[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 43 (Monday, March 7, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10864-10865]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-4326]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of Industry and Security

15 CFR Part 700

[Docket Number: 041026293-5031-02]
RIN 0694-AD35


Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS): Electronic 
Transmission of Reasons for Rejecting Rated Orders

AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule revises the Defense Priorities and Allocations 
System to allow a person rejecting a rated order to give his or her 
reasons for the rejection through electronic means rather than 
requiring a person to submit the rationale in writing.

DATES: This rule is effective April 6, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Eddy Aparicio, Office of Strategic 
Industries and Economic Security, Room 3876, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230, telephone; (202) 482-
8234, or e-mail; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under Title I of the Defense Production Act 
of 1950, as amended, (50 U.S.C. App. 2061 et seq.), the President is 
authorized to require preferential acceptance and performance of 
contracts or orders supporting certain approved national defense and 
energy programs, and to allocate materials, services, and facilities in 
such a manner as to promote these approved programs. Additional 
priorities authority is found in section 18 of the Selective Service 
Act of 1948 (50 U.S.C. App. 468), 10 U.S.C. 2538, and 50 U.S.C. 82. 
DPAS authority has also been extended to support emergency preparedness 
activities under Title VI of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act, as amended (45 U.S.C. 5915 et seq.).
    Originally published in 1984, the DPAS regulations were revised on 
June 11, 1998 (63 FR 31918), to update, streamline, and clarify a 
number of provisions. The purpose of the DPAS is to assure the timely 
availability of industrial resources to meet current national defense 
and emergency preparedness program requirements, including critical 
infrastructure protection and restoration, as well as provide an 
operating system to support rapid industrial response in a national 
emergency. In pursuit of the DPAS mission, the Department of Commerce 
endeavors to minimize disruptions to the normal commercial activities 
of industry.
    An integral component of DPAS is a system of ``rated orders.'' 
Prior to the effective date of this rule, recipients of rated orders 
who rejected such orders were required to furnish the reasons for 
rejection in writing and not electronically. This rule provides that 
such reasons may be furnished either in writing or electronically.
    BIS published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal 
Register on November 22, 2004 (69 FR 67872) that proposed to make 
electronic furnishing of the reasons for rejection permissible. BIS 
received one comment on the proposed rule, which favored the proposal. 
Therefore BIS is publishing the final rule exactly as stated in the 
proposed rule. Under this final rule a person will be able to transmit 
his or her rationale for rejection either electronically or in writing. 
This amendment to the DPAS regulations should allow this information to 
be transmitted more quickly.

Rulemaking Requirements

    1. Executive Order 12866: This rule has been determined to be not 
significant under EO 12866.
    2. Executive Order 13132: This rule does not contain policies with 
federalism implications as this term is defined in EO 13132.
    3. Paperwork Reduction Act: This rule contains collection of 
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (PRA).
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure 
to comply with a collection of information, subject to the requirements 
of the PRA unless that collection of information displays a currently 
valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. These 
collections have been approved by the OMB under control number 0694-
0092, ``Procedures for Acceptance or Rejection of a Rated Order,'' 
which carries a burden hour estimate of 1 to 15 minutes per response. 
This rule results in an overall reduction of approximately five minutes 
for the one percent of respondents who reject rated orders they 
receive.
    4. Regulatory Flexibility Act: Chief Counsel for Regulation of the 
Department of Commerce has certified to the Counsel for Advocacy of the 
Small Business Administration that this rule would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
(i.e., companies or other organizations involved in production for the 
U.S. defense industrial base). The factual basis for this determination 
was published with the proposal rule and is not repeated here. No 
comments were received regarding the economic impact of this rule. As a 
result, no final regulatory flexibility analysis was prepared.

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 700

    Administrative practice and procedure, Business and industry, 
Government contracts, National defense, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Strategic and critical materials.

0
Accordingly, the DPAS regulations (15 CFR part 700) are amended as 
follows:

PART 700--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 700 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: Titles I and VII of the Defense Production Act of 
1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2061, et seq.), Title VI of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 5195 et seq.), Executive Order 12919, 59 FR 29525, 3 CFR, 
1994 Comp. 901, and Executive Order 13286, 68 FR 10619, 3 CFR, 2003 
Comp. 166; section 18 of the Selective Service Act of 1948 (50 
U.S.C. App. 468), 10 U.S.C. 2538, 50 U.S.C. 82, and Executive Order 
12742, 56 FR 1079, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp. 309; and Executive Order 12656, 
53 FR 226, 3 CFR, 1988 Comp. 585.

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2. In Sec.  700.13, revise paragraph (d)(1) to read as follows:

[[Page 10865]]

Sec.  700.13  Acceptance and rejection of rated orders.

* * * * *
    (d) Customer notification requirements. (1) A person must accept or 
reject a rated order and transmit the acceptance or rejection in 
writing (hard copy), or in electronic format, within fifteen (15) 
working days after receipt of a DO rated order and within ten (10) 
working days after receipt of a DX rated order. If the order is 
rejected, the person must also provide the reasons for the rejection, 
pursuant to paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, in writing (hard 
copy) or electronic format.
* * * * *

    Dated: March 1, 2005.
Matthew S. Borman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
[FR Doc. 05-4326 Filed 3-4-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-33-P