January 15, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Forestry Research Advisory Council will meet in Washington, DC February 7-8, 2013. The Council is required by Section 1441 of the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 to provide advice to the Secretary of Agriculture on accomplishing efficiently the purposes of the Act of October 10, 1962 (16 U.S.C. 582a, et seq.), commonly known as the McIntire-Stennis Act of 1962. The Council also provides advice relative to the Forest Service research program, authorized by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-307, 92 Stat. 353, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 1600 (note)). The meeting is open to the public.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are withdrawing the direct final rule that August 28, 2012. HHS/FDA published the direct final rule to exempt scientific research misconduct proceedings records from certain requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974 in order to protect records compiled in the course of misconduct inquiries and investigations, and to safeguard the identity of confidential sources. The comment period closed on November 13, 2012. HHS/FDA is withdrawing the direct final rule because the Agency received significant adverse comment.

Notice is hereby given of the following determinations: Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the Act of October 19, 1965 (79 Stat. 985; 22 U.S.C. 2459), Executive Order 12047 of March 27, 1978, the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 2681, et seq.; 22 U.S.C. 6501 note, et seq.), Delegation of Authority No. 234 of October 1, 1999, Delegation of Authority No. 236-3 of August 28, 2000 (and, as appropriate, Delegation of Authority No. 257 of April 15, 2003), I hereby determine that the objects to be included in the exhibition ``Looking East: Rubens's Encounter with Asia,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United States, are of cultural significance. The objects are imported pursuant to loan agreements with the foreign owners or custodians. I also determine that the exhibition or display of the exhibit objects at The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, from on or about March 5, 2013, until on or about June 9, 2013, and at possible additional exhibitions or venues yet to be determined, is in the national interest. I have ordered that Public Notice of these Determinations be published in the Federal Register.

This notice amends the notice of a major disaster declaration for the State of Maryland (FEMA-4091-DR), dated November 20, 2012, and related determinations.

FMCSA announces receipt of applications from 14 individuals for an exemption from the prohibition against persons with a clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause a loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) from operating CMVs in interstate commerce. The regulation and the associated advisory criteria published in the Code of Federal Regulations as the ``Instructions for Performing and Recording Physical Examinations'' have resulted in numerous drivers being prohibited from operating CMVs in interstate commerce based on the fact that they have had one or more seizures and are taking anti- seizure medication, rather than an individual analysis of their circumstances by a qualified medical examiner. If granted, the exemptions would enable these individuals who have had one or more seizures and are taking anti-seizure medication to operate CMVs for 2 years in interstate commerce.

FMCSA announces its decision to grant requests from 22 individuals for exemptions from the regulatory requirement that interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers have ``no established medical history or clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition which is likely to cause loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control a CMV.'' The regulation and the associated advisory criteria published in the Code of Federal Regulations as the ``Instructions for Performing and Recording Physical Examinations'' have resulted in numerous drivers being prohibited from operating CMVs in interstate commerce based on the fact that they have had one or more seizures and are taking anti-seizure medication, rather than an individual analysis of their circumstances by a qualified medical examiner. The Agency concluded that granting exemptions for these CMV drivers will provide a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety maintained without the exemptions. FMCSA grants exemptions that will allow these 22 individuals to operate CMVs in interstate commerce for a 2-year period. The exemptions preempt State laws and regulations and may be renewed.

This document grants in full Toyota Motor North America, Inc.'s (Toyota) petition for an exemption of the RAV4 vehicle line in accordance with 49 CFR part 543, Exemption from the Theft Prevention Standard. This petition is granted because the agency has determined that the antitheft device to be placed on the line as standard equipment is likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of the Theft Prevention Standard (49 CFR Part 541).

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is seeking to improve the quality of issued patents. In this notice, the USPTO is focusing on potential practices that applicants can employ at the drafting stage of a patent application in order to facilitate examination and bring more certainty to the scope of issued patents. To that end, the USPTO is requesting input from interested members of the public on the specific practices set forth in the ``Topics for Public Comment'' section below. While this notice is directed to potential practices that applicants can employ, the USPTO also plans to issue a separate notice building on internal initiatives and further identifying potential practices the Office can employ to also facilitate examination and bring more certainty to the scope of issued patents. The USPTO intends to publish the separate notice subsequent to its review of comments received responsive to the present notice. On January 3, 2013, the USPTO published a notice announcing the formation of a partnership with the software community to enhance the quality of software-related patents (Software Partnership). See Request for Comments and Notice of Roundtable Events for Partnership for Enhancement of Quality of Software-Related Patents, 78 FR 292 (Jan. 3, 2013). The Software Partnership notice seeks public comment on specific topics related to enhancing the quality of software-related patents, and announces two roundtable events, which will not only offer participants an opportunity to provide oral comments on the topics presented in the Software Partnership notice but also on the topics set forth in the present notice, to the extent they apply to software- related patents. Comment Deadline: To be assured of consideration, written comments must be received on or before March 15, 2013. No public hearing will be held.

Summary of Application: Applicants request an order that permits: (a) Actively-managed series of the Trust to issue shares (``Shares'') redeemable in large aggregations only (``Creation Units''); (b) secondary market transactions in Shares to occur at negotiated market prices; (c) certain series to pay redemption proceeds, under certain circumstances, more than seven days after the tender of Shares for redemption; (d) certain affiliated persons of the series to deposit securities into, and receive securities from, the series in connection with the purchase and redemption of Creation Units; and (e) certain registered management investment companies and unit investment trusts outside of the same group of investment companies as the series to acquire Shares.

GIPSA requests comments on the applicants for designation to provide official services in the Indianapolis, Indiana area.

The Administrative Conference of the United States adopted three recommendations at its Fifty-seventh Plenary Session. The appended recommendations address reforms to 28 U.S.C. 1500, third-party programs to assess regulatory compliance, and inflation adjustment for civil penalties.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing the Final Japan Lessons-Learned Project Directorate Interim Staff Guidance (JLD-ISG), JLD-ISG-2012-06, ``Performing a Tsunami, Surge, or Seiche Hazard Assessment'' (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession No. ML12314A412). This JLD-ISG provides guidance and clarification to assist nuclear power reactors applicants and licensees with the flooding hazard reassessment in response to Enclosure 2 of the NRC staff's request for information, ``Request for Information Pursuant to section 50.54(f) of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), Regarding Recommendations 2.1, 2.3, and 9.3 of the Near-Term Task Force Review of Insights from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Accident,'' dated March 12, 2012 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12053A340).