[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 189 (Friday, September 29, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50476-50477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-24123]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR 552, 554, 573, 576, and 577

[Docket No. 93-68, Notice 7]


Defect and Noncompliance Reports; Record Retention; Defect and 
Noncompliance Notification Establishment of Effective Date

AGENCY: .National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

ACTION: Establishment of effective date of certain amendments currently 
under reconsideration; clarification.

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SUMMARY: This document clarifies that the effective date of several of 
the amendments to NHTSA's defect investigation and reporting 
regulations that were published in the Federal Register on April 5, 
1995 (60 FR 17254) will be January 2, 1996. These amendments--to 49 CFR 
Part 576 (record retention) and 49 CFR sections 573.5(c)(8) (recall 
schedule); 573.7 (leased vehicle recordkeeping); and 577.5(h) (recall 
notification of lessees)--are currently the subject of petitions for 
reconsideration. To allow the agency the opportunity to consider the 
issues raised by the petitions for reconsideration, NHTSA indefinitely 
suspended the effectiveness of those amendments on July 7, 1995 (60 FR 
35458). In response to advice from the Office of the Federal Register 
that it is not proper to have rules in place without a definite 
effective date, NHTSA is establishing January 2, 1996 as the effective 
date of the identified amendments. All other amendments made by the 
April 5, 1995 final rule went into effect on July 7, 1995.

EFFECTIVE DATES: Effective May 4, 1995, the effective date of the April 
5, 1995 amendments to 49 CFR Part 576 and 49 CFR 573.5(c)(8), 573.7 and 
577.5(h) is January 2, 1996, and the effective date of all other 
amendments made by the April 5, 1995 final rule is July 7, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jonathan D. White, Office of Defects Investigation, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Room 5319, 
Washington, DC 20590; (202) 366-5227.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By final rule published in the Federal 
Register on April 5, 1995 (60 FR 17254), NHTSA amended several 
provisions of its defect investigation and reporting regulations. The 
effective date of those amendments was originally to be May 5, 1995. 
However, shortly before May 5, NHTSA received several petitions for 
reconsideration of certain of those amendments as well as requests for 
postponement of the effective date of the entire final rule.
    NHTSA was unable to act on those requests prior to May 5. Thus, by 
notice published on May 16, 1995 (60 FR 26002), the agency rescinded 
the May 5, 1995 effective date and adopted a new effective date of July 
7, 1995 for all of the April 5 amendments.
    In June 1995, NHTSA decided that it wished to gather and consider 
additional information on certain of the amendments that were 
identified in the petitions for reconsideration. The agency decided 
that those amendments--to 49 CFR Part 576 (record retention) and 49 CFR 
sections 573.5(c)(8) (recall schedule); 573.7 (leased vehicle 
recordkeeping); and 577.5(h) (recall notification of lessees)--should 
not go into effect until the completion of the reconsideration process. 
Therefore, by notice published in the Federal Register on July 7, 1995 
(60 FR 35458), NHTSA suspended the effective date of those four 
amendments ``until further notice.''
    NHTSA has been advised by the Office of the Federal Register that 
it is not appropriate to have rules in place without a definite 
effective date and that 

[[Page 50477]]
the agency should have indicated in the May 16, 1995 notice that the 
July 7, 1995 effective date was retroactively established as of May 4, 
1995. To address these problems and to alleviate any potential 
ambiguity regarding the effectiveness of these amendments, NHTSA is 
issuing this notice to clarify that, effective May 4, 1995, the 
effective date of the amendments to 49 CFR Part 576, Record Retention, 
and 49 CFR 573.5(c)(8) (recall schedule), 573.7 (leased vehicle 
recordkeeping), and 577.5(h) (recall notification of lessees) that were 
published on April 5, 1995 will be January 2, 1996. All other 
amendments made by the April 5, 1995 final rule became effective on 
July 7, 1995.

    Issued on: September 21, 1995.
Barry Felrice,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 95-24123 Filed 9-23-95; 8:45 am]
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