[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 63916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27347]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

[Docket No. 00-21]


Notice of Request for Preemption Determination

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is 
publishing for comment a request for the OCC's opinion about whether 
Federal law would preempt certain provisions of Ohio law that limit the 
manner in which reclaimed leased vehicles may be sold. The purpose of 
this notice and request for comment is to provide interested persons 
with an opportunity to submit comments prior to the OCC's issuance of 
an opinion.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 24, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Communications Division, 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E Street, SW., Third 
Floor, Attention: Docket No. 00-21, Washington, DC 20219. You may 
submit comments electronically to [email protected] or by 
facsimile transmission to (202) 874-5274. You can inspect and photocopy 
the comments at the OCC's Public Reference Room, 250 E Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on business days. You can 
make an appointment to inspect the comments by calling (202) 874-5043.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Meyer, Senior Attorney, or 
Mark Tenhundfeld, Assistant Director, Legislative and Regulatory 
Activities Division, (202) 874-5090.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The requester is a national bank that 
engages in motor vehicle leasing in Ohio. On November 12 , 1993, the 
Registrar of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (OBMV) issued a 
memorandum in which it concluded that Ohio Revised Code section 4517 
\1\ prohibits the public sale of reclaimed leased vehicles.\2\ Under 
this interpretation, reclaimed leased vehicles can only be sold at 
wholesale to persons licensed under section 4517 as ``dealers.''
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    \1\ Ohio Rev. Code Ann. Sec. 4517.
    \2\ Memorandum from Mitchell J. Brown, Registrar, Ohio Bureau of 
Motor Vehicles, to All Ohio Auto Auctions, Leasing Dealers, and 
Banks (November 12, 1993).
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    The requester has asked our opinion whether the National Bank Act 
would preempt section 4517 as interpreted by the OBMV. Under the 
National Bank Act, 12 U.S.C. 24(Seventh) and 12 U.S.C. 24(Tenth), a 
national bank is authorized to conduct a leasing business consistent 
with the provisions of 12 CFR part 23. The requester contends that its 
leasing authority includes the authority to dispose of reclaimed or 
off-lease vehicles in the manner that is economically most beneficial 
to the bank and that the bank is typically able to get the best price 
for its reclaimed or off-lease vehicles by selling directly to the 
public. The requester therefore asserts that the OBMV's construction of 
the Ohio law to prohibit public sales of reclaimed leased vehicles 
impairs a national bank's ability to exercise it leasing authority.
    Section 114 of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching 
Efficiency Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-328, 108 Stat. 2338) generally 
requires the OCC to publish in the Federal Register a descriptive 
notice of certain requests that the OCC receives for preemption 
opinions.\3\ Under section 114, the OCC must publish notice before it 
issues any opinion letter or interpretive rule opining that Federal law 
preempts the application to a national bank of any State law in four 
designated areas: community reinvestment, consumer protection, fair 
lending, or the establishment of intrastate branches. Pursuant to 
section 114, interested persons have at least 30 days to submit written 
comments. Without making a determination as to whether section 114 
applies to this request, the OCC has decided that it is appropriate to 
use notice and comment procedures.
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    \3\ 12 U.S.C. 43.
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    The OCC invites comments on the issues described above. We will 
publish in the Federal Register any final opinion letter we issue in 
response to the request.

    Dated: October 16, 2000.
John D. Hawke, Jr.,
Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 00-27347 Filed 10-24-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P