January 18, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Refund Processing Communications Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Small Business/ Self-Employed Decreasing Non-Filers Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Tax Forms and Publications Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Return Processing Delays Project Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

PHMSA has determined that the minimum random drug testing rate for covered employees will remain at 25 percent during calendar year 2012.

This proposed rule addresses the hospital-specific limitation on Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments under the Social Security Act. Under this limitation, DSH payments to a hospital cannot exceed the uncompensated costs of furnishing hospital services by the hospital to individuals who are Medicaid-eligible or ``have no health insurance (or other source of third party coverage) for the services furnished during the year.'' This rule would provide that the quoted phrase would refer in context to a lack of coverage on a service-specific basis, so that the calculation of uncompensated care for purposes of the hospital-specific DSH limit would include the cost of each service furnished to an individual who had no health insurance or other source of third party coverage for that service.

The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (``OFAC'') is publishing the names of 15 individuals and 29 entities whose property and interests in property have been unblocked pursuant to Executive Order 12978 of October 21, 1995, ``Blocking Assets and Prohibiting Transactions With Significant Narcotics Traffickers''.

EPA is promulgating a final rule to incorporate the most recent versions of ASTM International (ASTM) standards into EPA regulations that provide flexibility to use alternatives to mercury- containing industrial thermometers. This final rule will allow the use of such alternatives in certain field and laboratory applications previously impermissible as part of compliance with EPA regulations. EPA believes the older embedded ASTM standards unnecessarily impede the use of effective, comparable, and available alternatives to mercury- containing industrial thermometers. Due to mercury's high toxicity, EPA seeks to reduce potential mercury exposures to humans and the environment by reducing the overall use of mercury-containing products, including mercury-containing industrial thermometers.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Hawker Beechcraft Corporation Models 1900, 1900C, and 1900D airplanes. This emergency AD was sent previously to all known U.S. owners and operators of these airplanes. This AD requires inspecting the elevator bob-weight and attaching linkage for correct installation and for damage or deformation to the weight and/or weight bracket with corrective action as necessary. This AD was prompted by reports of the elevator bob-weight (stabilizer weight) traveling past its stop bolt, which allowed the attaching linkage to move over-center, resulting in reduced nose down elevator control, which could result in loss of control of the airplane. We are issuing this AD to detect and correct conditions that could result in reduced nose down elevator control and loss of control of the airplane.

We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for The Boeing Company Model 767 airplanes. This AD requires installing new panel assemblies in the main equipment center or on the forward cargo compartment sidewall and removing certain relays from some panels in the main equipment center. This AD also requires revising the maintenance program to incorporate Airworthiness Limitations (AWLs) No. 28-AWL-27 and No. 28-AWL-28. This AD also includes an alternative location for the installation of the new panel assemblies for airplanes that have the optional water system drain plumbing and changing the interconnecting wiring between the P141 panel and the P36 and P37 panels. For airplanes with a deactivated center fuel tank, this AD also requires an alternative functional test for the left and right override/jettison pumps. We are issuing this AD to prevent possible sources of ignition in a fuel tank caused by electrical fault or uncommanded dry operation of the main tank boost pumps and center auxiliary tank override and jettison pumps. This AD was prompted by fuel system reviews conducted by the manufacturer. An ignition source in the fuel tank could result in a fire or an explosion and consequent loss of the airplane.