October 27, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This regulation establishes an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain F727 in or on all food commodities when used in accordance with label directions and good agricultural practices. Marrone Bio Innovations submitted a petition to EPA under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), requesting an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. This regulation eliminates the need to establish a maximum permissible level for residues of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain F727 under FFDCA.

FMCSA announces that the Western Equipment Dealers Association (WEDA) has requested an exemption on behalf of several other organizations and their membership from the requirement that no later than December 18, 2017, a motor carrier require each of its drivers to use an electronic logging device (ELD) to record the driver's hours-of- service (HOS). WEDA states that equipment dealer operations in agriculture constitute unique circumstances that warrant the requested exemption, and not granting it will pose an undue burden on equipment dealers and their customers without any measurable safety benefit. In its application, WEDA seeks a five-year, renewable exemption from the ELD requirements which, the organization states, if granted will achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be achieved absent the proposed exemption. FMCSA requests public comment on WEDA's application for exemption.

The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (Committee) has revised procedures to respond to subpoenas or other official demands for information and testimony served upon itself or its employees.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is inviting comment on a proposed rule that would make several revisions to its stress testing rule. The proposed rule would change the range of possible ``as-of'' dates used in the global market shock component to conform to changes recently made by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) to its stress testing regulations. The proposed rule would also change the transition process for covered institutions with $50 billion or more in assets. Under the proposed rule, a covered institution that becomes an over $50 billion covered institution, as that term is defined in the OCC stress testing regulation, before September 30 would become subject to the requirements applicable to an over $50 billion covered institution beginning on January 1 of the second calendar year after the covered institution becomes an over $50 billion covered institution, and a covered institution that becomes an over $50 billion covered institution after September 30 would become subject to the requirements applicable to an over $50 billion covered institution beginning on January 1 of the third calendar year after the covered institution becomes an over $50 billion covered institution. The proposed rule would also make certain technical changes to clarify the requirements of the OCC's stress testing regulation.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or CPSC) issues this final rule prohibiting children's toys and child care articles that contain concentrations of more than 0.1 percent of diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-pentyl phthalate (DPENP), di-n-hexyl phthalate (DHEXP), and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP). Section 108 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) established permanent and interim prohibitions on the sale of certain consumer products containing specific phthalates. That provision also directed the CPSC to convene a Chronic Hazard Advisory Panel (CHAP) to study the effects on children's health of all phthalates and phthalate alternatives as used in children's toys and child care articles and to provide recommendations to the Commission regarding whether any phthalates or phthalate alternatives, other than those already permanently prohibited, should be prohibited. The CPSIA requires the Commission to promulgate a final rule after receiving the final CHAP report. This rule fulfills that requirement.

In March 2017, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (collectively, the agencies) submitted a report to Congress pursuant to the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996, in which they committed to meaningfully reduce regulatory burden, especially on community banking organizations. Consistent with that commitment, the agencies are inviting public comment on a notice of proposed rulemaking that would simplify compliance with certain aspects of the capital rule. A majority of the proposed simplifications would apply solely to banking organizations that are not subject to the advanced approaches capital rule (non-advanced approaches banking organizations). Specifically, the agencies are proposing that non-advanced approaches banking organizations apply a simpler regulatory capital treatment for: Mortgage servicing assets; certain deferred tax assets arising from temporary differences; investments in the capital of unconsolidated financial institutions; and capital issued by a consolidated subsidiary of a banking organization and held by third parties (minority interest). More generally, the proposal also includes revisions to the treatment of certain acquisition, development, or construction exposures that are designed to address comments regarding the current definition of high volatility commercial real estate exposure under the capital rule's standardized approach. Under the standardized approach, the proposed revisions to the treatment of acquisition, development, or construction exposures would not apply to existing exposures that are outstanding or committed prior to any final rule's effective date. In addition to the proposed simplifications, the agencies also are proposing various additional clarifications and technical amendments to the agencies' capital rule, which would apply to both non-advanced approaches banking organizations and advanced approaches banking organizations.