[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 13, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34008-34009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9220]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Industry and Security

15 CFR Part 756

[Docket No. 060602146-6146-01]
RIN 0694-AD78


Authorization To Appoint Any Commerce Department Employee To Be 
Appeals Coordinator in Certain Administrative Appeals

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule revises Section 756.2 of the Export Administration 
Regulations (EAR) to authorize the Under Secretary for Industry and 
Security to designate any employee of the Department of Commerce to be 
the appeals coordinator for appeals of administrative actions taken 
under part 756 of the EAR. Such designation of employees from outside 
the Bureau of Industry and Security shall require the concurrence of 
the head of the operating unit in which that employee is employed. 
Prior to publication of this rule, only a ``BIS official'' might have 
been designated as appeals coordinator.

DATES: This rule is effective June 13, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Arvin, Regulatory Policy 
Division, Office of Exporter Services, [email protected], 202 482 
2440.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Part 756 of the EAR provides the procedures for appeal of 
administrative actions taken by BIS under the Export Administration Act 
or the Export Administration Regulations. The procedures of part 756 
apply to actions other than the issuance, amendment, revocation or 
appeal of a regulation, and most enforcement actions taken under part 
764 or 766 of the EAR. Part 756 authorizes the Under Secretary for 
Industry and Security to designate an ``appeals coordinator to assist 
in the review and processing of an appeal * * *.'' Prior to publication 
of this rule, part 756 authorized the Under Secretary for Industry and 
Security to designate ``any BIS official'' as appeals coordinator. This 
rule authorizes the Under Secretary for Industry and Security to 
designate any employee of the Department of Commerce to be the appeals 
coordinator. The Under Secretary for Industry and Security must have 
the concurrence of the head of the operating unit in which the employee 
is employed to make such a designation of a Department of Commerce 
employee who is not an employee of BIS.
    The agency is making this change, which is administrative in 
nature, in order to provide the Under Secretary and the Department of 
Commerce with additional flexibility in allocating limited legal and 
official staff resources to the review and processing of appeals under 
part 756. The authority to decide appeals will remain with the Under 
Secretary, in accordance with section 756.2(c)(1) of the EAR, subject 
to the Under Secretary's authority to delegate that function to the 
Deputy Under Secretary or another BIS official in accordance with 
section 756.2(a). Moreover, this change will not affect the Under 
Secretary's authority to consider recommendations or other relevant 
information (from either the appeals coordinator or any other source) 
in deciding appeals, in accordance with section 756.2(c)(1). Nor will 
this change affect the substance of the agency's ongoing decision-
making activities.

Rulemaking Requirements

    1. This rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes 
of Executive Order 12866.
    2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is 
required

[[Page 34009]]

to respond to nor be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a 
collection of information, subject to the requirements of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (PRA), unless that 
collection of information displays a currently valid Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number. This rule does not involve 
any collections of information that are subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act.
    3. This rule does not contain policies with Federalism implications 
as this term is defined in Executive Order 13132.
    4. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, the provisions of the Administrative 
Procedure Act requiring a notice of proposed rulemaking and the 
opportunity for public comment are waived, because this regulation 
involves a rule of agency procedure. No other law requires that a 
notice of proposed rulemaking and an opportunity for public comment be 
given for this rule. Because a notice of proposed rulemaking and an 
opportunity for public comment are not required to be given for this 
rule under the Administrative Procedure Act or by any other law, the 
analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq.) are not applicable.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 756

    Administrative practice and procedure, Exports, Penalties.


0
Accordingly, part 756 of the Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR 
parts 730-799) are amended as follows:

PART 756--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for 15 CFR part 756 continues to read:

    Authority: 50 U.S.C. app. 2401 et seq.; 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.; 
E.O. 13222, 66 FR 44025, 3 CFR, 2001 Comp., p. 783; Notice of August 
2, 2005, 70 FR 45273 (August 5, 2005).

0
2. Section 756.2 is amended by revising the second sentence of 
paragraph (a), by adding a sentence immediately following the second 
sentence of paragraph (a) and by revising paragraph (b)(4)(v) to read 
as follows:


Sec.  756.2  Appeal from an administrative action.

    (a) Review and appeal officials. * * * In addition, the Under 
Secretary may designate any employee of the Department of Commerce to 
be an appeals coordinator to assist in the review and processing of an 
appeal under this part. If such employee is not an employee of BIS, 
such designation may be made only with the concurrence of the head of 
the operating unit in which that employee is employed. * * *
    (b) * * *
    (4) * * *
    (v) Report. Any person designated by the Under Secretary to conduct 
an informal hearing shall submit a written report containing a summary 
of the hearing and recommend action to the Under Secretary.
* * * * *

    Dated: June 6, 2006.
Matthew S. Borman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
 [FR Doc. E6-9220 Filed 6-12-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-33-P