49 CFR Parts 37 and 38 -- Transportation for Individuals With Disabilities at Intercity, Commuter, and High Speed Passenger Railroad Station Platforms; Miscellaneous Amendments, Preamble

Regulatory Analyses and Notices

Executive Order 12866

This final rule is significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866 and the Department of Transportation's Regulatory Policies and Procedures. The NPRM clarifies the Department's existing requirements concerning new commuter and intercity rail platforms. The Department has conducted a regulatory evaluation of the costs of the requirements of the final rule version of section 37.42. The overall conclusion of the evaluation is that there will be no significant cost impacts as the result of provisions of the final rule for commuter rail operators and modest costs at a relatively small number of stations for Amtrak. The regulatory evaluation has been placed in the docket.

Other provisions of the final rule do not represent significant departures from existing regulations and policy and are not expected to have noteworthy cost impacts on regulated parties. The final rule also codifies existing internal administrative practices concerning disability law guidance. This proposal would have no cost impacts on regulated parties.

Federalism

A rule has implications for federalism under Executive Order 13132, Federalism, if it has a substantial direct effect on State or local governments and would either preempt State law or impose a substantial direct cost of compliance on them. We have analyzed this rule under the Order and have determined that it does not have implications for federalism sufficient to warrant the preparation of a Federalism Assessment, since it does not change the relationship between the Department and State or local governments, pre-empt State law, or impose substantial direct compliance costs on those governments.

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612)

The Department certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities. The rail operators affected by the boarding nondiscrimination portion of the rule are Amtrak and commuter authorities. Amtrak is a large entity. Commuter rail operators are large entities. Moreover, as the text of the rule and preamble make clear, there are no retrofit requirements that would increase costs for covered entities, regardless of size, as requirements apply only with respect to new and altered facilities. As the regulatory evaluation shows, costs for Amtrak will be modest and costs for commuter operators will be relatively low. None of the other provisions of the rule have any significant effect on entities' costs or operations. The wheelchair equipment provision applies only to how transportation providers, regardless of size, use the equipment they have. Again, no retrofit is required. The changes to part 38 are only in terminology. These facts support the Department's conclusion that there will not be significant economic effects from the rule, and that a substantial number of small entities are not affected.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

Since the ADA and section 504 are nondiscrimination/civil rights statutes, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act does not apply. In any case, since Amtrak and commuter rail authorities receive Federal funds for the operations to which this rule applies, the rule's requirements are properly considered as funded mandates.

Paperwork Reduction Act

Under this rule, railroads that choose to use a means of meeting the performance standard other than level-entry boarding would have to submit a proposed plan to FRA or FTA demonstrating that their chosen method would actually achieve the rule's objectives (see section 37.42(d)(2)). They would also have to make a comparison between using car-borne lifts and other means of meeting the regulatory performance standard (see section 37.42(d)(1)). These requirements constitute information collection requirements covered by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and OMB rules implementing it. The Department will issue a separate 60-day notice seeking comment on these information collection requirements.