[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47466-47467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-18053]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

49 CFR Part 1

[Docket No. OST-1999-6189]
RIN 9991-AA27


Organization and Delegation of Powers and Duties; Secretarial 
Succession

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The purpose of this amendment is to alter the order of 
Secretarial succession for the Department in order to be consistent 
with the Vacancies Act.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 19, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Aguilar, Office of the Assistant 
General Counsel for Environmental, Civil Rights, and General Law, 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street SW., Room 10102, 
Washington, DC 20590; Telephone: (202) 366-0365.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 49 CFR 1.26, the order of succession to 
act as Secretary of Transportation is set forth as follows: The Deputy 
Secretary,

[[Page 47467]]

General Counsel, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, 
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, Assistant 
Secretary for Governmental Affairs, Assistant Secretary for Budget and 
Programs, Associate Deputy Secretary, Federal Aviation Administrator, 
and Assistant Secretary for Administration, in that order.
    The Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (Vacancies Act) specifies 
who may serve in an acting capacity for a vacant position that is 
subject to a nomination by the President by and with the consent of the 
Senate (a ``PAS'' position). The Vacancies Act is the exclusive means 
for temporarily authorizing an acting official to perform the functions 
and duties of a PAS position unless otherwise authorized by statute. 
The Administration interprets the Vacancies Act to mean that if there 
is no statutory provision that enables the head of an agency to 
establish an order of succession, only the President of the United 
States may do so.
    Section 102 of title 49, United States Code, authorizes the 
Secretary to prescribe the order of succession for the Assistant 
Secretaries and the General Counsel. The Department's order of 
Secretarial succession is not consistent with the Vacancies Act since 
it also includes the Associate Deputy Secretary and the Federal 
Aviation Administrator. Therefore, we are amending the Secretarial 
Order of Succession to make it consistent with 49 U.S.C. 102 and the 
Vacancies Act.
    Section 102 of title 49, United States Code, authorizes the 
Secretary to prescribe the order of succession for the Assistant 
Secretaries and the General Counsel. Under the Vacancies Act, only the 
President is authorized to designate officers in the line of 
Secretarial succession that are not specified in the enabling statute. 
In other words, only the President may designate officers beyond the 
General Counsel and the Assistant Secretaries. In a Memorandum for the 
Secretary of Transportation entitled ``Designation of Officers of the 
Department of Transportation,'' dated March 19, 2002, the President 
supplemented the Secretarial succession to include: the Associate 
Deputy Secretary of Transportation; the Under Secretary of 
Transportation for Security; the Federal Aviation Administrator; the 
Federal Aviation Administration Regional Administrator, Southwest 
Region; and the Federal Aviation Administration Regional Administrator, 
Great Lakes Region, in that order. This final rule codifies the 
President's Memorandum.
    Since this amendment relates to Departmental management, 
procedures, and practice, notice and comment on it are unnecessary 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(A), and it may be made effective in less than 
30 days after publication in the Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 
553(d)(2) as a change in internal policy.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 1

    Authority delegations (Government agencies), Organization and 
functions (Government agencies).

    Issued this 10th day of July, 2002, at Washington, DC.
Norman Y. Mineta,
Secretary of Transportation.


    In consideration of the foregoing, Part 1 of Title 49, Code of 
Federal Regulations, is amended as follows:

PART 1--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 1 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322; 46 U.S.C. 2104(a); 28 U.S.C. 2672; 31 
U.S.C. 3711(a)(2); Pub. L. 101-552, 104 Stat. 2736; Pub L. 106-159, 
113 Stat. 1748; Pub. L. 107-71, 115 Stat. 597.


    2. In Sec. 1.26, paragraphs (a)(3) through (a)(12) are revised to 
read as follows:


Sec. 1.26  Secretarial succession.

    (a) * * *
    (3) Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs.
    (4) Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs.
    (5) Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy.
    (6) Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs.
    (7) Assistant Secretary for Administration.
    (8) Associate Deputy Secretary.
    (9) Under Secretary of Transportation for Security.
    (10) Federal Aviation Administrator.
    (11) Federal Aviation Administration Regional Administrator, 
Southwest Region.
    (12) Federal Aviation Administration Regional Administrator, Great 
Lakes Region.
* * * * *

[FR Doc. 02-18053 Filed 7-18-02; 8:45 am]
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