2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Board is amending Regulation M, which implements the Consumer Leasing Act, to withdraw portions of the interim final rules for the electronic delivery of disclosures issued March 30, 2001. The interim final rules addressed the timing and delivery of electronic disclosures, consistent with the requirements of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act). Because compliance with the 2001 interim final rules has not been mandatory, withdrawal of these provisions from the Code of Federal Regulations reduces confusion about the status of the provisions and simplifies the regulation. In addition, the Board is adopting final amendments to Regulation M to provide guidance on the electronic delivery of disclosures. For example, the final rules provide that when a lease advertisement is accessed by a consumer in electronic form, disclosures may be provided to the consumer in electronic form in the advertisement without regard to the consumer consent and other provisions of the E-Sign Act. Similar final rules are being adopted under other consumer fair lending and financial services regulations administered by the Board.

The Board is amending Regulation B, which implements the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and the official staff commentary to the regulation, to withdraw portions of the interim final rules for the electronic delivery of disclosures issued March 30, 2001. The interim final rules address the timing and delivery of electronic disclosures, consistent with the requirements of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act). Because compliance with the 2001 interim final rules has not been mandatory, withdrawal of these provisions from the Code of Federal Regulations reduces confusion about the status of the provisions and simplifies the regulation. In addition, the Board is adopting final amendments to Regulation B to provide guidance on the electronic delivery of disclosures. For example, the final rules provide that when an application is accessed by an applicant in electronic form, disclosures may be provided to the consumer in electronic form on or with the application without regard to the consumer consent and other provisions of the E-Sign Act. Similar final rules are being adopted under other consumer financial services regulations administered by the Board.

The OCC, Board, FDIC, OTS, NCUA and FTC (the Agencies) are jointly issuing final rules and guidelines implementing section 114 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act) and final rules implementing section 315 of the FACT Act. The rules implementing section 114 require each financial institution or creditor to develop and implement a written Identity Theft Prevention Program (Program) to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft in connection with the opening of certain accounts or certain existing accounts. In addition, the Agencies are issuing guidelines to assist financial institutions and creditors in the formulation and maintenance of a Program that satisfies the requirements of the rules. The rules implementing section 114 also require credit and debit card issuers to assess the validity of notifications of changes of address under certain circumstances. Additionally, the Agencies are issuing joint rules under section 315 that provide guidance regarding reasonable policies and procedures that a user of consumer reports must employ when a consumer reporting agency sends the user a notice of address discrepancy.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'' or ``CFTC'') has amended Commission Regulations 3.12 and 3.31 to extend the period during which a registered futures commission merchant (``FCM''), introducing broker (``IB''), commodity trading advisor (``CTA''), commodity pool operator (``CPO'') or leverage transaction merchant (``LTM'') must file a notice with the National Futures Association (``NFA'') to report the termination of any associated person (``AP'') or principal of the registered intermediary. The amendments modify existing requirements and specify that such intermediaries must file termination notices within 30 days, rather than 20 days, after the termination of the association with any AP or principal.

EPA is announcing that there will be a public hearing regarding the proposed rule on the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants from Petroleum Refineries, published September 4, 2007. The public hearing will be held on November 27, 2007 in Houston, Texas. EPA is also announcing that the comment period is being reopened until December 28, 2007. In addition, we note that additional material has been added to the docket since the proposed rule was published.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is denying a petition for rulemaking (PRM-54-4) submitted by Susan Shapiro, Esquire, Friends United for Sustainable Energy. The petitioner requested that the NRC issue an order to enjoin the NRC from considering any new license applications until the NRC can amend its regulations so that the regulations do not suppress and/or eliminate a stakeholder's right to redress, due process and equal protection in the licensing renewal process. A notice of receipt of this petition was not published in the Federal Register.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce our response to the May 24, 2004, order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Southwest Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. Norton, et al. (Civil Action No. 98-0934 (RMU)), directing the Service, on remand, to determine whether Vancouver Island constitutes a significant portion of the range of the Queen Charlotte goshawk (Accipiter gentilis laingi) and whether the goshawk should be listed as threatened or endangered on Vancouver Island, in connection with our 1997 finding on a petition to list the Queen Charlotte Goshawk as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). After a thorough review of the best scientific and commercial data available, we conclude that Vancouver Island is a significant portion of the Queen Charlotte goshawk's range and that listing the subspecies on Vancouver Island is warranted. In addition to addressing the court's remand, we have assessed whether listing is warranted for the Queen Charlotte goshawk beyond Vancouver Island. Our review has indicated that the subspecies' populations in British Columbia and Alaska each constitute distinct population segments (DPSs) of the Queen Charlotte goshawk. Based on differences in forest management, with substantially greater existing and anticipated habitat loss in British Columbia than in Alaska, we find that we have sufficient information about biological vulnerability and threats to the goshawk to determine that the entire British Columbia DPS warrants listing as threatened or endangered. We find that the best available information on biological vulnerability and threats to the goshawk does not support listing the Alaska DPS as threatened or endangered at this time. Pursuant to section 4(b)(3)(B)(ii) we will promptly publish in the Federal Register a proposed rule to list the British Columbia DPS of the Queen Charlotte goshawk. In that proposed rule we will indicate whether the British Columbia DPS and the Vancouver Island portion of the range should be listed as either endangered or threatened.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) has adopted final amendments to its Regulation A to reflect the Board's approval of a decrease in the primary credit rate at each Federal Reserve Bank. The secondary credit rate at each Reserve Bank automatically decreased by formula as a result of the Board's primary credit rate action.

The Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the US17-264 Bridge, at mile 37.2, across Tar River at Washington, NC. This deviation allows the drawbridge to remain closed to navigation to facilitate sandblasting and painting operations.

This action revises VOR Federal Airway 363 (V-363) between the Mission Bay, CA, Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range/Tactical Air Navigation (VORTAC) and the Pomona, CA, VORTAC. Specifically, the FAA is making this realignment to provide a southwestern route structure to circumnavigate the Camp Pendleton, CA, range complex.

EPA is finalizing full approval of revisions to the Kern County Air Pollution Control District (KCAPCD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). EPA is also finalizing full disapproval of a revision to the KCAPCD portion of the California SIP. These actions were proposed in the Federal Register on December 19, 2006 and concern permitting requirements. Under authority of the Clean Air Act as amended in 1990 (CAA or the Act), this action directs California to replace the SIP rules with the approved rules and to retain in the SIP the present SIP version of the disapproved rule.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposes to revise and update the regulations applicable to blood and blood components, including Source Plasma and Source Leukocytes, to add donor requirements that are consistent with current practices in the blood industry, and to more closely align the regulations with current FDA recommendations. FDA is taking this action to help ensure the safety of the national blood supply and to help protect donor health by requiring establishments to evaluate donors for factors that may adversely affect the safety, purity, and potency of blood and blood components or the health of a donor during the donation process.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Coast Guard invite interested members of the smart card technology community, vendors of biometric card readers, and the general public to meet in Washington, DC to discuss the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Reader Hardware and Card Application Specification. The meeting will be open to the public and will also be available by teleconference.

This rule streamlines the Farm Service Agency's (FSA) regulations governing its direct Farm Loan Programs. The final rule simplifies and clarifies FSA's direct loan regulations; implements the recommendations of the USDA Civil Rights Action Team; meets the objectives of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; and separates FSA's direct Farm Loan Programs regulations from the Rural Development mission area's loan program regulations.

This document confirms the effective date of the direct final rule which revises Class E airspace at Lee's Summit, MO.

The Office of Personnel Management issued final regulations on March 15, 2007 (72 FR 12032), to amend a number of rules on pay and leave administration, including use of paid leave during uniformed service. This notice corrects an omission in the final regulations and changes the title of this section to accurately reflect the content.

Due to an adverse comment, EPA is withdrawing the direct final rule to approve a SIP revision submitted by West Virginia pertaining to its abbreviated SIP for the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) Nitrogen Oxides (NOX) Annual and NOX Ozone Season trading programs. In the direct final rule published on September 13, 2007 (72 FR 52289), we stated that if we received adverse comment by October 15, 2007, the rule would be withdrawn and not take effect. EPA subsequently received an adverse comment. EPA will address the comment received in a subsequent final action based upon the proposed action also published on September 13, 2007 (72 FR 52325). EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action.

This document contains a correction to the final regulation which was published Wednesday, September 26, 2007 (72 FR 54519-54525). The regulation pertains to the insurance of fresh market sweet corn.

This final rule amends the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to implement the transfer of licensing jurisdiction for QRS11-00100-100/101 and the QRS11-00050-443/ 569 Micromachined Angular Rate Sensors from the Department of State to the Department of Commerce (see Public Notice 5823, published in 72 FR 31452-31453, June 7, 2007) when the QRS11-00100-100/101 is integrated into a primary instrument system for use on civil aircraft or is exported solely for integration into such a system, or when the QRS11- 00050-443/569 is integrated into an automatic flight control system of the type described in ECCN 7A994 or aircraft of the type described in ECCN 9A991 that incorporates such systems, or are exported solely for integration into such a system.

FMCSA may not issue a hazardous materials safety permit to a motor carrier that has a crash rate, driver, vehicle or hazardous material out-of-service rate in the top 30 percent of the national average pursuant to 49 CFR 385.407. This document states the FMCSA policy on calculating motor carrier crash rates, and driver, vehicle, and hazardous material out-of-service rates that represent the top 30 percent of the national average as indicated in the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). The document explains how FMCSA calculates the top thirty percent of the national average and how it calculates whether a single motor carrier falls within the top thirty percent of the national average in each of these categories. The document restates without change the FMCSA policy that has been publicly available on its Web site since January 2005.

This document contains temporary Income Tax Regulations relating to a United States taxpayer's obligation under section 905(c) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to notify the IRS of a foreign tax redetermination, which is a change in the taxpayer's foreign tax liability that may affect the taxpayer's foreign tax credit. This document also contains temporary Procedure and Administration Regulations under section 6689 relating to the civil penalty for failure to notify the IRS of a foreign tax redetermination as required under section 905(c). These temporary regulations affect taxpayers that have paid foreign taxes which have been redetermined and provide guidance needed to comply with statutory changes made to the applicable law by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. The text of the temporary regulations also serves as the text of the proposed regulations (REG-209020-86) set forth in the notice of proposed rulemaking on this subject published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

This document withdraws portions of the notice of proposed rulemaking published on June 23, 1988, relating to sections 905(c) and 6689 (the 1988 proposed regulations). In addition, in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register, the IRS and the Treasury Department are issuing temporary regulations relating to a taxpayer's obligation under section 905(c) of the Internal Revenue Code to notify the IRS of a foreign tax redetermination. The IRS and the Treasury Department are also issuing temporary regulations on Procedure and Administration under section 6689 relating to the civil penalty for failure to notify the IRS of a foreign tax redetermination as required under section 905(c). These temporary regulations affect taxpayers that have paid foreign taxes which have been redetermined and provide guidance needed to comply with statutory changes made to the applicable law by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. The text of those temporary regulations also serves as the text of these proposed regulations.

This document is issued under the joint authority of the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of General Services and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This Small Entity Compliance Guide has been prepared in accordance with Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It consists of a summary of rules appearing in Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-21 which amend the FAR. An asterisk (*) next to a rule indicates that a regulatory flexibility analysis has been prepared. Interested parties may obtain further information regarding these rules by referring to FAC 2005-21 which precedes this document. These documents are also available via the Internet at http:/ /www.regulations.gov.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to revise references to published pricing sources available to the contracting officer. The revision will provide greater flexibilities for contracting officers when selecting sources of pricing data.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (Councils) have agreed on an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to revise the current SCA exemption and to add a SCA exemption for contracts for certain additional services that meet specific criteria.