2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Under the Residential Lead- Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH) is authorized to develop, demonstrate, and promote measures to correct lead-based paint-related health and safety hazards in the home environment that affect children, particularly of low-income families. In this notice, the Secretary delegates to the Director of OLHCHH, all authority pursuant to the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act, the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, sections 501 and 502 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970, and authorizing legislation pertaining to lead hazard control and healthy homes contained within annual appropriations acts, for matters pertaining to lead hazard control and healthy homes. This includes oversight and enforcement of the Lead Disclosure Rule as well as oversight of the Lead Safe Housing Rule for all HUD programs and enforcement of the Lead Safe Housing Rule for Multifamily Housing programs, the Single Family Asset Management program, and Public and Indian Housing (PIH) programs. PIH enforcement actions include coordination with the appropriate PIH field office.

On December 2, 2016, HUD published an interim final rule that changes the commitment requirement of the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program. After publication, HUD discovered that the effective dates and comment due dates were inadvertently reversed. This document corrects the preamble to reflect a 30-day effective date and a 60-day comment period.

This notice contains a summary of a petition seeking relief from specified requirements of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The purpose of this notice is to improve the public's awareness of, and participation in, the FAA's exemption process. Neither publication of this notice nor the inclusion or omission of information in the summary is intended to affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.

On Monday, September 19, 2016, we published in the Federal Register a notice requesting information regarding Request for Information (RFI) on Strategies for Improving Work Outcomes for Individuals with Musculoskeletal Disabilities and solicited public comments. We provided a 60-day comment period ending on November 18, 2016. We are reopening the comment period for 30 days.

This action proposes to establish Class E airspace at Kill Devil Hills, NC, to accommodate new Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) serving First Flight Airport. Controlled airspace is necessary for the safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations at the heliport.

The National Park Service is soliciting comments on the significance of properties nominated before November 12, 2016, for listing or related actions in the National Register of Historic Places.

Pursuant to the authority under section 1a(12)(B)(vii) of the Commodity Exchange Act (``CEA'' or ``Act''), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'') is issuing an order (``Order'') excluding institutions in the Farm Credit System (``FCS'') from the definition of ``commodity trading advisor'' (``CTA''). The Commission finds that FCS institutions are primarily engaged in lending to U.S. farmers, ranchers, and agricultural cooperatives, and that any commodity trading advice provided by FCS institutions to their clientele is solely incidental to that lending conduct, as required by CEA section 1a(12)(C). Therefore, the Commission concludes that FCS institutions are not entities within the intent of the statutory CTA definition, and that the issuance of this Order excluding them from the definition is appropriate.

The Secretary is amending the Declaration issued pursuant to section 319F-3 of the Public Health Service Act on December 3, 2014 (79 FR 73314) and amended on December 1, 2015 (80 FR 76541) to extend the effective time period for an additional 24 months and to clarify the description of Covered Countermeasures consistent with the terms of the Declaration and republishing the Declaration in its entirety as amended.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board or Federal Reserve) is adopting a proposal to revise, with revision, the Joint Standards for Assessing Diversity Policies and Practices (Policy Statement). On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to approve of and assign OMB control numbers to collection of information requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by the Board. In exercising this delegated authority, the Board is directed to take every reasonable step to solicit comment. In determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies.

In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data collections. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 1. Title and purpose of information collection: Placement Service; OMB 3220-0057. Section 12(i) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), authorizes the RRB to establish, maintain, and operate free employment offices to provide claimants for unemployment benefits with job placement opportunities. Section 704(d) of the Regional Railroad Reorganization Act of 1973, as amended, and as extended by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, required the RRB to maintain and distribute a list of railroad job vacancies, by class and craft, based on information furnished by rail carriers to the RRB. Although the requirement under the law expired effective August 13, 1987, the RRB has continued to obtain this information in keeping with its employment service responsibilities under Section 12(k) of the RUIA. Application procedures for the job placement program are prescribed in 20 CFR 325. The procedures pertaining to the RRB's obtaining and distributing job vacancy reports furnished by rail carriers are described in 20 CFR 346.1. The RRB currently utilizes four forms to obtain information needed to carry out its job placement responsibilities. Form ES-2, Central Register Notification, is used by the RRB to obtain information needed to update a computerized central register of separated and furloughed railroad employees available for employment in the railroad industry. Forms ES-21, Referral to State Employment Service, and ES-21c, Report of State Employment Service Office, are used by the RRB to provide placement assistance for unemployed railroad employees through arrangements with State Employment Service offices. Form UI-35, Field Office Record of Claimant Interview, is used primarily by the RRB to conduct in-person interviews of claimants for unemployment benefits. Completion of these forms is required to obtain or maintain a benefit. In addition, the RRB also collects Railroad Job Vacancies information received voluntarily from railroad employers. No changes are proposed to any of the data collection instruments associated with the information collection.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding three Information Collection Requests (ICR) to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Review and approval by OIRA ensures that we impose appropriate paperwork burdens. The RRB invites comments on the proposed collections of information to determine (1) the practical utility of the collections; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden of the collections; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information that is the subject of collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of collections on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments to the RRB or OIRA must contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper consideration of your comments, it is best if the RRB and OIRA receive them within 30 days of the publication date. Title and purpose of information collection: Supplement to Claim of Person Outside the United States; OMB 3220-0155. Under the Social Security Amendments of 1983 (Pub. L. 98-21), which amends Section 202(t) of the Social Security Act, effective January 1, 1985, the Tier I or the overall minimum (O/M) portion of an annuity, and Medicare benefits payable under the Railroad Retirement Act to certain beneficiaries living outside the U.S., may be withheld. The benefit withholding provision of Public Law 98-21 applies to divorced spouses, spouses, minor or disabled children, students, and survivors of railroad employees who (1) initially became eligible for Tier I amounts, O/M shares, and Medicare benefits after December 31, 1984; (2) are not U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals; and (3) have resided outside the U.S. for more than six consecutive months starting with the annuity beginning date. The benefit withholding provision does not apply, however to a beneficiary who is exempt under either a treaty obligation of the U.S., in effect on August 1, 1956, or a totalization agreement between the U.S. and the country in which the beneficiary resides, or to an individual who is exempt under other criteria specified in Public Law 98-21. RRB Form G-45, Supplement to Claim of Person Outside the United States, is currently used by the RRB to determine applicability of the withholding provision of Public Law 98-21. Completion of the form is required to obtain or retain a benefit. One response is requested of each respondent. Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the initial 60-day notice (81 FR 69873 on October 7, 2016) required by 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Missoula Field Office intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan (RMP) with an associated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for BLM public lands and resources managed by the Missoula Field Office in western Montana (Flathead, Granite, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, Missoula, Powell, Ravalli, and Sanders counties) and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adopts as a final rule, with changes, a proposal to amend its regulations concerning copayments charged to certain veterans for medication required on an outpatient basis to treat nonservice-connected conditions. Prior to this final rule, VA charged non-exempt veterans either $8 or $9 for each 30-day or less supply of medication, and that amount may have changed in future years. This rulemaking replaces those rates and establishes three classes of medications for copayment purposes, identified as Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. These tiers are defined further in the rulemaking and are distinguished in part based on whether the medications are available from multiple sources or a single source, with some exceptions. Copayment amounts are fixed and would vary depending upon the class of medication. The following medication copayment amounts are applicable on the effective date of this final rule: $5 for a 30-day or less supply of a Tier 1 medication, $8 for a 30-day or less supply of a Tier 2 medication, and $11 for a 30-day or less supply of a Tier 3 medication. For non-exempt veterans these copayment amounts will result in lower out-of-pocket costs, thereby encouraging greater adherence to taking prescribed medications and reducing the risk of fragmented care that results when veterans use non-VA pharmacies to fill their prescriptions. The proposed rule was published on January 5, 2016 and the public comment period closed on March 7, 2016. We received nine comments and respond to these comments here.