81 FR 36651 - Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC); Public Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 109 (June 7, 2016)

FMCSA announces that its MCSAC will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 14-15, 2016, to provide recommendations to the Agency concerning implementation of section 5203 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) to: (1) Prioritize regulatory guidance that should be incorporated into the safety regulations to promote clear, consistent, and enforceable rules; (2) identify regulatory guidance that appears to be inconsistent with the intent of the safety regulations or makes enforcement of key safety requirements difficult; and (3) identify guidance that should remain in place. The meeting is open to the public and there will be a period of time at the end of each day for the public to submit oral comments.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 7, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36651-36652]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13376]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2006-26367]


Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC); Public Meeting

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

ACTION: Notice of advisory committee meeting.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that its MCSAC will meet on Tuesday and 
Wednesday, June 14-15, 2016, to provide recommendations to the Agency 
concerning implementation of section 5203 of the Fixing America's 
Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) to: (1) Prioritize regulatory 
guidance that should be incorporated into the safety regulations to 
promote clear, consistent, and enforceable rules; (2) identify 
regulatory guidance that appears to be inconsistent with the intent of 
the safety regulations or makes enforcement of key safety requirements 
difficult; and (3) identify guidance that should remain in place. The 
meeting is open to the public and there will be a period of time at the 
end of each day for the public to submit oral comments.

DATES: The meeting will be held Tuesday-Wednesday, June 14-15, 2016, 
from 9:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), at the Westin 
Washington, DC City Center, 1400 M Street NW., Washington, DC 20005. 
Members of the public may submit written comments on the topics to be 
considered during the meeting by Thursday, June 9, 2016, to Federal 
Docket Management System (FDMC) Docket Number FMCSA-2006-26367 using 
any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Room W12-
140, Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12-140, Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., E.D.T. Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Shannon L. Watson, Senior Advisor 
to the Associate Administrator for Policy, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, (202) 385-2395, [email protected].
    Services for Individuals with Disabilities: For information on 
facilities or services for individuals with disabilities or to request 
special assistance at the meeting, contact Mr. Eran Segev at (617) 494-
3174 or [email protected], by Thursday, June 9, 2016.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

MCSAC

    MCSAC was established to provide FMCSA with advice and 
recommendations on motor carrier safety programs and motor carrier 
safety regulations. MCSAC is composed of 20 voting representatives from 
safety

[[Page 36652]]

advocacy, safety enforcement, labor, and industry stakeholders of motor 
carrier safety. The diversity of the Committee ensures the requisite 
range of views and expertise necessary to discharge its 
responsibilities. The Committee operates as a discretionary committee 
under the authority of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 
established in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. App. 2. See FMCSA's MCSAC Web site 
for additional information about the Committee's activities at http://mcsac.fmcsa.dot.gov/.

Task 16-01: Review of Regulatory Guidance

    FMCSA has tasked MCSAC with providing recommendations to the Agency 
concerning implementation of section 5203 of the FAST Act to: (1) 
Prioritize regulatory guidance that should be incorporated into the 
safety regulations to promote clear, consistent, and enforceable rules; 
(2) identify regulatory guidance that appears to be inconsistent with 
the intent of the safety regulations or makes enforcement of key safety 
requirements difficult; and (3) identify guidance that should remain in 
place.
    Currently, FMCSA's Web site provides interpretive guidance material 
for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). The guidance 
is presented in question and answer form for each part of the FMCSRs. A 
significant percentage of the guidance was published by the Federal 
Highway Administration on November 17, 1993 (58 FR 60734), with an 
updated publication on April 4, 1997 (62 FR 16370). Since 1997, FMCSA 
has issued new guidance documents periodically, revised guidance, or 
rescinded guidance based on changes to the FMCSRs. The Agency has not 
undertaken a comprehensive review of the full set of its regulatory 
guidance since the 1997 publication.
    Section 5203 of the FAST Act provides new requirements for FMCSA's 
management of guidance documents. A ``guidance document'' is defined 
for purposes of section 5203 as a ``document . . . that (1) provides 
and interpretation of a regulation of the Administration; or [sic] (2) 
includes an enforcement policy of the Administration available to the 
public.'' Not later than December 4, 2016, the Administrator must 
conduct an initial review of all FMCSA guidance documents in effect on 
December 4, 2015, to ensure that the documents are current, readily 
accessible to the public, and meet the standards of section 
5203(c)(1)(A)-(C) (consistent and clear; uniformly and consistently 
enforced; and still necessary). Sec.  5203(b).
    The Agency requests that the MCSAC consider the set of regulatory 
guidance for each part of the FMCSRs and determine which sets of 
guidance should be prioritized for review. The MCSAC should conduct of 
review of the regulatory guidance for those sets to identify regulatory 
guidance that should be (1) incorporated into the safety regulations to 
promote clear, consistent and enforceable rules; (2) eliminated because 
it appears to be inconsistent with the intent of the safety regulations 
or makes enforcement of key safety requirements difficult; or (3) 
retained because it is more appropriate as guidance rather than 
regulatory text. Copies of the MCSAC Task Statement and an agenda for 
the entire meeting will be made available in advance of the meeting at 
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/advisory-committees/mcsac/welcome-fmcsa-mcsac.

II. Meeting Participation

    Oral comments from the public will be heard during the last half-
hour of the meetings each day. Should all public comments be exhausted 
prior to the end of the specified period, the comment period will 
close.

    Issued on: May 31, 2016.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016-13376 Filed 6-6-16; 8:45 am]
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