SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Commission is authorized under the Independent Offices Appropriation Act (“IOAA”), 31 U.S.C. 9701 (1983), to establish fees for services and benefits that it provides to specific recipients. The IOAA provides that each service or thing of value provided by an agency to a person be self-sustaining to the extent possible, and that each charge shall be fair and based on the costs to the Government, the value of the service or thing to the recipient, the policy or interest served, and other relevant facts. 31 U.S.C. 9701.

The primary guidance for implementation of IOAA is Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) Circular A-25, as revised July 8, 1993. OMB Circular A-25 requires that a reasonable charge be made to each recipient for a measurable unit or amount of Government service from which the recipient derives a benefit, in order that the Government recover the full cost of rendering that service.

OMB Circular A-25 further provides that costs be determined or estimated from the best available records in the agency, and that cost computations cover the direct and indirect costs to the Government of carrying out the activity, including but not limited to:

(A) Direct and indirect personnel costs, including salaries and fringe benefits such as medical insurance and retirement,

(B) Physical overhead, consulting, and other indirect costs including material and supply costs, utilities, insurance, travel and rent,

(C) The management and supervisory costs, and

(D) The costs of enforcement, collection, research, establishment of standards and regulations, including any required environmental impact statements.

OMB Circular A-25, paragraphs 6.d.1.(a), (b), (c) and (d).

OMB Circular A-25 also calls for a periodic reassessment of costs, with related adjustment of fees, if necessary, and the establishment of new fees where none exist.

The Commission's current filing and service fees have been in effect since July 15, 2002, and are no longer representative of the Commission's actual costs for providing such services. Accordingly, the Commission proposes to revise its fees so as to reflect costs attendant in providing the involved services. Fee increases primarily reflect increases in salary and indirect (overhead) costs. For some services, the increase in processing or review time accounts in part for the increase in the level of proposed fees. For other services, proposed fees are lower than current fees due to overall reduced costs to provide those services.

The Commission has reviewed its current fees and developed data on the time and cost involved in providing particular services to arrive at the updated direct labor costs for those services. The direct labor costs include clerical, professional, supervisory, and executive time expended on an activity, plus a check processing cost of $0.53. The indirect costs include Government overhead costs, which are fringe benefits and other wage-related Government contributions contained in OMB Circular A-76; ^[1] Commission general and administrative expenses; ^[2] and office general and administrative overhead expenses.^[3] The sum of these indirect cost components gives an indirect cost factor that is added to the direct labor costs of an activity to arrive at the fully distributed cost.

A detailed summary of the data used to arrive at the proposed fees is available from the Secretary of the Commission upon written or e-mail request.

As part of the process described above, the Commission has decided to establish a separate fee for terminal exempt agreements. Currently, the Commission maintains the same filing fee for carrier and terminal exempt agreements; however, terminal exempt agreements generally require less processing time than carrier exempt agreements. Consequently, the Commission has decided to establish a separate filing fee for terminal exempt agreements to reflect better the difference in processing times.

The Commission intends to update its fees biennially in keeping with OMB guidance. In updating its fees, the Commission will incorporate changes in the salaries of its employees into direct labor costs associated with its services, and recalculate its indirect costs (overhead) based on current level of costs.

In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., the Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission certifies that the proposed rule, if promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. While the Commission recognizes that the proposed rule may impact businesses that qualify as small entities under Small Business Administration guidelines, the Commission is required to assess recipients of specific governmental services reasonable charges to recover the costs of providing these services. The charges in the proposed rule reflect the costs of specific Commission services mandated by statute, and these services benefit the shipping industry and the foreign commerce of the United States. The Commission believes that the charges proposed in the rule will not have a harmful effect on entities within the Commission's jurisdiction, the general public, or the U.S. economy. Furthermore, the Commission's regulations provide for waiver or reduction of any charge in extraordinary situations pursuant to 46 CFR 503.41. Requests for fee waiver or reduction are to be made to the Secretary of the Commission, and should demonstrate either that the waiver or reduction is in the best interest of the public or that imposition of the fee would impose an undue hardship.

This Rule does not contain any collection of information requirements as defined by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, as amended. Therefore, OMB review is not required.

For the reasons set forth above, the Federal Maritime Commission amends 46 CFR Parts 502, 503, 515, 520, 530, 535, 540, 550, 555, and 560 as follows: