May 31, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announces a forthcoming public advisory committee meeting of the Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Toxicology Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee. The general function of the committee is to provide advice and recommendations to the Agency on FDA's regulatory issues. The meeting will be open to the public.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the renewal of the Allergenic Products Advisory Committee by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (the Commissioner). The Commissioner has determined that it is in the public interest to renew the Allergenic Products Advisory Committee for an additional 2 years beyond the charter expiration date. The new charter will be in effect until July 9, 2018.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'' or ``CFTC'') is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''), Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment. This notice is being published concurrently with the publication and adoption of the final rule titled ``Margin Requirements for Uncleared Swaps for Swap Dealers and Major Swap ParticipantsCross-Border Application of the Margin Requirements'' (``Final Rule''), which addresses the cross-border application of the Commission's margin requirements for uncleared swaps of covered swap entities (``CSEs''). This notice solicits comments on a new information collection that applies to CSEs that rely on a special provision of the Final Rule applicable to certain foreign jurisdictions where CSEs are unable to conclude, with a well-founded basis, that the netting agreement with a counterparty in that foreign jurisdiction meets the definition of an ``eligible master netting agreement'' set forth in the Commission's final margin rule (``Final Margin Rule'') (``non-netting jurisdictions''). This notice also solicits comments on a new information collection that applies to Foreign Consolidated Subsidiaries (as defined in the Final Rule) and foreign branches of U.S. CSEs that rely on a special provision of the Final Rule applicable to certain foreign jurisdictions where limitations in the legal or operational infrastructure of the jurisdiction make it impracticable for the CSE and its counterparty to post initial margin pursuant to custodial arrangements that comply with the Final Margin Rule (``non- segregation jurisdictions''). The new information collections covered by this notice require CSEs that avail themselves of the special provisions for non-netting jurisdictions and non-segregation jurisdictions, respectively, to maintain books and records properly documenting that all of the requirements of the special provision(s) upon which they rely are satisfied (including policies and procedures ensuring that they are in compliance with any applicable requirements).

This proposed rule would revise the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) Program allocation formula authorized by section 302 of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996, as amended (NAHASDA). Through the IHBG Program, HUD provides federal housing assistance for Indian tribes in a manner that recognizes the right of Indian self-determination and tribal self-government. HUD negotiated the proposed rule with active tribal participation and using the procedures of the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990. The proposed regulatory changes reflect the consensus decisions reached by HUD and the tribal representatives on ways to improve and clarify the current regulations governing the IHBG Program formula.

This final rule amends FHWA and FTA categorical exclusions (CE) for projects receiving limited Federal assistance to reflect a requirement in the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to index for inflation the monetary thresholds for these CEs. This final rule also implements a provision in the FAST Act that directs FHWA to amend its rules on programmatic agreements for CEs. The amendments contained in this rule reflect statutory language in the FAST Act.

On April 7, 2016, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published a notice in the Federal Register to solicit public comments on a proposed SBIR/STTR Policy Directive, which among other things seeks to clarify the data rights and Phase III preference afforded to SBIR and STTR small business awardees, add definitions relating to data rights, and clarify the benchmarks for progress towards commercialization. This notice announces the extension of the current comment period for an additional 30 days until July 6, 2016.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A300 F4-600R series airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of two adjacent frame forks that were found cracked on the aft lower deck cargo door (LDCD) of two Model A300-600F4 airplanes during scheduled maintenance. This proposed AD would require repetitive high frequency eddy current (HFEC) inspections of the aft LDCD frame forks; a one-time check of the LDCD clearances; and a one- time detailed visual inspection of hooks, eccentric bushes, and x- stops; and corrective actions if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracked or ruptured aft LDCD frames, which could allow loads to be transferred to the remaining structural elements. This condition could lead to the rupture of one or more vertical aft LDCD frames, which could result in reduced structural integrity of the aft LDCD.

This rule amends the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA or Agency) regulations 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. This rule also amends SBA's regulations concerning the nonmanufacturer rule and affiliation rules. Further, this rule allows 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.

The General Services Administration (GSA) is proposing to amend the General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to address common Commercial Supplier Agreement terms that are inconsistent with or create ambiguity with Federal Law.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), as amended, prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including commercial water heaters, hot water supply boilers, and unfired hot water storage tanks (hereinafter referred to as ``commercial water heating (CWH) equipment''). EPCA also requires that every 6 years, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) must determine whether more-stringent, amended standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified, and would save a significant amount of energy. In this action, DOE has tentatively concluded that there is clear and convincing evidence to support more-stringent standards for several classes of the equipment that are the subject of this rulemaking. DOE did not consider more-stringent standards in this action for commercial oil-fired storage water heaters, whose standards were recently amended. Therefore, DOE proposes amended energy conservation standards for certain commercial water heating equipment, and also announces a public meeting to receive comment on these proposed standards and associated analyses and results.

On March 30, 2016, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published in the Federal Register a final rule that updates and streamlines the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas and sulfur leasing regulations, which will become effective on May 31, 2016 (81 FR 18111) (``Leasing Rule''). One of the regulations contained in the final rule was incorrectly stated. This document corrects that error