February 2, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has determined not to review an initial determination (``ID'') (Order No. 10) of the presiding administrative law judge (``ALJ'') terminating the above-captioned investigation based on a settlement agreement.

Responding to President Obama's initiative for an open, transparent government, the Rural Housing Service, hereinafter referred to as the Agency, intends to hold public forums to solicit feedback from the public on whether the current method of delivering the self- help program is the most efficient and cost effective in terms of cost and program delivery.

This notice is published in accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463). The Scientific Advisory Board will meet on March 2-4, 2010, to review new start research requesting Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program funds in excess of $1M. This meeting is open to the public. Any interested person may attend, appear before, or file statements with the Scientific Advisory Board at the time and in the manner permitted by the Board.

The Department of Labor and the Department of the Treasury (the ``Agencies'') are currently reviewing the rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the plan qualification rules under the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to determine whether, and, if so, how, the Agencies could or should enhance, by regulation or otherwise, the retirement security of participants in employer- sponsored retirement plans and in individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) by facilitating access to, and use of, lifetime income or other arrangements designed to provide a lifetime stream of income after retirement. The purpose of this request for information is to solicit views, suggestions and comments from plan participants, employers and other plan sponsors, plan service providers, and members of the financial community, as well as the general public, on this important issue.

This rule establishes, amends, suspends, or revokes Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) and associated Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures for operations at certain airports. These regulatory actions are needed because of the adoption of new or revised criteria, or because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System, such as the commissioning of new navigational facilities, adding new obstacles, or changing air traffic requirements. These changes are designed to provide safe and efficient use of the navigable airspace and to promote safe flight operations under instrument flight rules at the affected airports.

This document increases the maximum civil penalty amounts for violations of motor vehicle safety requirements involving school buses, bumper standards, consumer information requirements, odometer tampering and disclosure requirements, and vehicle theft protection requirements. This action is taken pursuant to the Federal Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.

The Office of Labor-Management Standards proposes to amend its regulations which require labor organizations to file the Form T-1, Trust Annual Report, about certain trusts in which they are interested pursuant to the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). The Department of Labor (Department) proposes to amend these regulations because it believes that the trust reporting required under the rule is overly broad and is not necessary to prevent the circumvention and evasion of the Title II reporting requirements. Moreover, the Department views separate trust reporting requirements as unnecessary, in part because the Department also proposes to return ``subsidiary organization'' reporting to the Form LM-2 reporting requirements, which it believes is necessary to satisfy the purposes of the LMRDA. Finally, in interpreting the definition of ``labor organization'' under the LMRDA, the Department proposes to return to its long held view that the statute's coverage does not encompass intermediate bodies that are wholly composed of public sector organizations. In so doing, the Department has reconsidered a definitional interpretation that it adopted in 2003, which the Department now considers to have been insufficiently supported during the rulemaking process. The Department seeks comment on each of these proposals.

In this final rule, PHMSA is amending packaging requirements in the Hazardous Materials Regulations to enhance compliance flexibility, improve clarity, and reduce regulatory burdens. Specifically, we are revising several packaging related definitions; adding provisions to allow more flexibility when preparing and transmitting closure instructions, including conditions under which closure instructions may be transmitted electronically; adding a requirement for shippers to retain packaging closure instructions; incorporating new language that will allow for a practicable means of stenciling the ``UN'' symbol on packagings; and clarifying a requirement to document the methodology used when determining whether a change in packaging configuration requires retesting as a new design or may be considered a variation of a previously tested design. This final rule also incorporates requirements for construction, maintenance, and use of Large Packagings.