2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to redefine the geographic boundaries of the New York, NY, and Philadelphia, PA, appropriated fund Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. The final rule will address an anomalous situation affecting Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Portions of the Joint Base are currently defined to the Philadelphia wage area and to the New York wage area. OPM has developed a new criterion for defining wage areas to address this unique situation so that the entire Joint Base is covered by a single wage schedule.

The Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure will hold a meeting on January 3, 2017. The meeting will be open to public observation but not participation. An agenda and supporting materials will be posted at least 7 days in advance of the meeting at: https:// www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/records-and-archives-rules-co mmittees/ agenda-books.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, we, the Agency) is amending the regulations for food additives permitted in feed and drinking water of animals to provide for the safe use of guanidinoacetic acid as a substance that spares arginine and serves as a precursor of creatine in broiler chicken and turkey feeds. This action is in response to a food additive petition filed by Alzchem AG.

This document announces the Agency's receipt of several initial filings of pesticide petitions requesting the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various commodities.

The Board and the Bureau are finalizing amendments to the official interpretations and commentary for the agencies' regulations that implement the Consumer Leasing Act (CLA). The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) amended the CLA by requiring that the dollar threshold for exempt consumer leases be adjusted annually by the annual percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). If there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W, the Board and Bureau will not adjust this exemption threshold from the prior year. The final rule memorializes this as well as the agencies' calculation method for determining the adjustment in years following a year in which there is no annual percentage increase in the CPI-W. Based on the CPI-W in effect as of June 1, 2016, the exemption threshold will remain at $54,600 through 2017. The Dodd-Frank Act also requires similar adjustments in the Truth in Lending Act's threshold for exempt consumer credit transactions. Accordingly, the Board and the Bureau are adopting similar amendments to the commentaries to each of their respective regulations implementing the Truth in Lending Act elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office or USPTO) previously announced information for roundtables in Alexandria, Virginia, and Dallas, Texas, to solicit public feedback as part of an effort to reevaluate its examination time goals. Examination time goals vary by technology and represent the average amount of time that a patent examiner is expected to spend examining a patent application in a particular technology. The Office now is providing information on the additional three roundtables that the Office will be conducting in Detroit, Michigan; Denver, Colorado; and San Jose, California. In addition, the Office is extending the written comment period to ensure that all stakeholders have sufficient opportunity to submit comments on the reevaluation of the Office's examination time goals.

The Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) is proposing to amend its regulation governing the use of the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network by Federal agencies. Our regulation adopts, with some exceptions, the NACHA Operating Rules developed by NACHAThe Electronic Payments Association (NACHA) as the rules governing the use of the ACH Network by Federal agencies. We are issuing this proposed rule to address changes that NACHA has made to the NACHA Operating Rules since the publication of the 2013 NACHA Operating Rules & Guidelines book. These changes include amendments set forth in the 2014, 2015, and 2016 NACHA Operating Rules & Guidelines books.

This notice announces the availability of and requests comments on the proposed design criteria for the Stemme AG model Stemme S12 powered glider. The Administrator finds the proposed design criteria, which make up the certification basis for the Stemme S12, acceptable.These final design criteria will be published in the Federal Register.

The Postal Service is amending its regulations concerning compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to implement the changes to the procedures for the disclosure of records and for engaging in dispute resolution required by the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. As part of this process, the Postal Service is also restructuring the regulations setting forth its FOIA procedures, without substantive change, to make them easier for members of the public to understand and use.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is proposing to amend its regulations under the Federal Power Act (FPA) to remove barriers to the participation of electric storage resources and distributed energy resource aggregations in the capacity, energy, and ancillary service markets operated by regional transmission organizations (RTO) and independent system operators (ISO) (organized wholesale electric markets).

This proposed rule proposes to implement provisions of the Medicaid statute pertaining to Medicaid eligibility and appeals. This proposed rule continues our efforts to assist states in implementing Medicaid and CHIP eligibility, appeals, and enrollment changes required by the Affordable Care Act.

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), as lead agency, intends to gather information necessary for preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) in connection with the Redding Rancheria's (Tribe) application requesting that the United States acquire approximately 232 acres of land in trust in Shasta County, California, for the construction and operation of a casino resort.

This notice publishes the liquor control code of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan and Indiana (the Band). The liquor control code regulates and controls the possession, sale, manufacture, and distribution of alcohol in conformity with the laws of the State of Indiana.

Publication of the tier 2 tax rates for calendar year 2017 as required by section 3241(d) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 3241). Tier 2 taxes on railroad employees, employers, and employee representatives are one source of funding for benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act.

We, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board), plan to seek renewed approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below, namely our Online Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Complaint Form (OMB Control Number 3014-0012), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. We have been using this complaint form since 2013 and propose to continue using it for an additional three years. By notice published on July 26, 2016, we solicited public comment on the proposed collection of information for a period of 60 days. See 81 FR 48739 (July 26, 2016). One comment was received, but it was not relevant to the information collection, and no revisions were made to the proposed Online ABA Complaint Form. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comment.

This notice announces the availability of EPA's draft human health and ecological risk assessments for the registration review of aliphatic esters, cyclanilide, cymoxanil, and certain other pesticides and opens a public comment period on these documents. This notice also announces both the opening of the registration review docket and the availability of the registration review draft human health and ecological risk assessments for aliphatic esters and momfluorothrin. EPA Registration review is EPA's periodic review of pesticide registrations to ensure that each pesticide continues to satisfy the statutory standard for registration, that is, the pesticide can perform its intended function without unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment. As part of the registration review process, the Agency has completed comprehensive draft human health and/or ecological risk assessments for all uses of the pesticides herein. After reviewing comments received during the public comment period, EPA will issue a revised risk assessment, explain any changes to the draft risk assessment, and respond to comments and may request public input on risk mitigation before completing a proposed registration review decision for the pesticides herein. Through this program, EPA is ensuring that each pesticide's registration is based on current scientific and other knowledge, including its effects on human health and the environment.