Agencies and Commissions October 1, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Copyright Royalty Judges are publishing for comment proposed regulations that set the rates and terms for the use of musical works in limited downloads, interactive streaming and incidental digital phonorecord deliveries.

This final rule amends the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations governing small business contracting programs to set forth procedures that will govern the new Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Assistance Procedures as authorized in the Small Business Act.

On October 8, 2008 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Securities and Exchange Commission will hold a roundtable to discuss ways in which its current disclosure system can be modernized to provide investors more useful and timely information to help them make investment choices. The roundtable will be organized as two panels. The panels will be moderated by Commission staff and will include investor representatives, company officials, information intermediaries, practitioners, and academics. The roundtable is part of the Commission's 21st Century Disclosure Initiative. The roundtable will be held in the auditorium of SEC headquarters at 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC, from 9 a.m. until approximately 1 p.m. The roundtable will be open to the public with seating on a first- come, first-served basis. The roundtable discussions will be Webcast on the Commission's Web site at https://www.sec.gov. The roundtable agenda and other related materials, including a list of participants and moderators, will be accessible at https://www.sec.gov/ disclosureinitiative. The Commission welcomes comments regarding any of the topics to be addressed at the roundtable and is particularly interested in comments responding to the questions that are set forth below.

The Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation (FCSIC or Corporation) is publishing its notice under the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 (No FEAR Act) (Pub. L. 107-174), as required by the No FEAR Act and 5 CFR 724. Under the No FEAR Act, agencies are required to notify employees, former employees, and applicants of their rights and remedies under Federal antidiscrimination and whistleblower protection laws applicable to them. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has published implementing regulations at 5 CFR 724, which require notice and training, and include model language for agency notices.

The NCUA Board is amending its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act regulations. The final rule reflects recent amendments to the FOIA addressing fee practices, time limits for complying with requests, and new reporting requirements. The changes to the Privacy Act provisions reflect the agency's efforts to clarify the procedures whereby individuals may obtain notification of whether an NCUA system of records contains information about the individual and how to access or amend a record.

NCUA is revising the requirements for use of the official insurance sign and official advertising statement to permit insured credit unions to use the basic form of the official advertising statement, a shortened form, or the official sign in advertisements. The rule will give credit unions added flexibility in advertisements by allowing them to use the shortened form or the official insurance sign in advertisements as alternatives to the basic official advertising statement.

The information collection requirements described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') is seeking public comments on its proposal to extend through October 31, 2011, the current OMB clearance for the information collection requirements contained in its Negative Option Rule. That clearance expires on October 31, 2008.