Fees for the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement, 67124-67131 [2018-28170]

Agencies

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 248 (Friday, December 28, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67124-67131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-28170]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 367

[Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0068]
RIN 2126-AC12


Fees for the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule establishes reductions in the annual registration 
fees collected from motor carriers, motor private carriers of property, 
brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies for the Unified 
Carrier Registration (UCR) Plan and Agreement for the registration 
years 2019, 2020 and thereafter. For the 2019 registration year, the 
fees will be reduced below the 2017 registration fee level that was in 
effect by 18.62 percent to ensure that fee revenues collected do not 
exceed the statutory maximum, and to account for the excess funds held 
in the depository. The fees beginning with the 2020 registration year 
will be reduced below the 2017 level by approximately 9.9 percent. The 
reduction of the current 2019 registration year fees (finalized on 
January 5, 2018) range from approximately $11 to $10,282 per entity, 
depending on the number of vehicles owned or operated by the affected 
entities. The reduction in fees for 2020 and subsequent registration 
years range from approximately $5 to $3,899 per entity.

DATES: This final rule is effective December 28, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Gerald Folsom, Office of 
Registration and Safety Information, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001 or 
by telephone at 202-385-2405.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Rulemaking Documents

A. Availability of Rulemaking Documents

    For access to docket FMCSA-2018-0068 to read background documents, 
go to https://www.regulations.gov at any time, or to Docket Services at 
U.S. Department of Transportation, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

B. Privacy Act

    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), the U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT) solicits comments from the public to better inform 
its rulemaking process. DOT posts any comments, without edit, 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 https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.

II. Abbreviations and Acronyms

    The following is a list of abbreviations used in this document:

CE Categorical Exclusion
DOT U.S. Department of Transportation
E.O. Executive Order
FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking
OMB Office of Management and Budget
PRA Paperwork Reduction Act
RFA Regulatory Flexibility Act
SBREFA Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
SBTC Small Business in Transportation Coalition
SSRS Single State Registration System
UCR Unified Carrier Registration
UCR Agreement Unified Carrier Registration Agreement
UCR Board Unified Carrier Registration Board of Directors
UCR Plan Unified Carrier Registration Plan

III. Executive Summary

A. Purpose and Summary of the Major Provisions

    The UCR Plan and the 41 States participating in the UCR Agreement 
establish and collect fees from motor carriers, motor private carriers 
of property, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies. The 
UCR Plan and Agreement are administered by a 15-member board of 
directors (UCR Board); 14 appointed from the participating States and 
the industry,

[[Page 67125]]

plus the Deputy Administrator of FMCSA. Revenues collected are 
allocated to the participating States and the UCR Plan. A maximum 
amount that the UCR Plan may collect is established by statute. If 
annual revenue collections will exceed the statutory maximum allowed, 
then the UCR Plan must request adjustments to the fees. 49 U.S.C. 
14504a(f)(1)(E). In addition, any excess funds held by the UCR Plan 
after payments are made to the States and for administrative costs are 
retained in the UCR depository, and subsequent fees charged must be 
adjusted further in order to return the excess revenues held in the 
depository as required by 49 U.S.C. 14504a(h)(4). Adjustments in the 
fees are requested by the UCR Plan and approved by FMCSA. These two 
provisions are the reasons for the two-stage adjustment adopted in this 
final rule. The final rule provides for a reduction for at least the 
next two registration years to the annual registration fees established 
for the UCR Agreement.
    For the 2019 registration year, the fees will be reduced below the 
2017 registration fee level that was in effect by 18.62 percent to 
ensure that fee revenues do not exceed the statutory maximum, and to 
account for the excess funds held in the depository. The fees beginning 
with the 2020 registration year will be reduced below the 2017 level by 
approximately 9.9 percent. The reduction of the current 2019 
registration year fees (finalized on January 5, 2018) ranges from 
approximately $11 to $10,282 per entity, depending on the number of 
vehicles owned or operated by the affected entities. The reduction in 
fees for 2020 and subsequent registration years ranges from 
approximately $5 to $3,899 per entity.

B. Benefits and Costs

    The changes imposed by this final rule reduce the fees paid by 
motor carriers, motor private carriers of property, brokers, freight 
forwarders, and leasing companies to the participating States. While 
each motor carrier will realize a reduced burden, fees are considered 
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-4, Regulatory 
Analysis, as transfer payments, not costs. Transfer payments are 
payments from one group to another that do not affect total resources 
available to society. Therefore, transfers are not considered in the 
monetization of societal costs and benefits of rulemakings.

IV. Legal Basis for the Rulemaking

    This rule adjusts the annual registration fees for the UCR 
Agreement established by 49 U.S.C. 14504a. The requested fee 
adjustments are required by 49 U.S.C. 14504a because, for the 
registration year 2017, the total revenues collected were expected to 
exceed the total revenue entitlements of $107.78 million distributed to 
the 41 participating States plus the $5 million established for the 
administrative costs associated with the UCR Plan and Agreement.\1\ The 
requested adjustments have been submitted by the UCR Plan in accordance 
with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(f)(1)(E)(ii), which requires the UCR Board to 
request an adjustment by the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) 
when the annual revenues collected exceed the maximum allowed. In 
addition, 49 U.S.C. 14504a(h)(4) states that any excess funds held by 
the UCR Plan in its depository, after payments to the States and for 
administrative costs, shall be retained ``and the fees charged . . . 
shall be reduced by the Secretary accordingly.''
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    \1\ The UCR Plan is ``the organization . . . responsible for 
developing, implementing, and administering the unified carrier 
registration agreement.'' 49 U.S.C. 14504a(a)(9). The UCR Agreement 
developed by the UCR Plan is the ``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).
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    The UCR Plan also requested approval of a revised total revenue 
target to be collected because of a reduction in the amount for costs 
of administering the UCR Agreement. No changes in the revenue 
entitlements to the participating States were recommended by the UCR 
Plan. The revised total revenue target must be approved in accordance 
with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(7) and (g)(4).
    The Secretary also has broad rulemaking authority in 49 U.S.C. 
13301(a) to carry out 49 U.S.C. 14504a, which is part of 49 U.S.C. 
subtitle IV, part B. Authority to administer these statutory provisions 
has been delegated to the FMCSA Administrator by 49 CFR 1.87(a)(2) and 
(7).\2\
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    \2\ For the purpose of this rulemaking, the term ``FMCSA'' will 
frequently be used in place of ``Secretary'' due to the delegated 
authority provided by the Secretary. The term ``Secretary'' will be 
used in quoted material and as otherwise appropriate.
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    The Administrative Procedure Act allows agencies to make rules 
effective immediately with good cause, instead of requiring publication 
30 days prior to the effective date. 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). FMCSA finds 
there is good cause for this rule to be effective upon publication so 
that the UCR Plan and the participating States may begin collection of 
fees immediately for the registration year that will begin on January 
1, 2019. The immediate commencement of fee collection will avoid 
further delay in distributing revenues to the participating States.

V. Statutory Requirements for the UCR Fees

A. Legislative History

    The legislative history of 49 U.S.C. 14504a indicates that the 
purpose of the UCR Plan and Agreement is both to replace the Single 
State Registration 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.'' Sen. Rep. 109-120, at 2 (2005). 
The statute provides for a 15-member board of directors for the UCR 
Plan to be appointed by the Secretary. The statute specifies that the 
UCR Board should consist of one director (either the FMCSA Deputy 
Administrator or another Presidential appointee) from DOT; four 
directors from among the chief administrative officers of the State 
agencies responsible for administering the UCR Agreement (one from each 
of the four FMCSA service areas); five directors from among the 
professional staffs of State agencies responsible for administering the 
UCR Agreement, to be nominated by the National Conference of State 
Transportation Specialists; and five directors from the motor carrier 
industry, of whom at least one must be from a national trade 
association representing the general motor carrier of property industry 
and one from a motor carrier that falls within the smallest fleet fee 
bracket. 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(1)(B).
    The UCR Plan and the participating States are authorized by 49 
U.S.C. 14504a(f) to establish and collect fees from motor carriers, 
motor private carriers of property, brokers, freight forwarders, and 
leasing companies. The annual fees charged for registration year 2018 
are set out in 49 CFR 367.40.
    For carriers and freight forwarders, the fees vary according to the 
size of the vehicle fleets, as required by 49 U.S.C. 14504a(f). The 
fees collected are allocated to the States and the UCR Plan in 
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(h). Participating States submit a plan 
demonstrating that an amount equivalent to the revenues received are 
used for motor carrier safety programs, enforcement, or the 
administration of the UCR Plan and Agreement. 49 U.S.C. 
14504a(e)(1)(B).
    The UCR Plan and the participating States collect registration fees 
for each

[[Page 67126]]

registration year, which is the same period as the calendar year. 
Generally, collection begins on October 1 of the previous year, and 
continues until December 31 of the year following the registration 
year. All of the revenues collected are distributed to the 
participating States or to the UCR Plan for administration of the UCR 
Agreement. No funds are distributed to the Federal government.

B. Fee Requirements

    The statute specifies that fees are to be based on the 
recommendation of the UCR Board. 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(7)(A). In 
recommending the level of fees to be assessed in any registration year, 
and in setting the fee level, the statute states that both the UCR 
Board and FMCSA ``shall consider'' the following factors:
     Administrative costs associated with the UCR Plan and 
Agreement;
     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 UCR 
Board; and
     Provisions governing fees in 49 U.S.C. 14504a(f)(1).
    FMCSA, if asked by the UCR Board, may also adjust the fees within a 
reasonable range on an annual basis if the revenues collected from the 
fees are either insufficient to provide the participating States with 
the revenues they are entitled to receive or exceed those revenues. 49 
U.S.C. 14504a(f)(1)(E).
    Overall, the fees assessed under the UCR Agreement must produce the 
level of revenue established by statute. Section 14504a(g) establishes 
the revenue entitlements for States that choose to participate in the 
UCR Plan. That section provides that a State, participating in SSRS in 
the registration year prior to the enactment of the Unified Carrier 
Registration Act of 2005, is entitled to receive revenues under the UCR 
Agreement equivalent to the revenues it received in the year before 
that enactment. 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, in an amount equivalent to the 
amount received in the year before the Act's enactment. Section 
14504a(g) also requires that States that did not participate in SSRS 
previously, but that choose to participate in the UCR Plan, may receive 
revenues not to exceed $500,000 per year. The UCR Board calculates the 
amount of revenue to which each participating State is entitled under 
the UCR Agreement, which is then approved by FMCSA.
    FMCSA's interpretation of its responsibilities under 49 U.S.C. 
14504a in setting fees for the UCR Plan and Agreement are guided by the 
primacy the statute places on the need both to set and to adjust the 
fees so they ``provide the revenues to which the States are entitled.'' 
49 U.S.C. 14504a(f)(1)(E)(i). The statute links the requirement that 
the fees be adjusted ``within a reasonable range'' by both the UCR Plan 
and FMCSA to the provision of sufficient revenues to meet the 
entitlements of the participating States. 49 U.S.C. 14504a(f)(1)(E); 
see also 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(7)(A)(ii).
    Section 14504a(h)(4) provides additional support for this 
interpretation. The provision explicitly requires FMCSA to reduce the 
fees for all motor carrier entities in the year following any year in 
which the depository retains any funds in excess of the amount 
necessary to satisfy the revenue entitlements of the participating 
States and the UCR Plan's administrative costs.

VI. Recommendation from the UCR Plan

    On December 14, 2017, the UCR Board voted unanimously to submit a 
recommendation to the FMCSA to reduce the fees collected by the UCR 
Plan for registration years 2019 and thereafter. The recommendation was 
submitted to the FMCSA on January 11, 2018.\3\ The requested fee 
adjustments are required by 49 U.S.C. 14504a because, for registration 
year 2017, the total revenues collected were expected to exceed the 
total revenue entitlements of $107.78 million distributed to the 41 
participating States plus the $5 million established for ``the 
administrative costs associated with the unified carrier registration 
plan and agreement.'' 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(7)(A)(i). The maximum revenue 
entitlements for each of the 41 participating States, established in 
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(g), were set out in a table attached 
to the January 11, 2018, recommendation.
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    \3\ The January 11, 2018, recommendation from the UCR Plan and 
all related tables are available in the docket for this rulemaking. 
(See I.A. above.)
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    As indicated in the analysis attached to the January 11, 2018, 
recommendation letter, as of the end of November 2017, the UCR Plan had 
already collected $7.30 million more than the statutory maximum of 
$112.78 million for registration year 2017. The UCR Plan estimated that 
by the end of 2018, total revenues would exceed the statutory maximum 
by $9.17 million, or approximately 8.13 percent. The excess revenues 
collected would be held in a depository maintained by the UCR Plan as 
required by 49 U.S.C. 14504a(h)(4).
    The UCR Plan's recommendation estimated the minimum projection of 
revenue collections for December 2017 through December 2018 by summing 
the collections within each of the registration years 2013 through 2015 
\4\ and then comparing across years to find the minimum total amount. 
This is the same methodology used to project collections and estimate 
fees in the previous fee adjustment rulemaking. 83 FR 605 (January 5, 
2018).
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    \4\ Collections for registration year 2016 are not available for 
use for this purpose because registration and fee collection for 
that year was not finalized at the time of the UCR Plan 
recommendation.
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    Under 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(7), the costs incurred by the UCR Plan to 
administer the UCR Agreement are eligible for inclusion in the total 
revenue target, in addition to the revenue entitlements for the 
participating States. The total revenue target for registration years 
2010 to 2018, as approved in the 2010 final rule (75 FR 21993 (April 
27, 2010)), has been $112,777,059.81, including $5,000,000 for 
administrative costs. The UCR Plan's latest recommendation included a 
reduction in the amount of the administrative costs to $3,500,000 for 
the 2019 and 2020 registration years. The reduction of $1,500,000 
recommended by the UCR Plan was based on estimates of future 
administrative costs needed to operate the UCR Plan and Agreement. No 
changes in the State revenue entitlements were recommended, and the 
entitlement figures for 2019 and 2020 for the 41 participating States 
are the same as those previously approved for the years 2010 through 
2018. Therefore, for registration years 2019 and 2020, the UCR Plan 
recommended a total revenue target of $111,277,060.
    A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) reflecting the 
recommendation from the UCR Board was published by FMCSA. 83 FR 42244 
(August 21, 2018). Comments addressing both the proposed adjustment in 
the fees and the separate new total revenue target recommendation were 
due on August 31, 2018.

VII. Discussion of the Comments

    FMCSA received six comments on the NPRM. The commenters were: (1) 
Avelino Gutierrez, UCR Board Chairman, and G. Scott Morris, Board 
Member; (2) National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc.; (3) Small 
Business in Transportation Coalition

[[Page 67127]]

(SBTC); (4) National School Transportation Association; (5) Kevin 
Johnson; and (6) ``Anonymous.''

Avelino Gutierrez and G. Scott Morris

    The comment was submitted by the two UCR Board members in their 
individual capacities and provided updated information on the actual 
and estimated revenue collections for the 2017 registration year.
    Based on the updated information provided about actual and 
estimated collections, and as required by the statutory provisions 
involved, the fees established in this final rule have been adjusted 
and are slightly lower than the fees proposed in the NPRM but are still 
expected to enable the total revenue target to be met.

National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. and Kevin Johnson

    The National Motor Freight Traffic Association and Kevin Johnson 
both support the proposed fee adjustment.

Small Business in Transportation Coalition

    The comment from the Small Business in Transportation Coalition 
(SBTC) raises several issues, not all of which are relevant to the 
proposed fee adjustment.\5\ SBTC first asserts that the current 
provisions of 49 CFR 367.50 setting the fees for 2019 and subsequent 
years, as adopted in the final rule in Fees for Unified Carrier 
Registration Plan and Agreement (83 FR 605 (January 5, 2018)), are 
``unlawful and unenforceable.'' SBTC bases that contention on the 
notion that the final rule was not adopted within 90 days after the 
submission of the fee recommendation from the UCR Plan for the 
adjustment made in the January 5 final rule. 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(7).
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    \5\ The SBTC comment incorporates the text of a letter dated 
August 8, 2018, addressed to the Secretary. The disposition of 
SBTC's comments in this final rule also disposes of the contentions 
in the August 8 letter.
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    FMCSA notes that SBTC made the same contention regarding the effect 
of this statutory provision in its comments in the previous rulemaking. 
FMCSA rejected that contention in the January 5, 2018 final rule (see 
83 FR 608) because it is now a well-established principle of 
administrative law that a statutory deadline for agency action cannot, 
in the ordinary course, bar action after the deadline unless that 
consequence is stated explicitly in the statute. In the leading case, 
Justice Marshall, in an opinion expressing the views of a unanimous 
Supreme Court, stated:

    We would be most reluctant to conclude that every failure of an 
agency to observe a procedural requirement voids subsequent agency 
action, especially when important public rights are at stake. When, 
as here, there are less drastic remedies available for failure to 
meet a statutory deadline, courts should not assume that Congress 
intended the agency to lose its power to act.

Brock v. Pierce County, 476 U.S. 253, 260 (1976) (footnotes omitted). 
In U.S. v. James Daniel Good Real Prop, 510 U.S. 43, 63 (1993), the 
Court stated that ``if a statute does not specify a consequence for 
noncompliance with statutory timing provisions, the Federal courts will 
not in the ordinary course impose their own coercive sanction.'' See 
also Gottlieb v. Pena, 41 F.3d 730, 733-35 (D.C. Cir. 1994).
    SBTC cannot point to any explicit statement in the provisions of 49 
U.S.C. 14504a that bars action by FMCSA if the 90-day period is not 
met, because there is none. Thus, as explained by the Supreme Court's 
decisions, the appropriate remedy for SBTC or any other interest 
allegedly aggrieved by the Agency's failure to meet the statutory time 
limit is to commence an action under the Administrative Procedure Act 
``to compel agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably 
delayed.'' 5 U.S.C. 706(1) and Brock v. Pierce County, 476 U.S. at 260, 
n. 7. SBTC has not sought such a remedy, and, of course, its 
availability is now removed by the issuance of this final rule. Cf. 
Telecommunications Research & Action Center v. F.C.C., 750 F.2d 70, 80 
(D.C. Cir. 1984).
    In addition, there are important public rights at stake that would 
be affected if FMCSA lost its power to act on the UCR Plan's 
recommendation, as contended by SBTC. The fee reduction recommended by 
the UCR Plan, proposed for implementation in the NPRM and now adopted 
in this final rule (with a minor adjustment), is necessary under the 
terms of two important provisions in the statute that require 
compliance with the statutory maximum amount of revenues to be 
collected by the UCR Plan and the participating States. 49 U.S.C. 
14504a(f)(1)(E)(ii) and (h)(4).
    SBTC renews its contention in its comment in this rulemaking that 
FMCSA has lost the power to act on the new proposed adjustment based on 
the 90-day provision in the statute. For the same reasons that this 
contention was rejected in the previous rulemaking, it is rejected 
again, and FMCSA and the Secretary have full power to act on the 
proposed fee recommendation.
    SBTC's further contention that the fees in current section 367.50 
are unenforceable for the 2019 registration year because, it alleges, 
proper procedures were not followed in setting the current fees for 
2019, overlooks the fact that in this rulemaking the UCR Plan is 
recommending, and FMCSA has properly considered, proposed, and is now 
adopting, an adjustment in the fees for the 2019 registration year by 
revising 49 CFR 367.50. 83 FR 42250-51. In any event, FMCSA notes that 
the delay setting the fees for the 2019 registration year has not 
prejudiced entities subject to the registration fees. The UCR Plan has 
amended the UCR Agreement to provide that when an adjustment in fees is 
pending before FMCSA and DOT, registration and collection of fees will 
not begin until the effective date of the adjusted fees. Therefore, the 
fees established for registration year 2019 by either current 49 CFR 
367.50 or its proposed amendment will not be collected by the UCR Plan 
and the participating States until this final rule and any adjustment 
in the fees for 2019 becomes effective.
    Another contention by SBTC is that the UCR Plan should not be 
recommending, nor should FMCSA be acting on, a fee change for the 2020 
registration year (see proposed 49 CFR 367.60, 83 FR 42251), claiming 
that it should not be done until information is available about the 
prior year's revenues. SBTC fails to recognize that the proposed two-
step adjustment in the fees is required by the statute. As indicated in 
the NPRM, 49 U.S.C. 14504a(f)(1)(E)(ii) requires the fees to be reduced 
so that the revenues collected meet the total revenue target, and 49 
U.S.C. 14504(a)(h)(4) requires a further one-year reduction in order to 
return to the industry excess revenues held in the depository 
established by the UCR Plan. Such a process necessarily relies on 
initial estimates and projections of revenue collections, with fee 
adjustments based on actual revenue collections as appropriate.
    SBTC also states that the Agency would not be informed about the 
increase in the total actual and estimated revenues collected for the 
2017 registration year. But as explained in the discussion above, the 
increase of $1,578,968 in the total collections available is public 
information and has been provided for the record in this rulemaking, 
and has been taken into account in setting the fees in this final rule.

National School Transportation Association

    The National School Transportation Association supports the 
proposed fee reduction. But it also requests that

[[Page 67128]]

FMCSA and the UCR Plan reconsider recent determinations by the UCR Plan 
regarding the treatment of school buses for purposes of the UCR 
Agreement.
    FMCSA does not have authority to reconsider the determination on 
this issue by the UCR Plan. The UCR Board has sole authority to 
administer the UCR Agreement in accordance with the statute. 49 U.S.C. 
14504a(d)(2), (f)(2) and (f)(3). This issue is beyond the scope of this 
rulemaking. Therefore, the request for reconsideration cannot and will 
not be acted upon by FMCSA.

Anonymous

    One anonymous comment was submitted and supported the Agency's 
determination in the NPRM that Executive Order (E.O.) 13771, Reducing 
Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs, was not applicable to this 
rulemaking. The comment was otherwise not relevant to this rulemaking.

VIII. Approval of Total Revenue Target

    No comments to the NPRM addressed the proposed adjustment in the 
total revenue target to $111,277,060.00, which reflects a reduction in 
the amount of the administrative costs from $5,000,000 to $3,500,000. 
Therefore, in accordance with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(7) and (g)(4), the 
following table of State revenue entitlements, administrative costs, 
and the total revenue target under the UCR Agreement, as proposed in 
the NPRM, is approved. These State revenue entitlements, the 
administrative costs, and the total revenue target will remain in 
effect for 2019 and subsequent years unless and until approval of a 
revision occurs.

   State UCR Revenue Entitlements and Final 2019 Total Revenue Target
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Total 2019 UCR
                         State                               revenue
                                                           entitlements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama................................................    $2,939,964.00
Arkansas...............................................     1,817,360.00
California.............................................     2,131,710.00
Colorado...............................................     1,801,615.00
Connecticut............................................     3,129,840.00
Georgia................................................     2,660,060.00
Idaho..................................................       547,696.68
Illinois...............................................     3,516,993.00
Indiana................................................     2,364,879.00
Iowa...................................................       474,742.00
Kansas.................................................     4,344,290.00
Kentucky...............................................     5,365,980.00
Louisiana..............................................     4,063,836.00
Maine..................................................     1,555,672.00
Massachusetts..........................................     2,282,887.00
Michigan...............................................     7,520,717.00
Minnesota..............................................     1,137,132.30
Missouri...............................................     2,342,000.00
Mississippi............................................     4,322,100.00
Montana................................................     1,049,063.00
Nebraska...............................................       741,974.00
New Hampshire..........................................     2,273,299.00
New Mexico.............................................     3,292,233.00
New York...............................................     4,414,538.00
North Carolina.........................................       372,007.00
North Dakota...........................................     2,010,434.00
Ohio...................................................     4,813,877.74
Oklahoma...............................................     2,457,796.00
Pennsylvania...........................................     4,945,527.00
Rhode Island...........................................     2,285,486.00
South Carolina.........................................     2,420,120.00
South Dakota...........................................       855,623.00
Tennessee..............................................     4,759,329.00
Texas..................................................     2,718,628.06
Utah...................................................     2,098,408.00
Virginia...............................................     4,852,865.00
Washington.............................................     2,467,971.00
West Virginia..........................................     1,431,727.03
Wisconsin..............................................     2,196,680.00
Sub-Total..............................................   106,777,059.81
Alaska.................................................       500,000.00
Delaware...............................................       500,000.00
                                                        ----------------
  Total State Revenue Entitlement......................   107,777,060.00
                                                        ----------------
  Administrative Costs.................................     3,500,000.00
                                                        ----------------
  Total Revenue Target.................................   111,277,060.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------

IX. International Impacts

    Motor carriers and other entities involved in interstate and 
foreign transportation in the United States that do not have a 
principal office in the United States are nonetheless subject to the 
fees for the UCR Plan. They are required to designate a participating 
State as a base State and pay the appropriate fees to that State. 49 
U.S.C. 14504a(a)(2)(B)(ii) and (f)(4).

X. Section-by-Section Analysis

    Under this final rule, provisions of 49 CFR 367.50 (which were 
adopted in the January 5, 2018, final rule) are revised to establish 
new reduced fees applicable only to registration year 2019. A new 49 
CFR 367.60 establishes the fees for registration year 2020, which will 
remain in effect for subsequent registration years unless revised in 
the future.

XI. Regulatory Analyses

A. E.O. 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review), E.O. 13563 (Improving 
Regulation and Regulatory Review), and DOT Regulatory Policies and 
Procedures

    FMCSA determined that this final rule is not a significant 
regulatory action under section 3(f) of E.O. 12866, 58 FR 51735 
(October 4, 1993), Regulatory Planning and Review, as supplemented by 
E.O. 13563, 76 FR 3821 (January 21, 2011), Improving Regulation and 
Regulatory Review, and does not require an assessment of potential 
costs and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of that Order. Accordingly, 
OMB has not reviewed it under that Order. It is also not significant 
within the meaning of DOT regulatory policies and procedures (DOT Order 
2100.5 dated May 22, 1980; 44 FR 11034 (February 26, 1979)).
    The changes imposed by this final rule adjust the registration fees 
paid by motor carriers, motor private carriers of property, brokers, 
freight forwarders, and leasing companies to the UCR Plan and the 
participating States. Fees are considered by OMB Circular A-4, 
Regulatory Analysis, as transfer payments, not costs. Transfer payments 
are payments from one group to another that do not affect total 
resources available to society. By definition, transfers are not 
considered in the monetization of societal costs and benefits of 
rulemakings.
    This rule establishes reductions in the annual registration fees 
for the UCR Plan and Agreement. The entities affected by this rule are 
the participating States, motor carriers, motor private carriers of 
property, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies. Because 
the State UCR revenue entitlements will remain unchanged, the 
participating States will not be impacted by this rule. The primary 
impact of this rule will be a reduction in fees paid by individual 
motor carriers, motor private carriers of property, brokers, freight 
forwarders, and leasing companies. The reduction of the current 2019 
registration year fees (finalized on January 5, 2018) ranges from 
approximately $11 to $10,282 per entity, depending on the number of 
vehicles owned or operated by the affected entities. The reductions in 
fees for subsequent registration years range from approximately $5 to 
$3,899 per entity.

B. E.O. 13771 Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs

    This final rule is not an E.O. 13771 regulatory action because this 
rule is not significant under E.O. 12866.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and 
Budget. Guidance Implementing Executive Order 13771, Titled 
``Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs.'' Memorandum 
M-17-21. April 5, 2017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq.), as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act of 1996

[[Page 67129]]

(SBREFA) (Pub. L. 104-121, 110 Stat. 857), requires Federal agencies to 
consider the impact of their regulatory proposals on small entities, 
analyze effective alternatives that minimize small entity impacts, and 
make their analyses available for public comment. The term ``small 
entities'' means small businesses and not-for-profit organizations that 
are independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their 
fields, and governmental jurisdictions with populations under 
50,000.\7\ Accordingly, DOT policy requires an analysis of the impact 
of all regulations on small entities, and mandates that agencies strive 
to lessen any adverse effects on these entities. Section 605 of the RFA 
allows an agency to certify a rule, in lieu of preparing an analysis, 
if the rulemaking is not expected to have a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This rule will directly affect the participating States, motor 
carriers, motor private carriers of property, brokers, freight 
forwarders, and leasing companies. Under the standards of the RFA, as 
amended by the SBREFA, the participating States are not small entities. 
States are not considered small entities because they do not meet the 
definition of a small entity in section 601 of the RFA. Specifically, 
States are not considered small governmental jurisdictions under 
section 601(5) of the RFA, both because State government is not 
included among the various levels of government listed in section 
601(5), and because, even if this were the case, no State nor the 
District of Columbia has a population of less than 50,000, which is the 
criterion by which a governmental jurisdiction is considered small 
under section 601(5) of the RFA.
    The Small Business Administration (SBA) size standard for a small 
entity (13 CFR 121.201) differs by industry code. The entities affected 
by this rule fall into many different industry codes. In order to 
determine if this rule would have an impact on a significant number of 
small entities, FMCSA examined the 2012 Economic Census \8\ data for 
two different industries; truck transportation (Subsector 484) and 
transit and ground transportation (Subsector 485). According to the 
2012 Economic Census, approximately 99 percent of truck transportation 
firms, and approximately 97 percent of transit and ground 
transportation firms, had annual revenue less than the SBA revenue 
threshold of $27.5 million and $15 million, respectively. Therefore, 
FMCSA has determined that this rule will impact a substantial number of 
small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 US Economic Census. Available at: 
https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ECN_2012_US_48SSSZ4&prodType=table (accessed 
October 24, 2018).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    However, FMCSA has determined that this rule will not have a 
significant impact on the affected entities. The effect of this rule 
will be to reduce the registration fee motor carriers, motor private 
carriers of property, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing 
companies are currently required to pay. The reduction will range from 
approximately $11 to $10,282 per entity, in the first year, and from 
approximately $5 to $3,899 per entity in subsequent years, depending on 
the number of vehicles owned and/or operated by the affected entities. 
FMCSA asserts that the reduction in fees will not have a significant 
impact on the affected small entities. Accordingly, I hereby certify 
that this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities.

D. Assistance for Small Entities

    In accordance with section 213(a) of the SBREFA, FMCSA wants to 
assist small entities in understanding this final rule so that they can 
better evaluate its effects on themselves and participate in the 
rulemaking initiative. If the final rule would affect your small 
business, organization, or governmental jurisdiction and you have 
questions concerning its provisions or options for compliance, please 
consult the FMCSA point of contact, Gerald Folsom, listed in the For 
Further Information Contact section of this final rule.
    Small businesses may send comments on the actions of Federal 
employees who enforce or otherwise determine compliance with Federal 
regulations to the Small Business Administration's Small Business and 
Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman and the Regional Small 
Business Regulatory Fairness Boards. The Ombudsman evaluates these 
actions annually and rates each agency's responsiveness to small 
business. If you wish to comment on actions by employees of FMCSA, call 
1-888-REG-FAIR (1-888-734-3247). DOT has a policy regarding the rights 
of small entities to regulatory enforcement fairness and an explicit 
policy against retaliation for exercising these rights.

E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) 
requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of their discretionary 
regulatory actions. In particular, the Act addresses actions that may 
result in the expenditure by a State, local, or tribal government, in 
the aggregate, or by the private sector of $161 million (which is the 
value equivalent of $100 million in 1995, adjusted for inflation to 
2017 levels) or more in any one year. Though this final rule will not 
result in any such expenditure, the Agency discusses the effects of 
this rule elsewhere in this preamble.

F. Paperwork Reduction Act

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.), Federal agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each 
collection of information they conduct, sponsor, or require through 
regulations. FMCSA determined that no information collection 
requirements are associated with this final rule. Therefore, the PRA 
does not apply to this final rule.

G. E.O. 13132 (Federalism)

    A rule has implications for federalism under section 1(a) of E.O. 
13132 if it has ``substantial direct effects on the States, on the 
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government.'' FMCSA has determined that this rule would not have 
substantial direct costs on or for States, nor would it limit the 
policymaking discretion of States. Nothing in this document preempts 
any State law or regulation, imposes substantial direct unreimbursed 
compliance costs on any State, or diminishes the power of any State to 
enforce its own laws. As detailed above, the UCR Board includes 
substantial State representation. The States have already had 
opportunity for input through their representatives. Accordingly, this 
rulemaking does not have federalism implications warranting the 
application of E.O. 13132.

H. E.O. 12988 (Civil Justice Reform)

    This final rule meets applicable standards in sections 3(a) and 
3(b) (2) of E.O. 12988, Civil Justice Reform, to minimize litigation, 
eliminates ambiguity, and reduce burden.

I. E.O. 13045 (Protection of Children)

    E.O. 13045, Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks 
and Safety Risks, 62 FR 19885 (April 23, 1997), requires agencies 
issuing ``economically significant'' rules, if the regulation also 
concerns an environmental health or safety risk that an agency has 
reason to believe may disproportionately affect children, to

[[Page 67130]]

include an evaluation of the regulation's environmental health and 
safety effects on children. The Agency determined this final rule is 
not economically significant. Therefore, no analysis of the impacts on 
children is required. In any event, the Agency does not anticipate that 
this regulatory action could in any respect present an environmental or 
safety risk that could disproportionately affect children.

J. E.O. 12630 (Taking of Private Property)

    FMCSA reviewed this final rule in accordance with E.O. 12630, 
Governmental Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected 
Property Rights, and has determined it will not effect a taking of 
private property or otherwise have taking implications.

K. Privacy Impact Assessment

    Section 522 of title I of division H of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2005, enacted December 8, 2004 (Pub. L. 108-447, 
118 Stat. 2809, 3268, 5 U.S.C. 552a note), requires the Agency to 
conduct a privacy impact assessment of a regulation that will affect 
the privacy of individuals. This rule does not require the collection 
of personally identifiable information.

L. E.O. 12372 (Intergovernmental Review)

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

M. E.O. 13211 (Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use)

    FMCSA has analyzed this final rule under E.O. 13211, Actions 
Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 
Distribution, or Use. The Agency has determined that this rule is not a 
``significant energy action'' under that order because it is not a 
``significant regulatory action'' likely to have a significant adverse 
effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy. Therefore, it 
does not require a Statement of Energy Effects under E.O. 13211.

N. E.O. 13175 (Indian Tribal Governments)

    This rule does not have Tribal implications under E.O. 13175, 
Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, because 
it does not have a substantial direct effect on one or more Indian 
Tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian 
Tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between 
the Federal Government and Indian Tribes.

O. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (Technical 
Standards)

    The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) directs agencies to use voluntary consensus standards in their 
regulatory activities unless the agency provides Congress, through OMB, 
with an explanation of why using these standards would be inconsistent 
with applicable law or otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus 
standards (e.g., specifications of materials, performance, design, or 
operation; test methods; sampling procedures; and related management 
systems practices) are standards that are developed or adopted by 
voluntary consensus standards bodies. This rule does not use technical 
standards. Therefore, FMCSA did not consider the use of voluntary 
consensus standards.

P. National Environmental Policy Act

    FMCSA analyzed this rule for the purpose of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 
determined this action is categorically excluded from further analysis 
and documentation in an environmental assessment or environmental 
impact statement under FMCSA Order 5610.1, 69 FR 9680 (March 1, 2004), 
Appendix 2, paragraph 6.h. The Categorical Exclusion (CE) in paragraph 
6.h. covers regulations and actions taken pursuant to the regulations 
implementing procedures to collect fees that will be charged for motor 
carrier registrations. The content in this rule is covered by this CE 
and the final action does not have any effect on the quality of the 
environment. The CE determination is available in the docket.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 367

    Insurance, Intergovernmental relations, Motor carriers, Surety 
bonds.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, FMCSA is amending title 
49 CFR chapter III, part 367 as follows:

PART 367--STANDARDS FOR REGISTRATION WITH STATES

0
1. The authority citation for part 367 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 13301, 14504a; and 49 CFR 1.87.


0
2. Revise Sec.  367.50 to read as follows:


Sec.  367.50   Fees under the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and 
Agreement for registration year 2019.

 Table 1 to Sec.   367.50--Fees Under the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement for Registration Year
                                                      2019
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Number of commercial motor       Fee per entity for
                                vehicles owned or operated by     exempt or non-exempt      Fee per entity for
           Bracket                exempt or non-exempt motor      motor carrier, motor      broker or leasing
                               carrier, motor private carrier,    private carrier, or            company
                                     or freight forwarder          freight forwarder
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B1...........................  0-2............................                      $62                      $62
B2...........................  3-5............................                      185  .......................
B3...........................  6-20...........................                      368  .......................
B4...........................  21-100.........................                    1,283  .......................
B5...........................  101-1,000......................                    6,112  .......................
B6...........................  1,001 and above................                   59,689  .......................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


0
3. Add Sec.  367.60 to subpart B to read as follows:


Sec.  367.60  Fees under the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and 
Agreement for registration years beginning in 2020.

[[Page 67131]]



 Table 1 to Sec.   367.60--Fees Under the Unified Carrier Registration Plan and Agreement for Registration Year
                              2020 and Each Subsequent Registration Year Thereafter
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Number of commercial motor       Fee per entity for
                                vehicles owned or operated by     exempt or non-exempt      Fee per entity for
           Bracket                exempt or non-exempt motor      motor carrier, motor      broker or leasing
                               carrier, motor private carrier,    private carrier, or            company
                                     or freight forwarder          freight forwarder
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B1...........................  0-2............................                      $68                      $68
B2...........................  3-5............................                      204  .......................
B3...........................  6-20...........................                      407  .......................
B4...........................  21-100.........................                    1,420  .......................
B5...........................  101-1,000......................                    6,766  .......................
B6...........................  1,001 and above................                   66,072  .......................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.87 on: December 20, 
2018.
Raymond P. Martinez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018-28170 Filed 12-27-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P