[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 135 (Friday, July 15, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 40973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14056]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

49 CFR Part 23

[Docket No. OST-97-2550]
RIN 2105-AD51


Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprise in Airport 
Concessions

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT.

ACTION: Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Extension of 
Comment Period.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation issued a supplemental notice 
of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) on this subject on March 22, 2005. The 
comment period was scheduled to close June 20, 2005. In response to 
requests from car rental industry members and a trade association of 
disadvantaged business enterprises who work in airports, we are 
extending the comment period for 60 days.

DATES: Comments on the SNPRM must be received by August 19, 2005. Late-
filed comments will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this SNPRM should be filed with: the Docket 
Management System, U.S. Department of Transportation. Room PL-401, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Please identify the 
docket number OST-97-2005 at the beginning of your comments. You may 
also submit comments through the Internet to http://dms.dot.gov. You 
may review the public docket containing comments to these proposed 
regulations in person in the Dockets Office between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The Dockets Office is 
on the plaza level of the NASSIF Building at the Department of 
Transportation at the above address. Also, you may review comments to 
the docket on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov. Search by using the 
last set of digits in the docket number (i.e., 2550).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert C. Ashby, Deputy Assistant 
General Counsel for Regulation and Enforcement, Department of 
Transportation, 400 7th St., SW., Room 10424, Washington, DC 20590-
0001. Telephone (202) 366-9310 (voice); (202) 755-7687 (TDD). E-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In March 2005, the Department of 
Transportation (DOT) issued a final rule on the subject of 
disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) in airport concessions. At the 
same time, we issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking 
asking for additional comment on several issues, including size 
standards and the possibility of creating national (rather than 
airport-by-airport) DBE goals for car rental companies.
    We received correspondence requesting a 60-day extension of the 
comment period on behalf of several car rental companies, including 
Hertz, Dollar/Thrifty, Vanguard, and Enterprise. The correspondence 
requested the additional time to permit the companies to review the 
SNPRM and develop their position on the complex issues involved. We 
understand they are particularly interested in further thinking about 
the national car rental goal concept mentioned in the SNPRM. In 
addition, we received correspondence from the Airport Minority Advisory 
Council (AMAC) requesting a similar extension.
    We believe that such an extension would be helpful to the 
Department in determining next steps concerning size standards and car 
rental goal issues, and we do not believe that it would unduly delay 
any further rulemaking resulting from the SNPRM. Consequently, we are 
granting the requested 60-day extension.

    Issued this 30th day of June, 2005, at Washington DC.
Jeffrey A. Rosen,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 05-14056 Filed 7-13-05; 1:11 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P