Schedule of Fees for Consular Services-Documentary Services Fee, 65750-65755 [2020-19926]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
Vol. 85, No. 201
Friday, October 16, 2020
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains notices to the public of the proposed
issuance of rules and regulations. The
purpose of these notices is to give interested
persons an opportunity to participate in the
rule making prior to the adoption of the final
rules.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Part 22
[Public Notice 10522]
RIN 1400–AE12
Schedule of Fees for Consular
Services—Documentary Services Fee
Department of State.
Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Department of State (the
Department) proposes an adjustment to
the Schedule of Fees for Consular
Services (Schedule of Fees) for
authentication of a document in the
United States. The Department is
incorporating the domestic
authentications fee into the Schedule of
Fees and increasing it from $8 to $20,
in light of the findings of its Cost of
Service Model (CoSM), to ensure that
the fee for this consular service better
aligns with the costs of providing this
service. The proposed fee was
calculated and set to recover the full
cost of providing the document
authentication service, in line with
OMB Circular A–25. The collected fees
are remitted to the Department of
Treasury. The Department of State lacks
statutory authority to retain this fee
revenue.
SUMMARY:
Written comments must be
received on or before December 15,
2020.
DATES:
Interested parties may
submit comments to the Department by
any of the following methods:
• Visit the Regulations.gov website at:
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for the Regulatory Information Number
(RIN) 1400–AE12 or docket number
DOS–2018–0037.
• Mail (paper, disk, or CD–ROM): U.S.
Department of State, Office of the
Comptroller, Bureau of Consular Affairs
(CA/C), SA–17 8th Floor, Washington,
DC 20522–1707.
• Email: fees@state.gov. You must
include the RIN (1400–AE12) in the
subject line of your message.
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ADDRESSES:
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All comments should include the
commenter’s name, the organization the
commenter represents, if applicable,
and the commenter’s address. If the
Department is unable to read your
comment for any reason, and cannot
contact you for clarification, the
Department may not be able to consider
your comment. After the conclusion of
the comment period, the Department
will publish a Final Rule (in which it
will address relevant comments) as
expeditiously as possible.
During the comment period, the
public may request an appointment to
review Cost of Service Model (CoSM)
data on site if certain conditions are
met. To request an appointment, please
call 202–485–8915 and leave a message
with your contact information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert Schlicht, Management Analyst,
Office of the Comptroller, Bureau of
Consular Affairs, Department of State;
phone: 202–485–8915, telefax: 202–
485–6826; email: fees@state.gov.
Background
The proposed rule makes a change to
the Schedule of Fees in 22 CFR 22.1.
The Department generally sets and
collects its fees based on the concept of
full cost recovery. The Department
completed a review of current consular
fees and will implement a change to the
Schedule of Fees based on the cost of
services calculated by updates to the
Cost of Service Model. This specific rule
proposes to adjust the fee associated
with document authentications in the
United States.
What is the authority for this action?
Authority for the Department’s
authentications service is contained in
22 CFR part 131. The Department
derives the general authority to set fees
based on the cost of the consular
services it provides and to charge those
fees from the general user charges
statute, 31 U.S.C. 9701. See, e.g., 31
U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)(A) (‘‘The head of each
agency . . . may prescribe regulations
establishing the charge for a service or
thing of value provided by the agency
. . . based on . . . the costs to the
government.’’). The funds collected for
many consular fees must be deposited
into the general fund of the Treasury
pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3302(b). Various
statutes permit the Department of State
to retain some of the fee revenue it
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collects (e.g. passport security
surcharge, immigrant visa security
surcharge, affidavit of support, etc.), but
the Department of State lacks statutory
authority to retain the fees collected for
document authentication. As a result,
all fees associated with this service are
remitted to the Department of Treasury.
What are document authentication
services?
The Office of Authentications
provides authentication services for
public documents that will be used
overseas. These services support
individuals, commercial organizations,
institutions, federal, and state
government agencies seeking to use
certain documents abroad. In order to be
recognized overseas, U.S. public
documents may require authentication.
Authentication is the process whereby
the signature and/or seal of a public
official on a document is certified as
authentic. There are two kinds of
authentication depending upon the
country where the document is to be
used. The first is with an Apostille for
countries that are parties to the Hague
Apostille Convention. The Department
only issues Apostilles for federal public
documents; U.S. states issue Apostilles
for their documents such as vital
records and notarials. The second form
of authentication is part of the chain
legalization process. Under this process,
the Department issues an authentication
certificate for federal documents and for
U.S. state authentication certificates
certifying underlying state public
documents. These are then further
authenticated by the foreign Embassy of
the country where the document is to be
used.
When the office receives a request, it
is given a unique service number (for
tracking purposes). The documents are
examined for originality, original
signatures, seals, notaries’ annotations,
and chronological date order. If a
document is approved for processing, a
certificate of authentication under the
Seal of the Department of State for and
in the name of the Secretary of State is
printed, signed, and eyeletted to the
document. If the document is not
approved to be processed, a
correspondence letter is sent to the
customer informing them of additional
documentation that is needed to process
their document. If it is determined after
review that the document is being
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requested for an unlawful or improper
purpose, the office sends the customer
a refusal letter.
The most common documents
authenticated are:
• FBI- federal background check and
police records
• Certificates of Birth, Marriage,
Death, and Divorce
• Diplomas and Transcripts
• Police Records and Certified Court
Records
• Name Change Decrees
• Power of Attorney
• HHS- Company Bylaws, Articles of
Incorporation, and Authorization of
Agent
• Declarations and Incumbency
• Dossier and Home Study
• Courier Letters, Extraditions,
Warrants, and Secretarial Assignments
• Naturalization Certificates
For more information, including
application instructions, please visit:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/
en/records-and-authentications/
authenticate-your-document/office-ofauthentications.html.
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Why is the department adjusting the
documentary services fee at this time?
With certain exceptions—such as the
reciprocal nonimmigrant visa issuance
fee—the Department of State generally
sets consular fees at an amount
calculated to achieve recovery of the
costs to the U.S. Government of
providing the consular service, in a
manner consistent with general user
charges principles. As set forth in Office
of Management and Budget (OMB)
Circular A–25, as a general policy, each
recipient should pay a user charge for
government services, resources, or
goods from which he or she derives a
special benefit, at an amount sufficient
for the U.S. Government to recover the
full costs of providing the service,
resource, or good. See OMB Circular No.
A–25, sec. 6(a)(2)(a). The OMB guidance
covers all Federal Executive Branch
activities that convey special benefits to
recipients beyond those that accrue to
the general public. See id., sections 4(a),
6(a)(1).
The Department reviews consular fees
periodically, including through an
annual update to its Cost of Service
Model, to determine each fee’s
appropriateness in light of the OMB
guidance. The Department proposes the
change set forth in the Schedule of Fees
accordingly. The Cost of Service Model
is an activity-based costing model that
determines the current direct and
indirect costs to the U.S. Government
associated with each consular good and
service the Department provides. The
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model update identifies the cost of the
various discrete consular goods and
services, both direct and indirect, and
the update’s results formed the basis of
the change proposed to the Schedule of
Fees.
Activity-Based Costing
To set fees in accordance with the
general user charges principles, the
Department must determine the true
cost of providing consular services.
Following guidance provided in
‘‘Managerial Cost Accounting Concepts
and Standards for the Federal
Government,’’ OMB’s Statement #4 of
Federal Accounting Standards (SFFAS
#4), available at https://files.fasab.gov/
pdffiles/handbook_sffas_4.pdf, the
Department chose to develop and use an
activity-based costing (ABC) model to
determine the true cost of each of its
consular services.
The Government Accountability
Office (GAO) defines activity-based
costing as a ‘‘set of accounting methods
used to identify and describe costs and
required resources for activities within
processes.’’ Because an organization can
use the same staff and resources
(computer equipment, production
facilities, etc.) to produce multiple
products or services, ABC models seek
to identify and assign costs to processes
and activities and then to individual
products and services through the
identification of key cost drivers
referred to as ‘‘resource drivers’’ and
‘‘activity drivers.’’
ABC models also seek to identify the
amount of time an organization’s
personnel spend on each service and
how much overhead cost (rent, utilities,
facilities maintenance, etc.) is associated
with delivering each service. ABC
models require financial and accounting
analysis and modeling skills combined
with a detailed understanding of an
organization’s business processes. ABC
models require an organization to
identify all activities required to
produce a particular product or service
(‘‘activities’’) and all resources
consumed (costs) in the course of
producing that product or service. An
organization must also measure the
quantity of resources consumed
(‘‘resource driver’’); and the frequency
and intensity of demand placed on
activities to produce services (‘‘activity
driver’’). SFFAS Statement #4 provides
a detailed discussion of the use of cost
accounting by the U.S. Government.
The Department’s Cost of Service Model
The Department conducted periodic
Cost of Service Studies using ABC
methods to determine the costs of its
consular services through 2009. In 2010,
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the Department moved to adopt an
annually updated Cost of Service Model
(CoSM) that measures all of its consular
operations and costs, including all
activities needed to provide consular
services, whether fee-based or not. This
provides a comprehensive and detailed
look at all consular services as well as
all services the Department performs for
other agencies in connection with its
consular operations. The CoSM now
includes approximately 118 distinct
activities and enables the Department to
model its consular-related costs with a
high degree of precision.
The Department uses three methods
outlined in SFFAS Statement #4
(paragraph 149(2)) to assign resource
costs to activities: (a) Direct tracing; (b)
estimation based on surveys, interviews,
or statistical sampling; and (c)
allocations. The Department uses direct
tracing to assign the cost of, for
example, a physical passport book or
the visa foil placed in a visa applicant’s
passport. Assigning costs to activities
such as adjudicating a passport or visa
application requires estimation based on
surveys, interviews, or statistical
sampling to determine who performs an
activity and how long it takes. Indirect
costs (overhead) in the CoSM are
allocated according to the level of effort
needed for a particular activity. Where
possible, the model uses overhead cost
pools to assign indirect costs only to
related activities. For instance, the cost
of rent for domestic passport agencies is
assigned only to passport costs, not to
visas or other services the Department
provides only overseas. The Department
allocates indirect support costs to each
consular service by the portion of each
cost attributable to consular activities.
For example, the model allocates a
portion of the cost of the Department’s
Bureau of Human Resources to consular
services. The total amount of this
allocation is based on the number of
Bureau of Human Resources staff
members who support Bureau of
Consular Affairs personnel. In turn, this
amount is proportionally allocated
between the different consular services.
For consular activities that take place
in the United States, the Department
collects workload and level of effort
data from periodic workload reports
including Passport Agency Task Reports
pulled from management databases that
include Passport’s Management
Information System. Financial
information is gathered from reports
provided by the Bureau of Consular
Affairs Office of the Comptroller. The
Department converts the cost and
workload data it collects into resource
drivers and activity drivers for each
resource and activity.
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Because roughly 70 percent of the
workforce involved in providing
consular services are full-time Federal
employees, if demand for a service falls
precipitously, the Department cannot
shed employees as quickly as the
private sector. Likewise, should demand
rise precipitously, the Department
cannot add employees quickly, because
delivering the majority of consular
services requires specially trained
employees who cannot begin their
training until they have completed the
federal hiring process and obtained a
security clearance. Additionally, given
government procurement rules and
security requirements, the Department
must commit to many of its facilities
and infrastructure costs years before a
facility becomes available. Despite
changes in demand, the Department is
obligated to cover these costs. Given
these and other constraints on altering
the Department’s cost structure in the
short term, changes in service volumes
can have dramatic effects on whether a
fee is self-sustaining. Predictive
workloads are based on projections by
the Office of Visa Services, the Office of
Passport Services, and other parts of the
Bureau of Consular Affairs that are
consistent with Department budget
documents prepared for Congress.
The costs the Department enters into
CoSM include every line item of costs,
including items such as physical
material for making passports and visas,
salaries, rent, supplies, and IT hardware
and software. The Department then
determines a resource driver for each of
these costs as discussed above and
enters the resource drivers and
assignments into the model. The
Department then selects an activity
driver, such as the volume data
discussed above for each activity, in
order to assign these costs to each
service type. This process allows the
model to calculate a total cost for each
of the Schedule of Fees line items for
visa services, passport services, and
overseas citizens services as well as
services for other government agencies
and ‘‘no fee’’ services. The model then
divides the total weighted cost by the
total weighted volume of the service or
product in question in order to
determine a final unit cost for the
service or product. Projected costs for
predictive years are used to take account
of changes in the size of consular staff,
workload, and similar factors. The
resulting database constitutes the Cost
of Service Model.
The Department continues to refine
and update the Cost of Service Model in
order to set fees commensurate with the
cost of providing consular services.
Because the Cost of Service Model is a
complex series of iterative computer
processes incorporating more than a
million calculations, it is not reducible
to a tangible form such as a document.
Inputs are formatted in spreadsheets for
entry into the ABC software package.
The ABC software package itself is an
industry standard commercial off-theshelf product, SAP Business Objects.
The software’s output includes
spreadsheets with raw unit costs,
validation reports, and management
reports.
Using the Cost of Service Model To
Assess Costs Associated With Document
Authentication Services
For analyzing document
authentication services, the cost object
is Basic Domestic Authentication
Service. It has six activities, denoted in
the model by the shorthand AUTH.#,
and they are Provide Information, Data
Intake, Payment and Cashiering,
Perform Authentication Review,
Personalize, and Issue. Further down,
each activity is described in detail. The
resource driver is based on a time and
motion study that identified the
percentage of time the Office of
Authentications staff spend on each
activity. The overhead pools are the
Passport General Management Overhead
Pool and the General Management
Overhead Pool.
AUTH.1
Provide Information
Costs are allocated according to a time and
motion study, with tasks measured in the
time and motion study mapped to CoSM
activities with the assistance of the
Authentications staff. Tasks include Retrieve
messages from appointment/status line,
Return calls/answer live calls from
appointment line, and Return status calls.
The cost of this activity is directly assigned
to the Basic Authentication cost object.
AUTH.2
Data Intake
Tasks mapped to AUTH.2 Data Intake
include Collect mail-in documents, walk-in
documents, Greet customers in lobby, and
Answer customer questions in lobby area
during case drop off/pick-up. The cost of this
activity is directly assigned to the Basic
Authentication cost object.
AUTH.3
Payment and Cashiering
Tasks mapped to AUTH.3 Payment and
Cashiering include Conduct follow-up calls
for cases received without payment. The cost
of this activity is directly assigned to the
Basic Authentication cost object.
AUTH.4
Perform Authentication Review
Tasks mapped to AUTH.4 Perform
Authentication Review include Perform
authentication review for appointment
documents, Perform initial review of case,
Perform authentication review for counter
documents, and Perform authentication
review for mail documents. The cost of this
activity is directly assigned to the Basic
Authentication cost object.
AUTH.5
Personalize
Tasks mapped to AUTH.5 Personalize
include print, sign, and bind certificate to the
documents. The cost of this activity is
directly assigned to the Basic Authentication
cost object.
AUTH.6
Issue
Tasks mapped to AUTH.6 Issue include
Return document to appointment customer
in lobby and by mail back. The cost of this
activity is directly assigned to the Basic
Authentication cost object.
Domestic Authentications Driver
The table below details the resources,
driver used, and corresponding
activities performed.
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TABLE 1—DOMESTIC AUTHENTICATIONS RESOURCE DRIVER
Resources
Driver used
Activities
CA Consolidation—DA, CA Headquarters
Rent—DA, 281201 PPT/S/TO/AUT Office of
Authentications positions and costs.
Time and motion study ....................................
AUTH.1 Provide Information, AUTH.2 Data Intake, AUTH.3 Payment and Cashiering,
AUTH.4 Perform Authentication Review,
AUTH.5 Personalize, AUTH.6 Issue.
Costs are assigned according to a time and motion study, with tasks measured in the time and motion study mapped to CoSM activities with
the assistance of the Authentications staff.
Domestic Authentications Fee
The Department is incorporating the
domestic authentications fee into the
Schedule of Fees and increasing it from
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$8 to $20. The Office of
Authentications, which provides signed
authentication certificates for U.S.
documents destined for use in foreign
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countries, moved from the Bureau of
Administration (A Bureau) to the
Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) in
October 2012. Before the move, the
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Office of Authentications charged $8 per
authentication. At that time, there were
five direct-hire full-time employees
(FTE), no contractors, and a large
backlog of authentications. In 2014, the
Office of Authentications moved to the
new Washington Passport Agency to
increase space for operations, and in
2016 hired four contractors to perform
functions like mail opening, cashiering,
and data entry, among other clerical
tasks.
Following the move to CA, the
Department began to measure the cost of
Office of Authentications operations
and services in the Cost of Service
Model. Costs for this service have gone
up the past several years to meet
customer service expectations and
workload requirements. The Office of
Authentications aims to maintain a five
business day turn-around time for all
mail-in applications, and a three day
turn-around time for all walk-in
requests. In 2016/2017, the office added
five additional contractors to meet
demand of the existing workload and to
manage the walk-ins to the facility and
to provide information and manage the
queue of customers needing
authentication services. CA’s Office of
Authentications now has nine FTEs and
nine contractors. Only FTEs have the
authority to adjudicate authentications,
and the additional contractor resources
allowed FTEs to reduce administrative
tasks to focus on adjudication. The
scope of work for the Office of
Authentications also widened. Once CA
inherited this service from the A
Bureau, all IT systems had to be
updated and a tracking system was
created to manage workload. CA also
had to increase its capacity to manage
calls to support customer service in
addition to workflow management
systems to manage customers as they
come into the facility. A presence was
added to the travel.state.gov site to
provide the public with information on
the existence of the office. Lastly, two
additional printers, which are rented
and bear an annual expense, were
acquired to meet demands for current
technology.
Based on the findings of the most
recent update to the Cost of Service
Model, the Department determined that
a fee of $20 would fully recover the cost
of Office of Authentications operations
and services. This includes the salaries
for the staff of the Office of
Authentications, rent for the physical
location at 600 19th Street NW,
Washington, DC, and overhead costs
that include information technology,
human resources, facilities
maintenance, legal review, and security.
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There are over 100 specific line item
costs that flow into the Department’s
cost for the domestic authentications
service. A summary level breakdown
broken down into three general cost
categories is provided in the below
table:
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costs of providing the domestic
authentication service, which totals
$4,431,980. The Cost of Service Model
indicates that the cost-per-service is
$18.83. The Department has determined
that it is most efficient to round up to
the nearest five dollars, which is why it
has set the fee at $20. The Department
Table 2: Line Item Total (Aunotes that because all fee revenue
thentications) .....................
$4,431,980 associated with document
Compensation ...............
1,589,237 authentication must be remitted to the
Non-Compensation ........
1,604,126 Treasury, the Department uses
Partner Bureaus ............
1,238,617
alternative sources of retained fee
revenue with broad spending authorities
The Office of Authentications
to fund the costs the Department incurs
currently consists of nine civil-service
to provide the documentary
employees, which includes an increase
authentication services.
of two full-time employees (FTE) over
the past five years, and several contract
Regulatory Findings
support staff. As discussed below, the
Administrative Procedure Act
Department notes that authentication
The Department is publishing this
services have remained roughly
rule as a proposed rule, with a 60-day
constant in recent years at
provision for public comments.
approximately 235,000 authentications
annually and expects that trend to
Regulatory Flexibility Act
continue. The FTE time-per-service
The Department has reviewed this
(cycle time) has remained relatively
proposed
rule and, by approving it,
constant. As such, CA is not planning to
certifies that it will not have a
increase either FTE or contract staff at
significant economic impact on a
this time as the current staff is meeting
substantial number of small entities as
demand within the established cycle
defined in 5 U.S.C. 601(6).
times. Compensation costs include FTE
staff salaries and benefits and domestic
Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995
overhead costs directly related to the
This proposed rule is not expected to
domestic authentication service, and
result in the expenditure by state, local,
total $1,589,237. The FTE average
and tribal governments, in the aggregate,
compensation cost (with benefits) is
or by the private sector, of $100 million
more than $138,000 per position.
or more in any year, and it will not
Additional costs in the Compensation
significantly or uniquely affect small
category, totaling approximately
governments. Therefore, no actions were
$38,582 per FTE, include general
deemed necessary under the provisions
management overhead costs, and
of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
domestic Passport staff costs included
of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1501–1504.
in Passport general management
overhead. The Non-Compensation costs Small Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996
total $1,604,126, and include operating
costs like domestic awards, contractor
This rule is not a major rule as
support costs, personnel travel and
defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
transportation, utilities, supplies,
Executive Order 12866 and 13563
equipment, and CA IT costs which
increase as FTE numbers increase.
The Department has reviewed this
The support from other State
proposed rule to ensure its consistency
Department Partner Bureaus (or Partner
with the regulatory philosophy and
Bureaus) cost category includes
principles set forth in the Executive
compensation, overhead, and operating
Orders. This proposed rule has been
costs associated with CA’s Partner
submitted to OMB for review.
Bureaus that support the domestic
This proposed rule is necessary in
authentication service. Partner Bureau
light of the need to incorporate the
functions that support the domestic
authentications fee into the Schedule of
authentication service include human
Fees for Consular Services and the
resources support, facilities
Department of State’s Cost of Service
maintenance, legal review, and security. Model finding that the cost of
This cost category also includes rent CA authenticating a document in the United
pays for Office of Authentications space. States is higher than the current fee. The
The directly applicable portion of the
Department is setting the fee in
Partner Bureau’s costs, in line with the
accordance with 31 U.S.C. 9701. See,
support they provide to perform this
e.g., 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)(A) (‘‘The head
service, totals $1,238,617. These three
of each agency . . . may prescribe
cost categories comprise the total overall regulations establishing the charge for a
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service or thing of value provided by the
agency . . . based on . . . the costs to
the Government.’’). This proposed rule
sets the fee for domestic authentications
at the amount required to recover the
costs associated with providing this
service.
Details of the proposed fee change are
as follows:
TABLE 3—FEE CHANGE IMPACT
Item No.
Proposed fee
Current fee
Change in fee
Estimated
annual number
of services
requested 1
Percentage
increase
Estimated
change in
annual fees
collected 2
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Documentary Services
46. Authentications (by the Office of Authentications domestically):
(a) Each basic authentication service
........................
$20
........................
$8
........................
$12
........................
150
........................
234,197
........................
$2,810,364
Total ............................................
20
8
12
150
234,197
2,810,364
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
1 Based
on FY 2018 workload. Workload has remained consistent over five years, averaging approximately 235,000 authentications each
year—we expect that trend to continue. Respondents may ask for more than one service on a form and a fee is assessed per document authenticated.
2 The Department of State does not retain this fee. All fee revenue associated with this service is remitted to Treasury.
Based on the foregoing information,
and the fact that the CoSM has
demonstrated that the increase in fees
will allow the U.S. government to
recover the full cost of providing this
service, the Department finds that the
benefit to the public outweighs the cost
of this rule as outlined above.
Executive Order 13771
This regulation is not an E.O. 13771
regulatory action because it is a transfer
rule that changes only the fee for a
service without imposing any new costs.
The increase of this current collection
accurately reflects the cost to the U.S.
government of providing this service.
Executive Orders 12372 and 13132
This regulation will not have
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. Therefore, in
accordance with section 6 of Executive
Order 13132, it is determined that this
rule does not have sufficient federalism
implications to require consultations or
warrant the preparation of a federalism
summary impact statement. The
regulations implementing Executive
Order 12372 regarding
intergovernmental consultation on
federal programs and activities do not
apply to this regulation.
Accordingly, for the reasons stated in
the preamble, 22 CFR part 22 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
Executive Order 13175
The Department has determined that
this rulemaking will not have tribal
implications, will not impose
substantial direct compliance costs on
Indian tribal governments, and will not
preempt tribal law. Accordingly, the
requirements of Executive Order 13175
do not apply to this rulemaking.
■
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rulemaking relates to an
information collection request for the
DS–4194, Request for Authentications
Service, which is being processed
separately.
PART 22—SCHEDULE OF FEES FOR
CONSULAR SERVICES—
DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND
FOREIGN SERVICE
1. The authority citation for part 22
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101 note, 1153 note,
1157 note, 1183a note, 1184(c)(12), 1201(c),
1351, 1351 note, 1713, 1714, 1714 note; 10
U.S.C. 2602(c); 22 U.S.C. 214, 214 note,
1475e, 2504(h), 2651a, 4206, 4215, 4219,
6551; 31 U.S.C. 9701; Exec. Order 10,718, 22
FR 4632 (1957); Exec. Order 11,295, 31 FR
10603 (1966).
2. In § 22.1, amend the table by adding
entry 46 under the heading
‘‘Documentary Services’’ to read as
follows:
■
§ 22.1
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 22
Consular services, Fees.
*
Schedule of fees.
*
*
*
*
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Item No.
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*
*
Fee
*
Documentary Services
*
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*
*
*
*
*
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46. Authentications (by the Office of Authentications domestically): ..................................................................................................
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 201 / Friday, October 16, 2020 / Proposed Rules
SCHEDULE OF FEES FOR CONSULAR SERVICES—Continued
Item No.
Fee
(a) Each basic authentication service ..........................................................................................................................................
(Items 47–50 vacant.) ..........................................................................................................................................................................
$20
........................
*
*
*
Carl C. Risch,
Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs,
Department of State.
BILLING CODE 4710–06–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA–R09–OAR–2020–0096; FRL–10014–
93-Region 9]
Partial Approval and Partial
Disapproval of Air Quality State
Implementation Plans; California;
Infrastructure Requirements for Ozone
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is proposing to partially
approve and partially disapprove the
state implementation plan (SIP) revision
submitted by the State of California
pursuant to the requirements of the
Clean Air Act (CAA or ‘‘Act’’) for the
implementation, maintenance, and
enforcement of the 2015 national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS
or ‘‘standards’’) for ozone. As part of
this action, we are proposing to
reclassify certain regions of the State for
emergency episode planning purposes
with respect to ozone. We are also
proposing to approve into the SIP an
updated state provision addressing CAA
conflict of interest requirements, and
emergency episode planning rules for
Amador County Air Pollution Control
District (APCD), Calaveras County
APCD, Mariposa County APCD,
Northern Sierra Air Quality
Management District (AQMD), and
Tuolumne County APCD. Finally, we
are proposing to approve an exemption
from emergency episode planning
requirements for ozone for Lake County
AQMD. We are taking comments on this
proposal and, after considering any
comments submitted, plan to take final
action.
DATES: Written comments must be
received on or before November 16,
2020.
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*
Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R09–
OAR–2020–0096 at https://
www.regulations.gov. For comments
submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments
cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish
any comment received to its public
docket. Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia
submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be
accompanied by a written comment.
The written comment is considered the
official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to
make. The EPA will generally not
consider comments or comment
contents located outside of the primary
submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or
other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, or if
you need assistance in a language other
than English, or if you are a person with
a disability who needs a reasonable
accommodation at no cost to you, please
contact the person identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
For the full EPA public comment policy,
information about CBI or multimedia
submissions, and general guidance on
making effective comments, please visit
https://www.epa.gov/dockets/
commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Panah Stauffer, EPA Region IX, 75
Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA
94105. By phone: (415) 972–3247 or by
email at stauffer.panah@
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Throughout this document, the terms
‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to EPA.
ADDRESSES:
[FR Doc. 2020–19926 Filed 10–15–20; 8:45 am]
SUMMARY:
*
Table of Contents
I. The EPA’s Approach to the Review of
Infrastructure SIP Submittals
II. Background
A. Statutory Requirements
B. NAAQS Addressed by this Proposal
C. EPA Guidance Documents
III. California’s Submittals
IV. The EPA’s Evaluation and Proposed
Action
A. Proposed Approvals and Partial
Approvals
B. Proposed Partial Disapprovals
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*
C. The EPA’s Evaluation of California’s
Submittal
D. Proposed Approval of State and Local
Provisions into the California SIP
E. Proposed Approval of Reclassification
Requests for Emergency Episode
Planning
F. The EPA’s Action
V. Incorporation by Reference
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. The EPA’s Approach to the Review of
Infrastructure SIP Submittals
The EPA is acting upon two SIP
submittals from California that address
the infrastructure requirements of CAA
sections 110(a)(1) and 110(a)(2) for the
2015 ozone NAAQS. Whenever the EPA
promulgates a new or revised NAAQS,
CAA section 110(a)(1) requires states to
make SIP submissions to provide for the
implementation, maintenance, and
enforcement of the NAAQS. This type of
SIP submission is commonly referred to
as an ‘‘infrastructure SIP.’’ These
submissions must meet the various
requirements of CAA section 110(a)(2),
as applicable. Due to ambiguity in some
of the language of CAA section
110(a)(2), the EPA believes that it is
appropriate to interpret these provisions
in the specific context of acting on
infrastructure SIP submissions. The EPA
has previously provided comprehensive
guidance on the application of these
provisions through a guidance
document for infrastructure SIP
submissions 1 and through regional
actions on infrastructure submissions.
Unless otherwise noted below, we are
following that existing approach in
acting on this submission. In addition,
in the context of acting on such
infrastructure submissions, the EPA
evaluates the submitting state’s SIP for
facial compliance with statutory and
regulatory requirements, not for the
1 The EPA explains and elaborates on these
ambiguities and its approach to address them in its
September 13, 2013 Infrastructure SIP Guidance
(available at https://www3.epa.gov/airquality/
urbanair/sipstatus/docs/
Guidance_on_Infrastructure_SIP_Elements_
Multipollutant_FINAL_Sept_2013.pdf), as well as
in numerous EPA actions, including the EPA’s prior
action on California’s infrastructure SIP to address
the 1997 and 2008 ozone NAAQS (79 FR 63350
(October 23, 2014)).
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[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 201 (Friday, October 16, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65750-65755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19926]
========================================================================
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 201 / Friday, October 16, 2020 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 65750]]
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Part 22
[Public Notice 10522]
RIN 1400-AE12
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services--Documentary Services Fee
AGENCY: Department of State.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of State (the Department) proposes an
adjustment to the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services (Schedule of
Fees) for authentication of a document in the United States. The
Department is incorporating the domestic authentications fee into the
Schedule of Fees and increasing it from $8 to $20, in light of the
findings of its Cost of Service Model (CoSM), to ensure that the fee
for this consular service better aligns with the costs of providing
this service. The proposed fee was calculated and set to recover the
full cost of providing the document authentication service, in line
with OMB Circular A-25. The collected fees are remitted to the
Department of Treasury. The Department of State lacks statutory
authority to retain this fee revenue.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before December 15,
2020.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments to the Department by
any of the following methods:
Visit the Regulations.gov website at: https://www.regulations.gov and search for the Regulatory Information Number
(RIN) 1400-AE12 or docket number DOS-2018-0037.
Mail (paper, disk, or CD-ROM): U.S. Department of State,
Office of the Comptroller, Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA/C), SA-17 8th
Floor, Washington, DC 20522-1707.
Email: [email protected]. You must include the RIN (1400-
AE12) in the subject line of your message.
All comments should include the commenter's name, the organization
the commenter represents, if applicable, and the commenter's address.
If the Department is unable to read your comment for any reason, and
cannot contact you for clarification, the Department may not be able to
consider your comment. After the conclusion of the comment period, the
Department will publish a Final Rule (in which it will address relevant
comments) as expeditiously as possible.
During the comment period, the public may request an appointment to
review Cost of Service Model (CoSM) data on site if certain conditions
are met. To request an appointment, please call 202-485-8915 and leave
a message with your contact information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Schlicht, Management Analyst,
Office of the Comptroller, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of
State; phone: 202-485-8915, telefax: 202-485-6826; email:
[email protected].
Background
The proposed rule makes a change to the Schedule of Fees in 22 CFR
22.1. The Department generally sets and collects its fees based on the
concept of full cost recovery. The Department completed a review of
current consular fees and will implement a change to the Schedule of
Fees based on the cost of services calculated by updates to the Cost of
Service Model. This specific rule proposes to adjust the fee associated
with document authentications in the United States.
What is the authority for this action?
Authority for the Department's authentications service is contained
in 22 CFR part 131. The Department derives the general authority to set
fees based on the cost of the consular services it provides and to
charge those fees from the general user charges statute, 31 U.S.C.
9701. See, e.g., 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)(A) (``The head of each agency . .
. may prescribe regulations establishing the charge for a service or
thing of value provided by the agency . . . based on . . . the costs to
the government.''). The funds collected for many consular fees must be
deposited into the general fund of the Treasury pursuant to 31 U.S.C.
3302(b). Various statutes permit the Department of State to retain some
of the fee revenue it collects (e.g. passport security surcharge,
immigrant visa security surcharge, affidavit of support, etc.), but the
Department of State lacks statutory authority to retain the fees
collected for document authentication. As a result, all fees associated
with this service are remitted to the Department of Treasury.
What are document authentication services?
The Office of Authentications provides authentication services for
public documents that will be used overseas. These services support
individuals, commercial organizations, institutions, federal, and state
government agencies seeking to use certain documents abroad. In order
to be recognized overseas, U.S. public documents may require
authentication. Authentication is the process whereby the signature
and/or seal of a public official on a document is certified as
authentic. There are two kinds of authentication depending upon the
country where the document is to be used. The first is with an
Apostille for countries that are parties to the Hague Apostille
Convention. The Department only issues Apostilles for federal public
documents; U.S. states issue Apostilles for their documents such as
vital records and notarials. The second form of authentication is part
of the chain legalization process. Under this process, the Department
issues an authentication certificate for federal documents and for U.S.
state authentication certificates certifying underlying state public
documents. These are then further authenticated by the foreign Embassy
of the country where the document is to be used.
When the office receives a request, it is given a unique service
number (for tracking purposes). The documents are examined for
originality, original signatures, seals, notaries' annotations, and
chronological date order. If a document is approved for processing, a
certificate of authentication under the Seal of the Department of State
for and in the name of the Secretary of State is printed, signed, and
eyeletted to the document. If the document is not approved to be
processed, a correspondence letter is sent to the customer informing
them of additional documentation that is needed to process their
document. If it is determined after review that the document is being
[[Page 65751]]
requested for an unlawful or improper purpose, the office sends the
customer a refusal letter.
The most common documents authenticated are:
FBI- federal background check and police records
Certificates of Birth, Marriage, Death, and Divorce
Diplomas and Transcripts
Police Records and Certified Court Records
Name Change Decrees
Power of Attorney
HHS- Company Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, and
Authorization of Agent
Declarations and Incumbency
Dossier and Home Study
Courier Letters, Extraditions, Warrants, and Secretarial
Assignments
Naturalization Certificates
For more information, including application instructions, please
visit: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/records-and-authentications/authenticate-your-document/office-of-authentications.html.
Why is the department adjusting the documentary services fee at this
time?
With certain exceptions--such as the reciprocal nonimmigrant visa
issuance fee--the Department of State generally sets consular fees at
an amount calculated to achieve recovery of the costs to the U.S.
Government of providing the consular service, in a manner consistent
with general user charges principles. As set forth in Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-25, as a general policy, each
recipient should pay a user charge for government services, resources,
or goods from which he or she derives a special benefit, at an amount
sufficient for the U.S. Government to recover the full costs of
providing the service, resource, or good. See OMB Circular No. A-25,
sec. 6(a)(2)(a). The OMB guidance covers all Federal Executive Branch
activities that convey special benefits to recipients beyond those that
accrue to the general public. See id., sections 4(a), 6(a)(1).
The Department reviews consular fees periodically, including
through an annual update to its Cost of Service Model, to determine
each fee's appropriateness in light of the OMB guidance. The Department
proposes the change set forth in the Schedule of Fees accordingly. The
Cost of Service Model is an activity-based costing model that
determines the current direct and indirect costs to the U.S. Government
associated with each consular good and service the Department provides.
The model update identifies the cost of the various discrete consular
goods and services, both direct and indirect, and the update's results
formed the basis of the change proposed to the Schedule of Fees.
Activity-Based Costing
To set fees in accordance with the general user charges principles,
the Department must determine the true cost of providing consular
services. Following guidance provided in ``Managerial Cost Accounting
Concepts and Standards for the Federal Government,'' OMB's Statement #4
of Federal Accounting Standards (SFFAS #4), available at https://files.fasab.gov/pdffiles/handbook_sffas_4.pdf, the Department chose to
develop and use an activity-based costing (ABC) model to determine the
true cost of each of its consular services.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) defines activity-based
costing as a ``set of accounting methods used to identify and describe
costs and required resources for activities within processes.'' Because
an organization can use the same staff and resources (computer
equipment, production facilities, etc.) to produce multiple products or
services, ABC models seek to identify and assign costs to processes and
activities and then to individual products and services through the
identification of key cost drivers referred to as ``resource drivers''
and ``activity drivers.''
ABC models also seek to identify the amount of time an
organization's personnel spend on each service and how much overhead
cost (rent, utilities, facilities maintenance, etc.) is associated with
delivering each service. ABC models require financial and accounting
analysis and modeling skills combined with a detailed understanding of
an organization's business processes. ABC models require an
organization to identify all activities required to produce a
particular product or service (``activities'') and all resources
consumed (costs) in the course of producing that product or service. An
organization must also measure the quantity of resources consumed
(``resource driver''); and the frequency and intensity of demand placed
on activities to produce services (``activity driver''). SFFAS
Statement #4 provides a detailed discussion of the use of cost
accounting by the U.S. Government.
The Department's Cost of Service Model
The Department conducted periodic Cost of Service Studies using ABC
methods to determine the costs of its consular services through 2009.
In 2010, the Department moved to adopt an annually updated Cost of
Service Model (CoSM) that measures all of its consular operations and
costs, including all activities needed to provide consular services,
whether fee-based or not. This provides a comprehensive and detailed
look at all consular services as well as all services the Department
performs for other agencies in connection with its consular operations.
The CoSM now includes approximately 118 distinct activities and enables
the Department to model its consular-related costs with a high degree
of precision.
The Department uses three methods outlined in SFFAS Statement #4
(paragraph 149(2)) to assign resource costs to activities: (a) Direct
tracing; (b) estimation based on surveys, interviews, or statistical
sampling; and (c) allocations. The Department uses direct tracing to
assign the cost of, for example, a physical passport book or the visa
foil placed in a visa applicant's passport. Assigning costs to
activities such as adjudicating a passport or visa application requires
estimation based on surveys, interviews, or statistical sampling to
determine who performs an activity and how long it takes. Indirect
costs (overhead) in the CoSM are allocated according to the level of
effort needed for a particular activity. Where possible, the model uses
overhead cost pools to assign indirect costs only to related
activities. For instance, the cost of rent for domestic passport
agencies is assigned only to passport costs, not to visas or other
services the Department provides only overseas. The Department
allocates indirect support costs to each consular service by the
portion of each cost attributable to consular activities. For example,
the model allocates a portion of the cost of the Department's Bureau of
Human Resources to consular services. The total amount of this
allocation is based on the number of Bureau of Human Resources staff
members who support Bureau of Consular Affairs personnel. In turn, this
amount is proportionally allocated between the different consular
services.
For consular activities that take place in the United States, the
Department collects workload and level of effort data from periodic
workload reports including Passport Agency Task Reports pulled from
management databases that include Passport's Management Information
System. Financial information is gathered from reports provided by the
Bureau of Consular Affairs Office of the Comptroller. The Department
converts the cost and workload data it collects into resource drivers
and activity drivers for each resource and activity.
[[Page 65752]]
Because roughly 70 percent of the workforce involved in providing
consular services are full-time Federal employees, if demand for a
service falls precipitously, the Department cannot shed employees as
quickly as the private sector. Likewise, should demand rise
precipitously, the Department cannot add employees quickly, because
delivering the majority of consular services requires specially trained
employees who cannot begin their training until they have completed the
federal hiring process and obtained a security clearance. Additionally,
given government procurement rules and security requirements, the
Department must commit to many of its facilities and infrastructure
costs years before a facility becomes available. Despite changes in
demand, the Department is obligated to cover these costs. Given these
and other constraints on altering the Department's cost structure in
the short term, changes in service volumes can have dramatic effects on
whether a fee is self-sustaining. Predictive workloads are based on
projections by the Office of Visa Services, the Office of Passport
Services, and other parts of the Bureau of Consular Affairs that are
consistent with Department budget documents prepared for Congress.
The costs the Department enters into CoSM include every line item
of costs, including items such as physical material for making
passports and visas, salaries, rent, supplies, and IT hardware and
software. The Department then determines a resource driver for each of
these costs as discussed above and enters the resource drivers and
assignments into the model. The Department then selects an activity
driver, such as the volume data discussed above for each activity, in
order to assign these costs to each service type. This process allows
the model to calculate a total cost for each of the Schedule of Fees
line items for visa services, passport services, and overseas citizens
services as well as services for other government agencies and ``no
fee'' services. The model then divides the total weighted cost by the
total weighted volume of the service or product in question in order to
determine a final unit cost for the service or product. Projected costs
for predictive years are used to take account of changes in the size of
consular staff, workload, and similar factors. The resulting database
constitutes the Cost of Service Model.
The Department continues to refine and update the Cost of Service
Model in order to set fees commensurate with the cost of providing
consular services. Because the Cost of Service Model is a complex
series of iterative computer processes incorporating more than a
million calculations, it is not reducible to a tangible form such as a
document. Inputs are formatted in spreadsheets for entry into the ABC
software package. The ABC software package itself is an industry
standard commercial off-the-shelf product, SAP Business Objects. The
software's output includes spreadsheets with raw unit costs, validation
reports, and management reports.
Using the Cost of Service Model To Assess Costs Associated With
Document Authentication Services
For analyzing document authentication services, the cost object is
Basic Domestic Authentication Service. It has six activities, denoted
in the model by the shorthand AUTH.#, and they are Provide Information,
Data Intake, Payment and Cashiering, Perform Authentication Review,
Personalize, and Issue. Further down, each activity is described in
detail. The resource driver is based on a time and motion study that
identified the percentage of time the Office of Authentications staff
spend on each activity. The overhead pools are the Passport General
Management Overhead Pool and the General Management Overhead Pool.
AUTH.1 Provide Information
Costs are allocated according to a time and motion study, with
tasks measured in the time and motion study mapped to CoSM
activities with the assistance of the Authentications staff. Tasks
include Retrieve messages from appointment/status line, Return
calls/answer live calls from appointment line, and Return status
calls. The cost of this activity is directly assigned to the Basic
Authentication cost object.
AUTH.2 Data Intake
Tasks mapped to AUTH.2 Data Intake include Collect mail-in
documents, walk-in documents, Greet customers in lobby, and Answer
customer questions in lobby area during case drop off/pick-up. The
cost of this activity is directly assigned to the Basic
Authentication cost object.
AUTH.3 Payment and Cashiering
Tasks mapped to AUTH.3 Payment and Cashiering include Conduct
follow-up calls for cases received without payment. The cost of this
activity is directly assigned to the Basic Authentication cost
object.
AUTH.4 Perform Authentication Review
Tasks mapped to AUTH.4 Perform Authentication Review include
Perform authentication review for appointment documents, Perform
initial review of case, Perform authentication review for counter
documents, and Perform authentication review for mail documents. The
cost of this activity is directly assigned to the Basic
Authentication cost object.
AUTH.5 Personalize
Tasks mapped to AUTH.5 Personalize include print, sign, and bind
certificate to the documents. The cost of this activity is directly
assigned to the Basic Authentication cost object.
AUTH.6 Issue
Tasks mapped to AUTH.6 Issue include Return document to
appointment customer in lobby and by mail back. The cost of this
activity is directly assigned to the Basic Authentication cost
object.
Domestic Authentications Driver
The table below details the resources, driver used, and
corresponding activities performed.
Table 1--Domestic Authentications Resource Driver
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources Driver used Activities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CA Consolidation--DA, CA Time and motion AUTH.1 Provide
Headquarters Rent--DA, study. Information, AUTH.2
281201 PPT/S/TO/AUT Office Data Intake, AUTH.3
of Authentications Payment and
positions and costs. Cashiering, AUTH.4
Perform
Authentication
Review, AUTH.5
Personalize, AUTH.6
Issue.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Costs are assigned according to a time and motion study, with tasks
measured in the time and motion study mapped to CoSM activities with
the assistance of the Authentications staff.
Domestic Authentications Fee
The Department is incorporating the domestic authentications fee
into the Schedule of Fees and increasing it from $8 to $20. The Office
of Authentications, which provides signed authentication certificates
for U.S. documents destined for use in foreign countries, moved from
the Bureau of Administration (A Bureau) to the Bureau of Consular
Affairs (CA) in October 2012. Before the move, the
[[Page 65753]]
Office of Authentications charged $8 per authentication. At that time,
there were five direct-hire full-time employees (FTE), no contractors,
and a large backlog of authentications. In 2014, the Office of
Authentications moved to the new Washington Passport Agency to increase
space for operations, and in 2016 hired four contractors to perform
functions like mail opening, cashiering, and data entry, among other
clerical tasks.
Following the move to CA, the Department began to measure the cost
of Office of Authentications operations and services in the Cost of
Service Model. Costs for this service have gone up the past several
years to meet customer service expectations and workload requirements.
The Office of Authentications aims to maintain a five business day
turn-around time for all mail-in applications, and a three day turn-
around time for all walk-in requests. In 2016/2017, the office added
five additional contractors to meet demand of the existing workload and
to manage the walk-ins to the facility and to provide information and
manage the queue of customers needing authentication services. CA's
Office of Authentications now has nine FTEs and nine contractors. Only
FTEs have the authority to adjudicate authentications, and the
additional contractor resources allowed FTEs to reduce administrative
tasks to focus on adjudication. The scope of work for the Office of
Authentications also widened. Once CA inherited this service from the A
Bureau, all IT systems had to be updated and a tracking system was
created to manage workload. CA also had to increase its capacity to
manage calls to support customer service in addition to workflow
management systems to manage customers as they come into the facility.
A presence was added to the travel.state.gov site to provide the public
with information on the existence of the office. Lastly, two additional
printers, which are rented and bear an annual expense, were acquired to
meet demands for current technology.
Based on the findings of the most recent update to the Cost of
Service Model, the Department determined that a fee of $20 would fully
recover the cost of Office of Authentications operations and services.
This includes the salaries for the staff of the Office of
Authentications, rent for the physical location at 600 19th Street NW,
Washington, DC, and overhead costs that include information technology,
human resources, facilities maintenance, legal review, and security.
There are over 100 specific line item costs that flow into the
Department's cost for the domestic authentications service. A summary
level breakdown broken down into three general cost categories is
provided in the below table:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2: Line Item Total (Authentications).............. $4,431,980
Compensation........................................ 1,589,237
Non-Compensation.................................... 1,604,126
Partner Bureaus..................................... 1,238,617
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Office of Authentications currently consists of nine civil-
service employees, which includes an increase of two full-time
employees (FTE) over the past five years, and several contract support
staff. As discussed below, the Department notes that authentication
services have remained roughly constant in recent years at
approximately 235,000 authentications annually and expects that trend
to continue. The FTE time-per-service (cycle time) has remained
relatively constant. As such, CA is not planning to increase either FTE
or contract staff at this time as the current staff is meeting demand
within the established cycle times. Compensation costs include FTE
staff salaries and benefits and domestic overhead costs directly
related to the domestic authentication service, and total $1,589,237.
The FTE average compensation cost (with benefits) is more than $138,000
per position. Additional costs in the Compensation category, totaling
approximately $38,582 per FTE, include general management overhead
costs, and domestic Passport staff costs included in Passport general
management overhead. The Non-Compensation costs total $1,604,126, and
include operating costs like domestic awards, contractor support costs,
personnel travel and transportation, utilities, supplies, equipment,
and CA IT costs which increase as FTE numbers increase.
The support from other State Department Partner Bureaus (or Partner
Bureaus) cost category includes compensation, overhead, and operating
costs associated with CA's Partner Bureaus that support the domestic
authentication service. Partner Bureau functions that support the
domestic authentication service include human resources support,
facilities maintenance, legal review, and security. This cost category
also includes rent CA pays for Office of Authentications space. The
directly applicable portion of the Partner Bureau's costs, in line with
the support they provide to perform this service, totals $1,238,617.
These three cost categories comprise the total overall costs of
providing the domestic authentication service, which totals $4,431,980.
The Cost of Service Model indicates that the cost-per-service is
$18.83. The Department has determined that it is most efficient to
round up to the nearest five dollars, which is why it has set the fee
at $20. The Department notes that because all fee revenue associated
with document authentication must be remitted to the Treasury, the
Department uses alternative sources of retained fee revenue with broad
spending authorities to fund the costs the Department incurs to provide
the documentary authentication services.
Regulatory Findings
Administrative Procedure Act
The Department is publishing this rule as a proposed rule, with a
60-day provision for public comments.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Department has reviewed this proposed rule and, by approving
it, certifies that it will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities as defined in 5 U.S.C. 601(6).
Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995
This proposed rule is not expected to result in the expenditure by
state, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the
private sector, of $100 million or more in any year, and it will not
significantly or uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, no
actions were deemed necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1501-1504.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996
This rule is not a major rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Executive Order 12866 and 13563
The Department has reviewed this proposed rule to ensure its
consistency with the regulatory philosophy and principles set forth in
the Executive Orders. This proposed rule has been submitted to OMB for
review.
This proposed rule is necessary in light of the need to incorporate
the authentications fee into the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services
and the Department of State's Cost of Service Model finding that the
cost of authenticating a document in the United States is higher than
the current fee. The Department is setting the fee in accordance with
31 U.S.C. 9701. See, e.g., 31 U.S.C. 9701(b)(2)(A) (``The head of each
agency . . . may prescribe regulations establishing the charge for a
[[Page 65754]]
service or thing of value provided by the agency . . . based on . . .
the costs to the Government.''). This proposed rule sets the fee for
domestic authentications at the amount required to recover the costs
associated with providing this service.
Details of the proposed fee change are as follows:
Table 3--Fee Change Impact
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Estimated
annual number change in
Item No. Proposed fee Current fee Change in fee Percentage of services annual fees
increase requested 1 collected 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentary Services
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
46. Authentications (by the Office of Authentications .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. ..............
domestically):
(a) Each basic authentication service............... $20 $8 $12 150 234,197 $2,810,364
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total........................................... 20 8 12 150 234,197 2,810,364
* * * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Based on FY 2018 workload. Workload has remained consistent over five years, averaging approximately 235,000 authentications each year--we expect
that trend to continue. Respondents may ask for more than one service on a form and a fee is assessed per document authenticated.
\2\ The Department of State does not retain this fee. All fee revenue associated with this service is remitted to Treasury.
Based on the foregoing information, and the fact that the CoSM has
demonstrated that the increase in fees will allow the U.S. government
to recover the full cost of providing this service, the Department
finds that the benefit to the public outweighs the cost of this rule as
outlined above.
Executive Order 13771
This regulation is not an E.O. 13771 regulatory action because it
is a transfer rule that changes only the fee for a service without
imposing any new costs. The increase of this current collection
accurately reflects the cost to the U.S. government of providing this
service.
Executive Orders 12372 and 13132
This regulation will not have 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. Therefore, in accordance with section 6
of Executive Order 13132, it is determined that this rule does not have
sufficient federalism implications to require consultations or warrant
the preparation of a federalism summary impact statement. The
regulations implementing Executive Order 12372 regarding
intergovernmental consultation on federal programs and activities do
not apply to this regulation.
Executive Order 13175
The Department has determined that this rulemaking will not have
tribal implications, will not impose substantial direct compliance
costs on Indian tribal governments, and will not preempt tribal law.
Accordingly, the requirements of Executive Order 13175 do not apply to
this rulemaking.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rulemaking relates to an information collection request for
the DS-4194, Request for Authentications Service, which is being
processed separately.
List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 22
Consular services, Fees.
Accordingly, for the reasons stated in the preamble, 22 CFR part 22
is proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 22--SCHEDULE OF FEES FOR CONSULAR SERVICES--DEPARTMENT OF
STATE AND FOREIGN SERVICE
0
1. The authority citation for part 22 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101 note, 1153 note, 1157 note, 1183a note,
1184(c)(12), 1201(c), 1351, 1351 note, 1713, 1714, 1714 note; 10
U.S.C. 2602(c); 22 U.S.C. 214, 214 note, 1475e, 2504(h), 2651a,
4206, 4215, 4219, 6551; 31 U.S.C. 9701; Exec. Order 10,718, 22 FR
4632 (1957); Exec. Order 11,295, 31 FR 10603 (1966).
0
2. In Sec. 22.1, amend the table by adding entry 46 under the heading
``Documentary Services'' to read as follows:
Sec. 22.1 Schedule of fees.
* * * * *
Schedule of Fees for Consular Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item No. Fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
Documentary Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * * * *
46. Authentications (by the Office of Authentications ..............
domestically):.........................................
[[Page 65755]]
(a) Each basic authentication service............... $20
(Items 47-50 vacant.)................................... ..............
* * * * * * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carl C. Risch,
Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2020-19926 Filed 10-15-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-06-P
