December 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action proposes to amend NIGC regulations to include definitions for ``enforcement action''. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act authorizes the NIGC to take certain actions in regard to violations of the Act, NIGC regulations, and tribal gaming ordinances. However, current NIGC regulations do not provide a definition for such actions. The Commission believes that providing a definition for these actions will provide clarity to persons subject to them. Therefore, a definition of ``enforcement action'' is proposed in this notice.

Notice is hereby given that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (Corporation) has been appointed the sole receiver for the following financial institutions effective as of the Date Closed as indicated in the listing. This list (as updated from time to time in the Federal Register) may be relied upon as ``of record'' notice that the Corporation has been appointed receiver for purposes of the statement of policy published in the July 2, 1992 issue of the Federal Register (57 FR 29491). For further information concerning the identification of any institutions which have been placed in liquidation, please visit the Corporation Web site at www.fdic.gov/ bank/individual/failed/banklist.html or contact the Manager of Receivership Oversight in the appropriate service center.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is hosting a public meeting to discuss Federal efforts to advance tri-agency understanding of food source attribution and develop harmonized food source attribution estimates useful to informing targeted food safety strategies. The public meeting will also introduce the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration (IFSAC), which was formed to collaborate on analytic projects. The meeting will also serve as a platform to introduce IFSAC's draft Strategic Plan. Foodborne illness attribution was selected as the initial focus in light of the CDC foodborne illness burden estimates released in 2011 and in response to stakeholder input to develop a unified approach to attribution. FSIS, FDA, and CDC are also interested in input from stakeholders regarding existing data and methods for food source attribution in the United States and the opportunities and challenges in implementing the IFSAC Strategic Plan.

We are advising the public of our determination that a corn line developed by the Monsanto Co., designated as event MON 87460, which has been genetically engineered for drought tolerance, is no longer considered a regulated article under our regulations governing the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms. Our determination is based on our evaluation of data submitted by the Monsanto Company in its petition for a determination of nonregulated status, our analysis of available scientific data, and comments received from the public in response to our previous notice announcing the availability of the petition for nonregulated status and its associated environmental assessment and plant pest risk assessment. This notice also announces the availability of our written determination and finding of no significant impact.

The Federal Maritime Commission is issuing this Notice of Inquiry seeking comments on ways to make the tariff filing exemption provided to licensed non-vessel-operating common carriers in its regulations more useful, including its possible extension to foreign- based non-vessel-operating common carriers not licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has received a petition from the Monsanto Company seeking a determination of nonregulated status of soybean designated as MON 87769, which has been genetically engineered to produce stearidonic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid not found in conventional soybean. The petition has been submitted in accordance with our regulations concerning the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms and products. We are soliciting comments on whether this genetically engineered soybean is likely to pose a plant pest risk. We are making available for public comment the Monsanto petition, our plant pest risk assessment, and our draft environmental assessment for the proposed determination of nonregulated status.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (``the Commission,'' ``CPSC,'' or ``we'') has reason to believe that firepots and gel fuel used together may present an unreasonable risk of injury. As of September 30, 2011, the Commission is aware of 76 incidents that resulted in 2 deaths and 86 injuries involving firepots used with gel fuel. All of these incidents occurred between April 3, 2010 and September 1, 2011. Many of the injuries were severe; over half of the victims reportedly required hospitalization. This advance notice of proposed rulemaking (``ANPR'') initiates a rulemaking proceeding under the Consumer Product Safety Act (``CPSA''). We invite comments concerning the risk of injury associated with firepots, gel fuel and gel fuel containers, the regulatory alternatives discussed in this notice, and other possible ways to address this risk. We also invite interested persons to submit an existing standard or a statement of intent to modify or develop a voluntary standard to address the risk of injury described in this notice.

OSHA is correcting typographical errors in, and making non- substantive technical amendments to, 16 OSHA standards. The technical amendments include updating or revising cross-references and updating OSHA recordkeeping log numbers.

In this final rule, EPA is concluding that emissions from Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin significantly contribute to downwind nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the 1997 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)in other states. Each of these states except Oklahoma is already included in the annual NOX program that was finalized in July 2011. However, this rule does not affect that program. EPA is finalizing Federal Implementation Plans (FIPs) to address the emissions in each of these states except for Kansas, for which EPA is not finalizing a FIP at this time. The FIPs apply the requirements of the ozone season NOX program in the Transport Rule (Federal Implementation Plans to Reduce Interstate Transport of Fine Particulate Matter and Ozone in 27 States; Correction of SIP Approvals for 22 States) to sources in Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. In addition, this action finalizes the budgets; associated variability limits, new unit set-asides, and Indian country new unit set-asides; and unit-level allowance allocations for each state under the FIPs.

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), Cost Accounting Standards Board (Board), is publishing this final rule to revise Cost Accounting Standard (CAS) 412, ``Composition and Measurement of Pension Cost,'' and CAS 413, ``Adjustment and Allocation of Pension Cost.'' This revision will harmonize the measurement and period assignment of the pension cost allocable to Government contracts, and the minimum required contribution under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended, as required by the Pension Protection Act (PPA) of 2006. The PPA amended the minimum funding requirements for qualified defined benefit pension plans. The Board issues this final rule to revise CAS 412 and CAS 413 to include the recognition of a ``minimum actuarial liability'' and ``minimum normal cost,'' which are measured on a basis consistent with the liability measurement used to determine the PPA minimum required contribution, and accelerate the recognition of actuarial gains and losses. These and other revisions will better align both the measurement and period assignment of pension cost allocable to a contractor's Government contracts and other final cost objectives in accordance with CAS, and the measurement and period assignment requirements for determining the contractor's minimum pension contribution under the PPA.

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA, we or us) proposes to amend its liquidity regulation. The purpose of the proposed rule is to strengthen liquidity risk management at Farm Credit System (FCS or System) banks, improve the quality of assets in the liquidity reserve, and bolster the ability of System banks to fund their obligations and continue their operations during times of economic, financial, or market adversity.

The Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) proposes to revise the current Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA or the Act) regulations pertaining to the exemption for companionship services and live-in domestic services. Section 13(a)(15) of the FLSA exempts from its minimum wage and overtime provisions domestic service employees employed ``to provide companionship services for individuals who (because of age or infirmity) are unable to care for themselves (as such terms are defined and delimited by regulations of the Secretary).'' Section 13(b)(21) of the FLSA exempts from the overtime provision any employee employed ``in domestic service in a household and who resides in such household.'' These exemptions were enacted in 1974 at the same time that Congress amended the FLSA to extend coverage to domestic service employees employed by private households. The regulations governing these exemptions have been substantively unchanged since they were promulgated in 1975. Due to significant changes in the home health care industry over the last 35 years, workers who today provide in-home care to individuals are performing duties and working in circumstances that were not envisioned when the companionship services regulations were promulgated. The number of workers providing these services has also greatly increased, and a significant number of these workers are being excluded from the minimum wage and overtime protections of the FLSA under the companionship services exemption. The Department has re- examined the regulations and determined that the regulations, as currently written, have expanded the scope of the exemption beyond those employees whom Congress intended to exempt when it enacted Sec. Sec. 13(a)(15) and 13(b)(21) of the FLSA. Therefore, the Department proposes to amend the regulations to revise the definitions of ``domestic service employment'' and ``companionship services.'' The Department also proposes to clarify the type of activities and duties that may be considered ``incidental'' to the provision of companionship services. In addition, the Department proposes to amend the record- keeping requirements for live-in domestic workers. Finally, the Department proposes to amend the regulation pertaining to employment by a third party of companions and live-in domestic workers. This change would continue to allow the individual, family, or household employing the worker's services to apply the companionship and live-in exemptions and would deny all third party employers the use of such exemptions.

Appearing elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the IRS is issuing temporary regulations that provide guidance on the application of sections 162(a) and 263(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to amounts paid to acquire, produce, or improve tangible property. The temporary regulations clarify and expand the standards in the current regulations under sections 162(a) and 263(a), and provide certain bright-line tests (for example, a de minimis rule for certain acquisitions) for applying these standards. The temporary regulations also provide guidance under section 168 regarding the accounting for, and dispositions of, property subject to section 168. The temporary regulations also amend the general asset account regulations. The temporary regulations will affect all taxpayers that acquire, produce, or improve tangible property. The text of the temporary regulations published in the Federal Regulations also serves as the text of these proposed regulations. This document also provides notice of public hearing on these proposed regulations and withdraws the proposed regulations published in the Federal Register on March 10, 2008 (73 FR 47).

Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) transferred rulemaking authority for a number of consumer financial protection laws from seven Federal agencies to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) as of July 21, 2011. The Bureau is in the process of republishing the regulations implementing those laws with technical and conforming changes to reflect the transfer of authority and certain other changes made by the Dodd-Frank Act. In light of the transfer of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System's (Board's) rulemaking authority for the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) to the Bureau, the Bureau is publishing for public comment an interim final rule establishing a new Regulation E (Electronic Fund Transfers). This interim final rule does not impose any new substantive obligations on persons subject to the existing Regulation E, previously published by the Board.

The FAA is issuing this notice to advise the public of a meeting of RTCA Special Committee 226, Audio Systems and Equipment, for the first meeting.

It is the policy of the Commission to publish settlements which it provisionally accepts under the Consumer Product Safety Act in the Federal Register in accordance with the terms of 16 CFR 1118.20(e). Published below is a provisionally-accepted Settlement Agreement with E & B Giftware LLC, containing a civil penalty of $550,000.00, of which $50,000 shall be suspended, within twenty (20) days of service of the Commission's final Order accepting the Settlement Agreement.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to renew an information collection. The respondents to this information collection are FAR Part 135 and Part 121 operators seeking airman certification and approval of aircraft dispatcher courses. The FAA uses the information to ensure compliance and adherence to the regulations.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to reinstate a previously discontinued information collection. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on August 4, 2011, vol. 76, no. 150, page 47287. This survey assesses airman opinion of key dimensions of service quality.