Notice2025-11795
Guidance on DOT Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 26, 2025
Issuing agencies
Transportation Department
Abstract
This notice describes DOT's plans to address regulatory offenses with criminal liability pursuant to the recent executive order on Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 121 (Thursday, June 26, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 121 (Thursday, June 26, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27386-27387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-11795]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
Guidance on DOT Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation
(``DOT'').
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice describes DOT's plans to address regulatory
offenses with criminal liability pursuant to the recent executive order
on Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles E. Enloe, Assistant General
Counsel for Litigation and Enforcement, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bdfed5dccfd1d8ce93f8d3d1d2d8fdd9d2c993dad2cb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cd8ea5acbfa1a8bee388a3a1a2a88da9a2b9e3aaa2bb">[email protected]</span></a>, (202)
366-9269.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 9, 2025, the President issued
Executive Order (``E.O.'') 14294, Fighting Overcriminalization in
Federal Regulations. 90 FR 20363 (May 14, 2025). Section 7 of E.O.
14294 provides that within 45 days of the order, and in consultation
with the Attorney General, each agency should publish guidance in the
Federal Register describing its plan to address regulatory offenses
with criminal liability.
Consistent with that requirement, DOT advises the public that DOT,
in consultation with the Attorney General, will provide to the Director
of the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') and post on the DOT
website a report containing: (1) a list of all criminal regulatory
offenses \1\ enforceable by DOT or the Department of Justice (``DOJ'');
and (2) for each such criminal regulatory offense, the range of
potential criminal penalties for a violation and the applicable mens
rea standard \2\ for the criminal regulatory offense. DOT will update
the report periodically as required by the E.O.
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\1\ ``Criminal regulatory offense'' means a Federal regulation
that is enforceable by a criminal penalty. E.O. 14294, sec. 3(b).
\2\ ``Mens rea'' means the state of mind that by law must be
proven to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime. E.O.
14294, sec. 3(c).
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This notice also announces a general policy, subject to appropriate
exceptions and to the extent consistent with law, that when DOT is
deciding whether to refer alleged violations of criminal regulatory
offenses to DOJ, officers and employees of DOT should consider, among
other factors:
<bullet> the harm or risk of harm, pecuniary or otherwise, caused
by the alleged offense;
<bullet> the potential gain to the putative defendant that could
result from the offense;
<bullet> whether the putative defendant held specialized knowledge,
expertise, or was licensed in an industry related to the rule or
regulation at issue; and
<bullet> evidence, if any is available, of the putative defendant's
general awareness of the unlawfulness of his conduct as well as his
knowledge or lack thereof of the regulation at issue.
DOT adheres to DOT Order 8000.8A (Nov. 20, 2020), which provides
procedures for referrals for criminal investigation and coordination
with the DOT Office of the Inspector General and DOJ.\3\ DOT also
adheres to the Acting General Counsel's Memorandum, titled ``Procedural
Requirements for DOT Enforcement Actions'' (March 11, 2025), which
clarifies the procedural requirements governing enforcement actions
initiated by DOT, including administrative enforcement proceedings
[[Page 27387]]
and judicial enforcement actions brought in Federal court.\4\
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\3\ <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/dotorders/CROrder%208000.8A%20final%20signed.pdf">https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/dotorders/CROrder%208000.8A%20final%20signed.pdf</a>.
\4\ <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/administrations/office-general-counsel/general-counsel%E2%80%99s-enforcement-memorandum">https://www.transportation.gov/administrations/office-general-counsel/general-counsel%E2%80%99s-enforcement-memorandum</a>.
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This general policy is not intended to, and does not, create any
right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in
equity by any party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other
person.
Gregory D. Cote,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2025-11795 Filed 6-25-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P
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