Agencies and Commissions June 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commission is noticing a recent Postal Service filing requesting an amendment to Priority Mail Contract 33. This notice informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and takes other administrative steps.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, as amended, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announces a forthcoming meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel.

The NCUA Board (Board) proposes to amend its regulations to clarify that a natural person federal credit union (FCU) is authorized to securitize loans that it has originated, as an activity incidental to the business for which an FCU is chartered, provided the transaction meets certain requirements. The proposed rule would also apply those requirements to federally insured, state-chartered credit unions (FISCUs) that are permitted by state law to securitize their assets.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding three Information Collection Requests (ICR) to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Review and approval by OIRA ensures that we impose appropriate paperwork burdens. The RRB invites comments on the proposed collections of information to determine (1) the practical utility of the collections; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden of the collections; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information that is the subject of collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of collections on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments to the RRB or OIRA must contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper consideration of your comments, it is best if the RRB and OIRA receive them within 30 days of the publication date. 1. Title and purpose of information collection: Financial Disclosure Statement; OMB 3220-0127. Under Section 10 of the Railroad Retirement Act and Section 2(d) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, the RRB may recover overpayments of annuities, pensions, death benefits, unemployment benefits, and sickness benefits that were made erroneously. An overpayment may be waived if the beneficiary was not at fault in causing the overpayment and recovery would cause financial hardship. The regulations for the recovery and waiver of erroneous payments are contained in 20 CFR parts 255 and CFR part 340. The RRB utilizes Form DR-423, Financial Disclosure Statement, to obtain information about the overpaid beneficiary's income, debts, and expenses if that person indicates that (s)he cannot make restitution for the overpayment. The information is used to determine if the overpayment should be waived as wholly or partially uncollectible. If waiver is denied, the information is used to determine the size and frequency of installment payments. The beneficiary is made aware of the overpayment by letter and is offered a variety of methods for recovery. One response is requested of each respondent. Completion is voluntary. However, failure to provide the requested information may result in a denial of the waiver request. Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the initial 60-day notice (79 FR 20251 on April 11, 2014) required by 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.

As part of NCUA's Regulatory Modernization Initiative, the NCUA Board (Board) is proposing to revise two of NCUA's regulations regarding appraisals. Firstly, the Board is proposing to amend NCUA's regulations to eliminate the now duplicative requirement that federal credit unions (FCUs) make available, to any requesting member/ applicant, a copy of the appraisal used in connection with that member's application for a loan secured by a first lien on a dwelling. A recent amendment to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Regulation B requires that all creditors, including FCUs, now automatically provide applicants with free copies of all appraisals and other written valuations developed in connection with an application for a loan to be secured by a first lien on a dwelling. Secondly, the proposed rule would amend NCUA's appraisal regulations by expanding the current exemption for certain transactions involving an existing extension of credit. Under the expanded exemption, federally insured credit unions (FICUs) would be able to refinance or modify a real estate-related loan held by the FICU, without having to obtain an appraisal, if there is no advancement of new monies or if there is adequate collateral protection, even with the advancement of new monies. The proposal would also make a minor technical amendment to the definition of the term ``application.'' These changes will modernize NCUA's regulations by better aligning them with the modern marketplace, while also reducing costs for FICUs and their members, and removing outdated regulatory requirements.

In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) extends the freeze of jurisdictional separations category relationships and cost allocation factors in the Commission's rules for three years, through June 30, 2017.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is withdrawing a direct final rule that would have revised its spent fuel storage regulations to include Amendment No. 3 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1029, Transnuclear, Inc. Standardized Advanced NUHOMS[supreg] Horizontal Modular Storage System listing within the ``List of approved spent fuel storage casks.'' The NRC is taking this action because it has received at least one significant adverse comment in response to a companion proposed rule that was concurrently published with the direct final rule.

On September 26, 2013, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) released a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services, WC Docket No. 12-375, FCC 13-113, (Report and Order) which required, among other things, that all ICS providers comply with a one-time mandatory data collection provided in the Report and Order to enable the Commission to determine what costs ICS providers incur in order to guide the Commission as it evaluates next steps toward permanently reforming ICS rates, including the adoption of rates that are just, reasonable, and fair. This information collection required approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This document announces the due date to file data with the Commission responsive to the one-time mandatory data collection requirement.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing, with the approval of the U.S. Attorney General, revised guidelines on the use of weapons by the security personnel of licensees and certificate holders whose official duties include the protection of a facility, certain radioactive material, or other property owned or operated by an NRC licensee or certificate holder, or of radioactive material or other property that is being transported to or from a facility owned or operated by such a licensee or certificate holder. The revised guidelines are entitled, ``Guidelines on the Use of Firearms by Security Personnel in Protecting U.S. NRC-Regulated Facilities, Radioactive Material, and Other Property, Revision 1'' (Revised Firearms Guidelines). The NRC first issued firearms guidelines on September 11, 2009.

Summary of Application: Applicants request an order that permits: (a) Series of certain open-end management investment companies to issue shares (``Shares'') redeemable in large aggregations only (``Creation Units''); (b) secondary market transactions in Shares to occur at negotiated market prices; (c) certain series to pay redemption proceeds, under certain circumstances, more than seven days from the tender of Shares for redemption; and (d) certain affiliated persons of the series to deposit securities into, and receive securities from, the series in connection with the purchase and redemption of Creation Units.

The United States International Trade Commission (``Commission'') amends its Rules of Practice and Procedure concerning rules of general application, and provisions concerning the conduct of antidumping and countervailing duty investigations and reviews. The amendments are designed to increase efficiency in processing and reviewing documents filed with the Commission and reduce Commission expenditures.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is making available NUREG-0090, Volume 36, ``Report to Congress on Abnormal Occurrences: Fiscal Year 2013.'' The report describes those events that the NRC or an Agreement State identified as abnormal occurrences (AOs) during fiscal year (FY) 2013, based on the criteria defined in the report's Appendix A, ``Abnormal Occurrence Criteria and Guidelines for Other Events of Interest.'' The report describes 13 events at Agreement State-licensed facilities. There were no events at NRC-licensed facilities.