[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 5, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50916-50918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-17607]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Transportation Security Administration

49 CFR Parts 1540, 1544, and 1560

[Docket No. TSA-2007-28572]
RIN 1652-ZA15


Public Meeting: Secure Flight Program

AGENCY: Transportation Security Administration, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice provides the time and location of the public 
meeting which will be held by the Transportation Security 
Administration (TSA) regarding the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) 
entitled ``Secure Flight Program,'' which was published in the Federal 
Register on August 23, 2007 (72 FR 48356).

DATES: The public meeting will be on September 20, 2007, in Washington, 
DC. The meeting will begin at 9 am. Persons not able to attend the 
meeting are invited to provide written comments, which must be received 
by October 22, 2007.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Grand Hyatt 
Washington, 1000 H Street, NW., Washington, DC 20001. Participants 
should check in with Secure Flight staff.
    Persons unable to attend the meeting may submit comments, 
identified by the TSA docket number to this rulemaking, using any one 
of the following methods:
    Comments Filed Electronically: You may submit comments through the 
docket Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. You also may submit comments 
through the Federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Comments Submitted by Mail, Fax, or In Person: Address or deliver 
your written, signed comments to the Docket Management System at: U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Washington, DC 
20590; Fax: 202-493-2251.
    See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for format and other information 
about comment submissions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Knott, Policy Manager, Secure 
Flight, Office of Transportation Threat Assessment and Credentialing, 
TSA-19, Transportation Security Administration, 601 South 12th Street, 
Arlington, VA 22202-4220; Telephone (240) 568-5611.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 50917]]

Comments Invited

    TSA invites interested persons to participate in the public meeting 
by submitting written comments, data, or views. We invite comments 
relating to any aspect of the Secure Flight Program. The areas in 
particular in which TSA seeks information and comment at the public 
meeting are listed below in the ``Specific Issues for Discussion'' 
section. See ADDRESSES above for information on where to submit 
comments.
    We also invite comments relating to the economic, environmental, 
energy, or federalism impacts that might result from this rulemaking 
action. See ADDRESSES above for information on where to submit 
comments.
    With each comment, please include your name and address, identify 
the docket number at the beginning of your comments, and give the 
reason for each comment. The most helpful comments reference a specific 
topic, explain the reason for any recommendation, and include 
supporting data. You may submit comments and material electronically, 
in person, by mail, or fax as provided under ADDRESSES, but please 
submit your comments and material by only one means. If you submit 
comments by mail or delivery, submit them in two copies, in an unbound 
format, no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, suitable for copying and 
electronic filing.
    If you want TSA to acknowledge receipt of comments submitted by 
mail, include with your comments a self-addressed, stamped postcard on 
which the docket number appears. We will stamp the date on the postcard 
and mail it to you.
    TSA will file in the public docket all comments received by TSA, 
except for comments containing confidential information and sensitive 
security information (SSI),\1\ TSA will consider all comments received 
on or before the closing date for comments and will consider comments 
filed late to the extent practicable. The docket is available for 
public inspection before and after the comment closing date.
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    \1\ ``Sensitive Security Information'' or ``SSI'' is information 
obtained or developed in the conduct of security activities, the 
disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of 
privacy, reveal trade secrets or privileged or confidential 
information, or be detrimental to the security of transportation. 
The protection of SSI is governed by 49 CFR part 1520.
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Handling of Confidential or Proprietary Information and Sensitive 
Security Information (SSI) Submitted in Public Comments

    Do not submit comments that include trade secrets, confidential 
commercial or financial information, or SSI to the public regulatory 
docket. Please submit such comments separately from other comments on 
the rulemaking. Comments containing this type of information should be 
appropriately marked as containing such information and submitted by 
mail to the address listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    Upon receipt of such comments, TSA will not place the comments in 
the public docket and will handle them in accordance with applicable 
safeguards and restrictions on access. TSA will hold them in a separate 
file to which the public does not have access, and place a note in the 
public docket that TSA has received such materials from the commenter. 
If TSA receives a request to examine or copy this information, TSA will 
treat it as any other request under the Freedom of Information Act 
(FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552) and the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) 
FOIA regulation found in 6 CFR part 5.

Reviewing Comments in the Docket

    Please be aware that 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 applicable Privacy Act Statement published in the Federal 
Register on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.
    You may review the comments in the public docket by visiting the 
Dockets Office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays. The Dockets Office is located in the West Building 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, at the Department of Transportation 
address, previously provided under ADDRESSES. Also, you may review 
public dockets on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov.

Availability of Document

    You can get an electronic copy using the Internet by--
    (1) Searching the Department of Transportation's electronic Docket 
Management System (DMS) Web page (http://dms.dot.gov/search); or
    (2) Visiting TSA's Security Regulations Web page at http://www.tsa.gov and accessing the link for ``Research Center'' at the top 
of the page.
    In addition, copies are available by writing or calling the 
individual in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. Make sure to 
identify the docket number of this action.

Background

    TSA performs passenger and baggage screening at the Nation's 
commercial airports.\2\ Aircraft operators currently supplement this 
security screening by performing passenger watch list matching using 
the Federal No Fly and Selectee Lists, as required under security 
directives that TSA issued following the terrorist attacks of September 
11, 2001. Aircraft operators also conduct this watch list matching 
process for non-traveling individuals \3\ authorized to enter the 
sterile area \4\ of an airport in order to escort a passenger or for 
some other purpose approved by TSA.
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    \2\ See the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) 
(Pub. L. 107-71, 115 Stat. 597, Nov. 19, 2001).
    \3\ ``Non-traveling individual'' is defined in the NPRM for the 
Secure Flight Program as an individual to whom a covered aircraft 
operator or covered airport operator seeks to issue an authorization 
to enter the sterile area of an airport in order to escort a minor 
or a passenger with disabilities or for some other purpose permitted 
by TSA. It would not include employees or agents of airport or 
aircraft operators or other individuals whose access to a sterile 
area is governed by another TSA regulation or security directive. 
Proposed 49 CFR 1560.3.
    \4\ ``Sterile area'' is defined in 49 CFR 1520.5 as ``a portion 
of an airport defined in the airport security program that provides 
passengers access to boarding aircraft and to which the access 
generally is controlled by TSA, or by an aircraft operator under 
part 1544 of this chapter or a foreign air carrier under part 1546 
of this chapter, through the screening of persons and property.''
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    The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 
(IRTPA) requires TSA to assume from air carriers the comparison of 
passenger information to the automatic Selectee and No Fly Lists and to 
utilize all appropriate records in the consolidated and integrated 
watch list that the Federal Government maintains.\5\ The final report 
of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States 
(9/11 Commission Report) recommends that the watch list matching 
function ``should be performed by TSA and it should utilize the larger 
set of watch lists maintained by the Federal Government.'' See 9/11 
Commission Report at 393.
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    \5\ Pub. L. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3638, Dec. 17, 2004.
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    On August 23, 2007, TSA published in the Federal Register (72 FR 
48356) the NPRM for the Secure Flight Program describing TSA's proposal 
for assuming the responsibility for passenger watch list matching from 
covered aircraft operators.\6\ TSA seeks comment on the

[[Page 50918]]

proposal described in the NPRM. TSA intends to analyze the public 
comments and issue a final rule.
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    \6\ TSA proposes to define a ``covered aircraft operator'' as a 
U.S. aircraft operator that is required to have a full program under 
49 CFR 1544.101(a) or a foreign air carrier that is required to have 
a security program under 49 CFR 1546.101(a) or (b). Proposed Sec.  
1560.3.
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Specific Issues for Discussion

    There are several areas in particular in which TSA seeks 
information and comment from the industry at the public meeting, listed 
below. These key issues are intended to help focus public comments on 
subjects that TSA must explore in order to complete its review of the 
proposed Secure Flight program. The comments at the meeting need not be 
limited to these issues, and TSA invites comments on any other aspect 
of the proposed Secure Flight program. These are:
    (1) Proposed data elements.
    (2) Proposed data retention schedule.
    (3) Proposed 72-hour data transmission requirement.
    (4) Proposed watch list matching procedures for overflights.
    (5) Proposed watch list matching procedures for international 2-leg 
boarding pass issuance.
    (6) Proposed requirement for placing a code, such as a bar code, on 
boarding passes.
    (7) Proposed privacy notice requirement.
    (8) Proposed compliance schedule and estimated compliance costs.

Participation at the Meeting

    The meeting is expected to begin at 9 a.m. Following an 
introduction by TSA, members of the public will be invited to ask 
clarifying questions or present their views.
    Anyone wishing to present an oral statement at the meeting must 
register to present comments between 8 and 9:30 a.m. on the day of the 
meeting, and provide his or her name and affiliation. Such requests 
will be met on a first-come, first-served basis. Speakers should keep 
comments brief and plan to speak for no more than five minutes when 
presenting comments.

Public Meeting Procedures

    TSA will use the following procedures to facilitate the meeting:
    (1) There will be no admission fee or other charge to attend or to 
participate in the meeting. The meeting will be open to all persons. 
All persons who wish to present an oral statement must register to 
present comments between 8 and 9:30 a.m. on the day of the meeting. TSA 
will make every effort to accommodate all persons who wish to 
participate, but admission will be subject to availability of space in 
the meeting room. The meeting may adjourn early if scheduled speakers 
complete their statements or questions in less time than is scheduled 
for the meeting.
    (2) An individual, whether speaking in a personal or a 
representative capacity on behalf of an organization, will be limited 
to a five-minute statement and scheduled on a first-come, first-served 
basis.
    (3) Any speaker prevented by time constraints from speaking will be 
encouraged to submit written remarks, which will be made part of the 
record.
    (4) For information on facilities or services for individuals with 
disabilities or to request assistance at the meeting, please contact 
the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section above 
before September 13, 2007.
    (5) Representatives of TSA will preside over the meeting.
    (6) The meeting will be recorded by a court reporter. Any person 
who is interested in purchasing a copy of the transcript should contact 
the court reporter directly.
    (7) Statements made by TSA representatives are intended to 
facilitate discussion of the issues or to clarify issues. Any statement 
made during the meeting by a TSA representative is not intended to be, 
and should not be construed as, a position of TSA.
    (8) The meeting is designed to invite public views and gather 
additional information. No individual will be subject to cross-
examination by any other participant; however, TSA representatives may 
ask questions to clarify a statement.

    Issued in Arlington, Virginia, on August 31, 2007.
Stephanie Rowe,
Assistant Administrator for Transportation Threat Assessment & 
Credentialing.
 [FR Doc. E7-17607 Filed 9-4-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-05-P