[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 102 (Tuesday, May 29, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29472-29481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2652]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 367

[Docket No. FMCSA-2007-27871]
RIN 2126-AB09


Fees for Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement

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

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would establish annual fees and a fee 
bracket structure for the Unified Carrier Registration Agreement as 
required under the Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005, enacted as 
Subtitle C of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation 
Equity Act: A Legacy for Users.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before June 13, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by DOT DMS Docket Number 
FMCSA-2007-27871, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Agency Web Site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the 
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number (FMCSA-2004-27871) or Regulatory Identification Number 
(RIN) for this rulemaking (RIN 2126-AB09). Note that all comments 
received will be posted without change to http://dms.dot.gov, including 
any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading 
for further information.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL-
401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form for 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 (65 FR 19477) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov. 
Comments received after the comment closing date will be included in 
the docket and we will consider late comments to the extent 
practicable. FMCSA may, however, issue a final rule at any time after 
the close of the comment period.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Greg Parks, Regulatory Development 
Division, (202) 366-5370, FMCSA, Department of Transportation, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590 or by e-mail at: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Legal Basis for the Rulemaking

    This proposed rule involves the fees to be set for the Unified 
Carrier Registration Agreement established by 49 U.S.C. 14504a, enacted 
by section 4305(b) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) (119 Stat. 
1144, 1764 (2005)). New section 14504a establishes the Unified Carrier 
Registration Plan, ``an organization * * * responsible for developing, 
implementing, and administering the unified carrier registration 
agreement'' (49 U.S.C. 14504a(a)(9)). The Unified Carrier Registration 
Agreement is ``an interstate agreement governing the collection and 
distribution of registration and financial responsibility information 
provided and fees paid by motor carriers, motor private carriers, 
brokers, freight forwarders and leasing companies * * * '' (49 U.S.C. 
14504a(a)(8)).
    Congress also repealed the statutory provisions of 49 U.S.C. 14504 
governing the Single State Registration System (SSRS) (SAFETEA-LU 
section 4305(a)).\1\ The legislative history indicates that the purpose 
of the UCR Plan and Agreement is both to ``replace the existing 
outdated system [SSRS]'' for registration of interstate motor carrier 
entities with the States and to ``ensure that States don't lose current 
revenues derived from SSRS'' (S. Rep. 109-120, at 2 (2005)).\2\
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    \1\ This repeal became effective on January 1, 2007, in 
accordance with section 4305(a).
    \2\ The Senate bill's provisions were enacted ``with 
modifications.'' H. Conf. Rep. No. 109-203, at 1020 (2005).
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    The statute provides for a 15-member Board of Directors for the UCR 
Plan and Agreement to be appointed by the Secretary of Transportation. 
The establishment of the UCR Board (``Board'') was announced in the 
Federal Register on May 12, 2006 (71 FR 27777). Among its 
responsibilities, the Board must submit to the Secretary of 
Transportation \3\ a recommendation for the initial annual fees to be 
assessed motor carriers, motor private carriers, freight forwarders, 
brokers and leasing companies under the UCR Agreement (49 U.S.C. 
14504a(d)(7)(A)). FMCSA then is directed to set the fees within 90 days 
after receiving the Board's recommendation and after notice and 
opportunity for public comment (49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(7)(B)).
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    \3\ The Secretary's functions under section 14504a have been 
delegated to the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration. 49 CFR 1.73(a)(7), as amended, 71 FR 30833 (May 31, 
2006).
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II. Statutory Requirements for UCR Fees

    The statute specifies several relevant factors that must be 
considered by the Board and FMCSA in setting the fees (see 49 US.C. 
14504a(d)(7)(A), (f)(I) and (g)). It specifies that fees are to be 
determined by FMCSA based upon the recommendation of the Board. In

[[Page 29473]]

recommending the level of fees to be assessed in any agreement year, 
and in setting the fee level, both the Board and FMCSA shall consider 
the following factors:
    1. Administrative costs associated with the Unified Carrier 
Registration Plan and Agreement.
    2. Whether the revenues generated in the previous year and any 
surplus or shortage from that or prior years enable the participating 
States to achieve the revenue levels set by the Board.
    3. Provisions governing fees in 49 U.S.C. 14504a(f)(1).
    Subsection (f)(1) provides that the fees charged must satisfy the 
following criteria:
    a. Fees charged to a motor carrier, motor private carrier, or 
freight forwarder in connection with the filing of proof of financial 
responsibility under the UCR Agreement shall be based on the number of 
commercial motor vehicles owned or operated by the motor carrier, motor 
private carrier, or freight forwarder.\4\
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    \4\ The statute generally defines ``commercial motor vehicles'' 
for this purpose as including both self-propelled and towed vehicles 
(49 U.S.C. 14504a(a)(1)(A) and 31101(1)).
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    b. Fees charged to a broker or leasing company in connection with 
the filing of proof of financial responsibility under the UCR Agreement 
shall be equal to the smallest fee charged to a motor carrier, motor 
private carrier, and freight forwarder, or to the smallest fee charged 
under the UCR Agreement.
    Section 14504a(f)(1) also stipulates that for the purpose of 
charging fees the Board shall develop no more than 6 and no less than 4 
brackets of carriers (including motor private carriers) based on the 
size of the fleet, i.e., the number of commercial motor vehicles owned 
or operated. Finally, the fee scale is required to be progressive in 
the amount of the fee.
    Overall, the fees assessed under the UCR Agreement must produce a 
level of revenues established by the statute. Section 14504a(g) 
establishes the revenue entitlements for States that choose to 
participate in the UCR Plan. That section provides that a participating 
State, which participated in the SSRS in the registration year prior to 
the enactment of the Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005 (i.e., 
the 2004 registration year), is entitled to receive revenues under the 
UCR Agreement equivalent to the revenues it received in 2004. 
Participating States that also collected intrastate registration fees 
from interstate motor carrier entities (whether or not they 
participated in SSRS) are also entitled to receive revenues of this 
type under the UCR Agreement equivalent to the amount received in the 
2004 registration year. The section also requires that States which did 
not participate in SSRS in 2004, but which choose to participate in the 
UCR Plan, will receive revenues not to exceed $500,000 per year.

III. UCR Board Fee Recommendation

    As mentioned in I. above, the statute provides for a 15-member 
Board of Directors for the UCR Plan and Agreement to be appointed by 
the Secretary of Transportation. Section 14504a(d) specifies that the 
UCR Board of Directors must consist of representatives from the 
following groups:
    U.S. Department of Transportation: One individual, either the FMCSA 
Deputy Administrator or another Presidential appointee from the 
Department as selected by the Secretary. The FMCSA Deputy Administrator 
was selected to represent the Department.
    State Chief Administrative Officers: Four directors, one from each 
of the FMCSA service areas (as defined by FMCSA on January 1, 2005 \5\) 
from among the chief administrative officers of the State agencies 
responsible for administering the UCR Agreement. Directors appointed in 
this category include: Mr. Charles ``Buddy'' Covert, Director, 
Transportation Administrative Division, West Virginia Public Service 
Commission for the FMCSA Eastern Service Center; Ms. Angel O. Oliver, 
Supervisor, Credentialing Unit, Motor Carrier Division, Texas 
Department of Transportation (TXDOT) for the FMCSA Southern Service 
Center; Ms. Ruth Sluzacek, Director of Motor Carrier Services, Iowa 
Motor Vehicle Division, Iowa Department of Transportation, for the 
FMCSA Midwestern Service Center; and Mr. Frank Laqua, Administrator of 
Motor Carrier Services, North Dakota Department of Transportation for 
the Western Service Center.
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    \5\ FMCSA has designated four Service Center areas. The Eastern 
Service Center includes: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 
New York, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, Puerto Rico 
and the District of Columbia. The Southern Service Center includes: 
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, 
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and 
Kentucky. The Midwestern Service Center includes: Iowa, Illinois, 
Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, and 
Wisconsin. The Western Service Center includes: American Samoa, 
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, 
New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, 
South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
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    State Agencies: Five directors from among the professional staffs 
of State agencies responsible for overseeing the administration of the 
UCR Agreement who must be nominated by the National Conference of State 
Transportation Specialists (NCSTS), a non-profit organization founded 
in 1959 and consisting of State agencies involved in transportation 
safety, insurance and consumer protection. Directors appointed in this 
category include: Mr. Avelino A. Gutierrez, Staff Counsel, New Mexico 
Public Regulation Commission (NMPRC); Ms. Barbara Hague, Special 
Projects Coordinator, Missouri Department of Transportation Motor 
Carrier Services (MODOT); Mr. Dave Lazarides, Director of Processing 
and Information, Illinois Commerce Commission, Transportation Bureau; 
Mr. William Leonard, Director of the Freight Compliance and Safety 
Bureau, New York Department of Transportation (NYDOT); and Mr. Terry 
Willert, Chief, Transportation Section, Colorado Public Utility 
Commission (COPUC).
    Motor Carrier Industry: Five directors must represent the motor 
carrier industry. At least one of the five motor carrier industry 
representatives must be from ``a national trade association 
representing the general motor carrier of property industry'' and one 
of them must be from ``a motor carrier that falls within the smallest 
fleet fee bracket.'' FMCSA recognizes the American Trucking 
Associations, Inc. (ATA) as the national trade association representing 
the general motor carrier of property industry. ATA is a national 
affiliation of State trucking organizations representing the national, 
State and local interests of the 50 affiliated State trucking 
associations; and the interests of specialized areas of the trucking 
industry through conferences and councils. The ATA representative is 
Mr. Robert Pitcher, Vice President, State Laws Division. The agency has 
selected the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) as 
the organization from which to appoint an individual to represent motor 
carriers comprising the smallest fleet fee bracket. OOIDA is a national 
trade association representing the interests of small trucking 
companies and drivers. The OOIDA representative is Mr. Rick Craig, 
Treasurer and Director of Regulatory Affairs. The statute gives the 
Secretary discretion to appoint the remaining three industry 
representatives. In order to ensure participation on the Board by 
segments of the industry newly subject to the SSRS replacement system, 
the Secretary appointed three members as follows: (1) One director from 
the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), Mr.

[[Page 29474]]

Robert Voltmann, President and CEO, (2) one director from the National 
Private Truck Council (NPTC), Mr. Richard P. Schweitzer, General 
Counsel, and (3) one director from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart), 
Mr. Craig Sharkey, Associate General Counsel, Logistics Division. TIA 
represents transportation intermediaries such as brokers, freight 
forwarders, and shippers doing business in domestic and international 
commerce. NPTC is a national trade association representing private 
motor carrier fleets. With nearly 7,000 tractors, over 40,000 trailers, 
and annual sales over $285 billion, Wal-Mart is the nation's largest 
private motor carrier.
    As required by section 14504a(d)(7), the UCR Board prepared and 
submitted to FMCSA a recommendation of initial fee brackets and annual 
fees for calendar year 2007. The Board assigned a Revenue and Fees 
Subcommittee to calculate the overall revenue requirement and to 
recommend fees and brackets. The Board then reviewed the analysis 
conducted by the Revenue and Fees Subcommittee and selected a bracket 
structure and fees that it recommended to FMCSA.\6\ The Board's fee 
recommendation is available in the Department's DMS.
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    \6\ The FMCSA Deputy Administrator recused himself from the 
Board's deliberations regarding the fee recommendation to prevent 
any real or potential conflict of interest due to his position 
within FMCSA in reviewing the Board's recommendation and setting the 
fees under the statute.
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A. Participating Jurisdictions

    The Board first canvassed the States to determine how many States 
would participate in the UCR Agreement. The Board set a deadline of 
November 1, 2006, for the submission of plans by the States with their 
intent to participate in 2007. Although the State of Tennessee 
submitted its plan on November 6, 2006, the Board, on November 7, 2006, 
voted to allow Tennessee to participate for 2007.
    Of the 38 States that participated in SSRS in 2006, all but two, 
California and North Carolina, agreed to participate in the UCR in 
registration year 2007.\7\ Of the thirteen States \8\ that did not 
participate in SSRS, only Oregon agreed to participate in the UCR for 
registration year 2007.
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    \7\ Participating SSRS States include: Alabama, Arkansas, 
Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, 
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, 
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, 
New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, 
South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, 
Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
    \8\ The District of Columbia, which is not participating, is 
considered a State for this purpose. 49 U.S.C. 13102(21).
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B. Certification of State Revenues

    To develop a nationwide figure for the replacement revenues needed 
under the UCR Agreement, the Board next asked SSRS States to provide 
information on the revenues they received for the registration year 
2004, the year specified in the statute as mentioned above. In their 
responses, the SSRS States that agreed to participate under the UCR 
Agreement for 2007 certified their revenue figures for 2004. The total 
certified SSRS State revenue figure was $101,272,400, as shown in 
Appendix E to the Board's recommendation.
    SAFETEA-LU caps the maximum revenue figure for UCR States that did 
not participate in SSRS at $500,000 per year (49 U.S.C. 14504a(g)(3)). 
Because only one non-SSRS State agreed to participate in the UCR for 
registration year 2007 (Oregon), the Board added $500,000 to the total 
entitlement figure, bringing the total State revenue requirement under 
the UCR to $101,772,400.

C. Administrative Costs

    Under section 14504a(d)(7) of the statute, the costs incurred by 
the Board to administer the UCR Agreement are eligible for inclusion in 
the total revenue to be collected. The Board considered that these 
administrative costs would include, but would not be limited to, 
meeting costs and start up costs of a web-based registration system 
that will allow the motor carrier industry to register and pay required 
fees on-line. In addition, the administrative costs would include costs 
of a repository for the administration of the Board and a depository 
for the revenues generated under the UCR Agreement to be distributed 
among the participating States. The Board estimated $5,000,000 for 
administrative expenses for the first year of the UCR Plan and 
Agreement, as shown in Appendix F to the Board's recommendation.

D. Revenue Target

    The Board's revenue target for 2007 is $107,306,262, which is 
composed of $101,772,400 for State revenue as discussed above in 
``III.B. Certification of State Revenues,'' plus the Board's estimate 
of $5,000,000 for administrative expenses as discussed above in 
``III.C. Administrative Costs''. The Board also included in its revenue 
target recommendation to FMCSA an additional amount of $533,862, equal 
to one-half of one percent of the State revenue total and 
administrative expenses. The Board stated that it added this additional 
amount as a reserve to offset the risk of faulty data.

E. Carrier Population

    The Board's recommendation is based on the premise that revenues 
will be generated ``from all motor carrier entities involved in 
interstate commerce.'' Each of the five categories of motor carrier 
entities is defined by statute (in some cases with modifications or 
additions found in section 14504a) as shown in Table 1 below.

             Table 1.--Categories of Motor Carrier Entities
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                 Category                      Definition in 49 U.S.C.
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Motor Carrier.............................  13102(14) and 14504a(a)(5).
Motor Private Carrier.....................  13102(15).
Freight Forwarder.........................  13102(8) [Freight forwarders
                                             that operate motor vehicles
                                             are treated as motor
                                             carriers. 13903(b) and
                                             14504a(b)].
Broker....................................  13102(2).
Leasing Company...........................  14504a(a)(4).
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    To estimate the number of carriers subject to the UCR Agreement, 
the Board sought an approach that would provide a number of carriers 
for which active status could be estimated to allow for a conservative 
universe of interstate carriers. FMCSA maintains the most comprehensive 
databases describing the entities that are subject to the UCR 
Agreement. The Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) and 
the License and Insurance System (L&I) maintained by FMCSA house 
information about the known universe of the motor carrier industry (in 
MCMIS) and brokers and freight forwarders (in L&I). Carriers that 
operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce are required 
to register with FMCSA by providing carrier census data and acquiring a 
USDOT number. The carrier census data resides in MCMIS, and similar 
information on brokers and freight forwarders is in the L&I System. The 
States have access to data derived from MCMIS through the SafetyNet 
system. To determine an estimate of the active population of motor 
carriers, the Board used the SafetyNet system maintained by New York 
State to identify carriers. The Board filtered data from the SafetyNet 
data base to exclude carriers that neither had updated their MCS-150 
census file nor had an inspection, crash, safety audit, or compliance 
review recorded within the past 12 months (March 1, 2006, through

[[Page 29475]]

 February 26, 2007). Applying the filters to approximately 730,000 
carriers listed in the data base, the Board filtered out almost 380,000 
carriers, leaving an estimated total number of active interstate 
carriers of 350,698. The Board then considered freight forwarders and 
brokers. The total number of these entities listed in the Licensing and 
Insurance (L&I) System, as provided by FMCSA, was approximately 19,000. 
Freight forwarders that also operate commercial motor vehicles were 
excluded to avoid double counting, because they are already included in 
SafetyNet. After excluding the entities with a USDOT number in the L&I 
System, the Board estimated the total number of freight forwarders and 
brokers as 14,575. Summing the 350,698 active interstate carriers and 
14,575 freight forwarders and brokers, the Board arrived at a total 
affected population of 365,273.

F. Number of Fee Brackets

    In establishing the number and composition of the brackets, under 
the statute the Board had the option of choosing among four, five, or 
six brackets for the distribution of the 365,273 entities it determined 
would be expected to pay the fee as set forth above in ``III.E. 
Estimate of Carrier Population.'' Given the huge range of fleet sizes 
(from none to over 100,000 commercial motor vehicles), the Board 
decided to use the maximum allowable number of brackets, thereby 
helping to reduce the range of sizes within individual brackets. The 
Board decided to make the first bracket include no more than two CMV s, 
recognizing the large fraction of very small carriers, as shown in 
Table 2 below in ``III.G. Fee Levels for Each Bracket.'' The Board's 
analysis of the population showed that 182,782 of the total of 365,273 
carriers, or more than half of the carriers, operated just one or two 
commercial motor vehicles (e.g., one tractor and one trailer). The 
Board also decided that a ``high-end'' bracket with more than 1,000 
commercial motor vehicles was necessary. The Board performed a special 
analysis of carriers with more than 1,000 commercial motor vehicles and 
calculated the high-end (sixth) bracket under the assumption that, due 
to errors in reporting and uncertainty in the data, only 75 percent of 
the carriers indicating more than 1,000 commercial motor vehicles 
actually operate that many. Based on a survey it undertook, the Board 
estimated that only 85 percent of the number of carriers listed in 
MCMIS as having more than 1,000 power units actually operated that many 
vehicles. Addition of trailers to the universe of power units adds an 
additional degree of uncertainty and inaccuracy. The Board, therefore, 
decided to further reduce the reliability rate for the top bracket to 
75 percent, to account for the inclusion of trailers. This adjustment 
reduced the total number of motor carrier entities to 365,071.
    The Board assigned the second bracket to contain carriers having no 
more than five motor vehicles because it found, based on its analysis 
of the distribution of motor vehicles across carriers as shown in Table 
2, that just over 70 percent of all carriers (182,782 + 72,910/365,071) 
have fewer than six motor vehicles. The remaining three brackets were 
assigned in such a way that they built a reasonable bridge between 6 
and 1,000 motor vehicles: One bracket covered carriers with 6 through 
20 motor vehicles, the next covered carriers with 21 through 100 motor 
vehicles, and the next covered carriers with 101 through 1000 motor 
vehicles.

G. Fee Levels for Each Bracket

    As discussed above under ``III. D. Revenue Target,'' the Board's 
target revenue figure with administrative costs and reserve is 
$107,306,262. To determine how to allocate that sum among the six 
brackets, the Board relied upon an interactive model that calculated 
the number of entities in each bracket; the revenues generated by each 
bracket at different fee amounts; total revenues; and any surplus or 
deficit from the $107,306,262 target figure. The Board also considered 
fairness in terms of fees per motor vehicle while assigning the fees 
for each bracket. The Board agreed to make sure that the maximum fee 
per commercial motor vehicle in a given bracket would be no higher than 
the maximum fee per commercial motor vehicle in the next smaller 
bracket, a criterion that was unanimously regarded as fair by the 
Board. In addition, the Board obtained data from a few States on the 
average fees currently paid under SSRS to provide the Board with a 
benchmark figure. Using these tools and after deliberations and debate, 
the Board agreed upon the proposed fee amounts.
    The fees recommended by the Board range from a low of $39 for 
carriers in the lowest bracket (0 to 2 CMVs) to a high of $37,500 (the 
1001-or-greater CMVs bracket). The Board estimated that this fee 
structure would generate $107,352,364 in revenues, meeting the target 
figure with a projected reserve of $579,964 for the UCR registration 
year 2007. Table 2 provides the bracket and fee structure recommended 
by the Board to FMCSA on April 2, 2007. The table is based on Page 10 
of the report submitted by the Board to USDOT and FMCSA dated March 
23,2007, entitled ``Report of the Revenues and Fees Subcommittee 
Recommended Fee Structure Discussion Pursuant to the Unified Carrier 
Registration Agreement.''

                          Table 2.--Bracket and Fee Structure Recommended by the Board
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                                                     Motor vehicles
                    Bracket                     ------------------------  Entities     Fee per       Revenue
                                                    From         To                    entity
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B1.............................................           0           2     182,782          39       $7,128,498
B2.............................................           3           5      72,910         116        8,457,560
B3.............................................           6          20      73,130         231       16,893,030
B4.............................................          21         100      27,946         806       22,524,476
B5.............................................         101       1,000       7,695       3,840       29,548,800
B6.............................................       1,001     200,000         608      37,500       22,800,000
                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------
    Total......................................  ..........  ..........     365,071  ..........      107,352,364
                                                ================================================================
                                                 ..........  ..........  ..........         UCR      107,306,262
                                                                                        Board's
                                                                                         Target
                                                 ..........  ..........  ..........     Surplus           46,102
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 29476]]

IV. FMCSA Fee Determination

    Section 14504a requires FMCSA and the Board to consider the 
relevant factors laid out in detail above in ``II. Statutory 
Requirements for UCR Fees.'' That statutory section also requires FMCSA 
to consider the recommendation of the UCR Board and the same statutory 
requirements in setting the UCR fees. FMCSA carefully examined the 
Board's entire fee recommendation including the methodology and 
specific findings of the Board. FMCSA also independently considered the 
factors specified in SAFETEA-LU, and verified and utilized the data and 
analysis provided by the Board in its fee recommendation. As discussed 
in detail below, FMCSA has concluded that the Board's recommendations 
are reasonable and that the Board considered all required factors 
specified by SAFETEA-LU. The Board satisfied the requirements for 
establishing the fees to be charged under the unified carrier 
registration agreement in the following areas:

A. Participating Jurisdictions

    States may choose to participate in the UCR Plan and Agreement for 
2007 by submitting the State plan that complies with section 14505a( 
e). The Board provided adequate opportunity for all States to 
participate in the UCR Plan and Agreement for registration year 2007, 
even going so far as to make an exception for the State of Tennessee 
when it filed its plan after the cutoff date set by the Board. The 
Board's allowance of participation by Tennessee is permitted by section 
14504a(e)(1), which establishes a final deadline of August 10, 2008 for 
participation by the States.

B. Certification of State Revenues

    The Board's calculation of the total revenue to be collected under 
the UCR was properly based upon the revenues collected by the 
participating States (both under SSRS and for intrastate registrations 
of interstate carriers) for the calendar year 2004. The Board provided 
FMCSA with the certifications from every participating State so FMCSA 
could independently verify the amounts, as shown in Table 3. From Table 
3, it can be seen that the Board included the revenue collected by the 
States that participated in the SSRS as well as the UCR Agreement while 
determining the revenue required from the UCR Agreement. The addition 
of $500,000 for the inclusion of Oregon to the UCR Agreement is also in 
accordance with the revenue requirement. FMCSA has verified that the 
Board has accurately reflected in its recommendations the revenue 
entitlements certified by each participating State for 2007. In 
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(g)(4), FMCSA proposes to approve the 
amount of revenue under the UCR Agreement which each State 
participating in 2007 is entitled, as specified in Table 3. The Board's 
addition of a revenue reserve, equal to one half of one percent of the 
State revenue entitlement and administrative costs, offsets the risk of 
faulty data, especially on trailers. The intent of this addition is to 
offset the risk of undercollection, rather than to accumulate excess 
revenues.
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-M

[[Page 29477]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP29MY07.004

BILLING CODE 4910-EX-C

C. Administrative Costs

    The Board provided an estimate of the administrative costs 
associated with the unified carrier registration plan and agreement, as 
required by section 14504a(d)(7)(A)(i)). The Board's estimate includes 
the following:

     The Board estimated the cost of setting a web-based 
registration and payment system as $2,000,000. FMCSA believes, based 
upon our experience with development of information technology (IT) 
systems, that this amount may be within the range of appropriate 
costs for the rapid development of IT systems. However, FMCSA 
requests comments on the reasonableness of the Board's estimate.
     The Board assumed that approximately half of the 
revenue will be collected online ($50,000,000) and that credit card 
operating expenses would amount to 3 percent, or $1,500,000. FMCSA 
believes this to be a reasonable estimate, based on its own 
investigation into the cost of credit card payments. FMCSA found 
that the expenses associated with accepting payments through credit 
cards arise from discount rate, fixed transaction fee, chargeback 
fee and other miscellaneous fees. A typical merchant discount rate 
ranges from 1.5 to 3 percent, the fixed transaction fee can cost 
between 20 and 30 cents per transaction, and chargeback fees range 
from 10 to 25 dollars per chargeback. Given that the costs could be 
as high as 3 percent as a result of the discount rate alone, the 
Board's estimate of a total cost of 3 percent of the payments 
charged is within the normal range.
     The Board intends to send a UCR application package to 
all interstate carriers currently listed in MCMIS, approximately 
700,000 carriers. Communication costs of $650,000 for 700,000 
mailings appears to be reasonable, given postage and printing costs.

[[Page 29478]]

     The Board estimated the travel cost to total $100,000, 
based on the Board's projection of five meetings per year and 15 
Board members. This total amounts to $1,333 per member per meeting, 
which FMCSA agrees is a reasonable estimate.
     Help desk and assistance cost to address phone queries 
is projected at $150,000 (5 full-time employees*40 hours/week*50 
weeks*$25 per hour). FMCSA considers this estimate to be somewhat 
high, but not unreasonable given uncertainty about the volume of 
inquiries.
     The Depository cost of $500,000 is only 0.5% of the 
total revenue collected ($100 million). Charging a fee of 0.5% of 
the total money managed is not unusual.

D. Revenue Target

    The Board's calculation of the revenue target to be collected under 
the UCR was properly based upon the revenues collected by the 
participating States for the calendar year 2004, plus $500,000 for each 
non-SSRS State as required by the statute, plus administrative costs. 
The Board also included a one half of one percent addition to all fees 
as a ``reserve.'' Because the Board's fees recommendation pertains to 
the first year in which fees will be collected, the Board did not need 
to address whether revenues generated in the previous year and any 
surplus or shortage from that or prior years would enable the 
participating States to achieve the revenue levels set by the Board, as 
required by section 14504a(d)(7)(A)(ii).

E. Carrier Population

    The Board based its fee recommendation on a reasonable estimate of 
the number of commercial motor vehicles owned or operated by motor 
carriers, motor private carriers, and freight forwarders, as specified 
by section 14504a(f)(l)(A)(i). The key question of whether the 
recommended fee structure would generate enough revenue to meet the 
statutory requirement depended on the Board's estimates of the number 
of motor carrier entities in each size category. FMCSA carefully 
reviewed the method the Board used to make these estimates and 
replicated to a high level of accuracy the Board's estimates of the 
number of affected entities and the size distribution using its own 
data base. Using the same filters employed by the Board, FMCSA was able 
to generate the distribution and population of active carriers from the 
MCMIS database. The time frame for the filters in FMCSA's analysis was 
the calendar year 2006 while that of the Board was March 1, 2006 to 
February 26, 2007. In spite of this difference, FMCSA's estimate of the 
total affected population data differs from the Board's estimate by 
less than one percent. The high degree of correspondence between the 
two estimates gave FMCSA confidence that it understood the Board's 
analysis and that the Board's estimates are reasonable.
    FMCSA worked with the Board to select the filters that were used to 
remove database entries that might not represent active interstate 
carriers, thereby ensuring that the filters used were reasonable: 
Carriers were included only if they showed recent evidence of activity. 
FMCSA also reviewed the Board's estimate of the total number of freight 
forwarders and brokers and concluded that it was likely to result in an 
accurate estimate. Though there was no attempt to filter them on the 
basis of signs of recent activity, FMCSA expects that even if any such 
measures were taken to determine whether they are active, the overall 
change that would occur in the total carrier population would be 
insignificant. FMCSA reached this conclusion based on the fact that the 
14,575 freight forwarders and property brokers found in the L&I system 
represented only four percent of the total affected population, and 
(because they are included in the bracket with the smallest fee) an 
even smaller fraction of total revenue.
    FMCSA notes that the Board did not separately consider the number 
of leasing companies when calculating the affected population or the 
revenues that the fees would raise. Because leasing companies that do 
not operate motor vehicles are assigned to the lowest bracket, and thus 
will pay no more than $39 per year, this omission is not significant. 
FMCSA estimates, on the basis of data from the US Census that there are 
only about 2,000 leasing companies that would be affected by the UCR 
rule. NAICS code 53212 (Truck, utility trailer, and recreational 
vehicle rental and leasing) represents the industry into which leasing 
companies fall. There are a total of 3,942 Truck rental (Product line 
code 52503) and 2,723 Truck leasing (Product line code 52504) 
establishments, for a total of 6,647 establishments. At most 6,647 
leasing companies are affected by the rule. Because many firms have 
multiple establishments, the number of separate firms is considerably 
smaller. Although the Census does not show the exact number of firms, 
it does give enough information on firms with multiple establishments 
to determine a reasonable upper bound on total firms. The census data 
show that the largest 50 firms in this industry own a total of 4,115 
establishments. The other firms must then own the remaining 2,532 
establishments. Even assuming that all the remaining firms own only one 
establishment each, the total number of firms cannot be greater than 
the sum of 2,532 single-establishment firms and the 50 largest firms, 
or 2,582. At $39 each, the total revenues owed by this sector would be 
about $101,000. This amount is less than a tenth of one percent of 
total UCR revenues and would not change the fee in any bracket by more 
than the rounding error. Accordingly, inclusion of this amount would 
have a negligible or perhaps no impact on the proposed fee structure 
and fee levels. We do, however, invite comment on this point.
    As Table 4 shows, FMCSA's estimates of the population of carriers 
in the various brackets corresponds closely to the estimates prepared 
by the Board. The high degree of correspondence between the two 
estimates, as shown in Table 4, gave FMCSA confidence that it 
understood the Board's analysis and that the Board's estimates are 
reasonable.

       Table 4.--Comparison of Carrier Size Distribution Estimates
------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Bracket                 FMCSA       Board      % Difference
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B1.............................     182,782     184,290              0.8
B2.............................      72,910      74,070              1.6
B3.............................      73,130      73,567              0.6
B4.............................      27,946      27,969              0.1
B5.............................       7,695       7,641              0.7
B6.............................         810         797              1.6
                                ----------------------------------------
    Total......................     365,273     368,334              0.8
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 29479]]

    The Board used a 75 percent reliability factor while calculating 
the number of companies that own more then 1,000 motor vehicles. The 
Board determined the reliability rate to be 85 percent for carriers 
that own more than 1,000 power units based on their in-depth analysis. 
Though the Board provided no quantitative basis for lowering the 
reliability factor to 75 percent after the inclusion of trailers, FMCSA 
agrees that the addition of trailers to the universe of power units 
increases the degree of uncertainty and unreliability in the data, and 
that the change to 75 percent was reasonable.

F. Number of Fee Brackets

    The Board's recommendation satisfied the requirements of section 
14504a(f)(1)(C) by specifying no more than 6 brackets of carriers based 
on the size of the fleet. FMCSA adopts as reasonable the six brackets 
and the fleet size distribution among the brackets.

G. Fee Levels for Each Bracket

    FMCSA found that the Board recommended a fee scale that is 
progressive in the amount of the fee, as required by section 
14504a(f)(1)(D), when assessed from bracket to bracket. There are six 
brackets, each one defined by carrier size in terms of the numbers of 
CMVs. The fees per carrier clearly increase as the size of the carriers 
in the brackets increases, thereby meeting the Board's understanding of 
a fee scale that is progressive.
    The fee levels for brokers and leasing companies are based on the 
smallest fee charged under the UCR agreement, as specified by section 
14504a(f)(1)(A)(ii). As mentioned above under ``IV.D. Revenue Target,'' 
the Board added one half of one percent to its revenue requirement to 
create what it termed a revenue reserve of $533,862. FMCSA examined the 
rationale for adding this amount and determined that it had a 
reasonable basis. FMCSA noted that the Board provided for fees that 
would collect an extra $533,862 because of the additional uncertainty 
resulting from data on trailers. Though it would be difficult to 
determine the true extent to which the accuracy of data on trailer use 
and ownership differs from that for power units, FMCSA did observe that 
the prevalence of trip-leasing of trailers is greater than that for 
trucks or tractors. The use of trip leases could create problems for 
the collection of revenues under UCR: The statute specifies that only 
commercial motor vehicles controlled under a long-term lease are to be 
included for the purpose of determining the applicable UCR fees (49 
U.S.C. 14504a(f)(2)). However, the MCS-150 form includes a category for 
trip-leased vehicles. That data may be included in the MCMIS database, 
but motor carrier entities may choose to exclude trip-leased vehicles 
when selecting their fee bracket. The statute also provides alternative 
methods by which motor carrier entities may calculate the number of 
commercial motor vehicles in their fleet for the purpose of determining 
the applicable fees (49 U.S.C. 14504a(f)(3)). These factors all 
introduce a degree of uncertainty in the fleet sizes upon which the 
fees are based, and, therefore, in the total amount of fees collected.
    By examining data on a large subset of the carrier population, 
FMCSA determined that omitting all trip-leased vehicles from carriers' 
vehicle counts could reduce the UCR revenues collected from the first 
five brackets by on the order of $1 million. Because carriers are not 
likely to omit all trip-leased vehicles, it appears that the Board 
would be justified in anticipating a loss of a half million for the 
first five brackets. There would be additional losses for the top 
bracket, but FMCSA considers those losses to be taken into account 
appropriately by the 75 percent factor used in projecting revenues from 
the top bracket. Thus, FMCSA concluded that the Board's \1/2\ percent 
addition to the revenue requirement is a reasonable response to the 
risk of undercollection of revenues due to uncertainty about the 
treatment of trailers FMCSA found that the Board's recommended fee 
structure, as modified, meets the requirements of the statute. As shown 
in Table 3, there are six brackets, each one defined by carrier size in 
terms of the numbers of commercial motor vehicles. The fees per carrier 
increase as the size of the carriers in the brackets increases, thereby 
meeting the statute's requirement that the fees be progressive. 
Finally, leasing companies and brokers are included in Bracket 1, which 
has the lowest fee per entity, as required.
     To get a better sense of the distribution of the fees, FMCSA 
calculated the average fee per motor vehicle by carrier size. Table 5 
shows these averages for six carrier size groups that correspond to the 
fee brackets in the recommended fee structure.

                     Table 5.--Fee per Motor Vehicle
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Motor vehicles                         Average fee
---------------------------------------------------------    per motor
           From                          To                vehicle  ($)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.........................  2...........................              26
3.........................  5...........................              31
6.........................  20..........................              23
21........................  100.........................              19
101.......................  1,000.......................              15
1,001.....................  106,771.....................              8
Mean for all carriers...................................              15
Range...................................................      0.35-39.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Based on a careful evaluation and a point-by-point comparison of 
the Board's process with the statutory requirements, and upon an 
independent analysis and consideration of the required statutory 
provisions, FMCSA proposes to adopt the Board's recommended fees and 
fee structure.

H. Fee Collection Process

    The Board provided FMCSA with information on the process it 
anticipates following to collect the revenues under the UCR Plan and 
Agreement. The Board indicated that the participating States (see Table 
3 above) will send a mailing to all active interstate carriers residing 
in FMCSA's Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) and to 
all brokers and freight forwarders found in FMCSA's Licensing and 
Insurance database. In the mailing the Board will provide contact 
numbers for all participating States, informational Web sites, and the 
Board may also establish a national call center to answer questions and 
direct covered entities to the appropriate State officials. The 
application form in the mailing will direct the entity to pay an amount 
based on the number of Commercial Motor Vehicles listed in their MCMIS 
data. The application will also allow carriers to amend that data for 
UCR purposes. The mailing will also direct covered entities that are 
domiciled in a participating State to register in that State and to pay 
the required fee to their State of registration or ``base'' State. 
Entities located in non-participating jurisdictions will be directed to 
register in the participating State that has the highest percentage of 
their operations. Entities that operate only in non-participating 
jurisdictions will be directed to choose a participating State located 
in their FMCSA Service Center Region. Canadian and Mexican entities 
will also be directed to choose the participating State with the 
highest percentage of their operations or to choose a contiguous State 
such as Maine, New York or Michigan for a Canadian entity. Covered 
entities will be given a set timeframe in which to register and 
enforcement will not begin for at least 90 days after the beginning

[[Page 29480]]

of registrations. The Board notes that this process is preliminary and 
final procedures will be worked out between the participating States 
and the UCR Board of Directors.

V. Regulatory Analyses and Notices

Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) and DOT 
Regulatory Policies and Procedures

    FMCSA has concluded that this action is a significant regulatory 
action within the meaning of Executive Order 12866 due to its subject 
matter.
    This rule is not significant based on the size of the fees to be 
collected under the UCR. The costs of the rule are required pursuant to 
an explicit Congressional mandate in SAFETEA-LU. Because a majority of 
the fees under the proposed rule will replace fees currently being paid 
under the SSRS system, the total cost of the proposed rule will be 
substantially less than $100 million per year. New entities paying fees 
under UCR that did not pay under SSRS are estimated to account for 
slightly less than half the fees, or about $50 million in new costs per 
year. The Agency has prepared a preliminary regulatory analysis 
analyzing the rule. A copy of the preliminary analysis document is 
included in the docket referenced at the beginning of this notice.

Regulatory Flexibility Act and Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 
Fairness Act

    In compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as amended 
by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), (5 
U.S.C. 601-612), FMCSA has considered the effects of this proposed 
regulatory action on small entities. The fees being proposed in this 
rule would affect large numbers of small entities because the proposed 
rule sets fees for hundreds of thousands of carriers of all sizes, and 
small entities are defined to include all entities that are not 
dominant in their industries. In previous rulemakings, FMCSA identified 
for-hire carriers with fewer than 145 power units i.e., trucks or 
tractors) as small. FMCSA estimates that carrier size to be equivalent 
to about 300 CMVs. Thus, all of the for-hire carriers in Brackets 1 
through 4 would be considered small, as would many of those in Bracket 
5.
    After careful consideration, however, FMCSA has determined that the 
recommended UCR fee will, in every case involving a viable small 
entity, be well below the threshold level of one percent of revenues 
used for determining significant impacts. This conclusion is based on 
the observation that the maximum fee per vehicle is $39, which is less 
than one percent of the annual salary of even a single employee working 
40 hours per week for 50 weeks per year and earning the current Federal 
minimum wage of $5.15. Because an entity without sufficient revenues to 
pay even one employee per vehicle would not be viable, it is clear that 
the recommended UCR fees will not reach the threshold of one percent of 
revenues. Additionally, more than 50 percent of the fees collected 
under the new UCR system were already being paid by many of these 
entities under the SSRS system, meaning the UCR fees will simply serve 
as substitutes for the SSRS fees these firms were previously being 
assessed. Thus, FMCSA certifies that the rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    This rulemaking would not impose any unfunded Federal mandate, as 
defined by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1532, et 
seq.) that will result in the expenditure by State, local, and tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $120 
million or more in any 1 year.

Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice Reform)

    This proposed rule meets applicable standards in sections 3(a) and 
3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to minimize 
litigation, eliminate ambiguity, and reduce burden.

Executive Order 13045 (Protection of Children)

    FMCSA has analyzed this proposed action under Executive Order 
13045, Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and 
Safety Risks. We have determined preliminarily that this rulemaking 
would not create an environmental risk to health or safety that would 
disproportionately affect children.

Executive Order 12630 (Taking of Private Property)

    This proposed rule would not affect a taking of private property or 
otherwise have taking implications under Executive Order 12630, 
Governmental Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected 
Property Rights.

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)

    This proposed rule has been analyzed in accordance with the 
principles and criteria contained in Executive Order 13132. FMCSA has 
preliminarily determined that this rulemaking would not have a 
substantial direct effect on States, nor would it limit the policy-
making discretion ofthe States. Nothing in this proposal would preempt 
any State law or regulation. As detailed above, the UCR Board of 
Directors includes substantial State representation. The States have 
already had notice of this action and opportunity for input through 
their representatives. FMCSA also requests comments on any substantial 
direct effect on the States as outlined in Executive Order 13132.

Executive Order 12372 (Intergovernmental Review)

    The regulations implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding 
intergovernmental consultation on Federal programs and activities do 
not apply to this program.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 US.C. 3507(d) requires that 
FMCSA consider the impact of paperwork and other information collection 
burdens imposed on the public. We have determined that there are no 
current new information collection requirements by FMCSA associated 
with this proposed rule.

National Environmental Policy Act

    The agency analyzed this final rule for the purpose of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 D.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 
determined under our environmental procedures Order 5610.1, issued 
March 1,2004 (69 FR 9680), that this action is categorically excluded 
(CE) under Appendix 2, paragraph 6.h of the Order from further 
environmental documentation. The CE under Appendix 2, paragraph 6.h 
relates to establishing regulations and actions taken pursuant to the 
regulations implementing procedures to collect fees that will be 
charged for motor carrier registrations and insurance.
    We have also analyzed this rule under the Clean Air Act, as amended 
(CAA), section 176(c) (42 D.S.C. 7401 et seq.), and implementing 
regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency. 
Approval of this action is exempt from the CAA's General Conformity 
requirement since it involves policy development.

[[Page 29481]]

Executive Order 13211 (Energy Effects)

    FMCSA has analyzed this proposed rule under Executive Order 13211, 
Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or VSE. We have determined preliminarily that it would 
not be a ``significant energy action'' under that Executive Order 
because it would not be likely to have a significant adverse effect on 
the supply, distribution, or use of energy.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 367

    Commercial motor vehicle, Financial responsibility, Motor carriers, 
Motor vehicle safety, Registration, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal Motor 
Carrier Safety Administration proposes to amend 49 CFR part 367 as 
follows:

PART 367--STANDARDS FOR REGISTRATION WITH STATES

    1. The authority citation for part 367 is amended to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 13301, 14504, 14504a; and 49 CFR 1.73.

    2. Add a new Subpart A heading preceding Sec.  367.1 to read as 
follows:

Subpart A--Single State Registration System

    3. Add a new Subpart B to read as follows: Subpart B--Fees Under 
the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement

Subpart B--Fees Under the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and 
Agreement

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Fees Under the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement for Registration Year 2007
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Number of commercial
                                       motor vehicles owned or    Fee per company for
                                        operated by exempt or     exempt or non-exempt     Fee per company for
               Bracket                     non-exempt motor       motor carrier, motor      broker or leasing
                                        carrier, motor private    private carrier, or            company
                                         carrier, or freight       freight  forwarder
                                              forwarder
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B1...................................  0-2....................  $39....................  $39
B2...................................  3-5....................  116....................
B3...................................  6-20...................  231....................
B4...................................  21-100.................  806....................
B5...................................  101-1,000..............  3,840..................
B6...................................  1,001 and above........  37,500.................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Issued on: May 23, 2007.
John H. Hill,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 07-2652 Filed 5-24-07; 10:37 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-M