March 4, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Form 4804, Transmittal of Information Returns Reported Magnetically.

The purpose of this notice is to update the 2010 Labor Surplus Areas annual list published in the Federal Register, Vol. 74, No. 209, Friday, October 30, 2009, pages 56217-56239.

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning an existing final regulation, INTL-24-94 (TD 8671), Taxpayer Identifying Numbers (TINs) (Sec. 301.6109-1).

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning an existing notice of proposed rulemaking and temporary regulations, REG- 109704-97 (TD 8471), HIPAA Mental Health Parity Act (Sec. 54.9812).

The Department of the Treasury, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13(44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is soliciting comments concerning Notice 98-1, Nondiscrimination Testing, and final regulation, REG-108639-99 (TD 1969), Retirement Plans; Cash or Deferred Arrangements Under Section 401(k) and Matching Contributions or Employee Contributions Under Section 401(m) (Sec. Sec. 401(k) and 401(m)).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is denying James A. Holland's request for a hearing and is issuing an order under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) debarring Holland for 5 years from providing services in any capacity to a person who has an approved or pending drug product application. FDA bases this order on a finding that Holland was convicted of a misdemeanor under Federal law for conduct relating to the development or approval of a drug product or otherwise relating to the regulation of a drug product under the act and that the type of conduct underlying the conviction undermines the process for the regulation of drugs. In determining the appropriateness and length of Holland's debarment period, FDA has considered the relevant factors listed in the act. Holland has failed to file with the agency information and analysis sufficient to create a basis for a hearing concerning this action.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has submitted the information collection abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget for review and clearance in accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The submission describes the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden (i.e., the time, effort and resources used by respondents to respond) and cost, and the actual data collection instruments FEMA will use.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a proposed extension, without change, of a currently approved information collection. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this Notice seeks comments concerning the application process for property owners to obtain insurance coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

This notice announces that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has forwarded the Information Collection Request (ICR), OMB control number 1652-0040, abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. TSA published a Federal Register notice, with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments, of the following collection of information on November 16, 2009, 74 FR 58969. TSA has not received any comments. The collections of information that make up this ICR involve five broad categories affecting airports, passenger aircraft operators, foreign air carriers, indirect air carriers operating under a security program, and all-cargo carriers. These five categories are: security programs, security threat assessments (STA), known shipper data via the Known Shipper Management System (KSMS), cargo screening reporting, and evidence of compliance recordkeeping.

This notice announces that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has forwarded the Information Collection Request (ICR), OMB control number 1652-0053, abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected burden. TSA published a Federal Register notice, with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments, of the following collection of information on November 16, 2009, 74 FR 58967. TSA has received no comments. The collections include: (1) Applications from entities that wish to become Certified Cargo Screening Facilities (CCSF) or operate as a TSA-approved validation firm; (2) personal information to allow TSA to conduct security threat assessments on key individuals employed by the CCSFs and validation firms; (3) implementation of a standard security program or submission of a proposed modified security program; (4) information on the amount of cargo screened; (5) recordkeeping requirements for CCSFs and validation firms; and (6) submission of validation reports to TSA. TSA is seeking the renewal of the ICR for the continuation of the program in order to secure passenger aircraft carrying cargo by the deadlines set out in the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007.

The Federal Communications Commission published a document in the Federal Register at 75 FR 4701, January 29, 2010, revising Commission rules. This summary corrects the final rules by amending the headings of 47 CFR 1.2105 and 1.2105(c) and the statutory authority for part 1. The change and restoration of language conforms the headings to the Commission's intent. These corrections make no change to the substance of the rule, or the Commission's interpretation or application of the rule.

The Commission announces the next meeting date and agenda of its Consumer Advisory Committee (``Committee''). The purpose of the Committee is to make recommendations to the Commission regarding consumer issues within the jurisdiction of the Commission and to facilitate the participation of all consumers in proceedings before the Commission.

The Secretary amends the regulations governing the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) to provide greater flexibility to school districts designing MSAP programs for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 grant competition announced in a notice inviting applications for new awards published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. These changes remove provisions in the regulations that require districts to use binary racial classifications and prohibit the creation of magnet schools that result in minority group enrollments in magnet and feeder schools exceeding the district-wide average of minority group students. This new flexibility is necessary to permit school districts interested in receiving funds under this program to determine how best to meet program requirements while also taking into account intervening Supreme Court case law, including the Court's decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No 1 et al., 551 U.S. 701 (2007) (Parents Involved).

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today that it is seeking to identify additional qualified industry consultants to assist 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 91; 121, 125, 129, 135 operators as they pursue approval to conduct Required Navigation Performance (RNP) Special Aircraft and Aircrew Authorization Required (SAAAR) approaches. Provisions for gaining those approvals are contained within FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 90-101, Approval Guidance for RNP Procedures with SAAAR. Applicants who meet certain qualifications will be permitted to enter into an agreement with the FAA to be listed as RNP SAAAR Approval Consultants.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (``CERCLA'' or ``the Act''), as amended, requires that the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (``NCP'') include a list of national priorities among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States. The National Priorities List (``NPL'') constitutes this list. The NPL is intended primarily to guide the Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'' or ``the Agency'') in determining which sites warrant further investigation. These further investigations will allow EPA to assess the nature and extent of public health and environmental risks associated with the site and to determine what CERCLA-financed remedial action(s), if any, may be appropriate. This rule adds the Gowanus Canal, located in Brooklyn, New York, to the General Superfund section of the NPL.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'' or ``SEC'') is adopting amendments to certain rules that govern money market funds under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The amendments will tighten the risk-limiting conditions of rule 2a-7 by, among other things, requiring funds to maintain a portion of their portfolios in instruments that can be readily converted to cash, reducing the maximum weighted average maturity of portfolio holdings, and improving the quality of portfolio securities; require money market funds to report their portfolio holdings monthly to the Commission; and permit a money market fund that has ``broken the buck'' (i.e., re-priced its securities below $1.00 per share), or is at imminent risk of breaking the buck, to suspend redemptions to allow for the orderly liquidation of fund assets. The amendments are designed to make money market funds more resilient to certain short-term market risks, and to provide greater protections for investors in a money market fund that is unable to maintain a stable net asset value per share.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) proposes to amend its regulations governing small business contracting procedures. This Proposed Rule would amend part 127, that was promulgated in a Final Rule on October 1, 2008, and entitled ``The Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Assistance Procedures,'' RIN 3245-AF40. This Proposed Rule would implement procedures authorized by the Small Business Act (Act) (Pub. L. 85-536, as amended) to help ensure a level playing field on which Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) can compete for Federal contracting opportunities. SBA proposes changes to part 127 that include eliminating the requirement for an agency-by-agency determination of discrimination, adopting both ``numbers'' and ``dollars'' measures of underrepresentation, and using the Fiscal Year 2006 Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database as the data source for determining eligible industries under the WOSB Program. This Proposed Rule thus identifies the eligible industries under the Program as those industries in which WOSBs are underrepresented or substantially underrepresented using either the numbers or the dollars approach. This Proposed Rule seeks to retain, for the most part, parts 121 and 134 of the Final Rule published on October 1, 2008, titled ``The Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Assistance Procedures,'' RIN 3245-AF40; these portions of the rule govern various implementation procedures of the Program, as more fully discussed below.