March 9, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We propose to approve 17 sector operations plans and contracts for fishing years 2015 and 2016, grant regulatory exemptions for fishing years 2015 and 2016, and provide Northeast multispecies annual catch entitlements to these sectors for fishing year 2015. We request comment on the proposed sector operations plans and contracts; the environmental assessment analyzing the impacts of the operations plans; and our proposal to grant (in whole or partially) 19 of the 22 regulatory exemptions requested by the sectors. Approval of sector operations plans is necessary to allocate annual catch entitlements to the sectors and for the sectors to operate. The Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan allows limited access permit holders to form sectors, and requires sectors to submit their operations plans and contracts to us, NMFS, for approval or disapproval. Approved sectors are exempt from certain effort control regulations and receive allocation of Northeast multispecies based on its members' fishing history. This document also announces the target at-sea monitoring coverage rate for sector trips for fishing year 2015.

This action proposes approval of, and regulations to implement, Framework Adjustment 53 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. This rule would set fishing years 2015-2017 catch limits for several groundfish stocks, modify management measures for Gulf of Maine cod, and adopt other measures to improve the management of the groundfish fishery. This action is necessary to respond to updated scientific information and achieve the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan. The proposed measures are intended to help prevent overfishing, rebuild overfished stocks, achieve optimum yield, and ensure that management measures are based on the best scientific information available.

On January 20, 2015, NMFS published a proposed rule with public hearing dates for Draft Amendment 6 to the 2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). On February 25, 2015, NMFS announced that the public hearing in Manteo, NC, would be rescheduled due to inclement weather conditions expected for Manteo and surrounding areas. In this notice, NMFS announces the date and location for the rescheduled public hearing to provide opportunities for members of the public to comment on the management measures proposed in Draft Amendment 6.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry, clinical investigators, and institutional review boards entitled ``Use of Electronic Informed Consent in Clinical Investigations: Questions and Answers.'' The guidance provides recommendations for clinical investigators, sponsors, and institutional review boards (IRBs) on the use of electronic media and processes to obtain informed consent for FDA-regulated clinical investigations of medical products, including human drug and biological products, medical devices, and combinations thereof.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (``PBGC'') is requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') extend approval, under the Paperwork Reduction Act, of a collection of information (OMB control number 1212-0030; expires March 31, 2015). This voluntary collection of information is a quarterly survey of insurance company rates for pricing annuity contracts. The American Council of Life Insurers conducts the survey for PBGC. This notice informs the public of PBGC's request and solicits public comment on the collection of information.

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 Taxpayer 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 Joint Committee will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act: Customs-Trade Partnership against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and the Trusted Trader Program. CBP proposes to revise this information collection to include the information collection requirements for a new program known as the Trusted Trader Program. This document is published to obtain comments from the public and affected agencies on the addition of the Trusted Trader Program to this information collection.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA), Federal Agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice invites comments on the information collection provisions of our existing regulations governing petitions to request an exemption from 100 percent identity testing of dietary ingredients.

By this notice, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Department of Commerce, is informing the public that it is conducting the mandatory survey titled Quarterly Survey of U.S. Direct Investment AbroadTransactions of U.S. Reporter with Foreign Affiliate (BE-577). This survey is authorized by the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act.

Pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), as amended, notice is hereby given that a meeting of the Arts Advisory Panel to the National Council on the Arts will be held by teleconference from the National Endowment for the Arts, Constitution Center, 400 7th St. SW., Washington, DC, 20506 as follows (all meetings are Eastern time and ending times are approximate): Music (review of nominations): This meeting will be closed.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a revised guidance for industry (GFI #208) entitled ``Studies to Evaluate the Metabolism and Residue Kinetics of Veterinary Drugs in Food-Producing Animals: Validation of Analytical Methods Used in Residue Depletion Studies'' (VICH GL49(R)). This revised guidance, which provides minor updates to a final guidance on the same topic for which a notice of availability was published in the Federal Register of September 15, 2011, has been developed for veterinary use by the International Cooperation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products (VICH). This revised VICH guidance document is intended to provide a general description of the criteria that have been found by the European Union, Japan, United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada to be suitable for the validation of analytical methods used in veterinary drug residue depletion studies.

By this Notice, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Department of Commerce, is informing the public that it is conducting a mandatory survey titled Quarterly Survey of U.S. Airline Operators' Foreign Revenues and Expenses (BE-37). This survey is authorized by the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act.

By this notice, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Department of Commerce, is informing the public that it is conducting a mandatory survey titled Quarterly Survey of Ocean Freight Revenues and Foreign Expenses of United States Carriers (BE-30). This survey is authorized by the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act.

An open meeting of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Taxpayer Assistance Center Improvements 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.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is extending the comment period for the proposed rule that appeared in the Federal Register of December 18, 2014. In the proposed rule, FDA requested comments on its proposal to amend its labeling regulations for human prescription drugs and biological products to require that the prescribing information intended for health care professionals that is on or within the package from which the product is dispensed be distributed electronically and not in paper form, except as provided by the proposed rule. The Agency is taking this action in response to a request for an extension to allow interested persons additional time to submit comments.

By this Notice, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Department of Commerce, is informing the public that it is conducting the mandatory survey titled Annual Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States (BE-15). This survey is authorized by the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act.

This rule corrects the preamble to a proposed rule published in the Federal Register of March 3, 2015, regarding U.S. Industrial Base Surveys by adding the inadvertently omitted ADDRESSES Caption.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reopening the comment period for the proposed rule published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2014 at 79 FR 77955. In that rule SBA proposed to implement provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, which pertain to performance requirements applicable to small business and socioeconomic program set aside contracts and small business subcontracting. SBA also proposed to make changes to its regulations concerning the nonmanufacturer rule and affiliation rules. Further, SBA proposed to allow a joint venture to qualify as small for any government procurement as long as each partner to the joint venture qualifies individually as small under the size standard corresponding to the NAICS code assigned in the solicitation. Finally, SBA requested comments on the timeline and procedures for North American Industry Classification System code appeals. The comment period closed on February 27, 2015. SBA is reopening the comment period in response to the significant level of interest generated by the proposed rule and due to the request of multiple stakeholders. Given the scope of the proposed rule and the nature of the issues raised by the comments received to date, SBA believes that affected businesses need more time to review the proposal and fully prepare their comments.

The purpose of this Request for Information is to help the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) better understand what sponsors and State agencies could regularly report to FNS to more adequately track participation in the summer meal programs. The current data reporting system for sponsors and State agencies was designed primarily to process meal claims and not to track program participation. FNS is interested in modifying the current reporting system to better identify the number of eligible children the programs are serving and assess the impacts of efforts to increase program participation. In order to develop proposed changes to reporting requirements, FNS is seeking information from all affected parties regarding current State agency and sponsor data reporting requirements. Specifically, FNS is interested in information about data that sites, sponsors, and State agencies currently collect but do not report to FNS, as well as the feasibility of obtaining currently reported data in a timelier manner. FNS is particularly interested in the opportunities and challenges associated with these changes.