[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9788-9789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4264]



=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 501


Organization and Delegation of Powers and Duties

agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

action: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

summary: This notice amends the delegations of authority within the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by transferring, from 
the Associate Administrator for Enforcement to the Director, Office of 
Vehicle Safety Compliance, the responsibility for granting and denying 
petitions for import eligibility decisions that are submitted to the 
agency under 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1) (formerly section 108(c)(3)(C)(i)(I) 
of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (the Act)).

effective date: This delegation is effective as of February 22, 1995.

for further information contact: Coleman Sachs, Office of the Chief 
Counsel (NCC-10), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 
Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20590 (202-366-5263).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    This notice amends the delegations of authority within the National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to reflect the transfer 
of responsibilities from NHTSA's Associate Administrator for 
Enforcement to one of the Associate Administrator's subordinates, the 
Director of the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. Under the existing 
delegations of authority, the Associate Administrator for Enforcement 
is responsible for the ``[g]ranting and denying of petitions for import 
eligibility determinations submitted to the NHTSA by motor vehicle 
manufacturers and registered importers * * *.'' 49 CFR 501.8(g)(3). 
Regulations establishing the procedures for making these determinations 
are found at 49 CFR part 593.
    Those regulations implement 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(A) (formerly 
section 108(c)(3)(A)(i)(I) of the Act), which provides that a motor 
vehicle not originally manufactured to conform to all applicable 
Federal motor vehicle safety standards shall be refused admission into 
the United States unless NHTSA has decided that it is substantially 
similar to a motor vehicle originally manufactured for importation 
[[Page 9789]] into and sale in the United States, certified under 49 
U.S.C. 30115 (formerly section 114 of the Act), and of the same model 
year as the model of the motor vehicle to be compared, and is capable 
of being readily altered to conform to all applicable Federal motor 
vehicle safety standards. Where there is no substantially similar U.S.-
certified motor vehicle, 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1)(B) (formerly section 
108(c)(3)(A)(i)(II) of the Act) permits a nonconforming motor vehicle 
to be admitted into the United States if its safety features comply 
with, or are capable of being altered to comply with, all applicable 
safety standards.
    Under 49 U.S.C. 30141(a) (formerly section 108(c)(3)(C)(i) of the 
Act), these import eligibility decisions may be made ``on the 
initiative of the Secretary of Transportation or on petition of a 
manufacturer or importer registered under (49 U.S.C. 30141(c).'' The 
Secretary's authority to make these determinations is delegated to the 
Administrator of NHTSA under 49 CFR 1.50(a). The Administrator, in 
turn, delegated to the Associate Administrator for Enforcement, under 
49 CFR 501.8(g)(3), the responsibility for granting and denying 
petitions for import eligibility determinations submitted to the agency 
by registered importers and manufacturers.
    This notice transfers these responsibilities to the Director of 
NHTSA's Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance. This transfer will 
eliminate one level of management review for these actions, thereby 
reducing the processing time for the petitions and some of the costs 
associated with the importation of the vehicles to which the petitions 
relate.
    The amendment made through this notice relates solely to the 
organization and assignment of duties within the agency, and has no 
substantive regulatory effect. It is therefore not subject to the 
notice and comment and the effective date requirements of the 
Administrative Procedure Act. This amendment is also not subject to the 
requirements of Executive Order 12866 or to the Department of 
Transportation's regulatory policies and procedures. Notice and the 
opportunity for public comment are therefore not required, and this 
amendment is effective immediately upon publication in the Federal 
Register.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 501

    Authority, Delegations.

    In consideration of the foregoing, 49 CFR part 501 is amended as 
follows:

PART 501--ORGANIZATION AND DELEGATION OF POWERS AND DUTIES

    1. The authority citation for part 501 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. secs. 105 and 322; delegation of authority 
at 49 CFR 1.50.

    2. Section 501.8 is amended by removing paragraph (g)(3), and by 
adding a new paragraph (l), to read as follows:


Sec. 501.8  Delegations.

* * * * *
    (l) Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, Enforcement. The 
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, Enforcement, is 
delegated authority to exercise the powers and perform the duties of 
the Administrator with respect to granting and denying petitions for 
import eligibility decisions submitted to the NHTSA by motor vehicle 
manufacturers and registered importers under 49 U.S.C. 30141(a)(1).

    Issued on: February 15, 1995.
Ricardo Martinez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 95-4264 Filed 2-21-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-M