[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 36 (Monday, February 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 8647]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-4229]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary


Privacy Act of 1974: System of Records; Statement of General 
Routine Uses; Notice of Interim Establishment

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Establishment of interim Privacy Act routine use.

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation (DOT) establishes an interim 
new General Routine Use that allows DOT to continue providing 
information from DOT systems of records to the Coast Guard and to the 
Transportation Security Administration, as it now does under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b)(1), when Coast Guard and Transportation Security Administration 
transfer on March 1 from DOT to the Department of Homeland Security. 
Public comment is invited.

DATES: Comments are due March 26, 2003. This interim General Routine 
Use will take effect on March 1, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Stephen A. Metoyer, Office of 
the General Counsel, C-10, Department of Transportation, Washington, DC 
20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen A. Metoyer, (202) 366-9154.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 
107-296) requires that the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security 
Administration (TSA) transfer from DOT to the newly created Department 
of Homeland Security (DHS). In performing their statutory duties, Coast 
Guard and TSA have shared information in Privacy Act systems of records 
with other components within DOT pursuant to subsection (b)(1) of the 
Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(1)). Subsection (b)(1) permits components 
within DOT to share information, contained in Privacy Act systems of 
records, with employees who have a need to know in performance of their 
duties.
    However, once Coast Guard and TSA transfer to DHS, information from 
DOT systems of records cannot be shared with them under subsection 
(b)(1) because these two components will no longer be part of DOT. 
Nonetheless, the corresponding needs of Coast Guard, TSA and the 
remaining DOT components to share information will continue because 
each agency's statutory requirements continue. Therefore, DOT proposes 
a new General Routine Use, which will permit DOT to continue providing 
information from its systems of records to Coast Guard and TSA as it 
has done prior to the transfer of these DOT components to DHS. DOT 
proposes to adopt the following language:

    ``8. Routine Use for Disclosure to Coast Guard and to 
Transportation Security Administration. A record from this system of 
records may be disclosed, as a routine use, to the Coast Guard and 
to the Transportation Security Administration if information from 
this system was shared with either agency when that agency was a 
component of the Department of Transportation before its transfer to 
the Department of Homeland Security and such disclosure is necessary 
to accomplish a DOT, TSA or Coast Guard function related to this 
system of records.''

    Under the Privacy Act, a routine use is a use to which information 
subject to the Act is put that is compatible with the original purpose 
for collecting the information. The continued providing of information 
to Coast Guard and Transportation Security Administration is compatible 
with the original purpose for collecting the information.
    Because the Coast Guard and TSA are transferring to DHS on March 1, 
2003, it is necessary to immediately establish this new general routine 
use under the Privacy Act. It would be contrary to the public interest 
to have a gap in the interaction of Coast Guard and TSA with DOT 
systems of records at a time of heightened security. Accordingly, this 
routine use will take effect on March 1, 2003, but may be changed 
thereafter in light of comments received.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 14, 2003.
Eugene K. Taylor, Jr.,
Acting Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 03-4229 Filed 2-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P