Agencies and Commissions January 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This is a Notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of Maine (FEMA-1815- DR), dated 01/09/2009. Incident: Severe Winter Storm and Flooding. Incident Period: 12/11/2008 through 12/29/2008. Effective Date: 01/09/2009. Physical Loan Application Deadline Date: 03/10/2009. Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan Application Deadline Date: 10/09/2009.

The SBA is issuing this notice to announce the location, date, time, and agenda for the next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs. The meeting will be open to the public.

This document finds that the Administrative Law Judge exceeded his authority by setting a hearing date beyond the 60-day deadline specified in the Hearing Designation Order for issuing a recommended decision regarding the above-captioned program carriage dispute and orders that the Media Bureau will proceed to resolve this dispute without the benefit of a recommended decision from the ALJ.

Illinois has scheduled elections on March 3, 2009, and April 7, 2009, to fill the U.S. House of Representatives seat in the Fifth Congressional District vacated by Representative Rahm Emanuel. Committees required to file reports in connection with the Special Primary Election on March 3, 2009, shall file a 12-day Pre-Primary Report. Committees required to file reports in connection with both the Special Primary and Special General Election on April 7, 2009, shall file a 12-day Pre-Primary Report, a 12-day Pre-General Report, and a 30-day Post-General Report.

On January 31, 2007, the Commission adopted its first acceptable practices for Section 5(d)(15) (``Core Principle 15'') of the Commodity Exchange Act (``Act'').\1\ As with all other acceptable practices, those for Core Principle 15 are a safe harbor that designated contract markets (``DCMs'') can use to demonstrate core principle compliance. The acceptable practices contain four provisionsthree are ``operational provisions'' and one provides necessary definitions, including a definition of ``public director.'' All four provisions were published simultaneously in the Federal Register on February 14, 2007, and became effective on March 16, 2007.\2\ Existing DCMs were given a two-year phase-in period to implement the acceptable practices or otherwise demonstrate full compliance with Core Principle 15.

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected costs and burden; it includes the actual data collection instruments [if any].

In this document, we correct an inadvertent error by adding the text of two previously removed rules concerning attachment of charges and payment of charges, and correcting the typographical errors previously published.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the General Services Administration will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a new information collection requirement regarding an Online Citizen Survey. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate and based on valid assumptions and methodology; and ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, notice is hereby given of a meeting of the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion, which will be held in Washington, DC. The Advisory Committee will provide advice and recommendations on initiatives to expand access to banking services by underserved populations.

The Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are announcing the availability of the final ``Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Assessment of Materials and Equipment manual'' (MARSAME). MARSAME provides information on planning, conducting, evaluating, and documenting radiological surveys for demonstrating compliance with measurable action levels. The MARSAME manual is a multi-agency consensus document. The agencies previously have sought public comment in order to receive feedback from the widest range of interested parties and to ensure that all information relevant to developing the document was received. The agencies reviewed public comments received on the draft MARSAME as well as comments from a concurrent, independent, technical peer review. Suggested changes were incorporated, where appropriate, in response to those comments.

In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data collections. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information collections are necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 1. Title and Purpose of Information Collection: Employer's Quarterly Report of Contributions Under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act; RRB Form DC-1; OMB 3220-0012 Under section 8 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), as amended by the Railroad Unemployment Improvement Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-647), the amount of each employer's contribution is determined by the RRB, primarily on the basis of RUIA benefit payments made to the employees of that employer. These experienced based contributions, take into account the frequency, volume and duration of RUIA benefits, both unemployment and sickness, attributable to a railroad's employees. Each employer's contribution rate includes a component for administrative expenses and a component to cover costs shared by all employers. The regulations prescribing the manner and conditions for remitting the contributions and for adjusting overpayments or underpayments of contributions are contained in 20 CFR 345. RRB Form DC-1, Employer's Quarterly Report of Contributions Under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, is currently utilized by the RRB for the reporting and remitting of quarterly contributions by railroad employers. The RRB utilizes a manual version of Form DC-1 and also provides railroad employers with the option of reporting the required information and remitting their quarterly contributions via an Internet equivalent version Form DC-1. One response is requested quarterly of each respondent and completion is mandatory. The RRB estimates that 2,160 responses are received annually. The estimated completion for the manual and Internet version of Form DC-1 is estimated at 25 minutes. The total burden for the collection is estimated at 900 hours. The RRB proposes no changes to Form DC-1. 2. Title and Purpose of Information Collection: Applicant Background Survey: RRB Form EEO-44, OMB 3220-0201 This information collection is needed to comply with Federal laws and regulations. 5 U.S.C. Chapter 72 Sec. 7201 establishes an anti- discrimination policy. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Sec. 2000e-8 [Sec. 709], requires agencies to make and keep relevant records to identify unlawful employment practices. 29 CFR 1602 allows agencies to collect data to determine if there is any adverse impact on employment practices such as recruitment or selection. The RRB's Equal Employment Office collects data to assess the impact of the agency's recruitment processes on the hiring of minorities, women and people with disabilities. To obtain the information necessary to conduct a proper assessment, the RRB utilizes Form EEO-44, Applicant Background Survey, which collects information about the racial or ethnic identity, gender and disability of applicants for RRB jobs from outside of the Federal government. Form EEO-44 is only viewed by RRB Human Resources personnel and Equal Employment Opportunity officials. Summarized data from all external applicants for a position is used to identify hiring barriers which limit or tends to limit employment opportunities for members of a particular sex, race, or ethnic background, or based on an individual's disability status. The EEO-44 contains a ``Plain English'' assurance that the information will be kept highly confidential and only shared with authorized RRB officials. This assurance specifically states that the information obtained is kept as a running tally which cannot be disaggregated into individual names, that information from the form is not entered into the RRB's personnel database, that the information is not provided to selecting officials or any others who can affect the selection, or to the public, and that the forms is destroyed after the position is filled. The information maintained does not include the applicant's name or other identifier. Completion of one form is requested of each respondent and is voluntary. The RRB estimates that 800 EEO-44's are completed annually at an estimated completion time of 5 minutes. The total burden for the collection is estimated at 67 hours. The RRB proposes no changes to Form EEO-44. Additional Information or Comments: To request more information or to obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms, and/or supporting material, please call the RRB Clearance Officer at (312) 751-3363 or send an e-mail request to Charles.Mierzwa@RRB.GOV. Comments regarding the information collection should be addressed to Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092 or send an e-mail to Ronald.Hodapp@RRB.GOV. Written comments should be received within 60 days of this notice.

The Commission announces the re-chartering and appointment of members to the Consumer Advisory Committee (``Committee'') of the Federal Communications Commission (``Commission''). The Commission further designates the Chairperson of the Committee, and announces the date and agenda of the Committee's first meeting in calendar year 2009.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (Agency) proposes to alter a system of records notice in its existing inventory of records subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended. The proposed changes to FRTIB-1, Thrift Savings Plan Records, are necessary as the system location, system manager, and record access procedures have changed. These changes are also necessary in order to make clear the distinction between information available to beneficiaries and information available to someone handling a participant's estate. Finally, these changes are necessary to allow the Agency to share participant information with agency personnel and casualty assistance officers who are aiding beneficiaries, with consumer reporting agencies when necessary for the Agency to collect a debt owed to it under 5 U.S.C. 3711, and with quality control companies that are verifying documents submitted to lenders in connection with participants' commercial loan applications.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).