The purpose of this subpart is to set out the requirements for requesting an advisory opinion from the Chief Counsel's Office. An advisory opinion may also request that the Chief Counsel issue a cease and desist order, which would be an order to refrain from doing an act which, if done, would be a violation of this part.

(a) An interested party may request an advisory opinion from the Chief Counsel on a matter regarding specific factual events only.

(b) A request for an advisory opinion shall be submitted in the following form:

(c) The Chief Counsel may request additional information, as necessary, from the party submitting the request for an advisory opinion.

(d) A request for an advisory opinion may be denied if:

(1) The request contains incomplete information on which to base an informed advisory opinion;

(2) The Chief Counsel concludes that an advisory opinion cannot reasonably be given on the matter involved;

(3) The matter is adequately covered by a prior advisory opinion or a regulation;

(4) The Chief Counsel otherwise concludes that an advisory opinion would not be in the public interest.

(a) A request for an advisory opinion shall be sent to the Chief Counsel at [email protected], and filed electronically in the Charter Service Advisory Opinion/Cease and Desist Order docket number FTA-2007-0023 at http://www.regulations.gov or sent to the dockets office located at 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, for submission to that docket.

(b) The Chief Counsel shall make every effort to respond to a request for an advisory opinion within ten days of receipt of a request that complies with § 604.18(b). The Chief Counsel shall send his or her decision to the interested party, the docket, and the recipient, if appropriate.

(a) An advisory opinion represents the formal position of FTA on a matter, and except as provided in § 604.25 of this subpart, obligates the agency to follow it until it is amended or revoked.

(b) An advisory opinion may be used in administrative or court proceedings to illustrate acceptable and unacceptable procedures or standards, but not as a legal requirement and is limited to the factual circumstances described in the request for an advisory opinion. The Chief Counsel's advisory opinion shall not be binding upon a Presiding Official conducting a proceeding under subpart I of this part.

(c) A statement made or advice provided by an FTA employee constitutes an advisory opinion only if it is issued in writing under this section. A statement or advice given by an FTA employee orally, or given in writing, but not under this section, is an informal communication that represents the best judgment of that employee at the time but does not constitute an advisory opinion, does not necessarily represent the formal position of FTA, and does not bind or otherwise obligate or commit the agency to the views expressed.

Based on new facts involving significant financial considerations, the Chief Counsel may take appropriate enforcement action contrary to an advisory opinion before amending or revoking the opinion. This action shall be taken only with the approval of the Administrator.

(a) An interested party may also request a cease and desist order as part of its request for an advisory opinion. A request for a cease and desist order shall contain the following information in addition to the information required for an advisory opinion:

(1) A description of the need for the cease and desist order, a detailed description of the lost business opportunity the interested party is likely to suffer if the recipient performs the charter service in question, and how the public interest will be served by avoiding or ameliorating the lost business opportunity. A registered charter provider must distinguish its loss from that of other registered charter providers in the geographic service area.

(2) A detailed description of the efforts made to notify the recipient of the potential violation of the charter service regulations. Include names, titles, phone numbers or e-mail addresses of persons contacted, date and times contact was made, and the response received, if any.

(b) A request for a cease and desist order may be denied if:

(1) The request contains incomplete information on which to base an informed a cease and desist order;

(2) The Chief Counsel concludes that a cease and desist order cannot reasonably be given on the matter involved;

(3) The matter is adequately covered by a prior a cease and desist order; or

(4) The Chief Counsel otherwise concludes that a cease and desist order would not be in the public interest.

(c) A recipient who is the subject of a request for a cease and desist order shall have three business days to respond to the request. The response shall include a point-by-point rebuttal to the information included in the request for a cease and desist order.

(d) The time period for a response by the recipient begins once a registered charter provider files a request in the Advisory Opinion/Cease and Desist Order docket (FTA-2007-0023 at http://www.regulations.gov) or with the FTA Chief Counsel's Office, whichever date is sooner.

(a) Issuance of a cease and desist order against a recipient shall be considered as an aggravating factor in determining the remedy to impose against the recipient in future findings of noncompliance with this part, if the recipient provides the service described in the cease and desist order issued by the Chief Counsel.

(b) In determining whether to grant the request for a cease and desist order, the Chief Counsel shall consider the specific facts shown in the signed, sworn request for a cease and desist order, applicable statutes and regulations, and any other information that is relevant to the request.

(a) The Chief Counsel may grant a request for a cease and desist order if the interested party demonstrates, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the planned provision of charter service by a recipient would violate this part.

(b) In determining whether to grant the request for a cease and desist order, the Chief Counsel shall consider the specific facts shown in the signed, sworn request for a cease and desist order, applicable statutes, regulations, agreements, and any other information that is relevant to the request.