Mineta

This case presents the novel question of when an order promulgating a regulation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) has been “issued” for the purposes of calculating the 59-day period in which a petition for review must be filed. We hold that an order has not been “issued” until it has been filed with the Office of the Federal Register and thus made available for public inspection. Although we conclude that the Petition for Review in this case was timely under the 59-day rule, for the reasons recounted below, we lack jurisdiction and thus transfer the Petition to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (the “D.C. Circuit”) under 28 U.S.C. § 1631 .

BACKGROUND

Public Citizen, the Center for Auto Safety, the Trauma Foundation, Andrew McGuire, Jane Kelly, and Ralf Hotchkiss (collectively “Petitioners”) seek review of NHTSA’s December 2001 order (“Decem *1162 ber 2001 Final Rule” or “Final Rule”) 1 adopting amendments to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, 49 C.F.R. § 571.208 (2002) (“Standard No. 208”). In order to provide some context for the issues presented by Petitioners, we briefly explain the…