[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 60 (Friday, March 28, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15089-15092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-7413]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

41 CFR Part 102-173

[FMR Amendment 2003-1]
RIN 3090-AH41


Federal Management Regulation; Internet GOV Domain

AGENCY: Office of Governmentwide Policy, GSA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The General Services Administration (GSA) is adding coverage 
on the Internet GOV Domain to the Federal Management Regulation (FMR). 
The purpose of this final rule is to provide a new policy for 
registration of domain names. The FMR is written in plain language to 
provide updated regulatory material that is easy to read and 
understand.

DATES: Effective Date: March 28, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Regulatory Secretariat, Room 4035, 
GS Building, Washington, DC, 20405, (202) 208-7312, for information 
pertaining to status or publication schedules. For clarification of 
content, contact Lee Ellis, Office of Electronic Government and 
Technology, at (202) 501-0282, [email protected]. Please cite FMR 
Amendment 2003-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background

    The purpose of this final rule is to provide a new policy for the 
Internet GOV Domain that will be included in the FMR. The final rule is 
written in a plain language question and answer format. This style uses 
an active voice, shorter sentences, and pronouns. Unless otherwise 
indicated in the text, the pronoun ``we'' refers to the General 
Services Administration (GSA). A question and its answer combine to 
establish a rule. You must follow the language contained in both the 
question and its answer.
    This final rule establishes FMR part 102-173, Internet GOV Domain, 
and provides policy for registration of domain names. A proposed rule 
was published in the Federal Register at 67 FR 34890, May 16, 2002. 
Public comments were solicited for use in the formulation of the final 
rule. All comments were consolidated and each one considered through a 
formal process. Comments received were from private citizens, Federal, 
State, and local government organizations, information technology 
standards organizations, and commercial businesses. Particularly worth 
noting are the comments concerning the cost for dot-gov registration. 
GSA currently assesses no charge. The rule merely establishes a ceiling 
for the charges that GSA may assess in the future if circumstances 
require it. These charges, if established, will be based on the costs 
of operations and market rates. An earlier regulation was previously 
located in the Federal Property Management Regulation (FPMR) (41 CFR 
part 101-35, subpart 101-35.7, Network Address Registration) and 
expired on August 8, 2001.
    Jurisdiction of the Internet GOV (dot-gov) domain was delegated to 
GSA in 1997 by the Federal Networking Council with guidance in the form 
of Internet Engineering Task Force Informational RFC 2146. Since then, 
the U.S. Government use of the Internet has evolved and is rapidly 
emerging as an electronic government without boundaries. Federal 
organizations are choosing dot-gov domain names to reflect the type of 
service being rendered and are collaborating to form portals that cross 
boundaries of agencies, departments, and other U.S. government 
entities. GSA reserves the right to make exceptions to the naming 
conventions described in this subpart on a case-by-case basis in unique 
and compelling cases.
    In addition, there is increasing interest from non-Federal U.S. 
government entities, such as State and

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local governments, and Federally recognized Indian tribes, known in 
this rule as Native Sovereign Nations (NSNs), to provide service within 
the dot-gov domain. Many such governmental entities believe that their 
citizens are likely to associate their government at all levels with 
the dot-gov domain, and therefore, want the additional option of 
positioning their governmental portal to the public within this space. 
GSA has entered into an agreement with the Department of the Interior's 
Bureau of Indian Affairs to facilitate the registration of NSNs in the 
dot-gov domain.

B. Executive Order 12866

    This is a significant rule and was subject to Office of Management 
and Budget review under section 6(b) of Executive Order 12866, 
Regulatory Planning and Review, dated September 30, 1993.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    We certify that the amendments will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities, because the 
registration and renewal fees, and paperwork collection burden will be 
small.

D. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply because this final rule 
does not contain any information collection requirements that require 
the approval of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under 44 
U.S.C. 3501, et seq.

E. Congressional Review Act

    This final rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804.

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    This final rule does not significantly or uniquely affect small 
governments or tribal governments. It does not result in expenditures 
by State, local, or tribal governments, or to the private sector, of 
$100 million or more in any one year.

G. Executive Order 13132 on Federalism

    This final rule does not have Federalism implications.
    There are no substantial direct effects on the States, on the 
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government.

List of Subjects in 41 CFR Part 102-173

    Archives and records, Computer technology, Federal information 
processing resources activities, Government procurement, Property 
management, Records management, Telecommunications.

    Dated: March 24, 2003.
Stephen A. Perry,
Administrator of General Services. ?

0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, GSA amends 41 CFR chapter 
102 as follows:

CHAPTER 102--[AMENDED]

0
1. Part 102-173 is added to subchapter F of chapter 102 to read as 
follows:

PART 102-173--INTERNET GOV DOMAIN

Subpart A--General
Sec.
102-173.5 What is Internet GOV Domain?
102-173.10 What is the authority or jurisdiction of the Internet GOV 
Domain?
102-173.15 What is the scope of this part?
102-173.20 To whom does this part apply?
102-173.25 What definitions apply to this part?

Subpart B--Registration

102-173.30 Who may register in the dot-gov domain?
102-173.35 Who authorizes domain names?
102-173.40 Who is my Chief Information Officer (CIO)?
102-173.45 Is there a registration charge for domain names?
102-173.50 What is the naming convention for States?
102-173.55 What is the naming convention for Cities and Townships?
102-173.60 What is the naming convention for Counties or Parishes?
102-173.65 What is the naming convention for Native Sovereign 
Nations?
102-173.70 Where do I register my dot-gov domain name?
102-173.75 How long does the process take?
102-173.80 How will I know if my request is approved?
102-173.85 How long will my application be held, pending approval by 
the Chief Information Officer (CIO)?
102-173.90 Are there any special restrictions on the use and 
registration canonical, or category names like recreation.gov?
102-173.95 Are there any restrictions on the use of the dot-gov 
domain name?

    Authority: 40 U.S.C. 486(c).

Subchapter F--Telecommunications

* * * * *

Subpart A--General


Sec.  102-173.5  What is Internet GOV Domain?

    Internet GOV Domain refers to the Internet top-level domain ``dot-
gov'' operated by the General Services Administration for the 
registration of U.S. government-related domain names. In general, these 
names reflect the organization names in the Federal Government and non-
Federal government entities in the United States. These names are now 
being used to promote government services and increase the ease of 
finding these services.


Sec.  102-173.10  What is the authority or jurisdiction of the Internet 
GOV Domain?

    Jurisdiction of the Internet GOV (dot-gov) domain was delegated to 
the General Services Administration in 1997 by the Federal Networking 
Council with guidance in the form of Internet Engineering Task Force 
(IETF) Informational RFC 2146, which can be obtained on the Internet 
at: http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2146.txt?number=2146.


Sec.  102-173.15  What is the scope of this part?

    This part addresses the registration of second-level domain names 
used in the Internet GOV Domain. This registration process assures that 
the assigned domain names are unique worldwide.


Sec.  102-173.20  To whom does this part apply?

    This part applies to Federal, State, and local governments, and 
Native Sovereign Nations. You do not need to register domain names with 
the General Services Administration if you will be using some other 
top-level domain registration, such as dot-us, dot-org, or dot-net.


Sec.  102-173.25  What definitions apply to this part?

    The following definitions apply to this part:
    Domain is a region of jurisdiction on the Internet for naming 
assignment. The General Services Administration (GSA) is responsible 
for registrations in the dot-gov domain.
    Domain name is a name assigned to an Internet server. This is the 
name that you request from GSA. Typically, you would apply this name to 
a domain name server. A domain name locates the organization or other 
entity on the Internet. The dot gov part of the domain name reflects 
the purpose of the organization or entity. This part is called the Top-
Level Domain name. The Second-Level Domain name to the left of the dot 
gov maps to a readable version of the Internet address. The Domain Name 
server has a registry of Internet Protocol (IP) address numbers that 
relate to the readable text name.
    Domain name server is the computer that provides pointers from the 
domain name to the actual computers.
    Dot-gov refers to domain names ending with a ``.gov'' suffix. The 
Internet GOV domain is another way of

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expressing the collection of dot-gov domain names.
    Native Sovereign Nations (NSN) are federally recognized tribes.

Subpart B--Registration


Sec.  102-173.30  Who may register in the dot-gov domain?

    Registration in the dot-gov domain is available to official 
governmental organizations in the United States including Federal, 
State, and local governments, and Native Sovereign Nations.


Sec.  102-173.35  Who authorizes domain names?

    Domain names must be authorized by the Chief Information Officer 
(CIO) of the requesting or sponsoring governmental organization. For 
Federal departments and agencies, the General Services Administration 
(GSA) will accept authorization from the CIO of the department or 
agency. For independent Federal government agencies, boards, and 
commissions, GSA will accept authorization from the highest-ranking 
Information Technology Official. For State and local governments, GSA 
will accept authorization from appropriate State or local officials, 
see Sec.  102-173.40.
    For Native Sovereign Nations, GSA will only accept authorization 
from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior. In most 
cases, GSA will not make determinations on the appropriateness of the 
selected domain names, but reserves the right to not assign domain 
names on a case-by-case basis. Non-Federal government domain names must 
follow the naming conventions described in Sec. Sec.  102-173.50 
through 102-173.65. For other government entities, CIO's may delegate 
this authority by notification to GSA.


Sec.  102-173.40  Who is my Chief Information Officer (CIO)?

    Your Chief Information Officer (CIO) may vary according to the 
branch of government. For the Federal Government, the General Services 
Administration (GSA) recognizes the cabinet level CIOs listed at http://www.cio.gov. For States, GSA will accept authorization from the Office 
of the Governor or highest-ranking Information Technology (IT) 
official. Other officials include the Mayor (for city or town), County 
Commissioner (for counties) or highest ranking IT official. Native 
Sovereign Nations (NSN) must receive authorization from the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs. CIOs may delegate this authority by notification to 
GSA.


Sec.  102-173.45  Is there a registration charge for domain names?

    The General Services Administration (GSA) reserves the right to 
charge for domain names in order to recover cost of operations. For 
current registration charges, please visit the GSA Web site at http://www.nic.gov. GSA does not currently charge a fee. GSA has the authority 
to employ a system of collection that includes a one-time setup fee for 
new registrations, which will not exceed $1000, depending on the level 
of assistance that may be provided by GSA, and a recurring annual 
charge that will not exceed $500 for all dot-gov domains. The fees are 
based on anticipated costs for operating the registration service.


Sec.  102-173.50  What is the naming convention for States?

    (a) To register any second-level domain within dot-gov, State 
government entities must register the full State name or clearly 
indicate the State postal code within the name. Examples of acceptable 
names include virginia.gov, tennesseeanytime.gov, wa.gov, nmparks.gov, 
mysc.gov, emaryland.gov, and ne-taxes.gov. However--
    (1) Use of the State postal code should not be embedded within a 
single word in a way that obscures the postal code. For example, 
Indiana (IN) should not register for win.gov, or independence.gov; and
    (2) Where potential conflicts arise between postal codes and 
existing domain names, States are encouraged to register URL's that 
contain the full State name.
    (b) There is no limit to the number of domain names for which a 
State may register.
    (c) States are encouraged to make second-level domains available 
for third-level registration by local governments and State Government 
departments and programs. For example, the State of North Carolina 
could register NC.GOV as a second-level domain and develop a system of 
registration for their local governments. The State would be free to 
develop policy on how the local government should be registered under 
NC.GOV. One possibility might be to spell out the city, thus 
Raleigh.NC.gov could be a resulting domain name.


Sec.  102-173.55  What is the naming convention for Cities and 
Townships?

    (a) To register any second-level domain within dot-gov, City (town) 
governments must register the domain name with the city (town) name or 
abbreviation, and clear reference to the State in which the city (town) 
is located. However--
    (1) Use of the State postal code should not be embedded within a 
single word in a way that obscures the postal code; and
    (2) Inclusion of the word city or town within the domain name is 
optional and may be used at the discretion of the local government.
    (b)(1) The preferred format for city governments is to denote the 
State postal code after the city name, optionally separated by a dash. 
Examples of preferred domain names include--
    (i) Chicago-il.gov;
    (ii) Cityofcharleston-sc.gov;
    (iii) Charleston-wv.gov;
    (iv) Townofdumfries-va.gov; and
    (v) Detroitmi.gov.
    (2) GSA reserves the right to make exceptions to the naming 
conventions described in this subpart on a case-by-case basis in unique 
and compelling cases.
    (c) If third-level domain naming is used, GSA reserves the right to 
offer exceptions to the third-level domain naming conventions described 
in this section on a case-by-case basis in unique and compelling cases.


Sec.  102-173.60  What is the naming convention for Counties or 
Parishes?

    (a) To register any second-level domain within dot-gov, County or 
Parish governments must register the County's or Parish's name or 
abbreviation, the word ``county'' or ``parish'' (because many counties 
have the same name as cities within the same State), and a reference to 
the State in which the county or parish is located. However, the use of 
the State postal code should not be embedded within a single word in a 
way that obscures the postal code.
    (b) The preferred format for county or parish governments is to 
denote the State postal code after the county or parish, optionally 
separated by a dash. Examples of preferred domain names include--
    (1) Richmondcounty-ga.gov;
    (2) Pwc-county-va.gov; and
    (3) Countyofdorchestor-sc.gov.
    (c) If third-level domain naming is available from the State 
government, counties or parishes are encouraged to register for a 
domain name under a State's registered second-level (e.g., 
richmondcounty.ga.gov).


Sec.  102-173.65  What is the naming convention for Native Sovereign 
Nations?

    To register any second-level domain in dot-gov, Native Sovereign 
Nations (NSN) may register any second-level

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domain name provided that it contains the registering NSN name followed 
by a suffix of ``-NSN.gov'' (case insensitive).


Sec.  102-173.70  Where do I register my dot-gov domain name?

    Registration is an online process at the General Services 
Administration's Web site at http://www.nic.gov. At the Network 
Information Site, you will find the instructions and online 
registration forms for registering your domain name. To register your 
domain name you will need to provide information such as your desired 
domain name, sponsoring organization, points of contact, and at least 
two name server addresses.


Sec.  102-173.75  How long does the process take?

    The process can be completed within 48 hours if all information 
received is complete and accurate. Most requests take up to thirty (30) 
days because the registrar is waiting for Chief Information Officer 
(CIO) approval.


Sec.  102-173.80  How will I know if my request is approved?

    A registration confirmation notice is sent within one business day 
after you register your domain name, informing you that your 
registration information was received. If all of your information is 
accurate and complete, a second notice will be sent to you within one 
business day, informing you that all of your information is in order. 
If you are ineligible, or if the information provided is incorrect or 
incomplete, your registration will be rejected and a notice will be 
sent to you stating the reason for rejection. Registration requests 
will be activated within two business days after receiving valid 
authorization from the appropriate Chief Information Officer (CIO). 
Once your domain name has been activated, a notice will be sent to you.


Sec.  102-173.85  How long will my application be held, pending 
approval by the Chief Information Officer (CIO)?

    Registrations will be held in reserve status for sixty (60) days 
pending Chief Information Officer (CIO) authorization from your 
sponsoring organization.


Sec.  102-173.90  Are there any special restrictions on the use and 
registration of canonical, or category names like recreation.gov?

    Yes, canonical names registration request must provide access 
coverage for the areas conveyed by the name. So the URL recreation.gov 
would not be approved for the state of Maryland, but the URL 
recreationMD.gov would be approved if it provides statewide coverage. 
The logic of the names adds value to the dot gov domain. GSA reserves 
the right deny use of canonical names that do not provide appropriate 
coverage and to arbitrate these issues.


Sec.  102-173.95  Are there any restrictions on the use of the dot-gov 
domain name?

    The General Services Administration approves domain names for a 
specific term of time, generally two years unless otherwise stated, and 
under conditions of use. General conditions of registration and are 
posted at the registration Web site at http://www.nic.gov and may be 
modified over time. Organizations that operate web sites that are not 
in compliance with the conditions of use may have their domain name 
terminated.
[FR Doc. 03-7413 Filed 3-27-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-14-P