§ 5.3 - Petitions.

§ 5.3 GeneralPetitions.

(a) This subpart governs all DOT employees and contractors involved with all phases of rulemaking at DOT.

(b) Unless otherwise required by statute, this subpart applies to all DOT regulations, which shall include all rules of general applicability promulgated by any components of the Department that affect the rights or obligations of persons outside the Department, including substantive rules, rules of interpretation, and rules prescribing agency procedures and practice requirements applicable to outside parties.

(c) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, this subpart applies to all regulatory actions intended to lead to the promulgation of a rule and any other generally applicable agency directives, circulars, or pronouncements concerning matters within the jurisdiction of an OA or component of OST that are intended to have the force or effect of law or that are required by statute to satisfy the rulemaking procedures specified in 5 U.S.C. 553 or 5 U.S.C. 556.

(d) This subpart does not apply to:

(1) Any rulemaking in which a notice of proposed rulemaking was issued before December 20, 2018, and which was still in progress on that date;

(2) Regulations issued with respect to a military or foreign affairs function of the United States;

(3) Rules addressed solely to internal agency management or personnel matters;

(4) Regulations related to Federal Government procurement; or

(5) Guidance documents, which are not intended to, and do not in fact, have the force or effect of law for parties outside of the Department, and which are governed by part 5, subpart C of this chapter

Any person may petition an OA or OST component with rulemaking authority to:

(1) Issue, amend, or repeal a rule, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 551; or

(2) Issue an exemption, either permanently or temporarily, from any requirements of a rule, consistent with applicable statutory or regulatory provisions.

(b) When an OA or OST component receives a petition under this section, the petition should be filed with the Docket Clerk in a timely manner. If a petition is filed directly with the Docket Clerk, the Docket Clerk will submit the petition in a timely manner to the OA or component of OST with regulatory responsibility over the matter described in the petition.

(c) The OA or component of OST should provide clear instructions on its website to members of the public regarding how to submit petitions, including, but not limited to, an email address or Web portal where petitions can be submitted, a mailing address where hard copy requests can be submitted, and an office responsible for coordinating such requests.

(d) Unless otherwise provided by statute or in OA regulations or procedures, the following procedures apply to the processing of petitions for rulemaking or exemption:

(1) Contents. Each petition filed under this section must:

(i) Be submitted, either by paper submission to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, or electronically by emailing: [e-mail];

(ii) Describe the nature of the request and set forth the text or substance of the rule, or specify the rule that the petitioner seeks to have issued, amended, exempted, or repealed, as the case may be;

(iii) Explain the interest of the petitioner in the action requested, including, in the case of a petition for an exemption, the nature and extent of the relief sought and a description of the persons to be covered by the exemption;

(iv) Contain any information and arguments available to the petitioner to support the action sought; and

(v) In the case of a petition for exemption, unless good cause is shown in that petition, be submitted at least 60 days before the proposed effective date of the exemption, as appropriate.

(2) Processing. Each petition received under this section is referred to the head of the office responsible for the subject matter of that petition, and the Office of Regulation.

(3) Grants. If the OA or component of OST with regulatory responsibility over the matter described in the petition determines that the petition contains adequate justification, it may request the initiation of a rulemaking action in accordance with departmental procedures or grant the petition, as appropriate.

(4) Denials. If the OA or component of OST determines that the petition is not justified, the OA or component of OST denies the petition in coordination with the Office of Regulation.

(5) Notification. Whenever the OA or OST component determines that a petition should be granted or denied, and after consultation with the Office of Regulation in the case of denial, the office concerned prepares a notice of that grant or denial for issuance to the petitioner, and issues it to the petitioner.