A. Executive Order 12866 and DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures
NHTSA has considered the impact of this rulemaking action under Executive Order 12866 and the Department of Transportation's regulatory policies and procedures. This rulemaking document was reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget under E.O. 12866, "Regulatory Planning and Review." The rulemaking action has been determined to be significant under the Department's regulatory policies and procedures. NHTSA is placing in the public docket a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) describing the costs and benefits of this rulemaking action. The costs and benefits are summarized earlier in this document.
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act
NHTSA has considered the effects of this rulemaking action under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. §601 et seq.) I hereby certify that the proposed amendment would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The proposed rule would directly affect motor vehicle manufacturers and indirectly affect air bag manufacturers and dummy manufacturers.
For passenger car and light truck manufacturers, NHTSA estimates that there are only about four small manufacturers in the United States. These manufacturers serve a niche market, and the agency believes that small manufacturers do not manufacture even 0.1 percent of total U.S. passenger car and light truck production per year. The agency notes that these manufacturers are already required to provide air bags and certify compliance to Standard No. 208's dynamic impact requirements. Since the proposal would add additional test requirements for air bags, it would increase compliance costs for these, as well as other, vehicle manufacturers.
The agency does not believe that there are any small air bag manufacturers. There are several manufacturers of dummies and/or dummy parts which are considered small businesses. While the proposed rule would not impose any requirements on these manufacturers, it would be expected to have a positive impact on these types of small businesses by increasing demand for dummies.
NHTSA notes that final stage vehicle manufacturers and alterers could also be affected by this proposal. However, since the agency believes that final stage manufacturers and alterers receive vehicles which are already equipped with air bags, the proposal would not have any significant effect on final stage manufacturers or alterers.
Small organizations and small governmental units would not be significantly affected since the potential cost impacts associated with this proposed action should only slightly affect the price of new motor vehicles.
For the reasons discussed above, the small entities which would most likely be affected by this proposal are small vehicle manufacturers and dummy manufacturers. The number of such manufacturers is so small that, regardless of whether the economic impact on them was significant or not, the proposed rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The agency believes, further, that the economic impact on these manufacturers would be small. While the small vehicle manufacturers would face additional compliance costs, the agency believes that air bag suppliers would likely provide much of the engineering expertise necessary to meet the new requirements, thereby helping to keep the overall impacts small. The agency also notes that, in the unlikely event that a small vehicle manufacturer did face substantial economic hardship, it could apply for a temporary exemption for up to three years. See 49 CFR Part 555. It could subsequently apply for a renewal of such an exemption. While the proposed requirements would increase the demand for dummies, thereby having a positive impact on dummy manufacturers, the agency does not believe that such increased demand would be sufficient to create a significant economic impact on the dummy manufacturers. However, the agency requests comments concerning the economic impact on small vehicle manufacturers and dummy manufacturers.
Additional information concerning the potential impacts of the proposed requirements on small entities is presented in the PEA.
C. National Environmental Policy Act
NHTSA has analyzed this proposed amendment for the purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act and determined that it would not have any significant impact on the quality of the human environment.
D. Executive Order 12612 (Federalism)
The agency has analyzed this proposed amendment in accordance with the principles and criteria set forth in Executive Order 12612. NHTSA has determined that the proposed amendment does not have sufficient federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment.
E. Unfunded Mandates Act
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 requires agencies to prepare a written assessment of the costs, benefits and other effects of proposed or final rules that include a Federal mandate likely to result in the expenditure by State, local or tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of more than $100 million annually (adjusted for inflation with base year of 1995). This assessment is included in the PEA.
F. Executive Order 12778 (Civil Justice Reform)
This proposed rule does not have any retroactive effect. Under section 49 U.S.C. 30103, whenever a Federal motor vehicle safety standard is in effect, a state may not adopt or maintain a safety standard applicable to the same aspect of performance which is not identical to the Federal standard, except to the extent that the state requirement imposes a higher level of performance and applies only to vehicles procured for the State's use. 49 U.S.C. 30161 sets forth a procedure for judicial review of final rules establishing, amending or revoking Federal motor vehicle safety standards. That section does not require submission of a petition for reconsideration or other administrative proceedings before parties may file suit in court.
G. Paperwork Reduction Act
The Department of Transportation is submitting the following information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Complete copies of each request for collection of information may be obtained from Mr. Michael Robinson, NHTSA Information Collection Clearance Officer, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Room 6123, Washington, DC. Mr. Robinson's telephone number is (202) 366-9456. Please identify the relevant collection of information by referring to "Phase-in Production Reporting Requirements for Advanced Air Bags."
Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Title: Phase-in Production Reporting Requirements for Advanced Air Bags.
Type of Request: Routine.
OMB Clearance Number: 2127-New.
Form Number: This collection of information would use no standard forms.
Affected Public: The respondents are manufacturers of passenger cars and trucks, buses, and multipurpose passenger vehicles with a GVWR of 3,855 kg (8500 pounds) or less and an unloaded vehicle weight of 2,495 kg (5500 pounds) or less. The agency estimates that there are about 21 such manufacturers.
Estimate of the Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden Resulting from the Collection of Information: NHTSA estimates that the total annual hour burden is 1260 hours.
Estimated Costs: NHTSA estimates the total annual cost burden, in dollars, to be $37,800.
Summary of the Collection of Information: This collection would require manufacturers of passenger cars and trucks, buses, and multipurpose passenger vehicles with a GVWR of 3,855 kg (8500 pounds) or less and an unloaded vehicle weight of 2,495 kg (5500 pounds) or less to annually submit a report, and maintain records related to the report, concerning the number of such vehicles that meet the advanced air bag requirements of Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection (49 CFR 571.208) during the phase-in of those requirements. The phase-in would be completed in three years.
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed use of the Information: The purpose of the reporting requirements would be to aid the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in determining whether a manufacturer of passenger cars and trucks, buses, and multipurpose passenger vehicles with a GVWR of 3,855 kg (8500 pounds) or less and an unloaded vehicle weight of 2,495 kg (5500 pounds) or less has complied with the advanced air bag requirements of Standard No. 208 during the phase-in of those requirements.
