[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 202 (Thursday, October 20, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61111-61112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20718]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 387

[Docket No. FHWA-1997-2923]
RIN 2126-AA82 (Formerly RIN 2126-AA28)


Qualifications of Motor Carriers To Self-Insure Their Operations 
and Fees To Support the Approval and Compliance Process

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

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM); withdrawal.

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

SUMMARY: This notice is a withdrawal of a proposed rule under RIN 2126-
AA28, which was inadvertently deleted from a prior agenda. The 1999 
NPRM requested comments on the financial security and collateral 
requirements of self-insured motor carriers and fees associated with 
self-insurance. Section 103 of the Interstate Commerce Commission 
Termination Act of 1995 (ICCTA) directed the Secretary to create a 
single, on-line Federal system to replace four existing DOT and former 
ICC systems--one of those being the financial responsibility 
information system. Because self-insurance is an aspect of carrier 
financial responsibility, the agency has decided to withdraw the 1999 
NPRM and has proposed amendments to the self-insurance regulations 
within the context of the financial reporting requirements being 
proposed under a new Unified Registration System and announced in a 
separate NPRM.

DATES: The NPRM published on May 5, 1999, at 64 FR 24123 is withdrawn 
as of October 20, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert F. Schultz, Jr., Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division, (202) 366-4001, Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 
4:15 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 104(h) of the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination 
Act of 1995 [Pub. L. 104-88, December 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 888] (ICCTA) 
directed the Secretary to continue to enforce the rules and regulations 
of the former ICC, which were in effect on July 1, 1995, governing 
qualifications for approval of a motor carrier as a self-insurer, until 
the Secretary deemed it in the public interest to revise those rules. 
Section 104(h) also specified that any revised rulemakings regarding 
self-insurance must provide for the continuing ability of motor 
carriers to obtain self-insurance authorizations, and the continued 
qualification of all carriers conducting self-insured operations 
pursuant to grants issued by the ICC or the Secretary. On September 23, 
1997, the predecessor agency to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration (FMCSA)--the Federal Highway Administration, Office of 
Motor Carriers--announced its intention to revise the self-insurance 
regulations in an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) (62 FR 
49654). (The Federal Highway Administration, Office of Motor Carriers, 
became FMCSA on January 1, 2000, pursuant to the Motor Carrier Safety 
Improvement Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-159, 113 Stat. 1748 (December 9, 
1999).) The public was invited to comment on a proposal to examine the 
sufficiency of the existing requirements for self-insurance 
authorizations, as well as the need for additional fees for functions 
performed in addition to the processing of the initial application. 
More specifically, the agency announced that it was considering the 
need for fees to cover costs associated with processing multi-carrier 
applications and alterations to self-insurance authorizations, and for 
a monitoring fee to cover costs related to compliance responsibilities. 
The ANPRM solicited comments on the merits of continuing the self-
insurance program and whether congressional action should be proposed 
to terminate the authorizations.
    On May 5, 1999, the agency proposed procedural changes to the self-
insurance process for for-hire motor carriers (66 FR 24123). 
Specifically, the agency would reevaluate the security and collateral 
requirements of any self-insured carrier that fails to generate from 
operations, after payment of all expenses except annual self-insurance 
claims expenses, twice the level of cash needed to pay the self-
insurance claims. An additional application fee would be assessed to 
cover carrier requests for modifications and alternations to self-
insurance authorizations that require a reevaluation of the carrier's 
financial condition. Because the agency was able to process the basic 
first-time self-insurance applications for less than it was currently 
charging, the fee for processing the initial application would be 
reduced from $4,200 to $3,000 for an economic cost savings. Finally, 
the NPRM proposed implementing additional procedures necessary for 
motor carriers to establish billing accounts to pay all insurance-
related fees required by the agency. The proposal included a schedule 
of filing fees and general instructions regarding payment.
    Section 103 of ICCTA amended Section IV of title 49, United States 
Code by adding a new sec. 13908. Section 13908 directs the Secretary to 
issue regulations to replace four systems with a ``single, on-line, 
Federal system.'' The financial responsibility information system under 
49 U.S.C. 13906 is one of the four systems to be merged under the 
unified system. Because the issue of self-insurance falls under the 
umbrella of financial responsibility, the agency has decided to 
withdraw the 1999 NPRM and discuss its proposals within the context of 
the Unified Registration System (URS) NPRM (published in the

[[Page 61112]]

May 19, 2005, Federal Register at 70 FR 28989.). Comments to the 1999 
NPRM also are addressed in the URS NPRM.
    The 1999 self-insurance NPRM published at 66 FR 24123 on May 5, 
1999 is withdrawn, and DOT docket FMCSA-1997-2923 is closed. Members of 
the public who are interested in the issues associated with motor 
carrier self-insurance are directed to the discussion and proposals 
relating to self-insurance published in the URS NPRM and DOT Docket 
Number FMCSA-1997-2349.

    Issued on: October 11, 2005.
Annette M. Sandberg,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 05-20718 Filed 10-19-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P