December 27, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Bureau is amending the official commentary that interprets the requirements of the Bureau's Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to reflect a change in the asset-size threshold for certain creditors to qualify for an exemption to the requirement to establish an escrow account for a higher-priced mortgage loan based on the annual percentage change in the average of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the 12-month period ending in November. The exemption threshold is adjusted to increase to $2.112 billion from $2.069 billion. The adjustment is based on the 2.1 percent increase in the average of the CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in November 2017. Therefore, creditors with assets of less than $2.112 billion (including assets of certain affiliates) as of December 31, 2017, are exempt, if other requirements of Regulation Z also are met, from establishing escrow accounts for higher-priced mortgage loans in 2018. This asset limit will also apply during a grace period, in certain circumstances, with respect to transactions with applications received before April 1 of 2019. The adjustment to the escrows asset- size exemption threshold will also increase a similar threshold for small-creditor portfolio and balloon-payment qualified mortgages. Balloon-payment qualified mortgages that satisfy all applicable criteria, including being made by creditors that have (together with certain affiliates) total assets below the threshold, are also excepted from the prohibition on balloon payments for high-cost mortgages.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amends the Common Crop Insurance Regulations to provide California Avocado insurance. The provisions will be used in conjunction with the Common Crop Insurance Policy Basic Provisions (Basic Provisions), which contain standard terms and conditions common to most crop programs. The intended effect of this action is to convert the California Avocado pilot crop insurance program to a regulatory insurance program for the 2020 and succeeding crop years.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites organizations to provide products and technical expertise to support and demonstrate security platforms for the Transport Layer Security (TLS) Server Certificate Management Building Block. This notice is the initial step for the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) in collaborating with technology companies to address cybersecurity challenges identified under the TLS Server Certificate Management Building Block. Participation in the building block is open to all interested organizations.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) requests comments on the draft Special Publication (SP) 2000-01 ABC's of Conformity Assessment document. The draft ABC's of Conformity Assessment document is posted on the NIST website at: https:// www.nist.gov/standardsgov/special-publications-conformity-ass essment.

On November 1, 2017, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a Federal Register notice regarding the establishment of the Localization and Tracking System (LTS) Testing Consortium, inviting organizations to participate in this Consortium. The purpose of this Federal Register notice is to extend the deadline for acceptance of letters of interest for participation in the LTS Testing Consortium, as indicated in the DATES section below, from December 15, 2017, to January 31, 2018.

This notice advises the public that the State of Texas has provided additional information regarding its request for certification of its capital counsel mechanism by the Attorney General, and that the period to submit public comment to the Department of Justice regarding Texas's request has been extended to 60 days from the date of publication of this notice.

Notice is hereby given that the U. S. Department of Energy, pursuant to Section 229 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, published in the Federal Register on August 26, 1963 (28 FR 8400), prohibits the unauthorized entry, and the unauthorized introduction of weapons or dangerous materials into or upon the following described facilities of the Fort Saint Vrain Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation of the United States Department of Energy. The FSV ISFSI is located on part of the original FSV Nuclear Generating Station site which is about three and one-half miles northwest of Platteville, Colorado. Platteville is located in Weld County and is about 35 miles north of Denver. The FSV ISFSI street address is 17122 19.5 Weld County Road, Platteville, Colorado. The ISFSI is located approximately 1500 feet northeast of the Public Service of Colorado fossil-fueled, power plant building. The facility occupies 10 acres more or less. The 229 Boundary of this facility is indicated by a combination of chain link fence and chain link gates which surround the facility.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance, a proposal for a three-year extension of collections of information pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The collections are used by DOE to exercise management oversight and control over its contractors.

The Department of Commerce (the Department) determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of 100- to 150-seat large civil aircraft (aircraft) from Canada. The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016. For information on the estimated subsidy rates, see the ``Final Determination'' section of this notice.

NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amount of Pacific cod from catcher vessels equal to or greater than 60 feet (18.3 meters) length overall (LOA) using pot gear to catcher/processors (C/Ps) using pot gear, catcher vessels less than 60 feet (18.3 meters) LOA using hook-and-line or pot gear, and C/Ps using hook-and-line gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. This action is necessary to allow the 2017 total allowable catch of Pacific cod to be harvested.

The Department of the Treasury will submit the following information collection requests to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. The public is invited to submit comments on these requests.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) invites organizations to provide products and technical expertise to support and demonstrate security platforms for the Privileged Account Management for the Financial Services sector. This notice is the initial step for the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) in collaborating with technology companies to address cybersecurity challenges identified under the Financial Services sector program. Participation in the use case is open to all interested organizations.

This notice advises the public that the State of Arizona has provided additional information regarding its request for certification of its capital counsel mechanism by the Attorney General, and that the period to submit public comment to the Department of Justice regarding Arizona's request has been extended to 60 days from the date of publication of this notice.

This document contains corrections to the proposed regulations (REG-119514-15) that were published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, December 19, 2017. The proposed regulations provide guidance on the treatment of foreign currency gain or loss of a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) under the business needs exclusion from foreign personal holding company income (FPHCI). The proposed regulations also provide an election for a taxpayer to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for foreign currency gain or loss attributable to section 988 transactions. In addition, the proposed regulations permit the controlling United States shareholders of a CFC to automatically revoke certain elections concerning the treatment of foreign currency gain or loss.

This document contains corrections to final regulations (TD 9825) that were published in the Federal Register on Thursday, October 19, 2017. The final regulations are under section 597 of the Internal Revenue Code. These final regulations amend existing regulations that address the federal income tax treatment of transactions in which federal financial assistance is provided to banks and domestic building and loan associations, and they clarify the federal income tax consequences of those transactions to banks, domestic building and loan associations, and related parties.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is proposing an extension of an existing information collection.

The U.S. Coast Guard seeks applications for membership on the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee. This committee acts solely in an advisory capacity to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security through the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard on matters relating to personnel in the United States merchant marine, including training, qualifications, certification, documentation, and fitness standards and other matters as assigned by the Commandant; may be given special assignments by the Secretary and may conduct studies, inquiries, workshops, and fact finding in consultation with individuals and groups in the private sector and with State or local governments; shall advise, consult with, and make recommendations reflecting its independent judgment to the Secretary; and may make available to Congress recommendations that the Committee makes to the Secretary.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is classifying the rectal balloon for prostate immobilization into class II (special controls). The special controls that apply to the device type are identified in this order and will be part of the codified language for the rectal balloon for prostate immobilization's classification. We are taking this action because we have determined that classifying the device into class II (special controls) will provide a reasonable assurance of safety and effectiveness of the device. We believe this action will also enhance patients' access to beneficial innovative devices, in part by reducing regulatory burdens.