January 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Board is adopting a final rule to require a U.S. top-tier bank holding company identified under the Board's rules as a global systemically important bank holding company (covered BHC) to maintain outstanding a minimum amount of loss-absorbing instruments, including a minimum amount of unsecured long-term debt. In addition, the final rule prescribes certain additional buffers, the breach of which would result in limitations on the capital distributions and discretionary bonus payments of a covered BHC. The final rule applies similar requirements to the top-tier U.S. intermediate holding company of a global systemically important foreign banking organization with $50 billion or more in U.S. non-branch assets (covered IHC). The final rule also imposes restrictions on other liabilities that a covered BHC or covered IHC may have outstanding in order to improve their resolvability and resiliency; these restrictions are referred to in the final rule as ``clean holding company requirements.''

Notice is hereby given that the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is reopening the comment period on the proposed rule to change the reporting of export certificate information under regulations issued pursuant to the Export Apple Act and the Export Grape and Plum Act until March 24, 2017. The proposed rule would require shippers of apples and grapes exported from the United States to electronically enter an Export Form Certificate number or a USDA-defined exemption code into the Automated Export System (AES). This rule would also define ``shipper,'' shift the current file retention requirement from carriers to shippers, and require shippers to provide, upon request, copies of the certificates to AMS. The proposed rule would also remove obsolete regulations and make clarifying changes. It also announced AMS' intention to request revision to a currently approved information collection for exported apples and grapes.

DoD, GSA, and NASA issued a proposed rule (FAR Case 2016-005) on November 29, 2016, amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016. This rule clarifies that agency acquisition personnel are permitted and encouraged to engage in responsible and constructive exchanges with industry, so long as those exchanges are consistent with existing law and regulation and do not promote an unfair competitive advantage to particular firms. The deadline for submitting comments is being extended from January 30, 2017 to March 2, 2017 to provide additional time for interested parties to provide comments on the FAR case.

In this document, the Commission adopts amendments to its rules to facilitate a transition from outdated text telephone (TTY) technology to a reliable and interoperable means of providing real-time text (RTT) communication for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, or have a speech disability over Internet Protocol (IP) enabled networks and services.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), recently published a final rule that revises the regulations for eagle nonpurposeful take permits and eagle nest take permits. In that final rule, we stated that the Office of Management (OMB) had not yet approved the information collection requirements associated with the rule. This document announces that OMB has now approved the information collection requirements.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``CFTC'' or ``Commission'') is proposing technical amendments to its regulations that govern registration and review of exchange disciplinary, access denial or other adverse actions. The amendments would integrate existing advisory guidance and the amendments to part 9 would also incorporate swap execution facilities (``SEFs'') and update provisions currently applicable to designated contract markets (``DCMs''). The proposal revises existing rules to delete numerous cross-references to previously deleted regulations and adds citations to applicable parallel provisions for SEFs and DCMs. Additionally, the proposal addresses the publication of final disciplinary and access denial actions taken by the SEFs and DCMs on their exchange Web sites.

The Department of Transportation is proposing to amend its drug-testing program regulation to add four opioids (hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, and oxycodone) to its drug-testing panel; add methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) as an initial test analyte; and remove methylenedioxyethylamphetamine, (MDEA) as a confirmatory test analyte. The proposed revision of the drug-testing panel is intended to harmonize with the revised Mandatory Guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Federal drug-testing programs for urine testing. This proposal also adds clarification to certain drug-testing program provisions where necessary, removes outdated information in the regulations that is no longer needed, and proposes to remove the requirement for employers and Consortium/Third Party Administrators to submit blind specimens.

This rule identifies communities where the sale of flood insurance has been authorized under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that are scheduled for suspension on the effective dates listed within this rule because of noncompliance with the floodplain management requirements of the program. If the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) receives documentation that the community has adopted the required floodplain management measures prior to the effective suspension date given in this rule, the suspension will not occur and a notice of this will be provided by publication in the Federal Register on a subsequent date. Also, information identifying the current participation status of a community can be obtained from FEMA's Community Status Book (CSB). The CSB is available at https://www.fema.gov/national-flood- insurance-program-community-status-book.

This supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking would establish Class E airspace upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 4.7-mile radius of Manti-Ephraim Airport, Manti, UT, with segments extending north and southwest of the airport. In an NPRM published in the Federal Register on November 22, 2016, the FAA proposed to establish Class E airspace extending upward from 700 feet above the surface within a 4-mile radius of Manti-Ephraim Airport, with extensions north and southwest. The FAA found additional airspace is necessary for new category D circling Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations for standard instrument approach procedures and to support the safety and management of IFR operations at the airport.

This document contains corrections to a notice of proposed rulemaking by cross-reference to temporary regulation (REG-133353-16) that was published in the Federal Register on Friday, December 9, 2016. The proposed regulations authorize the disclosure of specified return information to the Census Bureau (Bureau) for purposes of structuring the censuses and national economic accounts and conducting related statistical activities authorized by title 13.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration's final rule amends the Agency's standards for the examination of working places in metal and nonmetal mines. This final rule requires that an examination of the working place be conducted before miners begin working in that place, that operators notify miners in the affected areas of any conditions found that may adversely affect their safety or health, that operators promptly initiate corrective action, and that a record be made of the examination. The final rule also requires that the examination record include: The name of the person conducting the examination, the date of the examination, the location of all areas examined, a description of each condition found that may adversely affect the safety or health of miners, and the date of the corrective action. In addition, the final rule requires that mine operators make the examination record available for inspection by authorized representatives of the Secretary and miners' representatives and provide a copy upon request.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (``Board'') is amending Regulation D (Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions) to revise the rate of interest paid on balances maintained to satisfy reserve balance requirements (``IORR'') and the rate of interest paid on excess balances (``IOER'') maintained at Federal Reserve Banks by or on behalf of eligible institutions. The final amendments specify that IORR is 0.75 percent and IOER is 0.75 percent, a 0.25 percentage point increase from their prior levels. The amendments are intended to enhance the role of such rates of interest in moving the Federal funds rate into the target range established by the Federal Open Market Committee (``FOMC'' or ``Committee'').

We, NMFS, are issuing a final rule to remove the Puget Sound/ Georgia Basin canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) Distinct Population Segment (DPS) from the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Species and remove its critical habitat designation. We proposed these actions based on newly obtained samples and genetic analysis that demonstrates that the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin canary rockfish population does not meet the DPS criteria and therefore does not qualify for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Following public and peer review of the proposed rule and supporting scientific information, this final rule implements the changes to the listing and critical habitat for canary rockfish. We also update and amend the listing description for the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin yelloweye rockfish (S. ruberrimus) DPS based on a geographic description to include fish within specified boundaries. Further, although the current listing description is not based on boundaries, with this final rule we are also correcting a descriptive boundary for the DPS depicted on maps to include an area in the northern Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Channel in waters of Canada consistent with newly obtained genetic information on yelloweye rockfish population grouping. We also update and amend the listing description for the bocaccio DPS based on a geographic description and to include fish within specified boundaries.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission) is amending its rule that governs the maximum amount of civil monetary penalties, to adjust for inflation. This rule sets forth the maximum, inflation-adjusted dollar amount for civil monetary penalties (CMPs) assessable for violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and Commission rules, regulations and orders thereunder. The rule, as amended, implements the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended.

This final rule amends the Department of Labor's regulations under the Freedom of Information Act (``FOIA''). The regulations have been revised to update and streamline the language of several procedural provisions and to incorporate changes brought about by the amendments to the FOIA under the OPEN Government Act of 2007 and the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. Additionally, the regulations have been updated to incorporate changes in the agency's administrative structure.

The Delaware River Basin Commission published a document in the Federal Register on December 29, 2016 (81 FR 95860), in relevant part amending the Rules of Practice and Procedure. The document failed to include rule text approved by the Commission relating to the annual monitoring and coordination fee. This document corrects the final regulations by incorporating the approved language. In addition, this document corrects the preamble to clarify that in adopting the final rule, the Commission acted by Resolution No. 2016-9, not 2016-8.

This temporary rule amends the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) regulations to implement changes made to the definition of ``hard cider'' in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015. The modified definition broadens the range of wines eligible for the hard cider tax rate. TTB is amending its regulations to reflect the modified definition of hard cider effective for products removed on or after January 1, 2017, and to set forth new labeling requirements to identify products to which the hard cider tax rate applies. The new labeling requirements include both a one-year transitional rule and a new labeling requirement that takes effect for products removed on or after January 1, 2018. TTB is also soliciting comments from all interested parties on these amendments through a notice of proposed rulemaking published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) is adopting revisions to the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System (EDGAR) Filer Manual and related rules to reflect updates to the EDGAR system. The updates are being made primarily to support the submission of Municipal Advisor submission form types. The EDGAR system is scheduled to be upgraded to support the other functionalities on December 12, 2016.

As part of its review under the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is revising certain of its rules to remove outdated or otherwise unnecessary provisions. Specifically, the OCC is: revising certain licensing rules related to chartering applications, business combinations involving Federal mutual savings associations, and notices for changes in permanent capital; clarifying national bank director oath requirements; revising certain fiduciary activity requirements for national banks and Federal savings associations; removing certain financial disclosure regulations for national banks; removing certain unnecessary regulatory reporting, accounting, and management policy regulations for Federal savings associations; updating the electronic activities regulation for Federal savings associations; integrating and updating OCC regulations for national banks and Federal savings associations relating to municipal securities dealers, Securities Exchange Act disclosure rules, and securities offering disclosure rules; updating and revising recordkeeping and confirmation requirements for national banks' and Federal savings associations' securities transactions; integrating and updating regulations relating to insider and affiliate transactions; and making other technical and clarifying changes.

The National Park Service withdraws the proposed rule that would revise the regulation that defines smoking to include the use of electronic cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems; and would allow a superintendent to close an area, building, structure, or facility to smoking when necessary to maintain public health and safety. The withdrawal is based upon a need to engage in additional interagency coordination and review of the proposal.

This rule finalizes changes to the pass-through payment transition periods and the maximum amount of pass-through payments permitted annually during the transition periods under Medicaid managed care contract(s) and rate certification(s). This final rule prevents increases in pass-through payments and the addition of new pass-through payments beyond those in place when the pass-through payment transition periods were established, in the final Medicaid managed care regulations effective July 5, 2016.

On July 29, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA). Several of the statutory amendments made by HOTMA affect the Project-Based Voucher (PBV) program or the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. HOTMA also gave HUD the authority to implement many of those changes by notice, and those statutory changes are not effective until HUD issues that notice. This document serves as the implementation notice for several of the provisions of HOTMA that impact the HCV and PBV programs, and seeks additional public input on both the implementing requirements in this document and future changes to these programs.

We propose to supersede airworthiness directive (AD) 2012-04- 01 that applies to all Rolls-Royce plc (RR) RB211-Trent 800 model turbofan engines. AD 2012-04-01 requires removal from service of certain critical engine rotating parts based on reduced life limits. Since we issued AD 2012-04-01, RR has further revised the life limits of certain critical engine rotating parts. This proposed AD would make additional revisions to the life limits of certain critical engine rotating parts. We are proposing this AD to correct the unsafe condition on these products.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish a permanent special local regulation for the Annual Fautasi Ocean Challenge canoe race in Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa. This annual event historically occurs during the weeks of Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving Day. This action is necessary to safeguard the participants and spectators, including all crews, vessels, and persons on the water in Pago Pago Harbor during the event. This regulation will functionally close the port to vessel traffic during the race, but will not require the evacuation of any vessels from the harbor. Entry into, transiting, or anchoring in the harbor would be prohibited to all vessels not registered with the sponsor as participants or not part of the race patrol, unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) Honolulu or a designated representative. Vessels who are already moored or anchored in the harbor seeking permission to remain there shall request permission from the COTP unless deemed a spectator vessel that is moored to a waterfront facility within the regulated area. The area forming the subject of this permanent special local regulation is described below. We invite your comments on this notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to revise its regulations for medical qualification determinations. The revised regulations update references and language; add and modify definitions; clarify coverage and applicability; address the need for medical documentation and medical examination and/or testing for an applicant or employee whose position may or may not have medical standards and/or physical requirements; and recommend the establishment of agency medical review boards. The final rule provides agencies guidance regarding medical evaluation procedures.