May 9, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains final regulations that amend TD 9361, titled Transfers of Assets or Stock Following a Reorganization. These final regulations make certain clarifying amendments to the rules regarding the effect of certain transfers of assets or stock on the continuing qualification of transactions as reorganizations under section 368(a). These regulations affect corporations and their shareholders.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim final rule which decreased the assessment rate established for the California Olive Committee (committee) for the 2008 and subsequent fiscal years from $47.84 to $15.60 per assessable ton of olives handled. The committee locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of olives grown in California. Assessments upon olive handlers are used by the committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal year began January 1 and ends December 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

Because EPA received significant adverse comment, we are withdrawing the direct final rule for revising the February 26, 2007 mobile source air toxics rule's requirements that specify the benzene control technologies that qualify a refiner to generate early benzene credits, published on March 12, 2008.

After eight years of experience with the current cross-border exemptions adopted in 1999, the Commission is proposing changes to expand and enhance the utility of these exemptions for business combination transactions. Our goal continues to be to encourage offerors and issuers in cross-border business combinations, and rights offerings by foreign private issuers, to permit U.S. security holders to participate in these transactions in the same manner as other holders. Many of the rule changes we propose today would codify existing interpretive positions and exemptive orders in the cross- border area. In several instances, we request comment about whether the rule changes we propose also should apply to tender offers for U.S. companies. In this release, we also address certain interpretive issues of concern for U.S. and other offerors engaged in cross-border business combinations. We hope that this guidance will prove useful in structuring and facilitating these transactions in a manner consistent with U.S. investor protection.

This revised proposed rule will modify the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[reg]) 604.9.0 to establish a minimum dollar amount for the issuance of checks by the USPS[reg] for the refund of unused postage value in postage meters and PC Postage[reg] accounts. In addition, we provide specific time frames and procedures for refunds of different types of postage produced by PC Postage and postage meter systems.

This rule affects certain Canadian and Mexican citizens who seek temporary entry as professionals to the United States pursuant to the TN classification, as established by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA or Agreement). TN nonimmigrants are Canadian or Mexican citizens who obtain temporary entry into the United States as business persons to engage in business activities at a professional level. This rule proposes to increase the maximum allowable period of admission for TN nonimmigrants from one year to three years, and allow otherwise eligible TN nonimmigrants to be granted an extension of stay in increments of up to three years instead of the current maximum of one year. TD nonimmigrants (``NAFTA Dependent'') are the spouses and unmarried minor children of TN nonimmigrants. TD nonimmigrants who would otherwise be eligible for TD nonimmigrant status would be eligible to be admitted and seek extensions for the same period of time as the TN principal. The purpose of this narrow change is to remove certain administrative requirements on TN nonimmigrants and U.S. employers and U.S. entities, thereby making this nonimmigrant classification more attractive to eligible professionals and their U.S. employers. The rule also proposes to remove filing location requirements from the TN regulations and instead provides that such locations will be prescribed by form instructions in order to provide more flexibility in program administration, as well as making certain technical modifications to eliminate outdated references to prior requirements. Finally, this rule proposes to revise the text of 8 CFR 214.1(a)(2) and (c)(1) and 8 CFR 248.3 by replacing the outdated term ``TC'' (the previous classification given to Canadian workers under the 1989 Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement) with ``TN.''

This document supersedes Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2001-24- 07 R1 and adopts AD 2007-26-52, which was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of Agusta S.p.A. (Agusta) Model A109C, A109E, and A109K2 helicopters by individual letters. This AD requires inspections for swelling, deformation, bonding separation, or a crack on each main rotor blade (MRB) with a certain tip cap installed, and if any of these conditions are found that exceed the prescribed limits, replacing the MRB before further flight. This amendment is prompted by a report of the in-flight loss of part of a tip cap. The actions specified in this AD are intended to prevent an increase in vibration of the MRB and subsequent loss of control of the helicopter.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 60 ft (

This action amends the Qualification Performance Standards (QPS) for flight simulation training devices (FSTD) to provide greater harmonization with international standards for simulation. In addition, the rule adds a new level of simulation for helicopter flight training devices (FTD) and establishes FSTD Directive 1, which requires all existing FSTD airport models that are beyond the number of airport models required for qualification to meet specified requirements. The intended effect of this rule is to ensure that the flight training and testing environment is accurate and realistic. Except for the requirements of FSTD Directive 1, these technical requirements do not apply to simulators qualified before May 30, 2008. This rule results in minimal to no cost increases for manufacturers and sponsors.