NOTICES

INDEPENDENT REGULATORY REVIEW COMMISSION

Notice of Comments Issued

[42 Pa.B. 7068]
[Saturday, November 10, 2012]

 Section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(g)) provides that the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) may issue comments within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The Commission comments are based upon the criteria contained in section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5b).

 The Commission has issued comments on the following proposed regulations. The agency must consider these comments in preparing the final-form regulation. The final-form regulation must be submitted within 2 years of the close of the public comment period or it will be deemed withdrawn.

			IRRC
		Close of the Public	Comments
Reg. No.	Agency/Title	Comment Period	Issued
18-419	Department of Transportation	10/01/12	10/31/12
	Authorization to Verify Identification  Number
	42 Pa.B. 5627 (September 1, 2012)
11-249	Insurance Department	10/01/12	10/31/12
	Requirements for Qualified and  Certified Reinsurers
	42 Pa.B. 5629 (September 1, 2012)

Department of Transportation
Regulation #18-419 (IRRC #2969)

Authorization to Verify Identification Number

October 31, 2012

 We submit for your consideration the following comments on the proposed rulemaking published in the September 1, 2012 Pennsylvania Bulletin. Our comments are based on criteria in Section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5b). Section 5.1(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(a)) directs the Department of Transportation (Department) to respond to all comments received from us or any other source.

1. Section 17.2. Applicability.—Need; Clarity.

Signed and dated

 The proposed amendments add the phrase ''signed and dated'' to Section 17.2 so that the provision will read ''. . . when it is impossible to obtain a signed and dated legible tracing or photograph . . .'' (Emphasis added.) We have two concerns with the addition of the phrase ''signed and dated.'' First, Sections 17.4 and 17.5 address the verification and validation processes, including the signature of the authorized person. Therefore, it is not clear why the phrase ''signed and dated'' is needed in Section 17.2. Second, as a commentator pointed out, Section 17.2 does not specify who is qualified to provide the signature. For these reasons, we recommend either removing the phrase ''signed and dated'' from Section 17.2, or rewriting this provision to more clearly specify the requirements for signatures and dates.

Deletion of Paragraph (3)

 Paragraph (3) currently requires verification ''when the application for initial certificate of title is for a truck, truck-tractor, or motor home, regardless of source of ownership.'' In the Preamble, the Department states it is deleting Paragraph (3) ''upon the recommendation of the Pennsylvania Association of Notaries and others affected by this chapter.'' On the other hand, a commentator questions why the verification required by Paragraph (3) would no longer be needed. In the final-form regulation submittal, we ask the Department to provide further explanation and justification for the deletion of Paragraph (3).

2. Miscellaneous clarity.

 Throughout the regulation, the terms ''public'' or ''nonpublic'' vehicle identification number are used. It is not clear in the regulation what distinction is intended between ''public'' and ''nonpublic'' vehicle identification numbers. For clarity, we recommend either adding definitions to Chapter 17 or adding an explanation of these terms to Section 17.1.

Insurance Department
Regulation #11-249 (IRRC #2970)

Requirements for Qualified and Certified Reinsurers

October 31, 2012

 We submit for your consideration the following comments on the proposed rulemaking published in the September 1, 2012 Pennsylvania Bulletin. Our comments are based on criteria in Section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (RRA) (71 P. S. § 745.5b). Section 5.1(a) of the RRA (71 P. S. § 745.5a(a)) directs the Insurance Department (Department) to respond to all comments received from us or any other source.

1. Section 161.3b. Calculation of credit for reinsurance regarding obligations secured with certified reinsurers.—Clarity.

Paragraph (b)(4)

 The proposed regulation states, in part:

To facilitate the prompt payment of claims, a certified reinsurer will not be required to post security for catastrophe recoverables for 1 year from the date of the first instance of a liability reserve entry by the ceding company as a result of a loss from a catastrophic occurrence as recognized by the Commissioner.

 As proposed, the Commissioner would determine whether an occurrence is considered to be catastrophic. A commentator believes that the term ''catastrophic occurrence'' should be defined by an objective means. We agree that defining the term may provide the regulated community with a clear understanding of when this provision would take effect. However, we also note that the proposed regulation follows the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) model law and regulation, neither of which defines the term. We ask the Department either to define the term or explain its rationale for not doing so.

2. Miscellaneous clarity.

 In our review, we found several cross-references which do not parallel the corresponding cross-references in the NAIC model law and regulation.

 • § 161.3a(c)(3) cross-references subsection (a)(3)(ii). The corresponding provision, Section 8D(3) in the model regulation, cross-references subparagraph B(7)(a) [of this Section 8], which would be equivalent to § 161.3a(a)(5)(i).

 • § 161.3a(c)(4) cross-references § 161.6. The corresponding provision, Section 8D(4) in the model regulation, cross-references subparagraph B(7)(b) [of this Section 8], which would be equivalent to § 161.3a(a)(5)(ii).

 • § 161.3b(e) cross-references § 161.3a(b)(1). The corresponding provision, Section 8B(5) in the model regulation, cross-references subparagraph (4)(a), which would be equivalent to § 161.3a(a)(3)(ii)(B)(I).

 The Department should review the rulemaking in its entirety before submitting it in final-form to ensure that all references are cited as intended.

SILVAN B. LUTKEWITTE, III, 
Chairperson

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 12-2207. Filed for public inspection November 9, 2012, 9:00 a.m.]

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