid for five years.
Authority and Determination
TSA may grant an exemption from a
regulation if TSA determines that the
exemption is in the public interest.7
TSA has determined that it is in the
public interest to grant an exemption
from certain TWIC regulations found at
49 CFR part 1572, described below
under ‘‘Exemption.’’ This exemption
will contribute to providing safe and
efficient transportation while ensuring
the efficient use and conservation of the
resources of the United States. Due to
the fact that readers are not yet required
by regulation or in widespread use, we
believe the burden associated with the
full renewal requirements is not
currently justified. The exemption
permits eligible individuals to pay
lower fees, reduce trips to an enrollment
center, and avoid providing new
biometric and biographic enrollment
information when they request the card.
As stated above, this exemption will

reduce the burden and cost associated
with obtaining a new TWIC for the
majority of individuals holding expiring
TWICs, without reducing the current
benefits of possession of those TWICs,
while the U.S. Coast Guard develops the
TWIC reader regulation.
These factors save time and resources
for TWIC workers and the government
and also facilitate commerce at
America’s ports, a vital element of the
national economy.

facility operators do not have to modify
current access control procedures to
accommodate three-year TWICs. Any
facility may use a TWIC reader in
conjunction with TSA’s Cancelled Card
List (CCL) to determine if a five-year or
three-year TWIC has been revoked for
cause, or reported as lost, stolen or
damaged. Industry and law enforcement
officials may use a three-year TWIC to
verify identity using a TWIC reader, as
is currently done with five-year TWICs.

Eligibility and Process for Using the
Exemption
Individuals are eligible to apply for
the three-year TWIC if they are U.S.
nationals 8 and hold a valid TWIC that
expires on or before December 31, 2014.
Individuals eligible for the three-year
TWIC may choose to obtain a five-year
TWIC under the current process. All
other individuals who are not eligible
for the three-year TWIC must obtain or
renew a TWIC through the standard
renewal process and obtain a five-year
TWIC.
Eligible individuals must request a
three-year TWIC from TSA. To make
this request, individuals should call 1–
866–347–8942 (the TWIC Help Desk 9)
to order a three-year TWIC. Individuals
must pay the associated $60 card
replacement fee either by credit card
over the telephone, or via cashier’s
check or money order at an enrollment
center.10 The new three-year TWICs will
be available within five to ten business
days after calling the TWIC Help Desk.
Once the card is ready, individuals must
make one visit to an enrollment center
of their choosing to pick up and activate
the three-year TWIC, and present a
government-issued photo identification
to verify that they are the authorized
TWIC holder. This visit to the
enrollment center is the only one
required; individuals can make an
appointment or walk in during normal
enrollment center business hours to
pick-up and activate the three-year
TWIC.
All individuals holding a TWIC must
continue to comply with all non-exempt
requirements of 49 CFR part 1572,
including requirements to report
disqualifying arrests, convictions or
unlawful immigration status. Ports and

Exemption

88

U.S.C. 1101(a)(22).
obtain more information about contacting the
TWIC Help Desk and this exemption, visit the TSA
Web site at http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/
twic/contact.shtm (last visited Apr. 18, 2012).
10 Please note that because payment must be
made in advance of ordering the replacement card,
those eligible individuals who choose to pay via
cashier’s check or money order will have to make
a separate trip to the enrollment center to order the
card, in addition to visiting the enrollment center
to pick-up and activate the three-year TWIC.

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9 To

6 TSA’s OMB control number for the TWIC
collection of information is 1652–0047. TSA has
updated its Paperwork Reduction Act submission to
OMB to reflect the changes in hour and cost burden
that will result from the TWIC Exemption. TSA
estimates for those eligible individuals who select
the three-year TWIC option, the cost and hour
burden will be reduced by over 50 percent. This
information will be available at www.reginfo.gov.
7 49 U.S.C. 114(q).

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Section I—General Exemption
Beginning August 30, 2012, TSA
exempts eligible individuals who hold a
valid TWIC that expires on or before
December 31, 2014, from the
requirements of 49 CFR part 1572
described below:
1. Eligible individuals are exempt
from 49 CFR 1572.23(a) and may receive
a three-year extension of the five-year
expiration date of their current TWIC by
following the procedures described
below in ‘‘Approved Procedures.’’ TSA
does not exempt individuals from the
requirements of 49 CFR 1572.23(a)(2).
2. Eligible individuals whose TWIC
was issued based on a comparable threat
assessment are exempt from 49 CFR
1572.23(a)(1) and may receive a threeyear extension of the expiration date of
their current TWIC by following the
procedures described below in
‘‘Approved Procedures.’’
3. Eligible individuals are exempt
from 49 CFR 1572.501(d) and may
replace their five-year TWIC with a
three-year TWIC by paying the $60 card
replacement fee even if their current
TWIC has not been lost, stolen or
damaged. Individuals may continue to
replace a lost, stolen or damaged TWIC
pursuant to the requirements in 49 CFR
1572.501(d).
Section II—Approved Procedures
To receive a three-year TWIC, eligible
individuals must:
1. Call the TWIC Help Desk (currently
1–866–347–8942) and order a three-year
TWIC. 11
2. Pay the $60 card replacement fee.
3. For individuals who became a U.S.
national after enrolling for the original
five-year TWIC, provide proof of U.S.
national status 12 before picking up the
three-year TWIC.
11 To obtain more information about contacting
the TWIC Help Desk and this exemption, visit the
TSA Web site at http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/
layers/twic/contact.shtm (last visited Apr. 18,
2012).
12 The list of acceptable documents that may be
used to provide proof of U.S. nationality is located
at http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 118 / Tuesday, June 19, 2012 / Rules and Regulations

4. Visit an enrollment center and
present a government-issued photo

identification 13 to activate and pick up
the new TWIC.
5. Comply with all non-exempt
requirements of 49 CFR part 1572.

Issued in Arlington, Virginia, on June 15,
2012.
John S. Pistole,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2012–15027 Filed 6–15–12; 4:15 pm]

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approved_twic_identification_docs.pdf (last visited
May 2, 2012).

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13 The list of acceptable identification documents
is located at http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/
approved_twic_identification_docs.pdf.

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