[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 21, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15113-15115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-6872]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Parts 108, 109, 111, 129 and 191

[Docket No. FAA-1999-6673; Notice No. 00-02]
RIN 2120-AG84


Certification of Screening Companies

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings and extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: This action extends the comment period and announces two pubic 
meetings on the subject of ``Certification of Screening Companies; 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)'' (65 FR 560, January 5, 2000). In 
that NPRM, the FAA proposes to require that all companies that perform 
aviation security screening be certificated by the FAA and meet 
enhanced requirements. This extension and the public meetings are a 
result of a formal request from the Air Transport Association (ATA) and 
the Regional Airline Association (RAA) to extend the comment period and 
hold a public meeting on the proposal. These actions will afford 
interested parties additional opportunity to present their views on the 
proposed rulemaking.

DATES: The public meetings will be on April 4, 2000, in San Francisco, 
CA and April 6, 2000, in Fort Worth, TX. The meetings will begin at 9 
a.m. Persons unable to attend the meetings are invited to provide 
written comments, which must be received on or before May 4, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting on April 4, 2000, will be held at the 
State of California Building Auditorium, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, San 
Francisco, CA 94102. The public meeting on April 6, 2000, will be held 
at the Fritz Lanham Federal Building, Room 1A03, 819 Taylor Street, 
Fort Worth, TX 76102. Persons unable to attend the meetings may mail 
their comments in duplicate to: U.S. Department of Transportation 
Dockets, Docket No. FAA-1999-6673, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Room Plaza 
401, Washington, DC 20590. Comments may be filed and examined in Room 
Plaza 401 between 10 am and 5 pm weekdays, except Federal holidays. 
Comments also may be sent electronically to the Dockets Management 
System (DMS) at the following Internet address: http://dms.dot.gov/ at 
anytime. Commenters who wish to file comments electronically should 
follow the instructions on the DMS web site.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests to present a statement at the 
meetings or questions regarding the logistics of the meetings should be 
directed to Judy Courbois, Federal Aviation Administration, Office of 
Rulemaking, ARM-102, 800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20591; telephone (202) 267-9783; fax (202) 267-5075. Questions 
concerning the subject matter of the meetings should be directed to 
Scott Cummings, Office of Civil Aviation Security Policy and Planning 
(ACP-100), Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-9468; fax (202) 267-
5359.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  

Comments Invited

    Interested persons are invited to participate in the making of the 
proposed rule by submitting such written data, views, or arguments, as 
they may desire. Comments relating to the environmental, energy, 
federalism, or economic impact that might result from adopting the 
proposed rule also are invited. Substantive comments should be 
accompanied by cost estimates. Comments must identify the regulatory 
docket or notice number and be submitted in duplicate to the DOT Rules 
Docket address specified above.
    All comments received, as well as a report summarizing each 
substantive public contact with FAA personnel on this rulemaking, will 
be filed in the docket. All comments received on or before the closing 
date will be considered by the Administrator before taking action on 
this proposed rulemaking. Comments filed late will be considered as far 
as possible without incurring expense or delay. The proposals in notice 
No. 99-21 may be changed in light of the comments received.
    Comments received on the proposal will be available before and 
after the closing date for comments in the DOT Rules Docket for 
examination by interested persons. However, the Assistant Administrator 
for Civil Aviation Security has determined that the security programs 
required by parts 108, 109, and 129 contain sensitive security 
information. As such, the availability of information pertaining to 
these security programs is governed by part 191. Carriers, screening 
companies, and others who wish to comment on the NPRM should be 
cautious not to include in their comments any information contained in 
any security program.
    Commenters wishing the FAA to acknowledge receipt of their comments 
submitted in response to this notice or to the NPRM must include a pre-
addressed, stamped postcard with those comments on which the following 
statement is made: ``Comments to Docket No. FAA-1999-6673.'' The 
postcard will be date stamped and mailed to the commenter.

Availability of Notices

    An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded using a modem 
and suitable communications software from the FAA regulations section 
of the Fedworld electronic bulletin board service (telephone: (703) 
321-3339) or the Government Printing Office (GPO)'s electronic bulletin 
board service (telephone: (202) 512-1661).

[[Page 15114]]

    Internet users may reach the FAA's web page at http://www.faa.gov/avr/arm/nprm/nprm.htm or the GPO's web page at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara for access to recently published rulemaking 
documents.
    Any person may obtain a copy of this notice by submitting a request 
to the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 
800 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202) 
267-9680. Communications must identify the notice number or docket 
number of this document.
    Persons interested in being placed on the mailing list for future 
notices should request from the above office a copy of Advisory 
Circular No. 11-2A, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Distribution System, 
that describes the application procedure.

Background

    On December 15, 1999, the FAA issued notice No. 99-21, 
``Certification of Screening Companies, NPRM'' (65 FR 560, January 5, 
2000). Comments to that document were to be received on or before April 
4, 2000.
    By letter dated January 20, 2000, ATA and RAA requested that the 
FAA schedule a public meeting and extend the comment period for notice 
No. 99-21 by 90 days until July 5, 2000. ATA and RAA stated that given 
the length and complexity of the rule, it is unreasonable for the FAA 
to expect that affected parties will be able to thoroughly analyze the 
operational and financial impact of the proposed rule within the 
comment period the FAA allocated. It also noted that there are many 
entities, including small screening companies that are unfamiliar with 
the FAA's regulatory procedures and may have never participated in the 
rulemaking process. ATA and RAA further stated that it is in the 
interest of the FAA and the aviation industry to provide a detailed 
briefing of the elements of the NPRM.
    In accordance with Sec. 11.29(c) of title 14, Code of Federal 
Regulations, the FAA has reviewed ATA and RAA's petition for extension 
of the comment period to notice No. 99-21 and request for a public 
meeting. ATA and RAA have shown a substantive interest in the proposed 
rule and good cause for the extension and a public meeting.
    The FAA scheduled one public meeting in Washington, DC on March 10, 
2000, as announced in the Federal Register on February 2, 2000. The FAA 
believes that two additional public meetings and a 30-day extension of 
the comment period will provide the public sufficient additional 
opportunity to present comments on the proposed rule. However, in view 
of the Congressional mandate to improve the training and testing of 
screeners without delay, the FAA has determined that the requested 90-
day extension of the comment period is not appropriate. The FAA also 
has determined that extending the comment period and holding public 
meetings are consistent with the public interest.

Participation at the Meetings

    The FAA should receive requests from persons who wish to present 
oral statements at either meeting no later than March 24, 2000. Such 
requests should be submitted to Judy Courbois, as listed above in the 
section titled FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, and should include a 
written summary of oral remarks to be presented and an estimate of time 
needed for the presentation. The FAA will prepare an agenda of 
speakers, which will be available at the meetings. The names of those 
individuals whose requests to present oral statements are received 
after the date specified above may not appear on the written agenda. To 
accommodate as many speakers as possible, the amount of time allocated 
to each speaker may be less than the amount of time requested. Persons 
requiring audiovisual equipment should notify the FAA when requesting 
to be placed on the agenda.

Public Meeting Procedures

    The FAA will use the following procedures to facilitate the 
meetings:
    (1) There will be no admission fee or other charge to attend or to 
participate in the meetings. The meetings will be open to all persons 
who are scheduled to present statements or who register between 8:30 am 
and 9 am on the day of the meetings. While the FAA will make every 
effort to accommodate all persons wishing to participate, admission 
will be subject to availability of space in the meeting rooms. The 
meetings may adjourn early if scheduled speakers complete their 
statements in less time than is scheduled for the meetings.
    (2) An individual, whether speaking in a personal or a 
representative capacity on behalf of an organization, may be limited to 
a 10-minute statement. If possible, we will notify the speaker if 
additional time is available.
    (3) The FAA will try to accommodate all speakers. If the available 
time does not permit this, speakers generally will be scheduled on a 
first-come-first-served basis. However, the FAA reserves the right to 
exclude some speakers if necessary to present a balance of viewpoints 
and issues.
    (4) Sign and oral interpretation can be made available at the 
meetings, as well as an assistive listening device, if requested 10 
calendar days before the meetings.
    (5) Representatives of the FAA will preside over the meetings. A 
panel of FAA personnel involved in this proposal will be present.
    (6) The meetings will be recorded by a court reporter. A transcript 
of the meetings and any material accepted by the FAA representatives 
during the meetings will be included in the public docket. Any person 
who is interested in purchasing a copy of the transcript should contact 
the court reporter directly. Additional transcript purchase information 
will be available at the meetings.
    (7) The FAA will review and consider all material presented by 
participants at the meetings. Position papers or material presenting 
views or arguments related to the certification of screening companies 
may be accepted at the discretion of the presiding officer and 
subsequently placed in the public docket. The FAA requests that persons 
participating in the meetings provide six copies of all materials to be 
presented for distribution to the FAA representatives; other copies may 
be provided to the audience at the discretion of the participant.
    (8) Statements made by FAA representatives are intended to 
facilitate discussion of the issues or to clarify issues. Any statement 
made during the meetings by an FAA representative is not intended to 
be, and should not be construed as, a position of the FAA.
    (9) The meetings are designed to solicit public views and gather 
additional information on the certification of screening companies. 
Therefore, the meetings will be conducted in an informal and non-
adversarial manner. No individual will be subject to cross-examination 
by any other participant; however, FAA representatives may ask 
questions to clarify a statement and to ensure a complete and accurate 
record.

Extension of Comment Period

    The FAA has reviewed the request for consideration of an extended 
comment period for notice No. 99-21 and determined that an extension 
would be in the public interest, and that good cause exists for taking 
this action.
    Accordingly, the comment period for notice No. 99-21 is extended to 
May 4, 2000.


[[Page 15115]]


    Issued in Washington, DC on March 15, 2000.
Jan Brecht-Clark,
Director, Office of Civil Aviation Security Policy and Planning.
[FR Doc. 00-6872 Filed 3-15-00; 3:46 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-U