[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26168-26170]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6687]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[FHWA Docket No. FHWA-2006-24307]
ITS Program Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Transportation
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of intent to form an advisory committee.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 5305(h) of the Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
(SAFETEA-LU), the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the
Acting Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, is
establishing an advisory committee to advise the Secretary on carrying
out the Department of Transportation's Intelligent Transportation
System (ITS) Program. The purpose of this notice is to invite
interested parties to submit comments on the issues to be discussed,
and submit the names of organizations and participants to be considered
for representation on the committee.
DATES: You should submit your comments or nominations for membership on
the committee on or before June 2, 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Freitas, Managing
Director, ITS Joint Program Office, (202) 366-9292; Ms. Robin Fields,
Office of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-4099; or Mr. Wil Baccus, Office
of the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-1396; 400 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20590. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.,
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
You may submit or retrieve comments online through the Document
Management System (DMS) at: http://dms.dot.gov/submit. The DMS is
available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. Electronic submission
and retrieval help and guidelines are available under the help section
of the Web site.
An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded from the
Federal Register's home page at: http://
[[Page 26169]]
www.archives.gov and the Government Printing Office's database at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.
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 DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (70 FR 19477), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes
available. Further, some people may submit late comments and we
recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.
Background
On August 10, 2005, the President signed into law the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy
for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144). Title V,
Subtitle C, section 5305(h) mandates the establishment of an ITS
Program Advisory Committee.
A. Notice of Intent To Establish an Advisory Committee and Request for
Comment
In accordance with the requirements of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. App II, section 1, an agency of the
Federal Government cannot establish or utilize a group of people in the
interest of obtaining consensus advice or recommendations unless that
group is chartered as a Federal advisory committee. The purpose of this
notice is to indicate the Department's intent to create a Federal
advisory committee, under FACA, in order to invite interested parties
to submit comments on ITS issues to be considered by the committee and
to submit the names of organizations and participants to be considered
for representation on the committee.
B. Name of Committee
ITS Program Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Transportation.
C. Purpose and Objective
The ITS Program Advisory Committee to the Secretary of
Transportation (ITSAC-OST) will advise the Secretary of the Department
of Transportation by:
1. Providing input into the development of the Intelligent
Transportation System aspects of the strategic plan under section 508
of title 23, United States Code; and
2. Reviewing, at least annually, areas of intelligent
transportation systems research being considered for funding by the
Department, to determine--
(i) Whether these activities are likely to advance either the
state-of-the practice or state-of-the art in intelligent transportation
systems;
(ii) Whether the intelligent transportation system technologies are
likely to be deployed by users, and if not, to determine the barriers
to deployment; and
(iii) The appropriate roles for government and the private sector
in investing in the research and technologies being considered.
ITSAC-OST does not exercise program management or regulatory
development responsibilities and makes no decisions directly affecting
the programs on which it provides advice. ITSAC-OST provides a forum
for the development, consideration, and communication of information
from a knowledgeable and independent perspective.
D. Balanced Membership Plans
According to section 5305(h) of SAFETEA-LU, the ITSAC-OST shall
have no more than 20 members, be balanced between metropolitan and
rural interests, and include, at a minimum--
(1) A representative from a State highway department;
(2) A representative from a local highway department who is not
from a metropolitan planning organization;
(3) A representative from a State, local, or regional transit
agency;
(4) A representative from a metropolitan planning organization;
(5) A private sector user of intelligent transportation system
technologies;
(6) An academic researcher with expertise in computer science or
another information science field related to intelligent transportation
systems who is not an expert on transportation issues;
(7) An academic researcher who is a civil engineer;
(8) An academic researcher who is a social scientist with expertise
in transportation issues;
(9) A representative from a nonprofit group representing the
intelligent transportation system industry;
(10) A representative from a public interest group concerned with
safety;
(11) A representative from a public interest group concerned with
the impact of the transportation system on land use and residential
patterns; and
(12) Members with expertise in planning, safety, and operations.
This document gives notice of this process to potential
participants and affords them the opportunity to request representation
on the ITSAC-OST. The procedure for requesting such representation is
set out below. In addition, comments and suggestions for potential
participants are invited.
The Department is aware that there are many more potential
organizations and participants than there are membership slots on the
committee. Organizations and participants should be prepared to support
their participation on the committee.
It is very important to recognize that interested parties who are
not selected to membership on the committee can make valuable
contributions to the work of the ITSAC-OST in any of several ways. The
person or organization could request to be placed on the committee
mailing list, submitting written comments, as appropriate. Any member
of the public could attend the committee meetings, and, as provided in
FACA, speak to the committee. Time will be set aside during each
meeting for this purpose, consistent with the committee's need for
sufficient time to complete its deliberations.
E. Applications for Membership
Each application for membership or nomination to the committee
should include:
(1) The name of the applicant or nominee and the interest(s)
identified in Section 5305(h) such person would represent;
(2) Evidence that the applicant or nominee is authorized to
represent parties related to the interest(s) the person proposes to
represent; and
(3) A written commitment that the applicant or nominee would
participate in good faith.
Every effort is made to select committee members who are objective.
A balance is needed and weight is given to a variety of factors
including but not limited to geographical distribution, gender,
minority status, organization, and expertise.
F. Duration
Continuing.
G. Notice of Establishment
After evaluating comments received as a result of this notice, the
Department will issue a notice announcing the establishment and
composition of the committee.
(Authority: Section 5305(h), Public Law 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144)
[[Page 26170]]
Issued on: April 28, 2006.
J. Richard Capka,
Acting Federal Highway Administrator.
[FR Doc. E6-6687 Filed 5-2-06; 8:45 am]
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