Availability of Information to Public

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

20 CFR Part 200

RIN 3220-AB19

Availability of Information to Public

AGENCY: Railroad Retirement Board.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Railroad Retirement Board (Board) hereby amends its

regulations establishing fees to be assessed in connection with the

search for records and provision of documents by the Board. The

revision will eliminate the exemption from charge for the first 100

pages of reproduction and the first two hours of search time for

requesters of documents who are not included within the specific

categories provided in the regulations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 21, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Secretary to the Board, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush

Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael C. Litt, Bureau of Law,

Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611,

(312) 751-4929, TDD (312) 751-4701.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 200.4(g)(2)(v) of the Board's

regulations provides for fees to be assessed in connection with the

production of documents for ``All other requesters'', i.e. those

requesters who do not fall within other categories provided for in the

regulation. Those other categories include requests by commercial

users, by educational and non-commercial scientific institutions, by

representatives of the news media, and by subjects of records in

Privacy Act Systems of Records. Currently Sec. 200.4(g)(2)(v) provides

that the Board does not charge ``other requesters'' for the first 100

pages of reproduction and the first two hours of search time.

The Board is authorized to charge for such costs of reproduction

and search time by section 12(d) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance

Act (45 U.S.C. 362(d)) which provides, in pertinent part, that:

* * * the Board may furnish such information to any person or

organization upon payment by such person or organization to the

Board of the cost incurred by the Board by reason thereof; and the

amounts so paid to the Board shall be credited to the railroad

unemployment insurance administration fund established pursuant to

section 11(a) of this Act.

This provision is incorporated into the Railroad Retirement Act by

section 7(b)(3) of that Act (45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(3)).

The Board has been receiving an increasing number of genealogical

requests (almost 700 for the first six months of 1995 compared with

about 450 for the same period in 1994) with a current estimated cost

per request of $16.00. The Board has determined that it is more

equitable that the costs for provision of this information be borne by

the individuals who need the information, rather than the railroad

industry as a whole. Accordingly, the Board proposes to eliminate the

exemption from charge for the first 100 pages of reproduction and the

first two hours of search time for requesters covered by

Sec. 200.4(g)(2)(v).

This rule was published as a proposed rule on January 18, 1996,

inviting comments on or before March 18, 1996 (61 FR 1252). No comments

were received.

The Board, with the concurrence of the Office of Management and

Budget, has determined that this is not a significant regulatory action

for purposes of Executive Order 12866. Therefore, no regulatory impact

analysis is required. There are no information collections associated

with this rule.

List of Subjects in 20 CFR Part 200

Railroad employees, Railroad retirement, Railroad unemployment

insurance.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, title 20, chapter II, part

200 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 200--GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

1. The authority citation for part 200 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 45 U.S.C. 231f(b)(5) and 45 U.S.C. 362; Sec. 200.4

also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552; Sec. 200.5 also issued under 5

U.S.C. 552a; Sec. 200.6 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552b; and

Sec. 200.7 also issued under 31 U.S.C. 3717.

2. Section 200.4 is amended by revising paragraph (g)(2)(v) to read

as follows:

Sec. 200.4 Availability of information to public.

* * * * *

(g) * * *

(2) * * *

(v) All other requesters. For requesters who do not fall within the

purview of paragraphs (g)(2) (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of this section,

the RRB will charge the full direct cost of searching for and

reproducing records that are responsive to the request. The RRB will

not charge for such costs to be assessed if the total is less than

$10.00. If the total is $10.00 or more, the RRB may waive the charge or

reduce it if it determines that disclosure of the information is in the

public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to

public understanding of the operations or activities of the government

and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

* * * * *

Dated: May 7, 1996.

By authority of the Board.

For the Board.

Beatrice Ezerski,

Secretary to the Board.

[FR Doc. 96-12737 Filed 5-20-96; 8:45 am]

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