January 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains proposed regulations under sections 301, 302, 304, 351, 354, 356, 358, 368, 861, 1001, and 1016 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). The proposed regulations provide guidance regarding the recovery of stock basis in distributions under section 301 and transactions that are treated as dividends to which section 301 applies, as well as guidance regarding the determination of gain and the basis of stock or securities received in exchange for, or with respect to, stock or securities in certain transactions. The proposed regulations affect shareholders and security holders of corporations. These proposed regulations are necessary to provide such shareholders and security holders with guidance regarding the allocation and recovery of basis on distributions of property.

Under the authority of the Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950 (31 U.S.C. 1104(d)) and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3504(e)), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is presenting in this notice its final decisions for revising the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) for 2010. The SOC is designed to reflect the current occupational structure of the United States; it classifies all occupations in which work is performed for pay or profit. The SOC covers all jobs in the national economy, including occupations in the public, private, and military sectors. All Federal agencies that publish occupational data for statistical purposes are required to use the SOC; State and local government agencies are strongly encouraged to use this national system to promote a common language for categorizing and analyzing occupations. In two prior Federal Register notices regarding the 2010 SOC (May 16, 2006, 71 FR 28536-28538; and May 22, 2008, 73 FR 29930-29939), OMB and its interagency Standard Occupational Classification Policy Committee (SOCPC) requested comment on the revision process, classification principles and guidelines, corrections to the 2000 SOC Manual, the intention to retain the 2000 SOC Major Group structure, and changes to the existing occupations. OMB, in conjunction with the SOCPC, reviewed and carefully considered the comments received in response to these notices in the process of making its final decisions presented in this notice. Based on these final decisions, OMB has requested that the SOCPC prepare the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification Manual for publication. A complete crosswalk between the 2000 and the 2010 SOC will be available online after publication of the 2010 SOC Manual. Committee members have completed definitions and agencies with occupational classification systems are developing crosswalks from their existing systems to the 2010 SOC. In comparison to the 2000 SOC, the 2010 SOC realized a net gain of 19 detailed occupations, 12 broad occupations, and 1 minor group. The number of major groups is unchanged. The 2010 SOC system contains 840 detailed occupations, aggregated into 461 broad occupations. In turn, the SOC combines these 461 broad occupations into 97 minor groups and 23 major groups. More than 400 of the 840 detailed occupations in the 2010 SOC structure remained the same as in 2000, and over 300 others required only editing changes. Therefore, no substantive changes occurred in occupational coverage for about 4 out of 5 detailed occupations in the 2010 SOC. As an indicator of the scope of changes to the structure of the SOC, 8 detailed occupations moved from one major group in the 2000 SOC to another in the 2010 SOC. Three occupations were placed in the major group 13-0000 Business and Financial Operations Occupations, including ``Farm Labor Contractors'' (13-1074)previously classified in major group 45-0000 Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupationsand ``Fundraisers'' (13-1131)previously classified in major group 41-0000 Sales and Related Occupations. Workers in ``Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists'' (13-1161) were previously classified in multiple SOC occupations including in ``Market Research Analysts'' in major group 19-0000 Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations and in ``Public Relations Specialists'' in major group 27-0000 Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations. Two occupations moved into the major group 53-0000 Transportation and Material Moving Occupations, both from major group 39-0000 Personal Care and Service Occupations. These were ``Flight Attendants'' (53-2031) and ``Transportation Attendants, Except Flight Attendants'' (53-6061). Workers in the newly created ``Morticians, Undertakers, and Funeral Directors'' (39-4031) were previously classified with ``Funeral Directors'' (11-9061) in the major group 11-0000 Management Occupations. Workers in another occupation new to the 2010 SOC, ``Solar Photovoltaic Installers'' (47-2231) were previously classified in multiple SOC occupations including two in major group 49-0000 Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations, ``Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers'' (49-9021) and ``Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Workers, All Other'' (49- 9099). Lastly, the detailed occupation ``Emergency Management Directors'' (11-9161) was previously classified in major group 13-0000 Business and Financial Operations Occupations, under the title ``Emergency Management Specialists.'' Future activities: To ensure that the successful efforts of the SOCPC continue and that the SOC reflects the structure of the changing workforce, the SOCPC will continue its service as a standing committee. The SOCPC will meet periodically to monitor the implementation of the 2010 SOC across Federal agencies. This consultation will include regularly scheduled interagency communication to ensure a smooth transition to the 2010 SOC. The SOCPC will also perform SOC maintenance functions, such as recommending clarifications of the SOC occupational definitions, placement of new occupations within the existing structure, and updating title files. The next major review and revision of the SOC is expected to begin in 2013, in preparation for a 2018 SOC. The intent of this revision schedule is to minimize disruption to data providers, producers, and users by promoting simultaneous adoption of revised occupational and industry classification systems for those data series that use both. Given the multiple interdependent programs that rely on the SOC, this is best accomplished by timing revisions of the SOC for the years following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) revisions, which occur for years ending in 2 and 7. The next such year is 2018, which has the additional benefit of coinciding with the beginning year of the American Community Survey five-year set of surveys that bracket the 2020 Decennial Census. Thus, OMB intends to consider revisions of the SOC for 2018 and every 10 years thereafter. Appendices: This notice includes three appendices in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Appendix A presents the adopted changes to the SOC Classification Principles. Appendix B provides a preliminary crosswalk between the occupation codes in the 2000 SOC and the revised codes for the 2010 SOC. Appendix C provides a preliminary crosswalk between the revised codes for the 2010 SOC and the 2000 SOC. Appendices B and C show only new occupations and occupations where a change was made to a title or code. The complete 2010 SOC structure is available on the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site at https://www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm. Electronic Availability: This document is available on the Internet from the Bureau of Labor Statistics at https://www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm. This Web page contains links to previous SOC Federal Register notices and related documents, as well as the full 2010 SOC structure. To obtain this notice via e-mail, please send a message requesting the OMB SOC final decisions Federal Register notice to soc@bls.gov. After publication of the manual, inquiries about the definitions for particular occupations or requests for electronic copies of the SOC structure that cannot be satisfied by use of the Web site should be addressed to Theresa Cosca, Standard Occupational Classification Policy Committee, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 2135, Washington, DC 20212; e-mail: soc@bls.gov; telephone number: (202) 691-6500; fax number: (202) 691-6444.

The Secretary of the Interior intends to administratively reestablish the National Park System Advisory Board. This action is necessary and in the public interest in connection with the performance of statutory duties imposed upon the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service.

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Scientific and Statistical Committee on February 6, 2009 to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of two draft documents. The first is entitled ``Report of Quantitative Risk and Benefit Assessment of Commercial Fish Consumption, Focusing on Fetal Neurodevelopmental Effects (Measured by Verbal Development in Children) and on Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke in the General Population'' (draft risk and benefit assessment report). The draft risk and benefit assessment report describes an analysis done by FDA that results in quantitative estimates of the net effect on fetal neurodevelopment in children of maternal consumption of commercial fish, as measured by verbal development and the net effect of eating commercial fish on coronary heart disease and stroke in the general population. Effects with respect to each of these health endpoints has been associated in the scientific literature with methylmercury exposure (which primarily occurs through fish consumption) and with the consumption of fish and of omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fish. The second draft document entitled ``Summary of Published Research on the Beneficial Effects of Fish Consumption and Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Certain Neurodevelopmental and Cardiovascular Endpoints'' (draft summary of published research) is a compendium of research prepared by FDA for use in developing its quantitative risk and benefit assessment. When peer and public review are complete, the draft risk and benefit assessment report and the draft summary of published research are intended to add to the growing body of scientific literature investigating the likelihood, magnitude, and direction of health impacts linked to consumption of commercial fish. FDA is seeking public comment on the draft risk and benefit assessment report and the draft summary of published research.

The Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP) assists landowners and operators in protecting grazing uses and other related conservation values by restoring and conserving eligible grassland and certain other lands through rental contracts and easements. This interim final rule sets forth how USDA, using the funds, facilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), will implement GRP in response to the changes made to the program by section 2403 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. In addition, this interim final rule incorporates other changes to the regulation for clarification or program administrative improvement.

NMFS, upon application from the U.S. Navy (Navy), is issuing regulations to govern the unintentional taking of marine mammals incidental to training, maintenance, and research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) activities conducted in the Southern California Range Complex (SOCAL Range Complex), which extends south and southwest off the southern California coast, for the period of January 2009 through January 2014. The Navy's activities are considered military readiness activities pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), as amended by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (NDAA). These regulations, which allow for the issuance of ``Letters of Authorization'' (LOAs) for the incidental take of marine mammals during the described activities and specified timeframes, prescribe the permissible methods of taking and other means of affecting the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammal species and their habitat, as well as requirements pertaining to the monitoring and reporting of such taking.

By publication of this document, we are informing the public of the Secretary's recognition of certain Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) ``HITSP Interoperability Specifications'' and the standards they contain as ``Interoperability Standards'' for health information technology. The Secretary accepted these Interoperability Standards in January of 2008, and hereby recognizes them in updated versions one year later, effective January 16, 2009. The lists of recognized Interoperability Standards are provided below and are available at https://www.hitsp.org; click on the ``View by Status'' tab.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance, a proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The proposed collection will gather data about what constitutes an innovative research environment. It will also contribute to building a dataset for the development of a science of science and innovation policy, as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) program by that name.

Pursuant to the regulations implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), MMS is announcing its intent to prepare a PEIS to evaluate potential environmental effects of multiple G&G activities on the Atlantic OCS. This NOI initiates the scoping process for this PEIS and also seeks interest from other Federal agencies, and State, tribal, and local governments to consider becoming cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS. Through the scoping process, Federal, state, and local government agencies and other interested parties have the opportunity to aid MMS in determining the significant issues and alternatives for analysis in the PEIS. Comments received in response to the NOI will assist MMS in developing the scope of the PEIS. This early planning and consultation step is important to ensure that all interests and concerns are communicated to MMS as it develops this PEIS and ultimately for future decisions regarding G&G operations under MMS regulatory authority. In order to assist MMS in developing the scope of G&G activities to be covered within the PEIS, we are also using this NOI to solicit information from industry on any potential interest for future G&G activities on the Atlantic OCS, including seismic surveys (high- resolution surveys as well as various types of seismic exploration and development surveys), side-scan sonar surveys, all types of electromagnetic surveys, geological and geochemical sampling, and remote sensing (including gravity and magnetic surveys) and the geographic areas of these activities. The MMS will specifically use this information to develop the scope of the PEIS scenario and its proposed action area. If details on activities, desired geographic locations, or other relevant information are not provided to MMS through this Call for Interest, then this information may not be included in the PEIS scenario and may require additional NEPA analysis if proposed at a later date. With this NOI, MMS notes that this PEIS is dependent upon availability of funding. MMS welcomes participation from outside sources consistent with appropriate authorities and mechanisms to award a contract to conduct the essential analyses and prepare the PEIS. The MMS would maintain sole oversight over selection and management of contractors and would maintain full authority over the content of the PEIS, protected resources analyses, and final decisions. Outside sources that are considering participating in this PEIS process should submit an expression of interest, along with the requested information on potential activities and geographic scope, to the MMS, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region's Regional Supervisor for Leasing and Environment (see Comments section for contact information). If a PEIS is funded and started in early 2009, MMS estimates completion of the PEIS by late 2010. Without funding, completion of the PEIS would be uncertain.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521), this notice announces that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Department of Veterans Affairs, will submit the collection of information abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The PRA submission describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden; it includes the actual data collection instrument.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Small Business Administration's intentions to request approval on a new and/or currently approved information collection.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Executive Order 12114, the Navy is announcing its intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)/Supplemental Overseas Environmental Impact Statement (SOEIS) for the employment of SURTASS LFA sonar.

The Department of the Navy herby gives notice of its intent to grant to Gem City Engineering Company, a revocable, nonassignable, partially exclusive license in the United States to practice the Government-Owned invention(s) described in U.S. Patent Application 11/ 832,065 entitled ``Wireless Self-Contained Relay Device'', file date Aug 1, 2007; and U.S. Patent Application 11/832,103 entitled ``Relay Device Deployer System'' file date Aug 1, 2007.