April 10, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule amends the Merit Systems Protection Board's (MSPB or ``the Board'') rules by setting out procedures that requesters have to follow when making demands on or requests to an MSPB employee to produce official records or provide testimony relating to official information in connection with a legal proceeding in which the MSPB is not a party. The final rule establishes procedures to respond to such demands and requests in an orderly and consistent manner. The final rule promotes uniformity in decisions, protects confidential information, provides guidance to requesters, and reduces the potential for both inappropriate disclosures of official information and wasteful allocation of agency resources.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to amend its current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) regulations to include new requirements for the label, color, dedication, and design of medical gas containers and closures. These requirements are intended to do the following: Make the contents of medical gas containers more readily identifiable, reduce the likelihood that containers of industrial or other gases would be inappropriately connected to medical oxygen supply systems, and reduce the risk of contamination of medical gases. FDA is also proposing to include medical air, oxygen, and nitrogen among, and exclude cyclopropane and ethylene from, those gases intended for drug use that are exempt from certain labeling requirements.

On December 30, 2005, HUD published a final rule implementing a new law that restricts individuals who are (1) enrolled at an institution of higher education (i.e., students), under the age of 24, not a veteran, unmarried, and do not have a dependent child, and (2) seeking assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (section 8 assistance) in their individual capacity (that is, separately from their parents) from receiving section 8 assistance if neither the student nor the student's parents are income eligible. This notice provides guidance to further assist with the implementation of these new eligibility restrictions.

The FAA adopts a new airworthiness directive (AD) that supersedes AD 97-24-09, which applies to certain BURKHART GROB LUFT- UND-RAUMFAHRT GmbH & Co. KG (Grob) Model G 103 C Twin III SL sailplanes. AD 97-24-09 currently requires repetitively inspecting the propeller bearing and upper pulley wheel for increased play and, if increased play is found, modifying the propeller bearing and pulley wheel. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) issued by the airworthiness authority for Germany. Consequently, this AD requires you to modify the propeller bearing and upper pulley wheel by installing a new securing plate and tightening the grooved nut to the new torque values. We are issuing this AD to prevent loss of the sailplane propeller caused by increased play in the current design propeller bearing and upper pulley wheel. This could result in loss of control of the sailplane.

NMFS reorganizes existing fishery regulations by creating a new part for western Pacific regulations. This rule organizes the regulations into a logical and cohesive order; it does not make substantive changes to existing fishery regulations. This rule also amends references to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) information collection requirements to reflect the reorganization. The purpose of this rule is to make the regulations better organized and easier for the public to use.

This document contains final regulations that apply to a deemed sale or acquisition of an insurance company's assets pursuant to an election under section 338 of the Internal Revenue Code, to a sale or acquisition of an insurance trade or business subject to section 1060, and to the acquisition of insurance contracts through assumption reinsurance. It also contains final regulations under section 381 concerning the effect of certain corporate liquidations and reorganizations on certain tax attributes of insurance companies. This document also contains temporary regulations under section 197 relating to the determination of adjusted basis of amortizable section 197 intangibles with respect to insurance contracts, section 338 relating to increases in reserves after a deemed asset sale and sections 338 and 846 relating to the effect of a section 338 election on a section 846(e) election. The text of the temporary regulations also serves as the text of the proposed regulations set forth in the notice of proposed rulemaking on this subject in the Proposed Rules section in this issue of the Federal Register. The final and temporary regulations apply to insurance companies.