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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 233 / Monday, December 7, 2009 / The Regulatory Plan
REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE CENTER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction to The Regulatory Plan and the Unified
Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
AGENCY:
Page
Introduction to The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of
Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
Regulatory Information Service Center.
ACTION: Introduction to The Regulatory Plan and the Unified
Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that
agencies publish semiannual regulatory agendas in the
Federal Register describing regulatory actions they are
developing that may have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities (5 U.S.C. 602).
Executive Order 12866 ‘‘Regulatory Planning and Review,’’
signed September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735) and Office of
Management and Budget memoranda implementing section
4 of that Order establish minimum standards for agencies’
agendas, including specific types of information for each
entry. Section 4 of Executive Order 12866 also directs that
each agency prepare, as part of its submission to the fall
edition of the Unified Agenda, a regulatory plan of the most
important significant regulatory actions that the agency
reasonably expects to issue in proposed or final form during
the upcoming fiscal year. The Regulatory Plan (Plan) and
the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory
Actions (Unified Agenda) help agencies fulfill these
requirements.
SUMMARY:
Editions of the Unified Agenda prior to fall 2007 were
printed in their entirety in the Federal Register. Beginning
with the fall 2007 edition, the Internet is the basic means
for conveying Regulatory Agenda information to the
maximum extent legally permissible. The complete Unified
Agenda for fall 2009, including The Regulatory Plan, is
available to the public at https://reginfo.gov.
The fall 2009 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the
Federal Register consists of The Regulatory Plan and agency
regulatory flexibility agendas, in accordance with the
publication requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
Agency regulatory flexibility agendas contain only those
Agenda entries for rules which are likely to have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities and entries that have been selected for
periodic review under section 610 of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act.
The complete fall 2009 Unified Agenda contains the plans
of 27 Federal agencies and the regulatory agendas for these
and 32 other Federal agencies.
Regulatory Information Service Center (MI),
General Services Administration, 1800 F Street NW., Suite
3039, Washington, DC 20405.
I. What Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda? ...
II. Why Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda
Published? ............................................................................
III. How Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda
Organized? ...........................................................................
IV. What Information Appears for Each Entry? .......................
V. Abbreviations .......................................................................
VI. How Can Users Get Copies of the Plan and the Agenda?
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information
about specific regulatory actions, please refer to the Agency
Contact listed for each entry.
To provide comment on or to obtain further information
about this publication, contact: John C. Thomas, Executive
Director, Regulatory Information Service Center (MI),
General Services Administration, 1800 F Street NW., Suite
3039, Washington, DC 20405, (202) 482-7340. You may also
send comments to us by e-mail at:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Cabinet Departments
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
Agriculture ........................................................
Commerce ........................................................
Defense ............................................................
Education .........................................................
Energy ..............................................................
Health and Human Services ............................
Homeland Security ...........................................
Housing and Urban Development ....................
the Interior ........................................................
Justice ..............................................................
Labor ................................................................
Transportation ..................................................
the Treasury .....................................................
Veterans Affairs ................................................
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Other Executive Agencies
Environmental Protection Agency ............................................
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ..........................
General Services Administration ..............................................
National Aeronautics and Space Administration ......................
National Archives and Records Administration ........................
Office of Personnel Management ............................................
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ....................................
Small Business Administration .................................................
Social Security Administration ..................................................
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Independent Regulatory Agencies
Federal Maritime Commission .................................................
Federal Trade Commission ......................................................
National Indian Gaming Commission .......................................
Postal Regulatory Commission ................................................
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AGENCY AGENDAS
Cabinet Departments
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
Department
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
Agriculture ........................................................
Commerce ........................................................
Energy ..............................................................
Health and Human Services ............................
Homeland Security ...........................................
the Interior ........................................................
Justice ..............................................................
Labor ................................................................
Transportation ..................................................
the Treasury .....................................................
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Other Executive Agencies
Environmental Protection Agency ............................................
General Services Administration ..............................................
Small Business Administration .................................................
risc@gsa.gov
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AGENCY REGULATORY PLANS
ADDRESSES:
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Joint Authority
Department of Defense *
Department of Defense/General Services
Administration/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Federal Acquisition Regulation) ...................................
Department of Education *
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INTRODUCTION TO THE REGULATORY PLAN AND THE
UNIFIED AGENDA OF FEDERAL REGULATORY AND
DEREGULATORY ACTIONS
I. What Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda?
The Regulatory Plan serves as a defining statement of the
Administration’s regulatory and deregulatory policies and
priorities. The Plan is part of the fall edition of the Unified
Agenda. Each participating agency’s regulatory plan
contains: (1) A narrative statement of the agency’s regulatory
priorities and, for most agencies, (2) a description of the
most important significant regulatory and deregulatory
actions that the agency reasonably expects to issue in
proposed or final form during the upcoming fiscal year. This
edition includes the regulatory plans of 27 agencies.
The Unified Agenda provides information about
regulations that the Government is considering or reviewing.
The Unified Agenda has appeared in the Federal Register
twice each year since 1983 and has been available online
since 1995. To further the objective of using modern
technology to deliver better service to the American people
for lower cost, beginning with the fall 2007 edition, the
Internet is the basic means for conveying Regulatory Agenda
information to the maximum extent legally permissible. The
complete Unified Agenda, including The Regulatory Plan,
is available to the public at https://reginfo.gov. The online
Unified Agenda offers flexible search tools and will soon
offer access to the entire historic Unified Agenda database.
The fall 2009 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the
Federal Register consists of The Regulatory Plan and agency
regulatory flexibility agendas, in accordance with the
publication requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
Agency regulatory flexibility agendas contain only those
Agenda entries for rules which are likely to have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities and entries that have been selected for
periodic review under section 610 of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act. Printed entries display only the fields
required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Complete agenda
information for those entries appears, in a uniform format,
in the online Unified Agenda at https://reginfo.gov.
These publication formats meet the publication mandates
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 12866,
as well as move the Agenda process toward the goal of eGovernment, at a substantially reduced printing cost
compared with prior editions. The current format does not
reduce the amount of information available to the public,
but it does limit most of the content of the Agenda to online
access. The complete online edition of the Unified Agenda
includes regulatory agendas from 59 Federal agencies.
Agencies of the United States Congress are not included.
The following agencies have no entries identified for
inclusion in the printed regulatory flexibility agenda. An
asterisk (*) indicates agencies that appear in the Regulatory
Plan. The regulatory agendas of these agencies are available
to the public at https://reginfo.gov.
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Department of State
Department of Veterans Affairs *
Federal Communications Commission ....................................
Federal Reserve System ..........................................................
National Credit Union Administration .......................................
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ..............................................
Securities and Exchange Commission ....................................
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Agency for International Development
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance
Board
Commission on Civil Rights
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or
Severely Disabled
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Corporation for National and Community Service
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the
District of Columbia
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission *
Farm Credit Administration
Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Federal Maritime Commission *
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Federal Trade Commission *
Institute of Museum and Library Services
National Aeronautics and Space Administration *
National Archives and Records Administration *
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Humanities
National Indian Gaming Commission *
National Science Foundation
Office of Government Ethics
Office of Management and Budget
Office of Personnel Management *
Peace Corps
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation *
Postal Regulatory Commission *
Railroad Retirement Board
Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
Selective Service System
Social Security Administration *
Surface Transportation Board
The Regulatory Information Service Center (the Center)
compiles the Plan and the Unified Agenda for the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), part of the Office
of Management and Budget. OIRA is responsible for
overseeing the Federal Government’s regulatory, paperwork,
and information resource management activities, including
implementation of Executive Order 12866. The Center also
provides information about Federal regulatory activity to the
President and his Executive Office, the Congress, agency
managers, and the public.
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The activities included in the Agenda are, in general,
those that will have a regulatory action within the next 12
months. Agencies may choose to include activities that will
have a longer timeframe than 12 months. Agency agendas
also show actions or reviews completed or withdrawn since
the last Unified Agenda. Executive Order 12866 does not
require agencies to include regulations concerning military
or foreign affairs functions or regulations related to agency
organization, management, or personnel matters.
Agencies prepared entries for this publication to give the
public notice of their plans to review, propose, and issue
regulations. They have tried to predict their activities over
the next 12 months as accurately as possible, but dates and
schedules are subject to change. Agencies may withdraw
some of the regulations now under development, and they
may issue or propose other regulations not included in their
agendas. Agency actions in the rulemaking process may
occur before or after the dates they have listed. The
Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda do not create a
legal obligation on agencies to adhere to schedules in this
publication or to confine their regulatory activities to those
regulations that appear within it.
II. Why Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda
Published?
The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda help
agencies comply with their obligations under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act and various Executive orders and other
statutes.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to identify
those rules that may have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities (5 U.S.C. 602).
Agencies meet that requirement by including the
information in their submissions for the Unified Agenda.
Agencies may also indicate those regulations that they are
reviewing as part of their periodic review of existing rules
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 610).
Executive Order 13272 entitled ‘‘Proper Consideration of
Small Entities in Agency Rulemaking,’’ signed August 13,
2002 (67 FR 53461) provides additional guidance on
compliance with the Act.
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Executive Order 12866
Executive Order 12866 entitled ‘‘Regulatory Planning and
Review,’’ signed September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735) requires
covered agencies to prepare an agenda of all regulations
under development or review. The Order also requires that
certain agencies prepare annually a regulatory plan of their
‘‘most important significant regulatory actions,’’ which
appears as part of the fall Unified Agenda. Executive Order
13497, signed January 30, 2009 (74 FR 6113), revoked the
amendments to Executive Order 12866 that were contained
in Executive Order 13258 and Executive Order 13422.
Executive Order 13132
Executive Order 13132 entitled ‘‘Federalism,’’ signed
August 4, 1999 (64 FR 43255), directs agencies to have an
accountable process to ensure meaningful and timely input
by State and local officials in the development of regulatory
policies that have ‘‘federalism implications’’ as defined in
the Order. Under the Order, an agency that is proposing
regulations with federalism implications, which either
preempt State law or impose nonstatutory unfunded
substantial direct compliance costs on State and local
governments, must consult with State and local officials
early in the process of developing the regulation. In
addition, the agency must provide to the Director of the
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Office of Management and Budget a federalism summary
impact statement for such regulations, which consists of a
description of the extent of the agency’s prior consultation
with State and local officials, a summary of their concerns
and the agency’s position supporting the need to issue the
regulation, and a statement of the extent to which those
concerns have been met. As part of this effort, agencies
include in their submissions for the Unified Agenda
information on whether their regulatory actions may have
an effect on the various levels of government and whether
those actions have federalism implications.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 1044, title II) requires agencies to prepare written assessments
of the costs and benefits of significant regulatory actions
‘‘that may result in the expenditure by State, local, and tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of
$100,000,000 or more . . . in any 1 year . . . .’’ The
requirement does not apply to independent regulatory
agencies, nor does it apply to certain subject areas excluded
by section 4 of the Act. Affected agencies identify in the
Unified Agenda those regulatory actions they believe are
subject to title II of the Act.
Executive Order 13211
Executive Order 13211 entitled ‘‘Actions Concerning
Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use,’’ signed May 18, 2001 (66 FR 28355),
directs agencies to provide, to the extent possible,
information regarding the adverse effects that agency actions
may have on the supply, distribution, and use of energy.
Under the Order, the agency must prepare and submit a
Statement of Energy Effects to the Administrator of the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget, for ‘‘those matters identified as
significant energy actions.’’ As part of this effort, agencies
may optionally include in their submissions for the Unified
Agenda information on whether they have prepared or plan
to prepare a Statement of Energy Effects for their regulatory
actions.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
(Pub. L. 104-121, title II) established a procedure for
congressional review of rules (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), which
defers, unless exempted, the effective date of a ‘‘major’’ rule
for at least 60 days from the publication of the final rule
in the Federal Register. The Act specifies that a rule is
‘‘major’’ if it has resulted or is likely to result in an annual
effect on the economy of $100 million or more or meets
other criteria specified in that Act. The Act provides that
the Administrator of OIRA will make the final determination
as to whether a rule is major.
III. How Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda
Organized?
The Regulatory Plan appears in part II of a daily edition
of the Federal Register. The Plan is a single document
beginning with an introduction, followed by a table of
contents, followed by each agency’s section of the Plan.
Following the Plan in the Federal Register, as separate parts,
are the regulatory flexibility agendas for each agency whose
agenda includes entries for rules which are likely to have
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities or rules that have been selected for periodic
review under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
Each printed agenda appears as a separate part. The sections
of the Plan and the parts of the Unified Agenda are
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organized alphabetically in four groups: Cabinet
departments; other executive agencies; the Federal
Acquisition Regulation, a joint authority (Agenda only); and
independent regulatory agencies. Agencies may in turn be
divided into subagencies. Each printed agency agenda has
a table of contents listing the agency’s printed entries that
follow.
Each agency’s section of the Plan contains a narrative
statement of regulatory priorities and, for most agencies, a
description of the agency’s most important significant
regulatory and deregulatory actions. Each agency’s part of
the Agenda contains a preamble providing information
specific to that agency plus descriptions of the agency’s
regulatory and deregulatory actions.
The online, complete Unified Agenda contains the
preambles of all participating agencies. Unlike the printed
edition, the online Agenda has no fixed ordering. In the
online Agenda, users can select the particular agencies
whose agendas they want to see. Users have broad flexibility
to specify the characteristics of the entries of interest to them
by choosing the desired responses to individual data fields.
To see a listing of all of an agency’s entries, a user can select
the agency without specifying any particular characteristics
of entries.
Each entry in the Agenda is associated with one of five
rulemaking stages. In the Plan, only the first three stages are
applicable. Some agencies use subheadings to identify
regulations that are grouped according to particular topics.
The rulemaking stages are:
which agencies believe that the Regulatory Flexibility Act
may require a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, actions
selected for periodic review under section 610(c) of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act, and actions that may have
federalism implications as defined in Executive Order 13132
or other effects on levels of government. These indexes are
no longer compiled, because users of the online Unified
Agenda have the flexibility to search for entries with any
combination of desired characteristics. The online edition
retains the Unified Agenda’s subject index based on the
Federal Register Thesaurus of Indexing Terms. In addition,
online users have the option of searching Agenda text fields
for words or phrases.
1. Prerule Stage — actions agencies will undertake to
determine whether or how to initiate rulemaking. Such
actions occur prior to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NPRM) and may include Advance Notices of Proposed
Rulemaking (ANPRMs) and reviews of existing
regulations.
2. Proposed Rule Stage — actions for which agencies plan
to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking as the next
step in their rulemaking process or for which the closing
date of the NPRM Comment Period is the next step.
3. Final Rule Stage — actions for which agencies plan to
publish a final rule or an interim final rule or to take other
final action as the next step.
4. Long-Term Actions — items under development but for
which the agency does not expect to have a regulatory
action within the 12 months after publication of this
edition of the Unified Agenda. Some of the entries in this
section may contain abbreviated information.
5. Completed Actions — actions or reviews the agency has
completed or withdrawn since publishing its last agenda.
This section also includes items the agency began and
completed between issues of the Agenda.
A bullet (•) preceding the title of an entry indicates that
the entry is appearing in the Unified Agenda for the first
time.
In the printed edition, all entries are numbered
sequentially from the beginning to the end of the
publication. The sequence number preceding the title of
each entry identifies the location of the entry in this edition.
The sequence number is used as the reference in the printed
table of contents. Sequence numbers are not used in the
online Unified Agenda because the unique Regulation
Identifier Number (RIN) is able to provide this crossreference capability.
Editions of the Unified Agenda prior to fall 2007
contained several indexes, which identified entries with
various characteristics. These included regulatory actions for
(1) Economically Significant
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IV. What Information Appears for Each Entry?
All entries in the Unified Agenda contain uniform data
elements including, at a minimum, the following
information:
Title of the Regulation — a brief description of the subject
of the regulation. In the printed edition, the notation
‘‘Section 610 Review’’ following the title indicates that the
agency has selected the rule for its periodic review of
existing rules under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.
610(c)). Some agencies have indicated completions of
section 610 reviews or rulemaking actions resulting from
completed section 610 reviews. In the online edition, these
notations appear in a separate field.
Priority — an indication of the significance of the
regulation. Agencies assign each entry to one of the
following five categories of significance.
As defined in Executive Order 12866, a rulemaking action
that will have an annual effect on the economy of $100
million or more or will adversely affect in a material way
the economy, a sector of the economy, productivity,
competition, jobs, the environment, public health or
safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or
communities. The definition of an ‘‘economically
significant’’ rule is similar but not identical to the
definition of a ‘‘major’’ rule under 5 U.S.C. 801 (Pub. L.
104-121). (See below.)
(2) Other Significant
A rulemaking that is not Economically Significant but is
considered Significant by the agency. This category
includes rules that the agency anticipates will be reviewed
under Executive Order 12866 or rules that are a priority
of the agency head. These rules may or may not be
included in the agency’s regulatory plan.
(3) Substantive, Nonsignificant
A rulemaking that has substantive impacts but is neither
Significant, nor Routine and Frequent, nor
Informational/Administrative/Other.
(4) Routine and Frequent
A rulemaking that is a specific case of a multiple recurring
application of a regulatory program in the Code of Federal
Regulations and that does not alter the body of the
regulation.
(5) Informational/Administrative/Other
A rulemaking that is primarily informational or pertains
to agency matters not central to accomplishing the
agency’s regulatory mandate but that the agency places in
the Unified Agenda to inform the public of the activity.
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Major — whether the rule is ‘‘major’’ under 5 U.S.C. 801
(Pub. L. 104-121) because it has resulted or is likely to result
in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more
or meets other criteria specified in that Act. The Act
provides that the Administrator of the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs will make the final determination as
to whether a rule is major.
Unfunded Mandates — whether the rule is covered by
section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Pub. L. 104-4). The Act requires that, before issuing an
NPRM likely to result in a mandate that may result in
expenditures by State, local, and tribal governments, in the
aggregate, or by the private sector of more than $100 million
in 1 year, agencies, other than independent regulatory
agencies, shall prepare a written statement containing an
assessment of the anticipated costs and benefits of the
Federal mandate.
Legal Authority — the section(s) of the United States Code
(U.S.C.) or Public Law (Pub. L.) or the Executive order (E.O.)
that authorize(s) the regulatory action. Agencies may
provide popular name references to laws in addition to these
citations.
CFR Citation — the section(s) of the Code of Federal
Regulations that will be affected by the action.
Legal Deadline — whether the action is subject to a
statutory or judicial deadline, the date of that deadline, and
whether the deadline pertains to an NPRM, a Final Action,
or some other action.
Abstract — a brief description of the problem the
regulation will address; the need for a Federal solution; to
the extent available, alternatives that the agency is
considering to address the problem; and potential costs and
benefits of the action.
Timetable — the dates and citations (if available) for all
past steps and a projected date for at least the next step for
the regulatory action. A date printed in the form 08/00/10
means the agency is predicting the month and year the
action will take place but not the day it will occur. In some
instances, agencies may indicate what the next action will
be, but the date of that action is ‘‘To Be Determined.’’ ‘‘Next
Action Undetermined’’ indicates the agency does not know
what action it will take next.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required — whether an
analysis is required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) because the rulemaking action is likely
to have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities as defined by the Act.
Small Entities Affected — the types of small entities
(businesses, governmental jurisdictions, or organizations) on
which the rulemaking action is likely to have an impact as
defined by the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Some agencies
have chosen to indicate likely effects on small entities even
though they believe that a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
will not be required.
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Government Levels Affected — whether the action is
expected to affect levels of government and, if so, whether
the governments are State, local, tribal, or Federal.
International Impacts — whether the regulation is
expected to have international trade and investment effects,
or otherwise may be of interest to the Nation’s international
trading partners.
Federalism — whether the action has ‘‘federalism
implications’’ as defined in Executive Order 13132. This
term refers to actions ‘‘that have substantial direct effects on
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the States, on the relationship between the national
government and the States, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of
government.’’ Independent regulatory agencies are not
required to supply this information.
Agency Contact — the name and phone number of at least
one person in the agency who is knowledgeable about the
rulemaking action. The agency may also provide the title,
address, fax number, e-mail address, and TDD for each
agency contact.
Some agencies have provided the following optional
information:
RIN Information URL — the Internet address of a site that
provides more information about the entry.
Public Comment URL — the Internet address of a site that
will accept public comments on the entry. Alternatively,
timely public comments may be submitted at the
governmentwide e-rulemaking site,
https://www.regulations.gov.
Additional Information — any information an agency
wishes to include that does not have a specific
corresponding data element.
Compliance Cost to the Public — the estimated gross
compliance cost of the action.
Affected Sectors — the industrial sectors that the action
may most affect, either directly or indirectly. Affected
Sectors are identified by North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) codes.
Energy Effects — an indication of whether the agency has
prepared or plans to prepare a Statement of Energy Effects
for the action, as required by Executive Order 13211
‘‘Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect
Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use,’’ signed May 18, 2001
(66 FR 28355).
Related RINs— one or more past or current RINs
associated with activity related to this action, such as
merged RINs, split RINs, new activity for previously
completed RINs, or duplicate RINs.
Entries appearing in The Regulatory Plan include some
or all of the following additional data elements, but will, at
a minimum, include information in Statement of Need and
in Anticipated Costs and Benefits:
Statement of Need — a description of the need for the
regulatory action.
Summary of the Legal Basis — a description of the legal
basis for the action, including whether any aspect of the
action is required by statute or court order.
Alternatives — a description of the alternatives the
agency has considered or will consider as required by
section 4(c)(1)(B) of Executive Order 12866.
Anticipated Costs and Benefits — a description of
preliminary estimates of the anticipated costs and benefits
of the action.
Risks — a description of the magnitude of the risk the
action addresses, the amount by which the agency expects
the action to reduce this risk, and the relation of the risk
and this risk reduction effort to other risks and risk
reduction efforts within the agency’s jurisdiction.
V. Abbreviations
The following abbreviations appear throughout this
publication:
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ANPRM — An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
is a preliminary notice, published in the Federal Register,
announcing that an agency is considering a regulatory
action. An agency may issue an ANPRM before it develops
a detailed proposed rule. An ANPRM describes the general
area that may be subject to regulation and usually asks for
public comment on the issues and options being discussed.
An ANPRM is issued only when an agency believes it needs
to gather more information before proceeding to a notice of
proposed rulemaking.
CFR — The Code of Federal Regulations is an annual
codification of the general and permanent regulations
published in the Federal Register by the agencies of the
Federal Government. The Code is divided into 50 titles, each
title covering a broad area subject to Federal regulation. The
CFR is keyed to and kept up to date by the daily issues of
the Federal Register.
EO — An Executive order is a directive from the President
to Executive agencies, issued under constitutional or
statutory authority. Executive orders are published in the
Federal Register and in title 3 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.
FR — The Federal Register is a daily Federal Government
publication that provides a uniform system for publishing
Presidential documents, all proposed and final regulations,
notices of meetings, and other official documents issued by
Federal agencies.
FY — The Federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to
September 30.
NPRM — A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is the
document an agency issues and publishes in the Federal
Register that describes and solicits public comments on a
proposed regulatory action. Under the Administrative
Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), an NPRM must include, at a
minimum:
• a statement of the time, place, and nature of the public
rulemaking proceeding;
• a reference to the legal authority under which the rule
is proposed; and
• either the terms or substance of the proposed rule or a
description of the subjects and issues involved.
PL (or Pub. L.) — A public law is a law passed by
Congress and signed by the President or enacted over his
veto. It has general applicability, unlike a private law that
applies only to those persons or entities specifically
designated. Public laws are numbered in sequence
throughout the 2-year life of each Congress; for example, PL
111-5 is the fifth public law of the 111th Congress.
erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES
RFA — A Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is a description
and analysis of the impact of a rule on small entities,
including small businesses, small governmental
jurisdictions, and certain small not-for-profit organizations.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) requires
each agency to prepare an initial RFA for public comment
when it is required to publish an NPRM and to make
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available a final RFA when the final rule is published,
unless the agency head certifies that the rule would not have
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities.
RIN — The Regulation Identifier Number is assigned by
the Regulatory Information Service Center to identify each
regulatory action listed in The Regulatory Plan and the
Unified Agenda, as directed by Executive Order 12866
(section 4(b)). Additionally, OMB has asked agencies to
include RINs in the headings of their Rule and Proposed
Rule documents when publishing them in the Federal
Register, to make it easier for the public and agency officials
to track the publication history of regulatory actions
throughout their development.
Seq. No. — The sequence number identifies the location
of an entry in the printed edition of the Unified Agenda.
Note that a specific regulatory action will have the same RIN
throughout its development but will generally have different
sequence numbers if it appears in different printed editions
of The Regulatory Plan and the Agenda. Sequence numbers
are not used in the online Unified Agenda.
USC — The United States Code is a consolidation and
codification of all general and permanent laws of the United
States. The USC is divided into 50 titles, each title covering
a broad area of Federal law.
VI. How Can Users Get Copies of the Plan and the Agenda?
Copies of the Federal Register issue containing the
printed edition of The Regulatory Plan and the Unified
Agenda (agency regulatory flexibility agendas) are available
from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 152507954. Telephone: (202) 512-1800 or 1-866-512-1800 (tollfree).
Copies of individual agency materials may be available
directly from the agency or may be found on the agency’s
website. Please contact the particular agency for further
information.
All editions of The Regulatory Plan and the Unified
Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
since fall 1995 are available in electronic form at
https://reginfo.gov. This site currently offers flexible search
tools for recent editions. By early 2010, searchable access to
the entire historic Unified Agenda database back to 1983
will be added to the site.
In accordance with regulations for the Federal Register,
the Government Printing Office’s GPO Access website
contains copies of the Agendas and Regulatory Plans that
have been printed in the Federal Register. These documents
are available at:
https://www.gpoaccess.gov/ua/
Dated: November 18, 2009.
John C. Thomas,
Executive Director.
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[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 233 (Monday, December 7, 2009)]
[Unknown Section]
[Pages 64131-64136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: X09-21207]
[[Page 64131]]
REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE CENTER
Introduction to The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal
Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
AGENCY: Regulatory Information Service Center.
ACTION: Introduction to The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of
Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.
_______________________________________________________________________
SUMMARY: The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies publish
semiannual regulatory agendas in the Federal Register describing
regulatory actions they are developing that may have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities (5 U.S.C.
602). Executive Order 12866 ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' signed
September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735) and Office of Management and Budget
memoranda implementing section 4 of that Order establish minimum
standards for agencies' agendas, including specific types of
information for each entry. Section 4 of Executive Order 12866 also
directs that each agency prepare, as part of its submission to the fall
edition of the Unified Agenda, a regulatory plan of the most important
significant regulatory actions that the agency reasonably expects to
issue in proposed or final form during the upcoming fiscal year. The
Regulatory Plan (Plan) and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and
Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda) help agencies fulfill these
requirements.
Editions of the Unified Agenda prior to fall 2007 were printed in
their entirety in the Federal Register. Beginning with the fall 2007
edition, the Internet is the basic means for conveying Regulatory
Agenda information to the maximum extent legally permissible. The
complete Unified Agenda for fall 2009, including The Regulatory Plan,
is available to the public at https://reginfo.gov.
The fall 2009 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the Federal
Register consists of The Regulatory Plan and agency regulatory
flexibility agendas, in accordance with the publication requirements of
the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Agency regulatory flexibility agendas
contain only those Agenda entries for rules which are likely to have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
and entries that have been selected for periodic review under section
610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
The complete fall 2009 Unified Agenda contains the plans of 27
Federal agencies and the regulatory agendas for these and 32 other
Federal agencies.
ADDRESSES: Regulatory Information Service Center (MI), General Services
Administration, 1800 F Street NW., Suite 3039, Washington, DC 20405.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about specific
regulatory actions, please refer to the Agency Contact listed for each
entry.
To provide comment on or to obtain further information about this
publication, contact: John C. Thomas, Executive Director, Regulatory
Information Service Center (MI), General Services Administration, 1800
F Street NW., Suite 3039, Washington, DC 20405, (202) 482-7340. You may
also send comments to us by e-mail at:
risc@gsa.gov
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Introduction to The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal
Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
I. What Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda?......... 64132
II. Why Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda 64133
Published?.....................................................
III. How Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda 64133
Organized?.....................................................
IV. What Information Appears for Each Entry?.................... 64134
V. Abbreviations................................................ 64135
VI. How Can Users Get Copies of the Plan and the Agenda?........ 64136
Introduction to the Fall 2009 Regulatory Plan................... 64137
AGENCY REGULATORY PLANS
Cabinet Departments
Department of Agriculture....................................... 64149
Department of Commerce.......................................... 64182
Department of Defense........................................... 64189
Department of Education......................................... 64194
Department of Energy............................................ 64198
Department of Health and Human Services......................... 64201
Department of Homeland Security................................. 64213
Department of Housing and Urban Development..................... 64246
Department of the Interior...................................... 64250
Department of Justice........................................... 64257
Department of Labor............................................. 64264
Department of Transportation.................................... 64283
Department of the Treasury...................................... 64304
Department of Veterans Affairs.................................. 64317
Other Executive Agencies
Environmental Protection Agency................................. 64318
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission......................... 64340
General Services Administration................................. 64342
National Aeronautics and Space Administration................... 64343
National Archives and Records Administration.................... 64344
Office of Personnel Management.................................. 64345
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation............................ 64347
Small Business Administration................................... 64349
Social Security Administration.................................. 64354
Independent Regulatory Agencies
Federal Maritime Commission..................................... 64362
Federal Trade Commission........................................ 64363
National Indian Gaming Commission............................... 64372
Postal Regulatory Commission.................................... 64374
AGENCY AGENDAS
Cabinet Departments
Department of Agriculture....................................... 64375
Department of Commerce.......................................... 64395
Department of Energy............................................ 64421
Department of Health and Human Services......................... 64423
Department of Homeland Security................................. 64447
Department of the Interior...................................... 64455
Department of Justice........................................... 64457
Department of Labor............................................. 64461
Department of Transportation.................................... 64469
Department of the Treasury...................................... 64493
Other Executive Agencies
Environmental Protection Agency................................. 64495
General Services Administration................................. 64505
Small Business Administration................................... 64509
[[Page 64132]]
Joint Authority
Department of Defense/General Services Administration/National 64517
Aeronautics and Space Administration (Federal Acquisition
Regulation)....................................................
Independent Regulatory Agencies
Federal Communications Commission............................... 64521
Federal Reserve System.......................................... 64565
National Credit Union Administration............................ 64567
Nuclear Regulatory Commission................................... 64571
Securities and Exchange Commission.............................. 64577
INTRODUCTION TO THE REGULATORY PLAN AND THE UNIFIED AGENDA OF
FEDERAL REGULATORY AND DEREGULATORY ACTIONS
I. What Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda?
The Regulatory Plan serves as a defining statement of the
Administration's regulatory and deregulatory policies and priorities.
The Plan is part of the fall edition of the Unified Agenda. Each
participating agency's regulatory plan contains: (1) A narrative
statement of the agency's regulatory priorities and, for most agencies,
(2) a description of the most important significant regulatory and
deregulatory actions that the agency reasonably expects to issue in
proposed or final form during the upcoming fiscal year. This edition
includes the regulatory plans of 27 agencies.
The Unified Agenda provides information about regulations that the
Government is considering or reviewing. The Unified Agenda has appeared
in the Federal Register twice each year since 1983 and has been
available online since 1995. To further the objective of using modern
technology to deliver better service to the American people for lower
cost, beginning with the fall 2007 edition, the Internet is the basic
means for conveying Regulatory Agenda information to the maximum extent
legally permissible. The complete Unified Agenda, including The
Regulatory Plan, is available to the public at https://reginfo.gov. The
online Unified Agenda offers flexible search tools and will soon offer
access to the entire historic Unified Agenda database.
The fall 2009 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the Federal
Register consists of The Regulatory Plan and agency regulatory
flexibility agendas, in accordance with the publication requirements of
the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Agency regulatory flexibility agendas
contain only those Agenda entries for rules which are likely to have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
and entries that have been selected for periodic review under section
610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Printed entries display only the
fields required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Complete agenda
information for those entries appears, in a uniform format, in the
online Unified Agenda at https://reginfo.gov.
These publication formats meet the publication mandates of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 12866, as well as move
the Agenda process toward the goal of e-Government, at a substantially
reduced printing cost compared with prior editions. The current format
does not reduce the amount of information available to the public, but
it does limit most of the content of the Agenda to online access. The
complete online edition of the Unified Agenda includes regulatory
agendas from 59 Federal agencies. Agencies of the United States
Congress are not included.
The following agencies have no entries identified for inclusion in
the printed regulatory flexibility agenda. An asterisk (*) indicates
agencies that appear in the Regulatory Plan. The regulatory agendas of
these agencies are available to the public at https://reginfo.gov.
Department of Defense *
Department of Education *
Department of Housing and Urban Development *
Department of State
Department of Veterans Affairs *
Agency for International Development
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
Commission on Civil Rights
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Corporation for National and Community Service
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of
Columbia
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission *
Farm Credit Administration
Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Federal Maritime Commission *
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Federal Trade Commission *
Institute of Museum and Library Services
National Aeronautics and Space Administration *
National Archives and Records Administration *
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Humanities
National Indian Gaming Commission *
National Science Foundation
Office of Government Ethics
Office of Management and Budget
Office of Personnel Management *
Peace Corps
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation *
Postal Regulatory Commission *
Railroad Retirement Board
Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
Selective Service System
Social Security Administration *
Surface Transportation Board
The Regulatory Information Service Center (the Center) compiles the
Plan and the Unified Agenda for the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), part of the Office of Management and Budget.
OIRA is responsible for overseeing the Federal Government's regulatory,
paperwork, and information resource management activities, including
implementation of Executive Order 12866. The Center also provides
information about Federal regulatory activity to the President and his
Executive Office, the Congress, agency managers, and the public.
[[Page 64133]]
The activities included in the Agenda are, in general, those that
will have a regulatory action within the next 12 months. Agencies may
choose to include activities that will have a longer timeframe than 12
months. Agency agendas also show actions or reviews completed or
withdrawn since the last Unified Agenda. Executive Order 12866 does not
require agencies to include regulations concerning military or foreign
affairs functions or regulations related to agency organization,
management, or personnel matters.
Agencies prepared entries for this publication to give the public
notice of their plans to review, propose, and issue regulations. They
have tried to predict their activities over the next 12 months as
accurately as possible, but dates and schedules are subject to change.
Agencies may withdraw some of the regulations now under development,
and they may issue or propose other regulations not included in their
agendas. Agency actions in the rulemaking process may occur before or
after the dates they have listed. The Regulatory Plan and the Unified
Agenda do not create a legal obligation on agencies to adhere to
schedules in this publication or to confine their regulatory activities
to those regulations that appear within it.
II. Why Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda Published?
The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda help agencies comply
with their obligations under the Regulatory Flexibility Act and various
Executive orders and other statutes.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to identify those
rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities (5 U.S.C. 602). Agencies meet that requirement
by including the information in their submissions for the Unified
Agenda. Agencies may also indicate those regulations that they are
reviewing as part of their periodic review of existing rules under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 610). Executive Order 13272
entitled ``Proper Consideration of Small Entities in Agency
Rulemaking,'' signed August 13, 2002 (67 FR 53461) provides additional
guidance on compliance with the Act.
Executive Order 12866
Executive Order 12866 entitled ``Regulatory Planning and Review,''
signed September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735) requires covered agencies to
prepare an agenda of all regulations under development or review. The
Order also requires that certain agencies prepare annually a regulatory
plan of their ``most important significant regulatory actions,'' which
appears as part of the fall Unified Agenda. Executive Order 13497,
signed January 30, 2009 (74 FR 6113), revoked the amendments to
Executive Order 12866 that were contained in Executive Order 13258 and
Executive Order 13422.
Executive Order 13132
Executive Order 13132 entitled ``Federalism,'' signed August 4,
1999 (64 FR 43255), directs agencies to have an accountable process to
ensure meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in the
development of regulatory policies that have ``federalism
implications'' as defined in the Order. Under the Order, an agency that
is proposing regulations with federalism implications, which either
preempt State law or impose nonstatutory unfunded substantial direct
compliance costs on State and local governments, must consult with
State and local officials early in the process of developing the
regulation. In addition, the agency must provide to the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget a federalism summary impact statement
for such regulations, which consists of a description of the extent of
the agency's prior consultation with State and local officials, a
summary of their concerns and the agency's position supporting the need
to issue the regulation, and a statement of the extent to which those
concerns have been met. As part of this effort, agencies include in
their submissions for the Unified Agenda information on whether their
regulatory actions may have an effect on the various levels of
government and whether those actions have federalism implications.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4, title II)
requires agencies to prepare written assessments of the costs and
benefits of significant regulatory actions ``that may result in the
expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate,
or by the private sector, of $100,000,000 or more . . . in any 1 year .
. . .'' The requirement does not apply to independent regulatory
agencies, nor does it apply to certain subject areas excluded by
section 4 of the Act. Affected agencies identify in the Unified Agenda
those regulatory actions they believe are subject to title II of the
Act.
Executive Order 13211
Executive Order 13211 entitled ``Actions Concerning Regulations
That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use,'' signed
May 18, 2001 (66 FR 28355), directs agencies to provide, to the extent
possible, information regarding the adverse effects that agency actions
may have on the supply, distribution, and use of energy. Under the
Order, the agency must prepare and submit a Statement of Energy Effects
to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, for ``those matters
identified as significant energy actions.'' As part of this effort,
agencies may optionally include in their submissions for the Unified
Agenda information on whether they have prepared or plan to prepare a
Statement of Energy Effects for their regulatory actions.
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act
The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (Pub. L.
104-121, title II) established a procedure for congressional review of
rules (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), which defers, unless exempted, the
effective date of a ``major'' rule for at least 60 days from the
publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. The Act
specifies that a rule is ``major'' if it has resulted or is likely to
result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or
meets other criteria specified in that Act. The Act provides that the
Administrator of OIRA will make the final determination as to whether a
rule is major.
III. How Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda
Organized?
The Regulatory Plan appears in part II of a daily edition of the
Federal Register. The Plan is a single document beginning with an
introduction, followed by a table of contents, followed by each
agency's section of the Plan. Following the Plan in the Federal
Register, as separate parts, are the regulatory flexibility agendas for
each agency whose agenda includes entries for rules which are likely to
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities or rules that have been selected for periodic review under
section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Each printed agenda
appears as a separate part. The sections of the Plan and the parts of
the Unified Agenda are
[[Page 64134]]
organized alphabetically in four groups: Cabinet departments; other
executive agencies; the Federal Acquisition Regulation, a joint
authority (Agenda only); and independent regulatory agencies. Agencies
may in turn be divided into subagencies. Each printed agency agenda has
a table of contents listing the agency's printed entries that follow.
Each agency's section of the Plan contains a narrative statement of
regulatory priorities and, for most agencies, a description of the
agency's most important significant regulatory and deregulatory
actions. Each agency's part of the Agenda contains a preamble providing
information specific to that agency plus descriptions of the agency's
regulatory and deregulatory actions.
The online, complete Unified Agenda contains the preambles of all
participating agencies. Unlike the printed edition, the online Agenda
has no fixed ordering. In the online Agenda, users can select the
particular agencies whose agendas they want to see. Users have broad
flexibility to specify the characteristics of the entries of interest
to them by choosing the desired responses to individual data fields. To
see a listing of all of an agency's entries, a user can select the
agency without specifying any particular characteristics of entries.
Each entry in the Agenda is associated with one of five rulemaking
stages. In the Plan, only the first three stages are applicable. Some
agencies use subheadings to identify regulations that are grouped
according to particular topics. The rulemaking stages are:
1. Prerule Stage -- actions agencies will undertake to determine
whether or how to initiate rulemaking. Such actions occur prior to
a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and may include Advance
Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRMs) and reviews of existing
regulations.
2. Proposed Rule Stage -- actions for which agencies plan to publish a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking as the next step in their rulemaking
process or for which the closing date of the NPRM Comment Period is
the next step.
3. Final Rule Stage -- actions for which agencies plan to publish a
final rule or an interim final rule or to take other final action
as the next step.
4. Long-Term Actions -- items under development but for which the
agency does not expect to have a regulatory action within the 12
months after publication of this edition of the Unified Agenda.
Some of the entries in this section may contain abbreviated
information.
5. Completed Actions -- actions or reviews the agency has completed or
withdrawn since publishing its last agenda. This section also
includes items the agency began and completed between issues of the
Agenda.
A bullet () preceding the title of an entry indicates that
the entry is appearing in the Unified Agenda for the first time.
In the printed edition, all entries are numbered sequentially from
the beginning to the end of the publication. The sequence number
preceding the title of each entry identifies the location of the entry
in this edition. The sequence number is used as the reference in the
printed table of contents. Sequence numbers are not used in the online
Unified Agenda because the unique Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) is
able to provide this cross-reference capability.
Editions of the Unified Agenda prior to fall 2007 contained several
indexes, which identified entries with various characteristics. These
included regulatory actions for which agencies believe that the
Regulatory Flexibility Act may require a Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis, actions selected for periodic review under section 610(c) of
the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and actions that may have federalism
implications as defined in Executive Order 13132 or other effects on
levels of government. These indexes are no longer compiled, because
users of the online Unified Agenda have the flexibility to search for
entries with any combination of desired characteristics. The online
edition retains the Unified Agenda's subject index based on the Federal
Register Thesaurus of Indexing Terms. In addition, online users have
the option of searching Agenda text fields for words or phrases.
IV. What Information Appears for Each Entry?
All entries in the Unified Agenda contain uniform data elements
including, at a minimum, the following information:
Title of the Regulation -- a brief description of the subject of
the regulation. In the printed edition, the notation ``Section 610
Review'' following the title indicates that the agency has selected the
rule for its periodic review of existing rules under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 610(c)). Some agencies have indicated
completions of section 610 reviews or rulemaking actions resulting from
completed section 610 reviews. In the online edition, these notations
appear in a separate field.
Priority -- an indication of the significance of the regulation.
Agencies assign each entry to one of the following five categories of
significance.
(1) Economically Significant
As defined in Executive Order 12866, a rulemaking action that will
have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or
will adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of
the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment,
public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or
communities. The definition of an ``economically significant'' rule
is similar but not identical to the definition of a ``major'' rule
under 5 U.S.C. 801 (Pub. L. 104-121). (See below.)
(2) Other Significant
A rulemaking that is not Economically Significant but is considered
Significant by the agency. This category includes rules that the
agency anticipates will be reviewed under Executive Order 12866 or
rules that are a priority of the agency head. These rules may or
may not be included in the agency's regulatory plan.
(3) Substantive, Nonsignificant
A rulemaking that has substantive impacts but is neither Significant,
nor Routine and Frequent, nor Informational/Administrative/Other.
(4) Routine and Frequent
A rulemaking that is a specific case of a multiple recurring
application of a regulatory program in the Code of Federal
Regulations and that does not alter the body of the regulation.
(5) Informational/Administrative/Other
A rulemaking that is primarily informational or pertains to agency
matters not central to accomplishing the agency's regulatory
mandate but that the agency places in the Unified Agenda to inform
the public of the activity.
[[Page 64135]]
Major -- whether the rule is ``major'' under 5 U.S.C. 801 (Pub. L.
104-121) because it has resulted or is likely to result in an annual
effect on the economy of $100 million or more or meets other criteria
specified in that Act. The Act provides that the Administrator of the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs will make the final
determination as to whether a rule is major.
Unfunded Mandates -- whether the rule is covered by section 202 of
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4). The Act
requires that, before issuing an NPRM likely to result in a mandate
that may result in expenditures by State, local, and tribal
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector of more than
$100 million in 1 year, agencies, other than independent regulatory
agencies, shall prepare a written statement containing an assessment of
the anticipated costs and benefits of the Federal mandate.
Legal Authority -- the section(s) of the United States Code
(U.S.C.) or Public Law (Pub. L.) or the Executive order (E.O.) that
authorize(s) the regulatory action. Agencies may provide popular name
references to laws in addition to these citations.
CFR Citation -- the section(s) of the Code of Federal Regulations
that will be affected by the action.
Legal Deadline -- whether the action is subject to a statutory or
judicial deadline, the date of that deadline, and whether the deadline
pertains to an NPRM, a Final Action, or some other action.
Abstract -- a brief description of the problem the regulation will
address; the need for a Federal solution; to the extent available,
alternatives that the agency is considering to address the problem; and
potential costs and benefits of the action.
Timetable -- the dates and citations (if available) for all past
steps and a projected date for at least the next step for the
regulatory action. A date printed in the form 08/00/10 means the agency
is predicting the month and year the action will take place but not the
day it will occur. In some instances, agencies may indicate what the
next action will be, but the date of that action is ``To Be
Determined.'' ``Next Action Undetermined'' indicates the agency does
not know what action it will take next.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required -- whether an analysis is
required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)
because the rulemaking action is likely to have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities as defined by the Act.
Small Entities Affected -- the types of small entities
(businesses, governmental jurisdictions, or organizations) on which the
rulemaking action is likely to have an impact as defined by the
Regulatory Flexibility Act. Some agencies have chosen to indicate
likely effects on small entities even though they believe that a
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis will not be required.
Government Levels Affected -- whether the action is expected to
affect levels of government and, if so, whether the governments are
State, local, tribal, or Federal.
International Impacts -- whether the regulation is expected to
have international trade and investment effects, or otherwise may be of
interest to the Nation's international trading partners.
Federalism -- whether the action has ``federalism implications''
as defined in Executive Order 13132. This term refers to actions ``that
have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.''
Independent regulatory agencies are not required to supply this
information.
Agency Contact -- the name and phone number of at least one person
in the agency who is knowledgeable about the rulemaking action. The
agency may also provide the title, address, fax number, e-mail address,
and TDD for each agency contact.
Some agencies have provided the following optional information:
RIN Information URL -- the Internet address of a site that provides
more information about the entry.
Public Comment URL -- the Internet address of a site that will
accept public comments on the entry. Alternatively, timely public
comments may be submitted at the governmentwide e-rulemaking site,
https://www.regulations.gov.
Additional Information -- any information an agency wishes to
include that does not have a specific corresponding data element.
Compliance Cost to the Public -- the estimated gross compliance
cost of the action.
Affected Sectors -- the industrial sectors that the action may
most affect, either directly or indirectly. Affected Sectors are
identified by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
codes.
Energy Effects -- an indication of whether the agency has prepared
or plans to prepare a Statement of Energy Effects for the action, as
required by Executive Order 13211 ``Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use,'' signed May
18, 2001 (66 FR 28355).
Related RINs-- one or more past or current RINs associated with
activity related to this action, such as merged RINs, split RINs, new
activity for previously completed RINs, or duplicate RINs.
Entries appearing in The Regulatory Plan include some or all of the
following additional data elements, but will, at a minimum, include
information in Statement of Need and in Anticipated Costs and Benefits:
Statement of Need -- a description of the need for the regulatory
action.
Summary of the Legal Basis -- a description of the legal basis for
the action, including whether any aspect of the action is required by
statute or court order.
Alternatives -- a description of the alternatives the agency has
considered or will consider as required by section 4(c)(1)(B) of
Executive Order 12866.
Anticipated Costs and Benefits -- a description of preliminary
estimates of the anticipated costs and benefits of the action.
Risks -- a description of the magnitude of the risk the action
addresses, the amount by which the agency expects the action to reduce
this risk, and the relation of the risk and this risk reduction effort
to other risks and risk reduction efforts within the agency's
jurisdiction.
V. Abbreviations
The following abbreviations appear throughout this publication:
[[Page 64136]]
ANPRM -- An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is a preliminary
notice, published in the Federal Register, announcing that an agency is
considering a regulatory action. An agency may issue an ANPRM before it
develops a detailed proposed rule. An ANPRM describes the general area
that may be subject to regulation and usually asks for public comment
on the issues and options being discussed. An ANPRM is issued only when
an agency believes it needs to gather more information before
proceeding to a notice of proposed rulemaking.
CFR -- The Code of Federal Regulations is an annual codification
of the general and permanent regulations published in the Federal
Register by the agencies of the Federal Government. The Code is divided
into 50 titles, each title covering a broad area subject to Federal
regulation. The CFR is keyed to and kept up to date by the daily issues
of the Federal Register.
EO -- An Executive order is a directive from the President to
Executive agencies, issued under constitutional or statutory authority.
Executive orders are published in the Federal Register and in title 3
of the Code of Federal Regulations.
FR -- The Federal Register is a daily Federal Government
publication that provides a uniform system for publishing Presidential
documents, all proposed and final regulations, notices of meetings, and
other official documents issued by Federal agencies.
FY -- The Federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
NPRM -- A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is the document an agency
issues and publishes in the Federal Register that describes and
solicits public comments on a proposed regulatory action. Under the
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), an NPRM must include, at a
minimum:
a statement of the time, place, and nature of the public
rulemaking proceeding;
a reference to the legal authority under which the rule is
proposed; and
either the terms or substance of the proposed rule or a
description of the subjects and issues involved.
PL (or Pub. L.) -- A public law is a law passed by Congress and
signed by the President or enacted over his veto. It has general
applicability, unlike a private law that applies only to those persons
or entities specifically designated. Public laws are numbered in
sequence throughout the 2-year life of each Congress; for example, PL
111-5 is the fifth public law of the 111th Congress.
RFA -- A Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is a description and
analysis of the impact of a rule on small entities, including small
businesses, small governmental jurisdictions, and certain small not-
for-profit organizations. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601
et seq.) requires each agency to prepare an initial RFA for public
comment when it is required to publish an NPRM and to make available a
final RFA when the final rule is published, unless the agency head
certifies that the rule would not have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities.
RIN -- The Regulation Identifier Number is assigned by the
Regulatory Information Service Center to identify each regulatory
action listed in The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda, as
directed by Executive Order 12866 (section 4(b)). Additionally, OMB has
asked agencies to include RINs in the headings of their Rule and
Proposed Rule documents when publishing them in the Federal Register,
to make it easier for the public and agency officials to track the
publication history of regulatory actions throughout their development.
Seq. No. -- The sequence number identifies the location of an
entry in the printed edition of the Unified Agenda. Note that a
specific regulatory action will have the same RIN throughout its
development but will generally have different sequence numbers if it
appears in different printed editions of The Regulatory Plan and the
Agenda. Sequence numbers are not used in the online Unified Agenda.
USC -- The United States Code is a consolidation and codification
of all general and permanent laws of the United States. The USC is
divided into 50 titles, each title covering a broad area of Federal
law.
VI. How Can Users Get Copies of the Plan and the Agenda?
Copies of the Federal Register issue containing the printed edition
of The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda (agency regulatory
flexibility agendas) are available from the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954,
Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. Telephone: (202) 512-1800 or 1-866-512-1800
(toll-free).
Copies of individual agency materials may be available directly
from the agency or may be found on the agency's website. Please contact
the particular agency for further information.
All editions of The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of
Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions since fall 1995 are
available in electronic form at https://reginfo.gov. This site currently
offers flexible search tools for recent editions. By early 2010,
searchable access to the entire historic Unified Agenda database back
to 1983 will be added to the site.
In accordance with regulations for the Federal Register, the
Government Printing Office's GPO Access website contains copies of the
Agendas and Regulatory Plans that have been printed in the Federal
Register. These documents are available at:
https://www.gpoaccess.gov/ua/
Dated: November 18, 2009.
John C. Thomas,
Executive Director.
The Regulatory Plan
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