May 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

OSHA invites interested parties to participate in informal stakeholder meetings on Injury and Illness Prevention Programs, referred to as ``I2P2.'' OSHA plans to use the information gathered at these meetings in developing an Injury and Illness Prevention Program proposed rule. The discussions will be informal and will provide the Agency with the necessary information to develop a rule that will help employers reduce workplace injuries and illnesses through a systematic process that proactively

We are proposing significant revisions to Regulation AB and other rules regarding the offering process, disclosure and reporting for asset-backed securities. Our proposals would revise filing deadlines for ABS offerings to provide investors with more time to consider transaction-specific information, including information about the pool assets. Our proposals also would repeal the current credit ratings references in shelf eligibility criteria for asset-backed issuers and establish new shelf eligibility criteria that would include, among other things, a requirement that the sponsor retain a portion of each tranche of the securities that are sold and a requirement that the issuer undertake to file Exchange Act reports on an ongoing basis so long as its public securities are outstanding. We also are proposing to require that, with some exceptions, prospectuses for public offerings of asset-backed securities and ongoing Exchange Act reports contain specified asset-level information about each of the assets in the pool. The asset-level information would be provided according to proposed standards and in a tagged data format using extensible Markup Language (XML). In addition, we are proposing to require, along with the prospectus filing, the filing of a computer program of the contractual cash flow provisions expressed as downloadable source code in Python, a commonly used open source interpretive programming language. We are proposing new information requirements for the safe harbors for exempt offerings and resales of asset-backed securities and are also proposing a number of other revisions to our rules applicable to asset-backed securities.

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for species that comprise the deep-water species fishery by vessels using trawl gear in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary because the second seasonal apportionment of the Pacific halibut bycatch allowance specified for the deep-water species fishery in the GOA has been reached.

This action corrects the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section to a final rule published in the Federal Register on April 20, 2010, which erroneously waived the 30 day delay in effective date. A 30-day delay in effectiveness will allow fishermen to come into compliance with the terms of the rule, as was originally intended, without compromising any other aspect of the fishery. NMFS will not enforce the requirement that owners be onboard vessels unless otherwise required by statute or regulation.

This final rule authorizes uses of methyl bromide that qualify for the 2010 critical use exemption and the amount of methyl bromide that may be produced, imported, or supplied from existing pre-phaseout inventory for those uses in 2010. EPA is taking action under the authority of the Clean Air Act to reflect a recent consensus decision taken by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer at the Twentieth Meeting of the Parties.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish a temporary safety zone on Lake Michigan within Chicago Harbor near Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. This zone is intended to restrict vessels from a portion of Chicago Harbor due to a fireworks display. This proposed safety zone is necessary to protect the surrounding public and their vessels from the hazards associated with a fireworks display.

The Department of State is proposing to amend existing regulations to impose new program administration requirements within the secondary school student exchange program. These regulations govern Department designated exchange visitor programs under which foreign secondary school students (ages 15-18\1/2\) are afforded the opportunity to study in the United States at accredited public or private secondary schools for an academic semester or an academic year while living with American host families or residing at accredited U.S. boarding schools. Specifically, the Department is proposing to amend existing regulations regarding the screening, selection, school enrollment, orientation, and quality assurance monitoring on behalf of student participants; and the screening, selection, orientation, and quality assurance monitoring of host families and field staff. The purpose of this rule is to solicit public comment regarding these

Pursuant to the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is preparing a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding energy conservation standards for certain incandescent reflector lamps (IRLs) that have elliptical reflector (ER) or bulged reflector (BR) bulb shapes, and for certain IRLs with diameters of 2.50 inches. DOE will hold a public meeting to discuss and receive comments on the product classes that DOE plans to analyze for the purpose of amending energy conservation standards for certain IRLs, and the analytical approach, models, and tools that DOE is using to evaluate standards for these products. DOE encourages written comments on these subjects. To inform interested parties and facilitate this process, DOE has prepared a framework document describing the analytical approaches DOE anticipates using to evaluate potential standards for these lamps.

Section 13405(c) of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act expands an individual's right under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to receive an accounting of disclosures of protected health information made by HIPAA covered entities and their business associates. In particular, section 13405(c) of the HITECH Act requires the Department of Health and Human Services (``Department'' or ``HHS'') to revise the HIPAA Privacy Rule to require covered entities to account for disclosures of protected health information to carry out treatment, payment, and health care operations if such disclosures are through an electronic health record. This document is a request for information (RFI) to help us better understand the interests of individuals with respect to learning of such disclosures, the administrative burden on covered entities and business associates of accounting for such disclosures, and other information that may inform the Department's rulemaking in this area.