[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 8877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-4501]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Docket Nos. 020816196-2196-01; 020816197-2197-01; 010222048-2217-03; 
010222048-2229-04; 010222048-2243-05; 010222048-2293-06; 010222048-
2215-02; 010222048-2313-07; and 010222048-3014-08.


Closing Comment Period on Review of Exceptions to the Electronic 
Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce

ACTION: Notice

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

SUMMARY: In a series of nine (9) Notices published in the Federal 
Register, the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration (NTIA) invited the public to submit comments on the 
exceptions to the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce 
Act, Pub. L. No. 106-229, codified at 15 U.S.C. Sec. Sec.  7001 et seq. 
(``ESIGN'' or ``the Act'') set out in section 103 of the Act.\1\ 
Comments filed on or before the deadlines listed in the Notices were 
posted on NTIA's website and comments received after the deadline were 
posted as late-filed comments. The comment period for the ninth Notice 
will expire on March 31, 2003.\2\ As of March 31, 2003, the comment 
periods in each of the dockets listed herein are closed. NTIA will not 
accept or place in the record documents filed in the listed dockets 
after this date.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\Notices have been published on the following exceptions to 
ESIGN: court, family law, and hazardous materials documents; wills; 
product recall, housing default, insurance cancellation, and utility 
termination notices; and contracts governed by state uniform 
commercial law. See 67 Fed.Reg. 56277, 56279, 59828, 61599, 63379, 
69201, 75849, 78421; 68 Fed.Reg. 4179.
    \2\See 68 Fed.Reg. 4179.

DATES: The comment periods in the dockets referenced in this Notice 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
will be closed on March 31, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this Notice, 
contact Josephine Scarlett, Attorney, Office of the Chief Counsel, 
NTIA, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20230, 
telephone (202) 482-1816 or electronic mail: [email protected]. 
Media inquiries should be directed to the Office of Public Affairs, 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration, at (202) 
482-7002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    NTIA is the executive branch agency responsible for developing and 
articulating domestic and international telecommunications policy. NTIA 
is the principal adviser to the President on telecommunications 
policies pertaining to the Nation's economic and technological 
advancement in the telecommunications industry. The evaluation of the 
exceptions to the ESIGN Act is a part of NTIA's statutory 
responsibility to Congress as required in section 103(c)(1) of the 
Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, Pub. L. No. 
106-229, 114 Stat. 464 (2000). The ESIGN Act facilitates the use of 
electronic records and signatures in interstate and foreign commerce 
and removes uncertainty about the validity of contracts entered into 
electronically. Section 101 requires, among other things, that 
electronic signatures, contracts, and records be given legal effect, 
validity, and enforceability. Sections 103(a) and (b) of the Act 
provide that the requirements of section 101 shall not apply to 
contracts and records governed by statutes and regulations regarding: 
court documents, probate and domestic law matters; state commercial 
law; consumer law covering utility services, residential property 
foreclosure and eviction notices; insurance benefits notices; product 
recall notices; and hazardous materials papers. Section 103(c)(1) 
requires NTIA's principal, the Assistant Secretary for Communications 
and Information, to submit a report to Congress on the results of the 
evaluation of the exceptions to the ESIGN Act within three years after 
the date of enactment of the Act, or no later than June 30, 2003.
    Due to the complexity of the issues in this evaluation and to 
facilitate a fully developed record, NTIA allowed interested parties to 
submit late-filed comments. NTIA has received a number of comments 
after the deadlines set in the Notices. Effective March 31, 2003, 
however, NTIA will no longer accept or place in the public record 
comments for consideration in this evaluation.

    Dated: February 20, 2002.
Kathy D. Smith,
Chief Counsel, National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-4501 Filed 2-25-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-S