February 27, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains final regulations under section 6654 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) relating to reduced estimated income tax payments for qualified individuals with small business income for any taxable year beginning in 2009 and does not apply to any taxable years beginning before or after 2009. The final regulations implement changes to section 6654 made by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The final regulations provide guidance for qualified individuals with small business income to certify that they satisfy the statutory gross income requirement for purposes of the reduction in their required 2009 estimated income tax payments.

NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for commercial greater amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) reef fish fishery for the 2013 fishing year through this temporary final rule. This rule reduces the Gulf greater amberjack 2013 commercial annual catch target (ACT) (equal to the commercial quota) to 338,157 lb (153,385 kg) and reduces the 2013 commercial annual catch limit (ACL) to 410,157 lb (186,044 kg), based on the 2012 commercial ACL overage. These actions are necessary to reduce overfishing of the Gulf greater amberjack resource.

NASA has adopted as final, with no change, a proposed rule to extend coverage of non-procurement suspension and debarment to all tiers of procurement and non-procurement actions under all grants and cooperative agreements. The revisions herein are part of NASA's retrospective plan under EO 13563 completed in August 2011. NASA's full plan can be accessed at: https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/581545main_ Final%20Plan%20for%20Retrospective0%20Analysis%20of%20Existin g%20Regulat ions.pdf.

This regulation establishes tolerances for residues of pyraflufen-ethyl in or on multiple commodities which are identified and discussed later in this document. Nichino America, Inc. requested these tolerances under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).

On December 28, 2012, the Board published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the enhanced prudential standards required to be established under section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Act and the early remediation requirements established under section 166 of the Act for foreign banking organizations and foreign nonbank financial companies supervised by the Board. Due to the range and complexity of the issues addressed in the rulemaking, the Board has determined that an extension of the public comment period until April 30, 2013, is appropriate. This action will allow interested persons additional time to analyze the proposed rules and prepare their comments.

We are proposing to amend our regulations regarding genetically engineered organisms regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture by adding provisions for sharing certain business information with State and Tribal government agencies. The proposed provisions would govern the sharing of certain information contained in permit applications and notifications for importations, interstate movements, or releases into the environment of regulated articles. The procedures would allow the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to share certain business information with State and Tribal governments without impairing our ability to protect confidential business information from disclosure. APHIS currently withholds such information when it shares applications with non-Federal Government agencies. This action would improve our collaborative and cooperative efforts with State and Tribal governments as well as improve the effectiveness of our notification and permitting procedures as APHIS continues to regulate certain genetically engineered organisms.

The Federal Maritime Commission amends its rules regarding the establishment of passenger vessel financial responsibility for nonperformance of transportation. The amount of coverage required for performance is modified to increase the cap on required performance coverage to $30 million over a two year period and thereafter adjust the cap every two years using the Consumer Price Index; adjust the amount of coverage required for smaller passenger vessel operators by providing for consideration of alternative forms of protection; remove the application form for issuance of certificates of financial responsibility from the Commission's regulations and make it available at its Web site; add an expiration date to the Certificate (Performance); and make technical adjustments to the regulations.

This document provides the interim final regulations governing the employee protection (whistleblower) provision of section 1558 of the Affordable Care Act, which added section 18C of the Fair Labor Standards Act, to provide protections to employees of health insurance issuers or other employers who may have been subject to retaliation for reporting potential violations of the law's consumer protections (e.g., the prohibition on denials of insurance due to pre-existing conditions) or affordability assistance provisions (e.g., access to health insurance premium tax credits). This interim rule establishes procedures and time frames for the handling of retaliation complaints under section 18C, including procedures and time frames for employee complaints to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), investigations by OSHA, appeals of OSHA determinations to an administrative law judge (ALJ) for a hearing de novo, hearings by ALJs, review of ALJ decisions by the Administrative Review Board (ARB) (acting on behalf of the Secretary of Labor), and judicial review of the Secretary's final decision.

Many of the Coast Guard's regulations incorporate by reference consensus standards that are developed by organizations other than the Coast Guard. This final rule updates references to standards developed by ASTM International, that have been reapproved, without change, since their incorporation into Coast Guard regulation. This rule does not address standards that have changed substantively, and it will not have any substantive impact on the regulated public.