Office of the Secretary March 5, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On November 20, 2007, the Department of Transportation (DOT or Department) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), 72 FR 65233 seeking comments on whether the Department should adopt a rule to enhance airline passenger protections in the following ways: Require carriers to adopt contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays and incorporate them in their contracts of carriage, require carriers to respond to consumer problems, deem operating a chronically delayed flight to be unfair and deceptive, require carriers to publish delay data, require carriers to publish complaint data, require on-time performance reporting for international flights, and require carriers to audit their compliance with their customer service plans. In a section of the ANPRM entitled ``Regulatory Notices'' the Department addressed a number of general regulatory issues as they relate to the ANPRM, including DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures, Federalism, the Regulatory Flexibility Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act. In its discussion of Executive Order 13132 (``Federalism''), which sets forth certain requirements for Federal agencies when they are ``taking action that preempts State law,'' the ANPRM concluded that it ``does not propose any regulation that * * * preempts State law.'' Based upon comments DOT has received, and upon its own further review, the Department has determined that this statement has been misconstrued in the overall context of the proposed DOT regulation and its impact upon State law. This notice clarifies the Department's prior statement concerning preemption in this area.