Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, 39992-39997 [2011-15469]

Agencies

• Regulatory Information Service Center

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 130 (Thursday, July 7, 2011)]
[Unknown Section]
[Pages 39992-39997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15469]





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Vol. 76



Thursday,



No. 130



July 7, 2011



Part II











Regulatory Information Service Center











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Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 

Deregulatory Actions



Federal Register / Vol. 76 , No. 130 / Thursday, July 7, 2011 / 

Unified Agenda



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REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE CENTER




Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 

Deregulatory Actions



AGENCY: Regulatory Information Service Center.



ACTION: Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 

Deregulatory Actions.



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SUMMARY: The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies publish 

semiannual regulatory agendas in the Federal Register describing 

regulatory actions they are developing that may have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities (5 U.S.C. 

602). Executive Order 12866 ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' signed 

September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735), and Office of Management and Budget 

memoranda implementing section 4 of that Order establish minimum 

standards for agencies' agendas, including specific types of 

information for each entry.

    The Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 

(Unified Agenda) helps agencies fulfill these requirements. All Federal 

regulatory agencies have chosen to publish their regulatory agendas as 

part of the Unified Agenda.

    Editions of the Unified Agenda prior to fall 2007 were printed in 

their entirety in the Federal Register. Beginning with the fall 2007 

edition, the Internet is the basic means for conveying regulatory 

agenda information to the maximum extent legally permissible. The 

complete Unified Agenda for spring 2011, which contains the regulatory 

agendas for 58 Federal agencies, is available to the public at https://reginfo.gov.

    The spring 2011 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the Federal 

Register consists of agency regulatory flexibility agendas, in 

accordance with the publication requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. Agency regulatory flexibility agendas contain only 

those Agenda entries for rules that are likely to have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities and entries 

that have been selected for periodic review under section 610 of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act.



ADDRESSES: Regulatory Information Service Center (MI), General Services 

Administration, One Constitution Square, 1275 First Street, NE., 651A, 

Washington, DC 20417.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about specific 

regulatory actions, please refer to the agency contact listed for each 

entry.

    To provide comment on or to obtain further information about this 

publication, contact: John C. Thomas, Executive Director, Regulatory 

Information Service Center (MI), General Services Administration, One 

Constitution Square, 1275 First Street NE., 642, Washington, DC 20417, 

(202) 482-7340. You may also send comments to us by e-mail at: 

RISC@gsa.gov.



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:



Table of Contents



Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 

Deregulatory Actions



I. What Is the Unified Agenda?

II. Why Is the Unified Agenda Published?

III. How Is the Unified Agenda Organized?

IV. What Information Appears for Each Entry?

V. Abbreviations

VI. How Can Users Get Copies of the Plan and the Agenda?



Agency Agendas



Cabinet Departments



Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

Department of Defense

Department of Education

Department of Energy

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Homeland Security

Department of the Interior

Department of Labor

Department of Transportation

Department of the Treasury



Other Executive Agencies



Environmental Protection Agency

General Services Administration

Small Business Administration



Joint Authority



Department of Defense/General Services Administration/National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration (Federal Acquisition 

Regulation)



Independent Regulatory Agencies



Consumer Product Safety Commission

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Federal Reserve System

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Securities and Exchange Commission



Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 

Deregulatory Actions



I. What Is the Unified Agenda?



    The Unified Agenda provides information about regulations that the 

Government is considering or reviewing. The Unified Agenda has appeared 

in the Federal Register twice each year since 1983 and has been 

available online since 1995. To further the objective of using modern 

technology to deliver better service to the American people for lower 

cost, beginning with the fall 2007 edition, the Internet is the basic 

means for conveying regulatory agenda information to the maximum extent 

legally permissible. The complete Unified Agenda is available to the 

public at https://reginfo.gov. The online Unified Agenda offers flexible 

search tools and will soon offer access to the entire historic Unified 

Agenda database.

    The spring 2011 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the Federal 

Register consists of agency regulatory flexibility agendas, in 

accordance with the publication requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. Agency regulatory flexibility agendas contain only 

those Agenda entries for rules that are likely to have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities and entries 

that have been selected for periodic review under section 610 of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act. Printed entries display only the fields 

required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Complete agenda information 

for those entries appears, in a uniform format, in the online Unified 

Agenda at https://reginfo.gov.

    These publication formats meet the publication mandates of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 12866, as well as move 

the Agenda process toward the goal of e-Government, at a substantially 

reduced printing cost compared with prior editions. The current format 

does not reduce the amount of information available to the public, but 

it does limit most of the content of the Agenda to online access. The 

complete online edition of the Unified Agenda includes regulatory 

agendas from 58 Federal agencies. Agencies of the United States 

Congress are not included.

    The following agencies have no entries identified for inclusion in 

the printed regulatory flexibility agenda. The regulatory agendas of 

these agencies are available to the public at https://reginfo.gov:



Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department of Justice

Department of State

Department of Veterans Affairs

Agency for International Development

Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board

Commission on Civil Rights

Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled

Corporation for National and Community Service

Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of 

Columbia

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission



[[Page 39993]]



Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

Financial Stability Oversight Council

Institute of Museum and Library Services

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Archives and Records Administration

National Endowment for the Humanities

National Science Foundation

Office of Government Ethics

Office of Management and Budget

Office of Personnel Management

Peace Corps

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Railroad Retirement Board

Selective Service System

Social Security Administration

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Farm Credit Administration

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Housing Finance Agency

Federal Maritime Commission

Federal Trade Commission

National Credit Union Administration

National Indian Gaming Commission

National Labor Relations Board

Postal Regulatory Commission

Surface Transportation Board



    The Regulatory Information Service Center (the Center) compiles the 

Unified Agenda for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

(OIRA), part of the Office of Management and Budget. OIRA is 

responsible for overseeing the Federal Government's regulatory, 

paperwork, and information resource management activities, including 

implementation of Executive Order 12866. The Center also provides 

information about Federal regulatory activity to the President and his 

Executive Office, the Congress, agency managers, and the public.

    The activities included in the Agenda are, in general, those that 

will have a regulatory action within the next 12 months. Agencies may 

choose to include activities that will have a longer timeframe than 12 

months. Agency agendas also show actions or reviews completed or 

withdrawn since the last Unified Agenda. Executive Order 12866 does not 

require agencies to include regulations concerning military or foreign 

affairs functions or regulations related to agency organization, 

management, or personnel matters.

    Agencies prepared entries for this publication to give the public 

notice of their plans to review, propose, and issue regulations. They 

have tried to predict their activities over the next 12 months as 

accurately as possible, but dates and schedules are subject to change. 

Agencies may withdraw some of the regulations now under development, 

and they may issue or propose other regulations not included in their 

agendas. Agency actions in the rulemaking process may occur before or 

after the dates they have listed. The Unified Agenda does not create a 

legal obligation on agencies to adhere to schedules in this publication 

or to confine their regulatory activities to those regulations that 

appear within it.



II. Why Is the Unified Agenda Published?



    The Unified Agenda helps agencies comply with their obligations 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act and various Executive orders and 

other statutes.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to identify those 

rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities (5 U.S.C. 602). Agencies meet that requirement 

by including the information in their submissions for the Unified 

Agenda. Agencies may also indicate those regulations that they are 

reviewing as part of their periodic review of existing rules under the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 610). Executive Order 13272 

entitled ``Proper Consideration of Small Entities in Agency 

Rulemaking,'' signed August 13, 2002 (67 FR 53461), provides additional 

guidance on compliance with the Act.

Executive Order 12866

    Executive Order 12866 entitled ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' 

signed September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735), requires covered agencies to 

prepare an agenda of all regulations under development or review. The 

Order also requires that certain agencies prepare annually a regulatory 

plan of their ``most important significant regulatory actions,'' which 

appears as part of the fall Unified Agenda. Executive Order 13497, 

signed January 30, 2009 (74 FR 6113), revoked the amendments to 

Executive Order 12866 that were contained in Executive Order 13258 and 

Executive Order 13422.

Executive Order 13132

    Executive Order 13132 entitled ``Federalism,'' signed August 4, 

1999 (64 FR 43255), directs agencies to have an accountable process to 

ensure meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in the 

development of regulatory policies that have ``federalism 

implications'' as defined in the Order. Under the Order, an agency that 

is proposing a regulation with federalism implications, which either 

preempt State law or impose nonstatutory unfunded substantial direct 

compliance costs on State and local governments, must consult with 

State and local officials early in the process of developing the 

regulation. In addition, the agency must provide to the Director of the 

Office of Management and Budget a federalism summary impact statement 

for such a regulation, which consists of a description of the extent of 

the agency's prior consultation with State and local officials, a 

summary of their concerns and the agency's position supporting the need 

to issue the regulation, and a statement of the extent to which those 

concerns have been met. As part of this effort, agencies include in 

their submissions for the Unified Agenda information on whether their 

regulatory actions may have an effect on the various levels of 

government and whether those actions have federalism implications.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4, title II) 

requires agencies to prepare written assessments of the costs and 

benefits of significant regulatory actions ``that may result in the 

expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, 

or by the private sector, of $100,000,000 or more . . . in any 1 year . 

. . .'' The requirement does not apply to independent regulatory 

agencies, nor does it apply to certain subject areas excluded by 

section 4 of the Act. Affected agencies identify in the Unified Agenda 

those regulatory actions they believe are subject to title II of the 

Act.

Executive Order 13211

    Executive Order 13211 entitled ``Actions Concerning Regulations 

That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use,'' signed 

May 18, 2001 (66 FR 28355), directs agencies to provide, to the extent 

possible, information regarding the adverse effects that agency actions 

may have on the supply, distribution, and use of energy. Under the 

Order, the agency must prepare and submit a Statement of Energy Effects 

to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, for ``those matters 

identified as significant energy actions.'' As part of this effort, 

agencies may optionally include in their submissions for the Unified 

Agenda information on whether they have prepared or plan to prepare a 

Statement of Energy Effects for their regulatory actions.



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Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (Pub. L. 

104-121, title II) established a procedure for congressional review of 

rules (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), which defers, unless exempted, the 

effective date of a ``major'' rule for at least 60 days from the 

publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. The Act 

specifies that a rule is ``major'' if it has resulted, or is likely to 

result, in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 

meets other criteria specified in that Act. The Act provides that the 

Administrator of OIRA will make the final determination as to whether a 

rule is major.



III. How Is the Unified Agenda Organized?



    Agency regulatory flexibility agendas are printed in a single daily 

edition of the Federal Register. A regulatory flexibility agenda is 

printed for each agency whose agenda includes entries for rules which 

are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities or rules that have been selected for periodic 

review under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Each 

printed agenda appears as a separate part. The parts are organized 

alphabetically in four groups: Cabinet departments; other executive 

agencies; the Federal Acquisition Regulation, a joint authority; and 

independent regulatory agencies. Agencies may in turn be divided into 

subagencies. Each agency's part of the Agenda contains a preamble 

providing information specific to that agency. Each printed agency 

agenda has a table of contents listing the agency's printed entries 

that follow.

    The online, complete Unified Agenda contains the preambles of all 

participating agencies. Unlike the printed edition, the online Agenda 

has no fixed ordering. In the online Agenda, users can select the 

particular agencies whose agendas they want to see. Users have broad 

flexibility to specify the characteristics of the entries of interest 

to them by choosing the desired responses to individual data fields. To 

see a listing of all of an agency's entries, a user can select the 

agency without specifying any particular characteristics of entries.

    Each entry in the Agenda is associated with one of five rulemaking 

stages. The rulemaking stages are:

    1. Prerule Stage--actions agencies will undertake to determine 

whether or how to initiate rulemaking. Such actions occur prior to a 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and may include Advance Notices of 

Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRMs) and reviews of existing regulations.

    2. Proposed Rule Stage--actions for which agencies plan to publish 

a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking as the next step in their rulemaking 

process or for which the closing date of the NPRM Comment Period is the 

next step.

    3. Final Rule Stage--actions for which agencies plan to publish a 

final rule or an interim final rule or to take other final action as 

the next step.

    4. Long-Term Actions--items under development but for which the 

agency does not expect to have a regulatory action within the 12 months 

after publication of this edition of the Unified Agenda. Some of the 

entries in this section may contain abbreviated information.

    5. Completed Actions--actions or reviews the agency has completed 

or withdrawn since publishing its last agenda. This section also 

includes items the agency began and completed between issues of the 

Agenda.

    A bullet () preceding the title of an entry indicates that 

the entry is appearing in the Unified Agenda for the first time.

    In the printed edition, all entries are numbered sequentially from 

the beginning to the end of the publication. The sequence number 

preceding the title of each entry identifies the location of the entry 

in this edition. The sequence number is used as the reference in the 

printed table of contents. Sequence numbers are not used in the online 

Unified Agenda because the unique Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) is 

able to provide this cross-reference capability.

    Editions of the Unified Agenda prior to fall 2007 contained several 

indexes, which identified entries with various characteristics. These 

included regulatory actions for which agencies believe that the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act may require a Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis, actions selected for periodic review under section 610(c) of 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and actions that may have federalism 

implications as defined in Executive Order 13132 or other effects on 

levels of government. These indexes are no longer compiled, because 

users of the online Unified Agenda have the flexibility to search for 

entries with any combination of desired characteristics. The online 

edition retains the Unified Agenda's subject index based on the Federal 

Register Thesaurus of Indexing Terms. In addition, online users have 

the option of searching Agenda text fields for words or phrases.



IV. What Information Appears for Each Entry?



    All entries in the online Unified Agenda contain uniform data 

elements including, at a minimum, the following information:

    Title of the Regulation--a brief description of the subject of the 

regulation. In the printed edition, the notation ``Section 610 Review'' 

following the title indicates that the agency has selected the rule for 

its periodic review of existing rules under the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (5 U.S.C. 610(c)). Some agencies have indicated completions of 

section 610 reviews or rulemaking actions resulting from completed 

section 610 reviews. In the online edition, these notations appear in a 

separate field.

    Priority--an indication of the significance of the regulation. 

Agencies assign each entry to one of the following five categories of 

significance.

(1) Economically Significant

    As defined in Executive Order 12866, a rulemaking action that will 

have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or will 

adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the 

economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 

health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or 

communities. The definition of an ``economically significant'' rule is 

similar but not identical to the definition of a ``major'' rule under 5 

U.S.C. 801 (Pub. L. 104-121). (See below.)

(2) Other Significant

    A rulemaking that is not Economically Significant but is considered 

Significant by the agency. This category includes rules that the agency 

anticipates will be reviewed under Executive Order 12866 or rules that 

are a priority of the agency head. These rules may or may not be 

included in the agency's regulatory plan.

(3) Substantive, Nonsignificant

    A rulemaking that has substantive impacts but is neither 

Significant, nor Routine and Frequent, nor Informational/

Administrative/Other.

(4) Routine and Frequent

    A rulemaking that is a specific case of a multiple recurring 

application of a regulatory program in the Code of Federal Regulations 

and that does not alter the body of the regulation.

(5) Informational/Administrative/Other

    A rulemaking that is primarily informational or pertains to agency 

matters not central to accomplishing the



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agency's regulatory mandate but that the agency places in the Unified 

Agenda to inform the public of the activity.

    Major--whether the rule is ``major'' under 5 U.S.C. 801 (Pub. L. 

104-121) because it has resulted or is likely to result in an annual 

effect on the economy of $100 million or more or meets other criteria 

specified in that Act. The Act provides that the Administrator of the 

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs will make the final 

determination as to whether a rule is major.

    Unfunded Mandates--whether the rule is covered by section 202 of 

the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4). The Act 

requires that, before issuing an NPRM likely to result in a mandate 

that may result in expenditures by State, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector of more than 

$100 million in 1 year, agencies, other than independent regulatory 

agencies, shall prepare a written statement containing an assessment of 

the anticipated costs and benefits of the Federal mandate.

    Legal Authority--the section(s) of the United States Code (U.S.C.) 

or Public Law (Pub. L.) or the Executive Order (E.O.) that authorize(s) 

the regulatory action. Agencies may provide popular name references to 

laws in addition to these citations.

    CFR Citation--the section(s) of the Code of Federal Regulations 

that will be affected by the action.

    Legal Deadline--whether the action is subject to a statutory or 

judicial deadline, the date of that deadline, and whether the deadline 

pertains to an NPRM, a Final Action, or some other action.

    Abstract--a brief description of the problem the regulation will 

address; the need for a Federal solution; to the extent available, 

alternatives that the agency is considering to address the problem; and 

potential costs and benefits of the action.

    Timetable--the dates and citations (if available) for all past 

steps and a projected date for at least the next step for the 

regulatory action. A date displayed in the form 03/00/11 means the 

agency is predicting the month and year the action will take place but 

not the day it will occur. In some instances, agencies may indicate 

what the next action will be, but the date of that action is ``To Be 

Determined.'' ``Next Action Undetermined'' indicates the agency does 

not know what action it will take next.

    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required--whether an analysis is 

required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) 

because the rulemaking action is likely to have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small entities as defined by the Act.

    Small Entities Affected--the types of small entities (businesses, 

governmental jurisdictions, or organizations) on which the rulemaking 

action is likely to have an impact as defined by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. Some agencies have chosen to indicate likely effects 

on small entities even though they believe that a Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis will not be required.

    Government Levels Affected--whether the action is expected to 

affect levels of government and, if so, whether the governments are 

State, local, tribal, or Federal.

    International Impacts--whether the regulation is expected to have 

international trade and investment effects, or otherwise may be of 

interest to the Nation's international trading partners.

    Federalism--whether the action has ``federalism implications'' as 

defined in Executive Order 13132. This term refers to actions ``that 

have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship 

between the national government and the States, or on the distribution 

of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.'' 

Independent regulatory agencies are not required to supply this 

information.

    Included in the Regulatory Plan--whether the rulemaking was 

included in the agency's current regulatory plan published in fall 

2010.

    Agency Contact--the name and phone number of at least one person in 

the agency who is knowledgeable about the rulemaking action. The agency 

may also provide the title, address, fax number, e-mail address, and 

TDD for each agency contact.

    Some agencies have provided the following optional information:

    RIN Information URL--the Internet address of a site that provides 

more information about the entry.

    Public Comment URL--the Internet address of a site that will accept 

public comments on the entry. Alternatively, timely public comments may 

be submitted at the Governmentwide e-rulemaking site, https://www.regulations.gov.

    Additional Information--any information an agency wishes to include 

that does not have a specific corresponding data element.

    Compliance Cost to the Public--the estimated gross compliance cost 

of the action.

    Affected Sectors--the industrial sectors that the action may most 

affect, either directly or indirectly. Affected sectors are identified 

by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes.

    Energy Effects--an indication of whether the agency has prepared or 

plans to prepare a Statement of Energy Effects for the action, as 

required by Executive Order 13211 ``Actions Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use,'' signed May 

18, 2001 (66 FR 28355).

    Related RINs--one or more past or current RIN(s) associated with 

activity related to this action, such as merged RINs, split RINs, new 

activity for previously completed RINs, or duplicate RINs.

    Some agencies that participated in the fall 2010 edition of The 

Regulatory Plan have chosen to include the following information for 

those entries that appeared in the Plan:

    Statement of Need--a description of the need for the regulatory 

action.

    Summary of the Legal Basis--a description of the legal basis for 

the action, including whether any aspect of the action is required by 

statute or court order.

    Alternatives--a description of the alternatives the agency has 

considered or will consider as required by section 4(c)(1)(B) of 

Executive Order 12866.

    Anticipated Costs and Benefits--a description of preliminary 

estimates of the anticipated costs and benefits of the action.

    Risks--a description of the magnitude of the risk the action 

addresses, the amount by which the agency expects the action to reduce 

this risk, and the relation of the risk and this risk reduction effort 

to other risks and risk reduction efforts within the agency's 

jurisdiction.



V. Abbreviations



    The following abbreviations appear throughout this publication:

    ANPRM--An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is a preliminary 

notice, published in the Federal Register, announcing that an agency is 

considering a regulatory action. An agency may issue an ANPRM before it 

develops a detailed proposed rule. An ANPRM describes the general area 

that may be subject to regulation and usually asks for public comment 

on the issues and options being discussed. An ANPRM is issued only when 

an agency believes it needs to gather more information before 

proceeding to a notice of proposed rulemaking.

    CFR--The Code of Federal Regulations is an annual codification of 

the general and permanent regulations published in the Federal Register 

by the



[[Page 39996]]



agencies of the Federal Government. The Code is divided into 50 titles, 

each title covering a broad area subject to Federal regulation. The CFR 

is keyed to and kept up to date by the daily issues of the Federal 

Register.

    EO--An Executive order is a directive from the President to 

Executive agencies, issued under constitutional or statutory authority. 

Executive orders are published in the Federal Register and in title 3 

of the Code of Federal Regulations.

    FR--The Federal Register is a daily Federal Government publication 

that provides a uniform system for publishing Presidential documents, 

all proposed and final regulations, notices of meetings, and other 

official documents issued by Federal agencies.

    FY--The Federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.

    NPRM--A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is the document an agency 

issues and publishes in the Federal Register that describes and 

solicits public comments on a proposed regulatory action. Under the 

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), an NPRM must include, at a 

minimum:

     a statement of the time, place, and nature of the public 

rulemaking proceeding;

     a reference to the legal authority under which the rule is 

proposed; and

     either the terms or substance of the proposed rule or a 

description of the subjects and issues involved.

    PL (or Pub. L.)--A public law is a law passed by Congress and 

signed by the President or enacted over his veto. It has general 

applicability, unlike a private law that applies only to those persons 

or entities specifically designated. Public laws are numbered in 

sequence throughout the 2-year life of each Congress; for example, Pub. 

L. 110-4 is the fourth public law of the 110th Congress.

    RFA--A Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is a description and 

analysis of the impact of a rule on small entities, including small 

businesses, small governmental jurisdictions, and certain small not-

for-profit organizations. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 

et seq.) requires each agency to prepare an initial RFA for public 

comment when it is required to publish an NPRM and to make available a 

final RFA when the final rule is published, unless the agency head 

certifies that the rule would not have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities.

    RIN--The Regulation Identifier Number is assigned by the Regulatory 

Information Service Center to identify each regulatory action listed in 

the Unified Agenda, as directed by Executive Order 12866 (section 

4(b)). Additionally, OMB has asked agencies to include RINs in the 

headings of their Rule and Proposed Rule documents when publishing them 

in the Federal Register, to make it easier for the public and agency 

officials to track the publication history of regulatory actions 

throughout their development.

    Seq. No.--The sequence number identifies the location of an entry 

in the printed edition of the Unified Agenda. Note that a specific 

regulatory action will have the same RIN throughout its development but 

will generally have different sequence numbers if it appears in 

different printed editions of the Unified Agenda. Sequence numbers are 

not used in the online Unified Agenda

    U.S.C.--The United States Code is a consolidation and codification 

of all general and permanent laws of the United States. The U.S.C. is 

divided into 50 titles, each title covering a broad area of Federal 

law.



VI. How Can Users Get Copies of the Agenda?



    Copies of the Federal Register issue containing the printed edition 

of the Unified Agenda (agency regulatory flexibility agendas) are 

available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government 

Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. Telephone: 

(202) 512-1800 or 1-866-512-1800 (toll-free).

    Copies of individual agency materials may be available directly 

from the agency or may be found on the agency's website. Please contact 

the particular agency for further information.

    All editions of The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of 

Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions since fall 1995 are 

available in electronic form at https://reginfo.gov, along with flexible 

search tools. During 2011, searchable access to the entire historic 

Unified Agenda database back to 1983 will be added to the site.

    In accordance with regulations for the Federal Register, the 

Government Printing Office's GPO Access website contains copies of the 

Agendas and Regulatory Plans that have been printed in the Federal 

Register. These documents are available at https://www.gpoaccess.gov/ua/.



    Dated: June 1, 2011.

John C. Thomas,

Director.

[FR Doc. 2011-15469 Filed 7-6-11; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820-27-P