[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 240 (Thursday, December 15, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-30845]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 15, 1994]


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INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION

49 CFR Parts 1312 and 1314

[Ex Parte No. 444]

 

Electronic Filing of Tariffs

AGENCY: Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC).

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The ICC proposes to amend parts 1312 and 1314 of its 
regulations to retain the status quo with respect to the rules for 
filing electronic and printed tariffs, and to terminate the Ex Parte 
No. 444 proceeding. This action will codify in the regulations the 
tariff filing rules which have been in effect for the past five years 
as a result of the partial stay of the Commission's 1989 decision in Ex 
Parte No. 444.1 The revisions we propose will continue the 
application of part 1314 to rail tariffs, for which rail interests have 
expressed a preference, and will continue the application of part 1312 
to motor (and other non-rail) tariffs, for which motor interests have 
expressed a preference.

    \1\Electronic Filing of Tariffs, 5 I.C.C.2d 279 (1989); 54 FR 
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6403 and 9052 (1989).

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DATES: Comments are due on January 14, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Send comments (an original and 10 copies) referring to Ex 
Parte No. 444 to: Interstate Commerce Commission, Office of the 
Secretary, Case Control Branch, 1201 Constitution Ave., N.W., 
Washington, DC 20423.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James W. Greene, (202) 927-5602, or 
Thomas A. Mongelli, (202) 927-5150. TTD for the hearing impaired: (202) 
927-5721.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a decision served April 1, 1994, in this 
proceeding, the Commission announced its intention to proceed with the 
development of an electronic tariff filing (ETF) system, and to 
establish a negotiated rulemaking (Reg-Neg) committee to review the 
matter and recommend appropriate ETF regulations to the Commission. 
Steps were taken to establish the Reg-Neg committee, and public 
comments were requested on the Commission's initial membership 
selections. However, before our review of the comments was finalized, 
legislative proposals were presented to largely eliminate motor carrier 
tariff filing, and to eliminate or significantly reduce the 
Commission's Fiscal Year 1995 appropriation. With those circumstances, 
the Commission postponed all further action to establish the ETF Reg-
Neg Committee.2 On August 24, 1994, the ``Trucking Industry 
Regulatory Reform Act of 1994'' (TIRRA) was enacted, which 
significantly reduced motor carrier tariff filing requirements, and the 
Commission's Fiscal Year 1995 appropriation was subsequently reduced by 
31%.
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    \2\Electronic Filing of Tariffs, Ex Parte No. 444 (ICC served 
August 11, 1994).
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    With the enactment of TIRRA, the need for ETF in any form is 
greatly diminished, and in light of the more limited remaining ICC 
tariff filing requirements, it is unnecessary to utilize the Reg-Neg 
process for ETF regulations.
    The major reason for establishing the Reg-Neg Committee was to 
provide an opportunity for the different transportation modes 
(primarily rail and motor), and their customers, to agree on the ETF 
regulations that should be adopted by the Commission. With the 
enactment of TIRRA and the elimination of the tariff filing requirement 
for independently determined rates of motor carriers of property (other 
than household goods carriers), much of the need for the Committee and 
ETF no longer exists. Additionally, it is possible that further changes 
to tariff filing requirements will be made if the recommendations in 
the Commission's TIRRA report3 are adopted. In light of these 
factors, and the Commission's extremely limited financial resources, 
the Commission has decided to terminate the ETF Reg-Neg Committee.
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    \3\Ex Parte No. 522, Study of Interstate Commerce Commission 
Regulatory Responsibilities, issued October 25, 1994.
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    Further, we do not believe it is prudent to invest significant 
resources in the development of new regulations for either printed or 
electronically-filed tariffs at this time. We, therefore, propose to 
modify our tariff filing regulations to designate part 1314 as 
applicable only for rail tariffs and part 1312 as applicable for other 
(non-rail) tariffs, and to terminate the Ex Parte No. 444 proceeding. 
This action will codify the status quo that has existed since 1989.
    The Ex Parte No. 444 proceeding has a long history. In October 
1987, the Commission proposed to replace its detailed tariff publishing 
regulations with simpler tariff ``standards'' to facilitate ETF.4 
In early 1989, the Commission did eliminate the detailed tariff 
regulations formally applicable to printed tariffs and authorized the 
filing of electronic tariffs.5 However, the Commission declined to 
prescribe standards for data exchange, because the private sector had 
already invested significant resources in such projects, and because 
continued development through the marketplace, rather than government 
regulation, was considered to be preferable. ETF design was left to the 
individual carriers, provided that carriers complied with the statutory 
rate disclosure requirements, and data interchange capability was not 
mandated.
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    \4\Ex Parte No. 444, Electronic Filing of Tariffs, decision 
served October 21, 1987; 52 FR 39549 (1987).
    \5\Electronic Filing of Tariffs, 5 I.C.C.2d 279 (1989); 54 FR 
6403 and 9052 (1989).
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    Subsequently, several parties (primarily motor carrier interests) 
asked the Commission to stay its decision, arguing (inter alia) that 
the absence of detailed standards for ETF would undermine the orderly 
electronic dissemination of tariff information. In contrast, various 
railroad interests applauded the agency's action and urged the 
Commission to allow carriers to implement ETF immediately.
    The Commission granted the stay request,6 but later lifted the 
stay (as of November 8, 1989) insofar as it applied to railroad 
tariffs.7 The Commission explained that the rail industry was 
better prepared to proceed with ETF, and that the experience gained 
with rail ETF would be helpful in considering ETF for other modes. 
Since this time, as a result of the partial lifting of the stay, the 
more general ``standards'' regulations at 49 CFR 1314 have applied to 
tariff filings by rail carriers; and the much more specific ``how-to'' 
regulations at 49 CFR 1312 have applied to non-rail (principally motor) 
tariff filings.
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    \6\Electronic Filing of Tariffs, 5 I.C.C.2d 1052 (1989); 54 FR 
10533 (1989).
    \7\Electronic Filing of Tariffs, 6 I.C.C.2d 153 (1989); 54 FR 
42959 (1989).
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    It appears that the tariff filing rules contained in part 1314 are 
working satisfactorily for rail tariffs, and that the rail industry 
supports the continuation of those rules. Motor interests (both 
carriers and shippers), on the other hand, expressed a strong 
preference for the part 1312 rules, and, apparently, continue to 
support those rules as they now apply after TIRRA. In these 
circumstances, and given the possibility for future regulatory reforms 
and limited Commission resources, we believe it is in the public 
interest to continue the status quo and terminate this proceeding.
    Rail carriers have thus far made only limited use of the electronic 
tariff filings authorized in part 1314. There is a small number of 
electronic tariffs on file, however, and the Commission recently 
granted a rail carrier's special tariff authority request to eliminate 
the printed tariff and file only the electronic version,8 thereby 
reducing the carrier's publishing costs by an estimated $150,000 per 
year. While the regulations in part 1312 do not currently authorize 
electronic filing, we will consider special tariff authority requests 
if motor (or other) carriers wish to come forward with such proposals.
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    \8\Special Tariff Authority No. 93-12 (not printed), served July 
25, 1994.
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Regulatory Flexibility

    The rules proposed herein will not impose additional burdens on 
tariff filers or others; rather they merely codify the rules that are 
currently in effect as a result of the partial stay of the Commission's 
decision in Ex Parte No. 444, served February 10, 1989 (corrected 
decision served March 8, 1989).

Environmental Statement

    This action will not significantly affect either the quality of the 
human environment or the conservation of energy resources.

List of Subjects

49 CFR Part 1312

    Motor carriers, Moving of household goods, Pipelines, Tariffs.

49 CFR Part 1314

    Motor carriers, Railroads, Tariffs.

    Decided: December 2, 1994.

    By the Commission, Chairman McDonald, Vice Chairman Morgan, 
Commissioners Simmons and Owen.
Vernon A. Williams,
Secretary.
    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Commission proposes 
to amend chapter X of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 
parts 1312 and 1314, as follows:

PART 1312--REGULATIONS FOR THE PUBLICATION, POSTING AND FILING OF 
TARIFFS, SCHEDULES AND RELATED DOCUMENTS

    1. The authority citation for part 1312 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 553; 49 U.S.C. 10321, 10762 and 10767.

    2. The heading of part 1312 is proposed to be revised to read as 
follows:

PART 1312--REGULATIONS FOR THE PUBLICATION, POSTING AND FILING OF 
TARIFFS, SCHEDULES AND RELATED DOCUMENTS OF MOTOR, PIPELINE AND 
WATER CARRIERS

* * * * *

PART 1314--REGULATIONS FOR THE PUBLICATION, POSTING AND FILING OF 
TARIFFS AND RELATED DOCUMENTS

    3. The authority citation for part 1314 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 10321, 10708, 10761, and 10762; 5 U.S.C. 
553.

    4. The heading of part 1314 is proposed to be revised to read as 
follows:

PART 1314--REGULATIONS FOR THE PUBLICATION, POSTING AND FILING OF 
TARIFFS AND RELATED DOCUMENTS OF RAIL CARRIERS

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 94-30845 Filed 12-14-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7035-01-P