2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the extension of a continuing information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Notice is hereby given of the final approval of proposed information collections by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) under OMB delegated authority, as per 5 CFR 1320.16 (OMB Regulations on Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public). Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies of the Paperwork Reduction Act Submission, supporting statements and approved collection of information instrument(s) are placed into OMB's public docket files. The Federal Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

As part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process to seek feedback from the public on service delivery, we are seeking comment on the development of the following proposed Generic Information Collection Request (Generic ICR): ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). This notice announces our intent to submit this collection to OMB for approval and solicits comments on specific aspects for the proposed information collection. A copy of the draft supporting statement is available at https:// www.regulations.gov (see Docket ID: USA-2014-0042).

The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of federal law prohibiting deceptive acts or practices. The attached Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent orderembodied in the consent agreementthat would settle these allegations.

The Coast Guard seeks applications for membership on the Towing Safety Advisory Committee. The Towing Safety Advisory Committee advises the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security on matters relating to shallow-draft inland and coastal waterway navigation and towing safety. Applicants selected for service on the Towing Safety Advisory Committee via this solicitation will not begin their respective terms until September 30, 2015.

As stipulated by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Department of Health and Human Services is hereby giving notice that the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters (NACCD) will be holding a meeting via teleconference. The meeting is open to the public.

This is a notice of an Administrative declaration of a disaster for the State of UTAH dated 11/18/2014. Incident: Severe storms & flooding. Incident Period: 09/27/2014. Effective Date: 11/18/2014. Physical Loan Application Deadline Date: 01/20/2015. Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan Application Deadline Date: 08/18/2015.

This is an amendment of the Administrative disaster declaration for the State of CALIFORNIA dated 10/01/2014. Incident: Boles Fire, Incident Period: 09/15/2014 and continuing through 10/09/2014, Effective Date: 11/13/2014, Physical Loan Application Deadline Date: 12/01/2014, Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan Application Deadline Date: 07/01/2015,

On August 15, 2014, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announced a proposal to designate critical habitat for the western distinct population segment of the yellow-billed cuckoo (western yellow-billed cuckoo) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). On November 12, 2014, the public comment period was reopened for an additional 60 days until January 12, 2015. We now announce a public hearing in California. The public hearing will provide an opportunity for the public to provide comments and testimony on the proposed designation of critical habitat for the western yellow- billed cuckoo. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in preparation of the final rule.

Sections 3302(c)(2)(A) and 3302(d)(3) of the FUTA provide that employers in a State that has an outstanding balance of advances under Title XII of the Social Security Act at the beginning of January 1 of two or more consecutive years are subject to a reduction in credits otherwise available against the FUTA tax for the calendar year in which the most recent such January 1 occurs, if a balance of advances remains at the beginning of November 10 of that year. Further, section 3302(c)(2)(C) of FUTA provides for an additional credit reduction for a year if a State has outstanding advances on five or more consecutive January firsts and has a balance at the beginning of November 10 for such years. Section 3302(c)(2)(C) also provides for waiver of this additional credit reduction and substitution of the credit reduction provided in section 3302(c)(2)(B) if a state meets certain conditions. The States of California, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virgin Islands, and Wisconsin applied for a waiver of the 2014 additional credit reduction under section 3302(c)(2)(C) of FUTA and it has been determined that each of these States met all of the criteria of that section necessary to qualify for the waiver of the additional credit reduction. Further, the additional credit reduction of section 3302(c)(2)(B) is zero for these States for 2014. Therefore, employers in these States will have no additional credit reduction applied for calendar year 2014. In addition, Missouri, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin did not have balance of advances at the beginning of November 10, 2014. Therefore, employers in those States will have no reduction in FUTA offset credit for calendar year 2014. Section 3302(g) of FUTA provides that a State may avoid any reduction in credit for a year by meeting certain criteria. South Carolina applied for avoidance of the 2014 credit reduction under this section. It has been determined that South Carolina met all of the criteria of section 3302(g) and thus qualifies for credit reduction avoidance. Therefore, South Carolina employers will have no reduction in FUTA credit for calendar year 2014.

Under the Budget and Accounting Procedures Act of 1950 (31 U.S.C. 1104 (d)) and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3504 (e)), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is issuing Statistical Policy Directive No. 1, Fundamental Responsibilities of Federal Statistical Agencies and Recognized Statistical Units. This Directive affirms the fundamental responsibilities of Federal statistical agencies and recognized statistical units in the design, collection, processing, editing, compilation, storage, analysis, release, and dissemination of statistical information. On May 21, 2014, OMB published a Notice of solicitation of comments on a draft of this Directive in the Federal Register (79 FR 29308, May 21, 2014). Eight respondents sent comments in regard to the notice. Careful consideration was given to all comments. The disposition of the comments as well as the final Directive are presented in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. In its role as coordinator of the Federal statistical system under the Paperwork Reduction Act, OMB, among other responsibilities, is required to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the system as well as the integrity, objectivity, impartiality, utility, and confidentiality of information collected for statistical purposes. OMB is also charged with developing and overseeing the implementation of Government-wide principles, policies, standards, and guidelines concerning the development, presentation, and dissemination of statistical information. The Information Quality Act (Pub. L. 106-554, Division C, title V, Sec. 515, Dec. 21, 2000; 114 Stat. 2763A-153 to 2763A-154) requires OMB, as well as all other Federal agencies, to maximize the objectivity, utility, and integrity of information, including statistical information, provided to the public. To operate efficiently and effectively, the Nation relies on the flow of objective, credible statistics to support the decisions of individuals, households, governments, businesses, and other organizations. Any loss of trust in the accuracy, objectivity, or integrity of the Federal statistical system and its products causes uncertainty about the validity of measures the Nation uses to monitor and assess its performance, progress, and needs by undermining the public's confidence in the information released by the Government. Although the Federal Government has taken a number of legislative and executive actions, informed by national and international practice, to maintain public confidence in Federal statistics, the actual implementation in the form of standards and practices can involve a wide range of managerial and technical challenges. Therefore, to support the quality and objectivity of Federal statistical information, OMB is issuing a new Statistical Policy Directive to affirm the long-acknowledged, fundamental responsibilities of Federal statistical agencies and recognized statistical units in the design, collection, processing, editing, compilation, storage, analysis, release, and dissemination of statistical information. Additional discussion of the Directive, together with the Directive itself, may be found in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

Applicants have received a temporary order (the ``Temporary Order'') exempting them from section 9(a) of the Act, with respect to injunctions entered against Bank of America, N.A. (``BANA''), Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (``Merrill Lynch''), and Banc of America Mortgage Securities, Inc. (``BOAMS,'' and, together with BANA and Merrill Lynch, the ``Respondents'') on November 25, 2014 by the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (the ``District Court'') until the Commission takes final action on an application for a permanent order (the ``Permanent Order,'' and with the Temporary Order, the ``Orders''). Applicants also have applied for a Permanent Order. Applicants: BofA Advisors, LLC (``BoA Advisors''), BofA Distributors, Inc. (``BoA Distributors''), KECALP Inc. (``KECALP''), Merrill Lynch Ventures, LLC (``Ventures''), Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, Inc. (``MLGPE''), and Merrill Lynch Alternative Investments LLC (``MLAI'') (each, an ``Applicant'' and collectively, the ``Applicants''), and solely for purposes of agreeing to condition 3 of the application, the Respondents.