[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 6, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 36240-36243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17053]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 173
[USCG 1998-3386]
RIN 2115-AF62
Adjustment of Fees for Issuing Numbers to Undocumented Vessels in
Alaska
AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard increases the fees it charges for issuing
numbers to undocumented vessels in Alaska. It is doing this because the
current fees do not cover its costs for issuing numbers to those
vessels. This final rule brings the fees into full compliance with the
general Federal statute on user fees, allowing the Coast Guard to fully
recover its costs, and makes it more convenient for the public by
offering additional methods to pay for this service.
DATES: This final rule is effective on September 1, 1999.
ADDRESSES: The comment received from the public, as well as documents
mentioned in this preamble as being available in the docket, are part
of docket USCG-1998-3386. They are available for inspection or copying
at the Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation,
room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street SW, Washington, DC 20590-0001, between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. You
may also find this docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. You
may obtain a copy of this rule by calling the U. S. Coast Guard
Infoline at 1-800-368-5647, or read it on the Internet, at the Web Site
for the Office of Boating Safety, at http://www.uscgboating.org or at
http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on this final rule, call
or write Janice B. Giles, Program Development and Implementation
Division, Office of Boating Safety, Coast Guard, telephone 202-267-
0911, (email: jgiles@comdt.uscg.mil), or Sue Hargis, Seventeenth Coast
Guard District (Alaska) Boating Safety Specialist, (907) 463-2297
(email: shargis@cgalaska.uscg.mil). For questions on viewing the
docket, call Dorothy Walker, Chief, Dockets, Department of
Transportation, telephone 202-366-9329.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Regulatory History
On February 1, 1999, we published a notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM) entitled ``Adjustment of Fees for Issuing Numbers to
Undocumented Vessels in Alaska'' in the Federal Register (64 FR 4816).
We sent press releases concerning the proposed increase to all major
newspapers in Alaska. We received one letter commenting on the proposed
rule. No public hearing was requested, and none was held.
Background and Purpose
Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), part 173, sets
forth the requirements for issuing certificates of number to owners of
vessels that are not documented, typically recreational boats. The
Coast Guard's issuing numbers to undocumented vessels is unique to
Alaska and the Seventeenth Coast Guard District; in all other parts of
the nation, State or Territorial authorities act as the issuing
authorities. We retain the responsibility for Alaska under Title 46 of
the United States Code (U.S.C.), sub-section 12301(a), because the
government of Alaska has not sought the approval of the Coast Guard for
a State system of numbering vessels.
This final rule amends 33 CFR 173.85 so the charged fees cover the
costs we incur for the number-issuing service we provide in Alaska. The
increased fees affect those people who own undocumented vessels subject
to 33 CFR 173.11 and who operate them principally in Alaska. This final
rule also offers more methods for paying the fees.
The current $6 fee, set in 1972 (33 CFR 173.85), does not accrue to
the Coast Guard. The money collected goes into the general fund of the
U.S. Treasury as miscellaneous receipts of the Department of
Transportation. Even if the money did accrue to us, it would cover
barely 25 percent of the costs we incur for providing the service. The
new fees will cover most, if not all, of these costs.
Under 46 U.S.C. 2110, the new fees will also be available to
reimburse the Coast Guard for the full cost of accomplishing fee
collection.
The development and application of a cost methodology came in for
detailed discussion in the NPRM. That discussion rested on a
contracted-for study of all user fees collected by the Coast Guard. A
copy of the analysis is in the docket for this rulemaking. We adapted a
system that employs Activity-Based Costing (ABC), which assigns costs
to the activities required to produce a product, rather than to
categories of expenses. All the fees we developed were rounded down to
the nearest whole dollar, to simplify collection and accounting, and to
conform to 46 U.S.C. 2110(a)(3). We must now set these fees in
accordance with the criteria specified in 31 U.S.C. 9701 and Revised
Circular A-25 of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which
establishes guidelines for Federal agencies to assess fees for their
services.
Discussion of Comment and Changes
In addition to publishing an NPRM, during February 1999 we
published notices in local Alaskan newspapers: the Juneau Empire,
Anchorage Daily News, Ketchikan Daily News, and Fairbanks News-Miner.
We received only one comment on this rulemaking, which supported the
fee increase.
Changes to 33 CFR 173.85. The three-year fee for an original or
transferred certificate of number will increase from $6 to $24. The fee
to renew a certificate of number will increase from $6 to $16. The fee
for a duplicate certificate of number will increase from $1 to $9. The
fee for replacing a lost or destroyed Validation Sticker will increase
from $0.25 to $9. We may now accept payment of fees by check, money
order, or major credit card (MasterCard or Visa), or in cash.
Regulatory Evaluation
This final rule is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under
section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 and does not require an
assessment of potential costs and benefits under section 6(a)(3) of
that Order. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has not reviewed
this rule under that Order. It is not ``significant'' under the
regulatory policies and procedures of the Department of Transportation
(DOT) (44
[[Page 36241]]
FR 11040, February 26, l979). We expect the economic impact of this
rule to be so minimal that a full Regulatory Evaluation under paragraph
10e of the regulatory policies and procedures of DOT is unnecessary.
Cost of Rule
For the owner of an undocumented vessel who needs to obtain an
original or a transferred certificate of number, the increase in fees
resulting from this final rule is a one-time increase of $18, or $6 a
vessel a year. For the same owner who needs to obtain a renewal
certificate, the increase is a one-time increase of $10, or $3.33 a
vessel a year (See Table 1). The fees for duplicate certificates and
replacement stickers arise ``as needed'' and are not subject to further
analysis.
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To determine the fees set forth in this rulemaking, the Coast Guard
adopted Activity-Based Costing (ABC), a methodology that assigns costs
according to the activities required to produce an output. An
alternative would have been to use the Consumer Price Index (CPI), an
inflation index showing how prices change for goods such as food,
housing, and medical care for a typical consumer. Although ABC and CPI
are not directly related, it is useful to compare the two to make sure
our fee increase is within the range most people would expect.
In 1972, we set the fee for an original certificate of number at
$6.00. If we had accomplished routine adjustments based on the CPI
between 1972 and 1998, the fee for an original certificate of number
would have increased to $20.31 [1972 price x (1998 CPI/1972 CPI):
$6.00 x (146.9/43.4) = $20.31]. As presented in Table 1, adjustments
based on ABC yield a new fee for an original certificate of number of
$24.00.
This comparison shows that the increase set forth by the Coast
Guard to recover costs based on ABC is close to the increase that would
have occurred had it been linked with the inflation rate for Alaska.
Under the general Federal statute on user fees, the Coast Guard
must recover its costs for services provided to the public. Further,
under 31 U.S.C. 9701 and Circular A-25, the Coast Guard must review
these fees every two years to ensure full-cost recovery. Fees for
issuing numbers to undocumented vessels in Alaska have gone unreviewed
since 1972. The annual cost of the increases as outlined in this final
rule and Table 1 is justified because of (1) the 17-year period between
establishment and review of the fees and (2) the outcome of Coast Guard
analysis using ABC.
Benefits of Rule
The fee increases will allow the Coast Guard both to recover its
costs for issuing numbers to undocumented vessels and to maintain the
service required by the general public. Full-cost recovery benefits the
involved parties by (1) delivering service to owners of undocumented
vessels in Alaska and (2) letting the Coast Guard meet Federal mandates
on cost recovery.
This final rule will also increase convenience to the public by
allowing more ways for them to make their payments.
Small Entities
Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612), we
considered whether this final rule would have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. ``Small entities''
include small businesses, not-for-profit organizations that are
independently owned and operated and are not dominant in their fields,
and governmental jurisdictions with populations of less than 50,000.
Because the effects of this final rule will be minimal, the Coast
Guard certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this final rule will not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Records of the Coast Guard indicate that as of December 31, 1997,
there were 32,414 undocumented vessels numbered by the Coast Guard in
Alaska. Of those 32,414 undocumented vessels, about 23 percent--7,107
vessels (4,945 commercial fishing vessels, 1,656 commercial passenger-
carrying vessels, and 506 rental or livery vessels)--belong to
commercial entities, some of which may qualify as small entities. The
economic impact of this rule on these small entities, however, is
minimal (see Table 2).
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For the five years 1994 through 1998 inclusive, we analyzed the
number of transactions recorded by the Seventeenth District for issuing
original, renewal, and transfer certificates. We assessed the aggregate
economic effects of the then-proposed rule across the fleet of
undocumented vessels in Alaska (See Table 3). We consider five years
long enough to accurately represent the number of transactions that
will occur in the future. The data reflect the cost of the fee increase
across the fleet of undocumented vessels. We estimate that 23% of these
transactions may involve small entities. Therefore, the aggregate cost
of the fee increase on small entities is $31,760.70 ($138,090 x 23%).
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Assistance for Small Entities
Under section 213(a) of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement
Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), we offered to assist small
entities in understanding this final rule so that they could better
evaluate its effects on them and participate in the rulemaking. For
clarification of the new fees, they can ask the Seventeenth Coast Guard
District, Boat Registration Office, in person, by telephone or by e-
mail as listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
The Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman
and 10 Regional Fairness Boards were established to receive comments
from small businesses about Federal enforcement. The Ombudsman will
annually evaluate the enforcement and rate each agency's responsiveness
to small business. If you wish to comment on enforcement by the Coast
Guard, call 1-888-REG-FAIR (1-888-734-3247).
Collection of Information
This final rule calls for no new collection of information under
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).
Federalism
We have analyzed this final rule under E.O. 12612 and have
determined that this rule does not have sufficient implications for
federalism to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment. The
Coast Guard is complying with the general Federal statute on user fees,
and with the specific Federal statute for services provided under Title
46 of the United States Code, subtitle II.
[[Page 36243]]
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and Enhancing the Intergovernmental
Partnership
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531-1538) and
E.O. 12875, Enhancing the Intergovernmental Partnership (58 FR 58093,
October 28, 1993), govern the issuance of Federal regulations that
require unfunded mandates. An unfunded mandate is a regulation that
requires a State, local, or tribal government or the private sector to
incur direct costs without the Federal Government's having first
provided the funds to pay those costs. This final rule will not impose
an unfunded mandate.
Taking of Private Property
This final rule will not effect a taking of private property or
otherwise have taking implications under E.O. 12630, Governmental
Actions and Interference with Constitutionally Protected Property
Rights.
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,
eliminate ambiguity, and reduce burden.
Protection of Children
We have analyzed this final rule under E.O. 13045, Protection of
Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks. This rule is
not an economically significant rule and does not concern an
environmental risk to health or safety that may disproportionately
affect children.
Environment
We considered the environmental impact of this final rule and
concluded that under figure 2-1, paragraph (34)(a), of Commandant
Instruction M16475.lC, the rule is categorically excluded from further
environmental documentation. The rule merely adjusts the fees charged
to owners of undocumented vessels for issuing vessel's numbers and
validation stickers. A ``Categorical Exclusion Determination'' is
available in the docket where indicated under ADDRESSES.
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 173
Marine safety, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Coast Guard amends
33 CFR part 173 as follows:
PART 173-VESSEL NUMBERING AND CASUALTY AND ACCIDENT REPORTING
1. Revise the citation of authority for Part 173 to read as
follows:
Authority: 31 U.S.C. 9701; 46 U.S.C. 2110, 6101, 12301, 12302;
OMB Circular A-25; 49 CFR 1.46.
2. Revise Sec. 173.85 to read as follows:
Sec. 173.85 Fees levied by the Coast Guard.
a. In a State where the Coast Guard is the issuing authority, the
fees for issuing certificates of number are:
(1) Original or transferred certificate of number and two
validation stickers--$24.
(2) Renewed certificate of number and two validation stickers--$16.
(3) Duplicate certificate of number--$9.
(4) Replacement of lost or destroyed validation stickers--$9.
(b) Fees are payable by check or money-order made payable to the
``U.S. Coast Guard''; by major credit card (MasterCard or Visa); or,
when the owner applies in person, in cash.
Dated: June 24, 1999.
Ernest R. Riutta,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Operations.
[FR Doc. 99-17053 Filed 7-2-99; 8:45 am]
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