Regulation on Confidential Business Information. Final Rule.

SUMMARY: This document amends the regulation on Confidential Business Information to simplify and update the regulation to reflect developments in the law and to address the application of the regulation to the early warning reporting regulation issued pursuant to the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on [INSERT DATE 45 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. If you wish to submit a petition for reconsideration of this rule, your petition must be received by [INSERT DATE THAT IS 45 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER.]

ADDRESSES: Petitions for reconsideration should refer to the docket number and be submitted to: Administrator, Room 5220, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For questions relating to procedures under Part 512, contact Lloyd Guerci or Otto Matheke. For questions relating to the treatment of material under the early warning reporting regulations, contact Lloyd Guerci or Michael Kido. For questions relating to the early warning regulation itself, contact Lloyd Guerci or Andrew DiMarsico. All can be reached in the Office of the Chief Counsel at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 7th Street SW, Room 5219, Washington, D.C. 20590. They can be reached by telephone at (202) 366-5263.

Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Background
Comments Received
Overview of the Comments
Overview of the Final Rule
Specific Provisions of Part 512
1. Subpart A - General Provisions
2. Subpart B - Submission Requirements
  1. Copies of Submissions
  2. Personal Information
  3. Stamp Each Page
3. Subpart C - Additional Requirements
  1. Duty to Amend
  2. Third Parties
4. Subpart D - Agency Determination
  1. Time to Request Reconsideration or to Respond When a FOIA Request is Pending
  2. Whether Voluntarily Submitted Materials Should Be Returned Following a Denial of a Confidentiality Request
  3. Class Determinations
5. Subpart E - Agency Treatment of Information
Early Warning Reporting Information
1. Summary of the Early Warning Reporting Requirements
2. Application of the FOIA to the Early Warning Reporting Program
  1. The TREAD Act and the FOIA Exemptions
  2. The Early Warning Reporting Information and FOIA Exemption 4
3. Specific Types of Information to be Provided Under the Early Warning Regulation
  1. Production Numbers
  2. Claims and Notices Involving Death, Personal Injury and Property Damage
  3. Information Regarding Warranty Claims
  4. Field Reports
  5. Consumer Complaints
Appendix A: FOIA Exemption 3 and the TREAD Act Disclosure Provision
Appendix B: Confidential Business Information Case Law Analysis
Regulatory Analyses and Notices