Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Small Business in Transportation Coalition Petitions for Rulemaking; Transparency in Property Broker Transactions

Topics:  Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association

James W. Deck
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
16 October 2020

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 201 (Friday, October 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65898-65899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22903]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2020-0150]


Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Small Business in 
Transportation Coalition Petitions for Rulemaking; Transparency in 
Property Broker Transactions

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

ACTION: Notice; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration extends the 
comment period for its August 19, 2020, notice requesting comments on 
the petitions by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association 
(OOIDA) and the Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) for 
rulemaking to amend certain requirements for property brokers. The 
Agency believes it is appropriate to extend the October 19, 2020, 
deadline for public comments to provide interested parties additional 
time to submit their responses to the docket. Therefore, the Agency 
extends the deadline for the submission of comments until November 18, 
2020.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by November 18, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System Number FMCSA-2020-0150 by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. See the 
Public Participation and Request for Comments section below for further 
information.
     Mail: Docket Operations, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: Docket Operations, West 
Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number 
for this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments received without 
change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
included in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or visit Docket 
Operations, Room W12-140 on the ground level of the West Building, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be sure someone is 
there to help you, please call (202) 366-9317 or (202) 366-9826 before 
visiting Docket Operations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. La Tonya Mimms, FMCSA Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle 
Safety Standards; (202) 366-4001; MCPSD@dot.gov. If you have questions 
on viewing or submitting material to the docket, contact Docket 
Operations, (202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation and Request for Comments

A. Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number FMCSA-
2020-150, indicate the specific section of the notice to which each 
comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion or 
recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online or by 
fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only one of these means. 
FMCSA recommends that you include your name and a mailing address, an 
email address, or a phone number in the body of your document so that 
FMCSA can contact you if there are questions regarding your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
put the docket number, FMCSA-2020-0150, in the keyword box, and click 
``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on the ``Comment Now!'' 
button and type your comment into the text box on the following screen. 
Choose whether you are submitting your comment as an individual or on 
behalf of a third party and then submit.
    If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them 
in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. If you submit comments by mail and would 
like to know that they reached the facility, please enclose a stamped, 
self-addressed postcard or envelope.
    FMCSA will consider all comments and material received during the 
comment period. Extension of the comment period will ensure a full 
opportunity for public participation.
Confidential Business Information
    Confidential Business Information (CBI) is commercial or financial 
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by 
its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552), 
CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to 
the notice contain commercial or financial information that is 
customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as private, and 
that is relevant or responsive to the notice, it is important that you 
clearly designate the submitted comments as CBI. Please mark each page 
of your submission that constitutes CBI as ``PROPIN'' to indicate it 
contains proprietary information. FMCSA will treat such marked 
submissions as confidential under the FOIA, and they will not be placed 
in the public docket for this notice. Submissions containing CBI should 
be sent to Mr. Brian Dahlin, Chief, Regulatory Analysis Division, 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590. Any comments FMCSA receives which are not 
specifically designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for 
this notice.

B. Viewing Documents and Comments

    To view comments, as well as any documents mentioned in this notice 
as being available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. 
Insert the docket number, FMCSA-2020-0150 in the keyword box, and click 
``Search.'' Next, click the ``Open Docket Folder'' button and choose 
the document to review. If you do not have access to the internet, you 
may view the docket online by visiting Docket Operations in Room W12-
140 on the ground floor of the DOT West Building, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

[[Page 65899]]

ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be sure someone 
is there to help you, please call (202) 366-9317 or (202) 366-9826 
before visiting Docket Operations.

C. Privacy Act

    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the 
public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts these 
comments, without edits, including any personal information the 
commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system 
of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.

II. Background

    On August 19, 2020 (85 FR 51145), FMCSA published a notice 
requesting public comments on the petitions for rulemaking to amend 
certain requirements for property brokers submitted by the Owner-
Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) and the Small Business 
in Transportation Coalition (SBTC). OOIDA requests that FMCSA require 
property brokers to provide an electronic copy of each transaction 
record automatically within 48 hours after the contractual service has 
been completed, and prohibit explicitly brokers from including any 
provision in their contracts that requires a motor carrier to waive its 
rights to access the transaction records. SBTC requests that FMCSA 
prohibit brokers from coercing or otherwise requiring parties to 
brokers' transactions to waive their right to review the record of the 
transaction as a condition for doing business. SBTC also requests that 
FMCSA adopt regulatory language indicating that brokers' contracts may 
not include a stipulation or clause exempting the broker from having to 
comply with the transparency requirement. The notice set October 19, 
2020 as the deadline by which comments should be submitted to the 
public docket.

III. Extension of the Public Comment Period

    On October 13, 2020, FMCSA published a notice in the Federal 
Register announcing that it will host a listening session pertaining to 
property carrier brokers on October 28, 2020. Specifically, the Agency 
indicated that it would like to hear from members of the public on 
their views on the regulation of property carrier brokers in general, 
and on three separate petitions for rulemaking from OOIDA, SBTC and the 
Transportation Intermediaries Association concerning specific property 
carrier broker regulation issues.
    The Agency believes it is appropriate to extend the comment period 
to provide interested parties additional time to submit their responses 
to the notice seeking public comment on the OOIDA and SBTC petitions. 
Therefore, the Agency extends the deadline for the submission of 
comments until November 18, 2020.

James W. Deck,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2020-22903 Filed 10-15-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P