Office of the General Counsel
B-271810
April 26, 1996
The Honorable John H. Chafee Chairman The Honorable Max Baucus
Ranking Minority Member Committee on Environment and Public Works
United States Senate
The Honorable Thomas J. Bliley, Jr. Chairman The Honorable John
D. Dingell Ranking Minority Member Committee on Commerce House of
Representatives
Subject: Revision of Fee Schedules; 100% Fee Recovery, FY
1966
Pursuant to section 801(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code,
this is our report on a major rule promulgated by the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission entitled "Revision of Fee Schedules; 100% Fee
Recovery, FY 1966" (RIN 3150-AF39). The rule implements for fiscal
year 1966 section 6101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1990, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2214, which requires the Commission
to recover from its applicants and licensees approximately 100
percent of its budget authority less amounts appropriated from the
Nuclear Waste Fund. It was published in the Federal Register as a
final rule on April 12, 1996. 61 Fed. Reg. 16203.
Enclosed is our assessment of the Commission's compliance with
the procedural steps required by section 801(a)(1)(B)(i) through
(iv) of title 5 with respect to the rule. Our review indicates that
the Commission complied with the applicable requirements.
GAO/OGC-96-9
If you have questions concerning the substance of the rule,
please contact Victor S. Rezendes, Director for Energy, Resources,
and Science Issues, on 512-3841.
Sincerely yours,
Robert P. Murphy General Counsel
Enclosure
cc: Mr. John C. Hoyle Secretary of the Commission Nuclear
Regulatory Commission
Page 2 GAO/OGC-96-9
ENCLOSURE
ANALYSIS OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 1996 FEE SCHEDULE RULE
UNDER 5 U.S.C. § 801(a)(1)(B)(i)-(iv)
(i)
Cost-benefit analysis
A cost-benefit analysis was not required or prepared for the
rule.
(ii)
Agency actions relevant to the Regulatory Flexibility
Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 603-605, 607 and 609
The Commission determined that one part of the fee
schedule--specifically, the annual fee for materials
licensees--will have a significant impact on a substantial number
of small entities. Therefore, the Commission prepared an initial
and final regulatory flexibility analysis under sections 603 and
604 of title 5, respectively.
Section 603: Initial regulatory flexibility analysis
The proposed rulemaking, 61 Fed. Reg. 2948 (January 30, 1996),
incorporates in its Supplementary Information the full text of an
initial regulatory flexibility analysis that describes the impact
of the proposed rule on small entities. This analysis was
transmitted to the SBA Chief Counsel for Advocacy, as required by
subsection 603(a).
The analysis included in the proposed rulemaking provides the
information required by paragraphs 603(b)(1) through (3). It
describes the reasons for the proposed agency action, and its
objectives and legal basis--i.e., to comply with the costrecovery
requirements of section 6101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation
Act of 1990. It also describes the small entities to which the
proposed rule will apply and estimates their number. With respect
to paragraph 603(b)(4), the Supplementary Information states that
the proposed rule does not impose reporting or other
information-collection requirements. With respect to paragraph
603(b)(5), the analysis does not identify any relevant federal
rules that may duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the proposed
rule. The Commission staff advised us that there are no such rules.
With respect to subsection 603(c), the analysis describes several
alternative means of assessing fees for small entities that might
lessen the economic impact of the rule on them.
Section 604: Final regulatory flexibility analysis
The Supplementary Information published in the Federal Register
with the final rule includes the full text of the Commission's
final regulatory flexibility analysis. See Appendix A to the Final
Rule, 61 Fed. Reg. at 16224-16226. This analysis includes the
information required by subsection 604(a). In particular, it
summarizes and
GAO/OGC-96-9 evaluates comments concerning alternative means of
establishing fees for small entities and evaluates these
alternatives. The Commission determined to retain its prior year
practice of mitigating the impact of the fees by establishing
maximum annual fees for two categories of small entities.
Section 605: Avoidance of duplicative or unnecessary
analysis
The Commission did not invoke any of the exemptions or special
procedures authorized by section 605 in preparing its regulatory
flexibility analyses. Its impact analyses do consider information
and comments developed in connection with its fee schedule rules
for prior years.
Section 607: Preparation of analysis
The Commission's analyses use both quantifiable and general
descriptions of the effects of the rule and alternatives on small
entities.
Section 609: Participation by small entities
In addition to the actions required by 5 U.S.C. § 553, the
Commission transmitted a complete copy of the proposed and final
rulemaking materials to each of its licensees, including small
entities.
(iii) Agency actions relevant to sections 202-205 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. §§ 1532-1535
The rule, promulgated by an independent regulatory agency, is
not subject to the Act.
(iv) Other relevant information or requirements under Acts and
Executive orders
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
The rule was promulgated through the general notice of proposed
rulemaking procedures of the Act, 5 U.S.C. § 553. The Commission
afforded interested persons the opportunity to comment on the
proposed rule, and evaluated and responded to the comments in
connection with publication of the final rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. §§ 3501-3512
The Commission determined that the rule contains no information
collection requirements subject to the Act.
Page 2 GAO/OGC-96-9 Statutory authorization for the rule
Section 6101 of the Omnibus Budget and Reconciliation Act of
1990, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2214, requires the Commission to
recover from its applicants and licensees, for each fiscal year
through 1998, an amount that approximates 100 percent of the
Commission's budget authority less any amount appropriated to the
Commission from the Nuclear Waste Fund. Such fees include amounts
collected from specific entities under section 9701 of title 31,
United States Code, for individually identifiable services provided
to them.
Executive Order No. 12866
The rule, promulgated by an independent regulatory agency, is
not subject to the review requirements of Executive Order No.
12866.
The Commission did not identify any other statutes or Executive
orders imposing requirements relevant to the rule.
Page 3 GAO/OGC-96-9
