DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

14 CFR Chs. I-III

23 CFR Chs. I-III

33 CFR Chs. I and IV

46 CFR Chs. I-III

48 CFR Ch. 12

49 CFR Subtitle A, Chs. I-VI, and Chs. X-XII

DOT-OST-1999-5129

Department Regulatory Agenda; Semiannual Summary

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Regulatory Agenda).

SUMMARY: The Regulatory Agenda is a semiannual summary of all current and projected rulemakings, reviews of existing regulations, and completed actions of the Department. The intent of the Agenda is to provide the public with information about the Department of Transportation's regulatory activity planned for the next 12 months. It is expected that this information will enable the public to more effectively participate in the Department's regulatory process. The public is also invited to submit comments on any aspect of this Agenda.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

General

You should direct all comments and inquiries on the Agenda in general to Jonathan Moss, Assistant General Counsel for Regulation, Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; (202) 366-4723.

Specific

You should direct all comments and inquiries on particular items in the Agenda to the individual listed for the regulation or the general rulemaking contact person for the operating administration in appendix B.

Table of Contents

Supplementary Information:

Background

Significant/Priority Rulemakings

Explanation of Information on the Agenda

Request for Comments

Purpose

Appendix A-Instructions for Obtaining Copies of Regulatory Documents

Appendix B-General Rulemaking Contact Persons

Appendix C-Public Rulemaking Dockets

Appendix D-Review Plans for Section 610 and Other Requirements

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Improvement of our regulations is a prime goal of the Department of Transportation (Department or DOT). Our regulations should be clear, simple, timely, fair, reasonable, and necessary. They should not be issued without appropriate involvement of the public; once issued, they should be periodically reviewed and revised, as needed, to ensure that they continue to meet the needs for which they originally were designed. To view additional information about the Department's regulatory activities online, go to http://www.dot.gov/regulations.

To help the Department achieve its goals and in accordance with Executive Order (EO) 12866, "Regulatory Planning and Review," (58 FR 51735; Oct. 4, 1993) and the Department's Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034; Feb. 26, 1979), the Department prepares a semiannual regulatory agenda. It summarizes all current and projected rulemakings, reviews of existing regulations, and completed actions of the Department. These are matters on which action has begun or is projected during the next 12 months or for which action has been completed since the last Agenda.

On January 30, 2017, President Trump issued EO 13771, "Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs," 82 FR 9339 (January 30, 2017), which establishes principles for prioritizing an agency's regulatory and deregulatory actions. EO 13771 was shortly followed by EO 13777, "Enforcing the Regulatory Agenda," 82 FR 12285 (February 24, 2017), which identified processes for agencies to follow in overseeing their regulatory programs. This Agenda was prepared in accordance with both EO 13771 and EO 13777, and the Department will continue to work internally, as well as with the Office of Management and Budget, to fully implement their principles into our rulemaking processes.

As part of our ongoing regulatory effort, the Department will likely revisit a number of proposed and final rulemakings to further streamline project delivery and reduce unnecessary administrative burdens; safety, however, will continue to be a priority. That's why we must ensure that regulatory decisions are rooted in analysis derived from sound science and data. They should also include risk-based analysis that prevents accidents before they happen, and considers the costs and benefits of new rulemakings.

As new automated technologies are rapidly advancing, they carry with them the potential to dramatically change commercial transportation and private travel, expanding access for millions and improving safety on our roads, rails, and in our skies. We are committed to ensuring the safe integration of these technologies into our transportation system.

We remain mindful, though, that infrastructure is the required underpinning of our country's world-class economy, so we will remain vigilant for opportunities where regulatory action can help strengthen and modernize our infrastructure.

The Agendas are based on reports submitted by the offices initiating the rulemaking and are reviewed by OST.

The Internet is the basic means for disseminating the Unified Agenda. The complete Unified Agenda is available online at www.reginfo.gov in a format that offers users a greatly enhanced ability to obtain information from the Agenda database.

Because publication in the Federal Register is mandated for the regulatory flexibility agendas required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 602), DOT's printed Agenda entries include only:

1. The agency's Agenda preamble;

2. Rules that are in the agency's regulatory flexibility agenda, in accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, because they are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities; and

3. Any rules that the agency has identified for periodic review under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

Printing of these entries is limited to fields that contain information required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act's Agenda requirements. These elements are: Sequence Number; Title; Section 610 Review, if applicable; Legal Authority; Abstract; Timetable; Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required; Agency Contact; and Regulation Identifier Number (RIN). Additional information (for detailed list, see section heading "Explanation of Information on the Agenda") on these entries is available in the Unified Agenda published on the Internet.

Significant Rulemakings

The Agenda covers all rules and regulations of the Department. We have classified rules as significant in the Agenda if they are, essentially, very beneficial, controversial, or of substantial public interest under our Regulatory Policies and Procedures. All DOT significant rulemaking documents are subject to review by the Secretary of Transportation. If the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) decided a rule is subject to its review under Executive Order 12866, we have also classified it as significant in the Agenda.

Explanation of Information on the Agenda

An Office of Management and Budget memorandum, dated March 2, 2017, requires the format for this Agenda.

First, the Agenda is divided by initiating offices. Then the Agenda is divided into five categories: (1) prerule stage, (2) proposed rule stage, (3) final rule stage, (4) long-term actions, and (5) completed actions. For each entry, the Agenda provides the following information: (1) its "significance"; (2) a short, descriptive title; (3) its legal basis; (4) the related regulatory citation in the Code of Federal Regulations; (5) any legal deadline and, if so, for what action (e.g., NPRM, final rule); (6) an abstract; (7) a timetable, including the earliest expected date for when a rulemaking document may publish; (8) whether the rulemaking will affect small entities and/or levels of Government and, if so, which categories; (9) whether a Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis is required (for rules that would have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities); (10) a listing of any analyses an office will prepare or has prepared for the action (with minor exceptions, DOT requires an economic analysis for all its rulemakings); (11) an agency contact office or official who can provide further information; (12) a Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) assigned to identify an individual rulemaking in the Agenda and facilitate tracing further action on the issue; (13) whether the action is subject to the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act; (14) whether the action is subject to the Energy Act; and (15) whether the action is major under the congressional review provisions of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act.

For nonsignificant regulations issued routinely and frequently as a part of an established body of technical requirements (such as the Federal Aviation Administration's Airspace Rules), to keep those requirements operationally current, we only include the general category of the regulations, the identity of a contact office or official, and an indication of the expected number of regulations; we do not list individual regulations.

In the "Timetable" column, we use abbreviations to indicate the particular documents being considered. ANPRM stands for Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, SNPRM for Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and NPRM for Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Listing a future date in this column does not mean we have made a decision to issue a document; it is the earliest date on which a rulemaking document may publish. In addition, these dates are based on current schedules. Information received after the issuance of this Agenda could result in a decision not to take regulatory action or in changes to proposed publication dates. For example, the need for further evaluation could result in a later publication date; evidence of a greater need for the regulation could result in an earlier publication date.

Finally, a dot (●) preceding an entry indicates that the entry appears in the Agenda for the first time.

Request for Comments

General

Our Agenda is intended primarily for the use of the public. Since its inception, we have made modifications and refinements that we believe provide the public with more helpful information, as well as making the Agenda easier to use. We would like you, the public, to make suggestions or comments on how the Agenda could be further improved.

Reviews

We also seek your suggestions on which of our existing regulations you believe need to be reviewed to determine whether they should be revised or revoked. We particularly draw your attention to the Department's review plan in appendix D. In response to Executive Order 13563 "Retrospective Review and Analysis of Existing Rules," in 2011 we prepared a retrospective review plan providing more detail on the process we use to conduct reviews of existing rules, including changes in response to Executive Order 13563. Any updates related to our retrospective plan and review results can be found at http://www.dot.gov/regulations.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Department is especially interested in obtaining information on requirements that have a "significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities" and, therefore, must be reviewed under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. If you have any suggested regulations, please submit them to us, along with your explanation of why they should be reviewed.

In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, comments are specifically invited on regulations that we have targeted for review under section 610 of the Act. The phrase (sec. 610 Review) appears at the end of the title for these reviews. Please see appendix D for the Department's section 610 review plans.

Consultation with State, Local, and Tribal Governments

Executive Orders 13132 and 13175 require us to develop an accountable process to ensure "meaningful and timely input" by State, local, and tribal officials in the development of regulatory policies that have federalism or tribal implications. These policies are defined in the Executive orders to include regulations that have "substantial direct effects" on States or Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and them, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal Government and various levels of Government or Indian tribes. Therefore, we encourage State and local Governments or Indian tribes to provide us with information about how the Department's rulemakings impact them.

Purpose

The Department is publishing this regulatory Agenda in the Federal Register to share with interested members of the public the Department's preliminary expectations regarding its future regulatory actions. This should enable the public to be more aware of the Department's regulatory activity and should result in more effective public participation. This publication in the Federal Register does not impose any binding obligation on the Department or any of the offices within the Department with regard to any specific item on the Agenda. Regulatory action, in addition to the items listed, is not precluded.

DATED: March 22, 2017.

NAME: Elaine L. Chao,

Secretary of Transportation.

Appendix A-Instructions for Obtaining Copies of Regulatory Documents

To obtain a copy of a specific regulatory document in the Agenda, you should communicate directly with the contact person listed with the regulation at the address below. We note that most, if not all, such documents, including the Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, are available through the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. See appendix C for more information.

(Name of contact person), (Name of the DOT agency), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. (For the Federal Aviation Administration, substitute the following address: Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591).

Appendix B-General Rulemaking Contact Persons

The following is a list of persons who can be contacted within the Department for general information concerning the rulemaking process within the various operating administrations.

FAA-Lirio Liu, Director, Office of Rulemaking, 800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-7833.

FHWA-Jennifer Outhouse, Office of Chief Counsel, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202) 366-0761.

FMCSA-Steven J. LaFreniere, Regulatory Ombudsman, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,

Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202) 366-0596.

NHTSA-Steve Wood, Office of Chief Counsel, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202) 366-2992.

FRA-Elliott Gillooly, Office of Chief Counsel, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202) 493-6047.

FTA-Chaya Koffman, Office of Chief Counsel, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202) 366-3101.

SLSDC-Carrie Mann Lavigne, Chief Counsel, 180 Andrews Street, Massena, NY 13662; telephone (315) 764-3200.

PHMSA-Stephen Gordon, Office of Chief Counsel, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202) 366-1101.

MARAD-Gabriel Chavez, Office of Chief Counsel, Maritime Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202) 366-2621.

OST-Jonathan Moss, Assistant General Counsel for Regulation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; telephone (202) 366-4723.

Appendix C-Public Rulemaking Dockets

All comments via the Internet are submitted through the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) at the following address: http://www.regulations.gov. The FDMS allows the public to search, view, download, and comment on all Federal agency rulemaking documents in one central online system. The above referenced Internet address also allows the public to sign up to receive notification when certain documents are placed in the dockets.

The public also may review regulatory dockets at or deliver comments on proposed rulemakings to the Dockets Office at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, 1-800-647-5527. Working Hours: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Appendix D-Review Plans for Section 610 and Other Requirements

Part I-The Plan

General

The Department of Transportation has long recognized the importance of regularly reviewing its existing regulations to determine whether they need to be revised or revoked. Our Regulatory Policies and Procedures require such reviews. We also have responsibilities under EO 12866, "Regulatory Planning and Review," EO 13563, ''Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' 76 FR 3821 (January 18, 2011), EO 13771 "Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs," EO 13777, "Enforcing the Regulatory Agenda," and section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act to conduct such reviews. This includes the designation of a Regulatory Reform Officer, the establishment of a Regulatory Reform Task Force, and the use of plain language techniques in new rules and considering its use in existing rules when we have the opportunity and resources to revise them. We are committed to continuing our reviews of existing rules and, if it is needed, will initiate rulemaking actions based on these reviews.

Section 610 Review Plan

Section 610 requires that we conduct reviews of rules that: (1) have been published within the last 10 years, and (2) have a "significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities" (SEIOSNOSE). It also requires that we publish in the Federal Register each year a list of any such rules that we will review during the next year. The Office of the Secretary and each of the Department's Operating Administrations have a 10-year review plan. These reviews comply with section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

Changes to the Review Plan

Some reviews may be conducted earlier than scheduled. For example, to the extent resources permit, the plain language reviews will be conducted more quickly. Other events, such as accidents, may result in the need to conduct earlier reviews of some rules. Other factors may also result in the need to make changes; for example, we may make changes in response to public comment on this plan or in response to a presidentially mandated review. If there is any change to the review plan, we will note the change in the following Agenda. For any section 610 review, we will provide the required notice prior to the review.

Part II-The Review Process

The Analysis

Generally, the agencies have divided their rules into 10 different groups and plan to analyze one group each year. For purposes of these reviews, a year will coincide with the fall-to-fall schedule for publication of the Agenda. Thus, Year 1 (2008) begins in the fall of 2008 and ends in the fall of 2009; Year 2 (2009) begins in the fall of 2009 and ends in the fall of 2010, and so on. We request public comment on the timing of the reviews. For example, is there a reason for scheduling an analysis and review for a particular rule earlier than we have? Any comments concerning the plan or particular analyses should be submitted to the regulatory contacts listed in appendix B, General Rulemaking Contact Persons.

Section 610 Review

The agency will analyze each of the rules in a given year's group to determine whether any rule has a SEIOSNOSE and, thus, requires review in accordance with section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The level of analysis will, of course, depend on the nature of the rule and its applicability. Publication of agencies' section 610 analyses listed each fall in this Agenda provides the public with notice and an opportunity to comment consistent with the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. We request that public comments be submitted to us early in the analysis year concerning the small entity impact of the rules to help us in making our determinations.

In each fall Agenda, the agency will publish the results of the analyses it has completed during the previous year. For rules that had a negative finding on SEIOSNOSE, we will give a short explanation (e.g., "these rules only establish petition processes that have no cost impact" or "these rules do not apply to any small entities"). For parts, subparts, or other discrete sections of rules that do have a SEIOSNOSE, we will announce that we will be conducting a formal section 610 review during the following 12 months. At this stage, we will add an entry to the Agenda in the prerulemaking section describing the review in more detail. We also will seek public comment on how best to lessen the impact of these rules and provide a name or docket to which public comments can be submitted. In some cases, the section 610 review may be part of another unrelated review of the rule. In such a case, we plan to clearly indicate which parts of the review are being conducted under section 610.

Other Reviews

The agency will also examine the specified rules to determine whether any other reasons exist for revising or revoking the rule or for rewriting the rule in plain language. In each fall Agenda, the agency will also publish information on the results of the examinations completed during the previous year.

Part III-List of Pending Section 610 Reviews

The Agenda identifies the pending DOT section 610 Reviews by inserting "(Section 610 Review)" after the title for the specific entry. For further information on the pending reviews, see the Agenda entries at www.reginfo.gov. For example, to obtain a list of all entries that are in section 610 Reviews under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, a user would select the desired responses on the search screen (by selecting "advanced search") and, in effect, generate the desired "index" of reviews.

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

SECTION 610 AND OTHER REVIEWS

Year 9 (2016) List of rules that will be analyzed during the next year

49 CFR part 17-Intergovernmental review of Department of Transportation programs and activities

49 CFR part 20-New restrictions on lobbying

49 CFR part 21-Nondiscrimination In Federally-Assisted Programs of the Department of Transportation-Effectuation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act Of 1964

49 CFR part 22-Short-Term Lending Program (STLP)

49 CFR part 23-Participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprise in Airport Concessions

49 CFR part 24-Uniform Relocation Assistance And Real Property Acquisition For Federal And Federally-Assisted Programs

49 CFR part 25-Nondiscrimination On The Basis Of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance

49 CFR part 26-Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in Department of Transportation Financial Assistance Programs

49 CFR part 27-Nondiscrimination On The Basis Of Disability in Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance

49 CFR part 28-Enforcement of Nondiscrimination On The Basis Of Handicap in Programs or Activities Conducted by the Department of Transportation

Year 8 (2015) List of rules with ongoing analysis

14 CFR part 399-Fees and Charges for Special Services

49 CFR part 1-Organization and Delegation of Power and Duties

49 CFR part 3-Official Seal

49 CFR part 5-Rulemaking Procedures

49 CFR part 6-Implementation of Equal Access to Justice Act in Agency Proceedings

49 CFR part -Public Availability of Information

49 CFR part 8-Classified Information: Classification/Declassification/Access

49 CFR part 9-Testimony of Employees of the Department and Production of Records in Legal Proceedings

49 CFR part 10-Maintenance of and Access to Records Pertaining to Individuals

49 CFR part 11-Protection of Human Subjects

Year 7 (2014) List of rules with ongoing analysis

14 CFR part 374-Implementation of the Consumer Credit Protection Act with Respect to Air Carriers and Foreign Air Carriers

14 CFR part 374a-Extension of Credit by Airlines to Federal Political Candidates

14 CFR part 375-Navigation of Foreign Civil Aircraft within the United States

14 CFR part 377-Continuance of Expired Authorizations by Operation of Law Pending Final Determination of Applications for Renewal Thereof

14 CFR part 380-Public Charters

14 CFR part 381-Special Event Tours

14 CFR part 382-Nondiscrimination On The Basis Of Disability in Air Travel

14 CFR part 383-Civil Penalties

14 CFR part 385-Staff Assignments and Review of Action under Assignments

14 CFR part 389-Fees and Charges for Special Services

14 CFR part 398-Guidelines for Individual Determinations of Basic Essential Air Service

Year 6 (2013) List of rules with ongoing analysis

14 CFR part 300-Rules of Conduct in DOT Proceedings Under This Chapter

14 CFR part 302-Rules of Practice in Proceedings

14 CFR part 303-Review of Air Carrier Agreements

14 CFR part 305-Rules of Practice in Informal Nonpublic Investigations

14 CFR part 313-Implementation of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act

14 CFR part 323-Terminations, Suspensions, and Reductions of Service

14 CFR part 325-Essential Air Service Procedures

14 CFR part 330-Procedures For Compensation of Air Carriers

14 CFR part 372-Overseas Military Personnel Charters

Year 5 (fall 2012) List of rules with ongoing analysis

14 CFR part 255-Airline Computer Reservations Systems

14 CFR part 256-[Reserved]

14 CFR part 271-Guidelines for Subsidizing Air Carriers Providing Essential Air Transportation

14 CFR part 272-Essential Air Service to the Freely Associated States

14 CFR part 291-Cargo Operations in Interstate Air Transportation

14 CFR part 292-International Cargo Transportation

14 CFR part 293-International Passenger Transportation

14 CFR part 294-Canadian Charter Air Taxi Operators

14 CFR part 296-Indirect Air Transportation of Property

14 CFR part 297-Foreign Air Freight Forwarders and Foreign Cooperative Shippers Associations

14 CFR part 298-Exemptions for Air Taxi and Commuter Air Carrier Operations

Year 4 (fall 2011) List of rules with ongoing analysis

14 CFR part 240-Inspection of Accounts and Property

14 CFR part 241-Uniform System of Accounts and Reports for Large Certificated Air Carriers

14 CFR part 243-Passenger Manifest Information

14 CFR part 247-Direct Airport-to-Airport Mileage Records

14 CFR part 248-Submission of Audit Reports

14 CFR part 249-Preservation of Air Carrier Records

Year 3 (fall 2010) List of rules with ongoing analysis

14 CFR part 213-Terms, Conditions, and Limitations of Foreign Air Carrier Permits

14 CFR part 214-Terms, Conditions, and Limitations of Foreign Air Carrier Permits Authorizing Charter Transportation Only

14 CFR part 215-Use and Change of Names of Air Carriers, Foreign Air Carriers, and Commuter Air Carriers

14 CFR part 216-Commingling of Blind Sector Traffic by Foreign Air Carriers

14 CFR part 217-Reporting Traffic Statistics by Foreign Air Carriers in Civilian Scheduled, Charter, and Nonscheduled Services

14 CFR part 218-Lease by Foreign Air Carrier or Other Foreign Person of Aircraft With Crew

14 CFR part 221-Tariffs

14 CFR part 222-Intermodal Cargo Services by Foreign Air Carriers

14 CFR part 223-Free and Reduced-Rate Transportation

14 CFR part 232-Transportation of Mail, Review of Orders of Postmaster General

14 CFR part 234-Airline Service Quality Performance Reports

Year 1 (fall 2008) List of rules with ongoing analysis

49 CFR part 91-International Air Transportation Fair Competitive Practices

49 CFR part 92-Recovering Debts to the United States by Salary Offset

49 CFR part 98-Enforcement of Restrictions on Post-Employment Activities

49 CFR part 99-Employee Responsibilities and Conduct

14 CFR part 200-Definitions and Instructions

14 CFR part 201-Air Carrier Authority Under Subtitle VII of Title 49 of the United States Code [Amended]

14 CFR part 203-Waiver of Warsaw Convention Liability Limits and Defenses

14 CFR part 204-Data to Support Fitness Determinations

14 CFR part 205-Aircraft Accident Liability Insurance

14 CFR part 206-Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity: Special Authorizations and Exemptions

14 CFR part 207-Charter Trips by U.S. Scheduled Air Carriers

14 CFR part 208-Charter Trips by U.S. Charter Air Carriers

14 CFR part 211-Applications for Permits to Foreign Air Carriers

14 CFR part 212-Charter Rules for U.S. and Foreign Direct Air Carriers

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

SECTION 610 AND OTHER REVIEWS

Section 610 Review Plan

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has elected to use the two-step, two-year process used by most Department of Transportation (DOT) modes in past plans. As such, the FAA has divided its rules into 10 groups as displayed in the table below. During the first year (the "analysis year"), all rules published during the previous 10 years within a 10% block of the regulations will be analyzed to identify those with a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities (SEISNOSE). During the second year (the "review year"), each rule identified in the analysis year as having a SEISNOSE will be reviewed in accordance with Section 610(b) to determine if it should be continued without change or changed to minimize impact on small entities. Results of those reviews will be published in the DOT Semiannual Regulatory Agenda.

Background on the Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 as amended (RFA), sections 601 through 612 of Title 5, United States Code (5 U.S.C.)) requires Federal regulatory agencies to analyze all proposed and final rules to determine their economic impact on small entities, which includes small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions. The primary purpose of the RFA is to establish as a principle of regulatory issuance that Federal agencies endeavor, consistent with the objectives of the rule and applicable statutes, to fit regulatory and informational requirements to the scale of entities subject to the regulation. The FAA performed the required RFA analyses of each final rulemaking action and amendment it has initiated since enactment of the RFA in 1980.

Section 610 of 5 U.S.C. requires government agencies to periodically review all regulations that will have a SEISNOSE. The FAA must analyze each rule within 10 years of its publication date.

Defining SEISNOSE

The RFA does not define "significant economic impact." Therefore, there is no clear rule or number to determine when a significant economic impact occurs. However, the Small Business Administration (SBA) states that significance should be determined by considering the size of the business, the size of the competitor's business, and the impact the same regulation has on larger competitors.

Likewise, the RFA does not define "substantial number." However, the legislative history of the RFA suggests that a substantial number must be at least one but does not need to be an overwhelming percentage such as more than half. The SBA states that the substantiality of the number of small businesses affected should be determined on an industry-specific basis.

This analysis consisted of the following three steps: