[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 61 (Monday, March 31, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15549-15550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-7656]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2003-14794]


Proposed Guidance for the Use of Binding Arbitration Under the 
Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT

ACTION: Notice of proposed guidance; Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a 
modal administration within the U.S. Department of Transportation 
(DOT), proposes to use the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) 
technique of binding arbitration in civil penalty forfeiture 
proceedings in which the only issues remaining to be resolved are: (1) 
The amount of the civil penalty owed, and (2) the length of time in 
which to pay it. FMCSA will not agree to arbitrate maximum penalty 
cases issued pursuant to section 222 of the Motor Carrier Safety 
Improvement Act of 1999, or any cases that require interpretation of 
the regulations or analysis of important policy issues. FMCSA intends 
to implement binding arbitration immediately upon publication of this 
notice. Binding arbitration will be implemented to provide more 
efficient and effective resolution of the large volume of adjudication 
cases that are now before FMCSA's Chief Safety Officer. In accordance 
with section 575(c) of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 
1996, FMCSA has submitted this Guidance to the Attorney General for 
consultation. The Attorney General concurs in the issuance of this 
Guidance. Changes to the arbitration program may be made, however, in 
accordance with any comments or information received by FMCSA 
concerning implementation of binding arbitration.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 30, 2003.

ADDRESSES: You may mail, fax, hand deliver or electronically submit 
written comments on the Guidance to the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 7th 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001, FAX (202) 493-2251, on-line at 
http://dms.dot.gov/submit. Please include the docket number that 
appears in the heading of this document in your submission. Comments 
may be examined at the Dockets Management Facility from 9 a.m. to 5 
p.m., Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays. You may also view all comments or download an electronic copy 
of this document from the DOT Docket Management System (DMS) at http://dms.dot.gov/search.htm and by typing the last five digits of the docket 
number appearing at the heading of this document. The DMS is available 
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic 
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``help'' section 
of the web site. If you want us to notify you that we received your 
comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or 
postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that appears after 
submitting comments on-line.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the 
Department of Transportation's complete Privacy Act Statement in the 
Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; 
Pages 19477-78) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven B. Farbman, (202) 385-2351, 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Adjudications Counsel, 400 
7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 
5:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

    Interested persons are invited to participate in finalizing this 
Guidance by submitting such written comments, views, or arguments as 
they may desire. All comments received will be included in the docket 
and available for public inspection before and after the comment 
closing date. All comments received on or before the closing date will 
be considered by FMCSA. Late-filed comments will be considered to the 
extent practicable. The Guidance referenced in this notice may be 
changed in light of the comments received.

Availability of the Guidance

    This notice and request for comments merely identifies the 
Guidance. A complete copy of the Guidance has been placed in the public 
docket. The docket may be accessed at the U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 7th 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001, or on-line at http://dms.dot.gov. The docket number is provided at the beginning of this 
Notice.

Background

    In the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 (ADRA) (Pub. 
L. 104-320, 110 Stat.3870 (October 19, 1996) (now codified at 5 U.S.C. 
571-583)), Congress authorizes Federal agencies to utilize binding 
arbitration to resolve administrative disputes, provided that 
conditions specified in the ADRA are satisfied. Among other things, the 
ADRA requires interested agencies to develop and issue guidance on the 
appropriate use of arbitration. FMCSA has posted its Guidance at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov as well as in the docket for this Notice at http://dms.dot.gov and is implementing binding arbitration in civil penalty 
forfeiture proceedings in which the only issues remaining to be 
resolved are the amount of the civil penalty owed and the length of 
time in which to pay it. The Chief Safety Officer will determine if a 
case is appropriate for arbitration and notify the parties in writing 
that the case will be referred to arbitration with the consent of both 
parties. A detailed explanation of the notification and consent process 
is provided in the Guidance. Cases requiring interpretation of the 
regulations or analysis of important policy issues will not be selected 
for binding arbitration. FMCSA will immediately modify or terminate the 
use of binding arbitration if there is reason to believe that 
continuing it is inconsistent with the goals and objectives of the 
safety regulations.

[[Page 15550]]

    In accordance with section 575 of the ADRA, FMCSA's Guidance for 
use of binding arbitration to resolve civil penalty disputes was 
developed in consultation with the Attorney General. FMCSA has been 
informed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that the Attorney General 
concurs in the Guidance and implementation of binding arbitration.
    The Guidance satisfies the requirements regarding binding 
arbitration specified by section 575 of the ADRA of 1996, and addresses 
use of binding arbitration in a manner consistent with FMCSA's dispute 
resolution process and its procedural rules of practice at 49 CFR part 
386.

    Issued: March 24, 2003.
Annette M. Sandberg,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-7656 Filed 3-28-03; 8:45 am]
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