November 18, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains proposed regulations that provide guidance respecting the election to use the alternate valuation method under section 2032 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). The proposed regulations will affect estates that file Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return and elect to use the alternate valuation method. This document also provides notice of a public hearing on these proposed regulations.

DoD is adopting as final, with changes, an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to implement the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 regarding the notification requirements to Congress when awarding a single-award task- or delivery-order contract in excess of $103 million.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to extend the date for submittal of applications under the DoD Mentor-Prot[eacute]g[eacute] Pilot Program for new mentor-prot[eacute]g[eacute] agreements and the date mentors may incur costs and/or receive credit towards fulfilling their small business subcontracting goals through an approved mentor- prot[eacute]g[eacute] agreement.

DoD is adopting as final, without change, an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to accelerate payments to all small business concerns.

NMFS proposes new Federal American lobster regulations that would limit entry into the lobster trap fishery in Lobster Conservation Management Area 1 (Federal inshore waters-Gulf of Maine). Upon qualification, permit holders would be allowed to fish in Area 1 with up to 800 lobster traps. The proposed limited entry program responds to the recommendations for Federal action in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (Commission) Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') is amending its rules to reflect that the Commission's Office of the Ethics Counsel is now a stand-alone Office of the Commission and that the head of the Office, the Ethics Counsel, reports directly to the Chairman of the Commission.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Model DHC-8-102, -103, and -106 airplanes and Model DHC-8-200, -300, and -400 series airplanes. This proposed AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as:

EPA is taking final action to approve a request submitted on December 18, 2009, and supplemented on December 22, 2010, from the State of North Carolina, through the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR), Division of Air Quality (DAQ), to redesignate the Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir fine particulate matter (PM2.5) nonattainment area (hereafter the ``Hickory Area'' or ``Area'') to attainment for the 1997 Annual PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The Hickory Area is comprised of Catawba County in its entirety. EPA's approval of the redesignation request is based on the determination that the State of North Carolina has met the criteria for redesignation to attainment set forth in the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act), including the determination that the Hickory Area has attained the 1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS by its applicable attainment date of April 5, 2010. Additionally, EPA is approving a revision to the North Carolina State Implementation Plan (SIP) to include the 1997 Annual PM2.5 maintenance plan for the Hickory Area that contains the new motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for nitrogen oxides (NOX) for the years 2011 and 2021 for Catawba County and the mobile insignificance determination for direct PM2.5 for the Hickory Area. This action also approves the emissions inventory submitted with the maintenance plan. Further, EPA is correcting a typographical error for the citation associated with a previous adequacy determination the Agency made for the NOX MVEBs for Catawba County and the mobile source insignificance determination for direct PM2.5 for the Hickory Area.

This regulation establishes a tolerance for residues of prohexadione calcium in or on sweet cherry. BASF Corporation requested this tolerance under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

This proposed rule would make several revisions to the regulations governing the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) Program and the Title VI Loan Guarantee Program. HUD negotiated the proposed rule with active Tribal participation under the procedures of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990, pursuant to the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Reauthorization Act of 2008. The proposed regulatory changes would implement statutory amendments and reflect the consensus decisions reached by HUD and the Tribal representatives.

DoD is adopting as final, without change, an interim rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement the statutory authority to invoke a simplified acquisition threshold that is two times the normal amount to support a humanitarian or peacekeeping operation.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to add to the list of contract administration functions a requirement to maintain surveillance over contractor compliance with duties and responsibilities pertaining to trafficking in persons when they are incorporated in contracts.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to extend the Government self-insurance policy to Government property provided under negotiated fixed-price contracts that are awarded on a basis other than submission of certified cost or pricing data.

On January 26, 2011, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'' or ``CFTC'') published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (``proposal'' or ``Proposed Rules''), which establishes a position limits regime for 28 exempt and agricultural commodity futures and options contracts and the physical commodity swaps that are economically equivalent to such contracts. The Commission is adopting the Proposed Rules, with modifications.