Making Permanent the Attorney Advisor Program, 40451-40453 [2018-17547]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 158 / Wednesday, August 15, 2018 / Rules and Regulations
(l) Parts Installation Limitations
(1) As of the effective date of this AD, no
person may install, on any airplane, an HSTA
attachment pin, unless the pin has a serial
number.
(2) As of the effective date of this AD, no
person may install, on any Bombardier, Inc.,
Model CL–600–2B16 (604 Variant) airplane
with serial number 5301 and subsequent, an
HSTA trunnion, unless the HSTA trunnion
has a serial number.
(m) Other FAA AD Provisions
The following provisions also apply to this
AD:
(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance
(AMOCs): The Manager, New York ACO
Branch, FAA, has the authority to approve
AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the
procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. In
accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, send your
request to your principal inspector or local
Flight Standards District Office, as
appropriate. If sending information directly
to the manager of the certification office,
send it to ATTN: Program Manager,
Continuing Operational Safety, FAA, New
York ACO Branch, 1600 Stewart Avenue,
Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone
516–228–7300; fax 516–794–5531. Before
using any approved AMOC, notify your
appropriate principal inspector, or lacking a
principal inspector, the manager of the local
flight standards district office/certificate
holding district office.
(2) Contacting the Manufacturer: For any
requirement in this AD to obtain corrective
actions from a manufacturer, the action must
be accomplished using a method approved
by the Manager, New York ACO Branch,
FAA; or TCCA; or Bombardier, Inc.’s TCCA
DAO. If approved by the DAO, the approval
must include the DAO-authorized signature.
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES
(n) Related Information
(1) Refer to Mandatory Continuing
Airworthiness Information (MCAI) Canadian
AD CF–2017–24, dated July 12, 2017, for
related information. This MCAI may be
found in the AD docket on the internet at
https://www.regulations.gov by searching for
and locating Docket No. FAA–2018–0028.
(2) For more information about this AD,
contact Aziz Ahmed, Aerospace Engineer,
Airframe and Mechanical Systems Section,
FAA, New York ACO Branch, 1600 Stewart
Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590;
telephone 516–228–7239; fax 516–794–5531;
email 9-avs-nyaco-cos@faa.gov.
(3) Service information identified in this
AD that is not incorporated by reference is
available at the addresses specified in
paragraphs (o)(3) and (o)(4) of this AD.
(o) Material Incorporated by Reference
(1) The Director of the Federal Register
approved the incorporation by reference
(IBR) of the service information listed in this
paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR
part 51.
(2) You must use this service information
as applicable to do the actions required by
this AD, unless this AD specifies otherwise.
(i) Bombardier Repair Engineering Order
(REO) 600–27–42–002, ‘‘General Repair—
HSTA Upper and Lower Pins,’’ dated
December 15, 2016.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:11 Aug 14, 2018
Jkt 244001
(ii) Bombardier Repair Engineering Order
(REO) 604–27–42–011, ‘‘General Repair—
HSTA Trunnion P/N 601R92386–1/–3,’’
dated December 15, 2016.
(iii) Bombardier Repair Engineering Order
(REO) 604–27–42–012, ‘‘General Repair—
HSTA Upper and Lower Pins,’’ dated
December 15, 2016.
(iv) Bombardier Service Bulletin 600–0760,
Revision 01, dated April 21, 2017.
(v) Bombardier Service Bulletin 601–0626,
Revision 01, dated April 21, 2017.
(vi) Bombardier Service Bulletin 604–27–
034, Revision 01, dated April 21, 2017.
(vii) Bombardier Service Bulletin 605–27–
005, Revision 01, dated April 21, 2017.
(viii) Section 5–10–10, ‘‘Time Limits
(Structural),’’ of Section 5–10–00,
‘‘Airworthiness Limitations,’’ of Bombardier
Challenger 600 Time Limits/Maintenance
Checks, Publication No. PSP 605, Revision
39, dated January 8, 2018.
(ix) Section 5–10–00, ‘‘Airworthiness
Limitations,’’ of Bombardier Challenger 601
Time Limits/Maintenance Checks,
Publication No. PSP 601–5, Revision 46,
dated January 8, 2018.
(A) Section 5–10–10, ‘‘Time Limits
(Structural)—Pre SB 601–0280.’’
(B) Section 5–10–11, ‘‘Time Limits
(Structural)—Post SB 601–0280.’’
(C) Section 5–10–12, ‘‘Time Limits
(Structural)—Post SB 601–0360.’’
(x) Section 5–10–00, ‘‘Airworthiness
Limitations,’’ of Bombardier Challenger 601
Time Limits/Maintenance Checks,
Publication No. PSP 601A–5, Revision 42,
dated January 8, 2018.
(A) Section 5–10–10, ‘‘Time Limits
(Structural).’’
(B) Section 5–10–11, ‘‘Time Limits
(Structural).’’
(C) Section 5–10–12, ‘‘Time Limits
(Structural).’’
(xi) Section 5–10–10, ‘‘Life Limits
(Structures),’’ of Bombardier Challenger 604
CL–604 Time Limits/Maintenance Checks,
Part 2 Airworthiness Limitations, Revision
30, dated December 4, 2017.
(xii) Section 5–10–10, ‘‘Life Limits
(Structures),’’ of Bombardier Challenger 605
CL–605 Time Limits/Maintenance Checks,
Part 2 Airworthiness Limitations, Revision
18, dated December 4, 2017.
(xiii) Section 5–10–10, ‘‘Life Limits
(Structures),’’ of Bombardier Challenger 650
CL–650 Time Limits/Maintenance Checks,
Part 2 Airworthiness Limitations, Revision 5,
dated December 4, 2017.
(3) For service information identified in
ˆ
this AD, contact Bombardier, Inc., 400 Cote´
Vertu Road West, Dorval, Quebec H4S 1Y9,
Canada; Widebody Customer Response
Center North America toll-free telephone 1–
866–538–1247 or direct-dial telephone 1–
514–855–2999; fax 514–855–7401; email
ac.yul@aero.bombardier.com; internet https://
www.bombardier.com.
(4) You may view this service information
at the FAA, Transport Standards Branch,
2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. For
information on the availability of this
material at the FAA, call 206–231–3195.
(5) You may view this service information
that is incorporated by reference at the
National Archives and Records
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40451
Administration (NARA). For information on
the availability of this material at NARA, call
202–741–6030, or go to: https://
www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibrlocations.html.
Issued in Des Moines, Washington, on
August 5, 2018.
Michael Kaszycki,
Acting Director, System Oversight Division,
Aircraft Certification Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–17483 Filed 8–14–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
20 CFR Parts 404 and 416
[Docket No. SSA–2018–0033]
RIN 0960–AI23
Making Permanent the Attorney
Advisor Program
Social Security Administration.
Final rule.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
We are making permanent the
attorney advisor program, which has
proved to be an integral tool in
providing timely decisions to the public
while maximizing the use of our
administrative law judges (ALJs). The
attorney advisor initiative permits some
attorney advisors to develop claims,
including holding prehearing
conferences, and, in cases in which the
documentary record clearly establishes
that a fully favorable decision is
warranted, issue fully favorable
decisions before a hearing is conducted.
We expect that by making the attorney
advisor program permanent, we will be
able to continue to reduce the number
of pending claims at the hearing level of
our administrative review process and
provide more timely service to
claimants.
SUMMARY:
This final rule is effective August
15, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Swansiger, Office of Hearings
Operations, Social Security
Administration, 5107 Leesburg Pike,
Falls Church, VA 22041, (703) 605–
8500. For information on eligibility or
filing for benefits, call our national tollfree number, 800–772–1213 or TTY
800–325–0778, or visit our internet site,
Social Security Online, at https://
www.socialsecurity.gov.
DATES:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background of the Attorney Advisor
Program
Under the attorney advisor program,
certain attorney advisors may develop
claims and, in appropriate cases, issue
E:\FR\FM\15AUR1.SGM
15AUR1
40452
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 158 / Wednesday, August 15, 2018 / Rules and Regulations
fully favorable decisions before a
hearing.
We first created the attorney advisor
program in 1995 through notice and
comment rulemaking for a limited
period of two years.1 The program’s
success prompted us to renew it several
times until it expired in April 2001.2 On
August 9, 2007, we published an
interim final rule that reinstituted the
attorney advisor program in order to
provide more timely service to the
increasing number of applicants for
Social Security disability benefits and
Supplemental Security Income
payments based on disability.3 We
considered the public comments we
received on the interim final rule, and
on March 3, 2008, we issued a final rule
without change.4
As before, we intended the attorney
advisor program to be a temporary
modification to our procedures, but
with the potential to become a
permanent program. Therefore, we
included in sections 404.942(g) and
416.1442(g) of the interim final rule a
provision that the program would end
on August 10, 2009, unless we decided
to either terminate the rule earlier or
extend it beyond that date by
publication of a final rule in the Federal
Register. Since that time, we have
periodically extended the sunset date.5
The current sunset date for the program
is August 2, 2019.6
We explained in the 2008 final rule
that the number of requests for hearings
had increased significantly in recent
years. From 2008 to the present, the
number of pending hearing requests has
continued to remain high, and we
anticipate that we will receive several
hundred thousand hearing requests in
fiscal year 2018 and in fiscal year 2019.7
To preserve the maximum degree of
flexibility and manage our hearingslevel workloads effectively, we have
1 60
FR 34126 (June 30, 1995).
FR 35073 (extending expiration date to June
30, 1998); 63 FR 35515 (extending expiration date
to April 1, 1999); 64 FR 13677 (extending expiration
date to April 1, 2000), 64 FR 51892 (extending
expiration date to April 2, 2001).
3 72 FR 44763.
4 73 FR 11349.
5 74 FR 33327 (extending the expiration date to
August 10, 2011); 76 FR 18383 (extending the
expiration date to August 9, 2013); 78 FR 45459
(extending the expiration date to August 7, 2015);
80 FR 31990 (extending the expiration date to
August 4, 2017); 82 FR 34400 (extending the
expiration date to February 5, 2018); and 83 FR 711
(extending the expiration date to August 3, 2018).
6 83 FR 28992 (extending the expiration date to
August 2, 2019).
7 Our budget estimates indicate that we expect to
receive approximately 582,000 hearing requests in
fiscal year 2018 and 578,000 in fiscal year 2019
(available at: https://www.ssa.gov/budget/
FY19Files/2019CJ.pdf).
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2 62
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:11 Aug 14, 2018
Jkt 244001
decided to make the attorney advisor
rule permanent.
Time Savings and Other Benefits of
Making the Program Permanent
Under the attorney advisor program,
attorney advisors conduct certain
prehearing proceedings and, when the
record clearly establishes that a fully
favorable decision is warranted, may
issue a fully favorable decision before
an ALJ holds a hearing. Thus, the
attorney advisor program allows us to
issue fully favorable decisions more
quickly in appropriate cases, which, in
turn, allows claimants to receive
disability benefits under title II or
disability payments under title XVI
months, or perhaps even a year, earlier
than if they had to wait for a hearing
before an ALJ. As well, since attorney
advisors may issue fully favorable
decisions in cases that would otherwise
require an ALJ to hold a hearing and
issue a decision, the program allows
ALJs to spend their time adjudicating
more complex cases.
As an added benefit of the program,
even if an attorney advisor cannot issue
a fully favorable decision after
conducting prehearing proceedings, the
summary the attorney advisor drafts
during his or her review can be valuable
to the ALJ, helping to expedite the
hearing process. Moreover, prehearing
proceedings by an attorney advisor do
not delay the scheduling of a hearing
unless a fully favorable decision is in
process. Thus, if the attorney advisor is
unable to issue a fully favorable
decision after conducting prehearing
proceedings, the case returns to its
original place in line and continues
under our standard hearing process,
with no delays caused by the attorney
advisor’s review. For these reasons,
making the attorney advisor program
permanent benefits claimants by giving
them a chance to receive a fully
favorable decision more quickly and by
expediting the overall hearings process,
and it benefits ALJs and their support
staff by allowing them to receive helpful
case summaries from attorney advisors
who assist with developing the record
in cases that are selected for prehearing
proceedings but that still require a
hearing before an ALJ.
Regulatory Procedures
Justification for Issuing a Final Rule
Without Notice and Comment
We follow the Administrative
Procedure Act (APA) rulemaking
procedures specified in 5 U.S.C. 553
when we develop regulations.
Generally, the APA requires that an
agency provide prior notice and
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Frm 00020
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
opportunity for public comment before
issuing a final rule. The APA provides
exceptions to its notice and public
comment procedures when an agency
finds there is good cause for dispensing
with such procedures because they are
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary
to the public interest.
We find that there is good cause
under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to issue this
regulatory change as a final rule without
prior public comment. We find that
prior public comment is unnecessary
because this final rule merely removes
the sunset provision of 20 CFR 404.942
and 416.1442 and does not make any
substantive changes to the attorney
advisor program. Importantly, we
developed the attorney advisor program
through notice and comment
rulemaking in 1995, and we requested
public comments again when we
reinstituted the program, without
change, in 2007. We received only three
public comments in response to our
2007 interim final rule, and two of them
supported the rule. The current rules
expressly provide that we may extend
the program beyond the current
expiration date by notice of a final rule
in the Federal Register. Accordingly, in
light of the technical nature of the rule,
and because we requested and
addressed public comments on the
attorney advisor program on two prior
occasions, we find there is good cause
to issue this final rule without prior
public comment.
In addition, because we are not
making any substantive changes to the
attorney advisor program, we find that
there is good cause for dispensing with
the 30-day delay in the effective date of
a substantive rule provided by 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3). To ensure that we have
uninterrupted authority to use attorney
advisors to address the number of
pending cases at the hearing level, we
find that it is in the public interest to
make this final rule effective on the date
of publication.
Executive Order 12866 as
Supplemented by Executive Order
13563
We consulted with the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) and
determined that this final rule meets the
requirements for a significant regulatory
action under Executive Order (E.O.)
12866, as supplemented by E.O. 13563.
Therefore, OMB has reviewed this final
rule.
Executive Order 13771
This rule is not subject to the
requirements of Executive Order 13771
because it is administrative in nature
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 158 / Wednesday, August 15, 2018 / Rules and Regulations
and results in no more than de minimis
costs.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
We certify that this final rule will not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities
because it affects individuals only.
Therefore, the Regulatory Flexibility
Act, as amended, does not require us to
prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis.
Paperwork Reduction Act
These rules do not create any new or
affect any existing collections and,
therefore, do not require Office of
Management and Budget approval
under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Nos. 96.001, Social Security—
Disability Insurance; 96.002, Social
Security—Retirement Insurance; 96.004,
Social Security—Survivors Insurance;
96.006, Supplemental Security Income.)
Administrative practice and
procedure; Blind; Disability benefits;
Old-age, Survivors and Disability
Insurance; Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements; Social security.
Administrative practice and
procedure; Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements; Supplemental Security
Income (SSI).
Nancy A. Berryhill,
Acting Commissioner of Social Security.
For the reasons stated in the
preamble, we are amending subpart J of
part 404 and subpart N of part 416 of
Chapter III of title 20 of the Code of
Federal Regulations as set forth below:
PART 404—FEDERAL OLD–AGE,
SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY
INSURANCE
)
Subpart J—[Amended]
1. The authority citation for subpart J
of part 404 continues to read as follows:
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES
■
Authority: Secs. 201(j), 204(f), 205(a)–(b),
(d)–(h), and (j), 221, 223(i), 225, and 702(a)(5)
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401(j),
404(f), 405(a)–(b), (d)–(h), and (j), 421, 423(i),
425, and 902(a)(5)); sec. 5, Pub. L. 97–455, 96
Stat. 2500 (42 U.S.C. 405 note); secs. 5, 6(c)–
(e), and 15, Pub. L. 98–460, 98 Stat. 1802 (42
U.S.C. 421 note); sec. 202, Pub. L. 108–203,
118 Stat. 509 (42 U.S.C. 902 note).
[Amended]
2. In § 404.942, remove paragraph (g).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:11 Aug 14, 2018
Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1631, and 1633
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
902(a)(5), 1383, and 1383b); sec. 202, Pub. L.
108–203, 118 Stat. 509 (42 U.S.C. 902 note).
§ 416.1442
[Amended]
4. In § 416.1442, remove paragraph
(g).
■
[FR Doc. 2018–17547 Filed 8–14–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191–02–P
Benefits Payable in Terminated SingleEmployer Plans; Interest Assumptions
for Paying Benefits
Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
This final rule amends the
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s
regulation on Benefits Payable in
Terminated Single-Employer Plans to
prescribe interest assumptions under
the regulation for valuation dates in
September 2018. The interest
assumptions are used for paying
benefits under terminating singleemployer plans covered by the pension
insurance system administered by
PBGC.
SUMMARY:
20 CFR Part 416
■
3. The authority citation for subpart N
continues to read as follows:
■
29 CFR Part 4022
20 CFR Part 404
§ 404.942
Subpart N—[Amended]
PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY
CORPORATION
List of Subjects
(1950–
PART 416—SUPPLEMENTAL
SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED,
BLIND, AND DISABLED
Jkt 244001
DATES:
Effective September 1, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Hilary Duke (duke.hilary@pbgc.gov),
Assistant General Counsel for
Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit
Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street
NW, Washington, DC 20005, 202–326–
4400 ext. 3839. (TTY users may call the
Federal relay service toll-free at 1–800–
877–8339 and ask to be connected to
202–326–4400, ext. 3839.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PBGC’s
regulation on Benefits Payable in
Terminated Single-Employer Plans (29
CFR part 4022) prescribes actuarial
assumptions—including interest
assumptions—for paying plan benefits
under terminated single-employer plans
covered by title IV of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
The interest assumptions in the
regulation are also published on PBGC’s
website (https://www.pbgc.gov).
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Fmt 4700
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40453
PBGC uses the interest assumptions in
appendix B to part 4022 to determine
whether a benefit is payable as a lump
sum and to determine the amount to
pay. Appendix C to part 4022 contains
interest assumptions for private-sector
pension practitioners to refer to if they
wish to use lump-sum interest rates
determined using PBGC’s historical
methodology. Currently, the rates in
appendices B and C of the benefit
payment regulation are the same.
The interest assumptions are intended
to reflect current conditions in the
financial and annuity markets.
Assumptions under the benefit
payments regulation are updated
monthly. This final rule updates the
benefit payments interest assumptions
for September 2018.1
The September 2018 interest
assumptions under the benefit payments
regulation will be 1.25 percent for the
period during which a benefit is in pay
status and 4.00 percent during any years
preceding the benefit’s placement in pay
status. In comparison with the interest
assumptions in effect for August 2018,
these assumptions represent no change
in the immediate rate and are otherwise
unchanged.
PBGC has determined that notice and
public comment on this amendment are
impracticable and contrary to the public
interest. This finding is based on the
need to determine and issue new
interest assumptions promptly so that
the assumptions can reflect current
market conditions as accurately as
possible.
Because of the need to provide
immediate guidance for the payment of
benefits under plans with valuation
dates during September 2018, PBGC
finds that good cause exists for making
the assumptions set forth in this
amendment effective less than 30 days
after publication.
PBGC has determined that this action
is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’
under the criteria set forth in Executive
Order 12866.
Because no general notice of proposed
rulemaking is required for this
amendment, the Regulatory Flexibility
Act of 1980 does not apply. See 5 U.S.C.
601(2).
List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 4022
Employee benefit plans, Pension
insurance, Pensions, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
1 Appendix B to PBGC’s regulation on Allocation
of Assets in Single-Employer Plans (29 CFR part
4044) prescribes interest assumptions for valuing
benefits under terminating covered single-employer
plans for purposes of allocation of assets under
ERISA section 4044. Those assumptions are
updated quarterly.
E:\FR\FM\15AUR1.SGM
15AUR1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 158 (Wednesday, August 15, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40451-40453]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17547]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
20 CFR Parts 404 and 416
[Docket No. SSA-2018-0033]
RIN 0960-AI23
Making Permanent the Attorney Advisor Program
AGENCY: Social Security Administration.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are making permanent the attorney advisor program, which
has proved to be an integral tool in providing timely decisions to the
public while maximizing the use of our administrative law judges
(ALJs). The attorney advisor initiative permits some attorney advisors
to develop claims, including holding prehearing conferences, and, in
cases in which the documentary record clearly establishes that a fully
favorable decision is warranted, issue fully favorable decisions before
a hearing is conducted. We expect that by making the attorney advisor
program permanent, we will be able to continue to reduce the number of
pending claims at the hearing level of our administrative review
process and provide more timely service to claimants.
DATES: This final rule is effective August 15, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Swansiger, Office of Hearings
Operations, Social Security Administration, 5107 Leesburg Pike, Falls
Church, VA 22041, (703) 605-8500. For information on eligibility or
filing for benefits, call our national toll-free number, 800-772-1213
or TTY 800-325-0778, or visit our internet site, Social Security
Online, at https://www.socialsecurity.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background of the Attorney Advisor Program
Under the attorney advisor program, certain attorney advisors may
develop claims and, in appropriate cases, issue
[[Page 40452]]
fully favorable decisions before a hearing.
We first created the attorney advisor program in 1995 through
notice and comment rulemaking for a limited period of two years.\1\ The
program's success prompted us to renew it several times until it
expired in April 2001.\2\ On August 9, 2007, we published an interim
final rule that reinstituted the attorney advisor program in order to
provide more timely service to the increasing number of applicants for
Social Security disability benefits and Supplemental Security Income
payments based on disability.\3\ We considered the public comments we
received on the interim final rule, and on March 3, 2008, we issued a
final rule without change.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 60 FR 34126 (June 30, 1995).
\2\ 62 FR 35073 (extending expiration date to June 30, 1998); 63
FR 35515 (extending expiration date to April 1, 1999); 64 FR 13677
(extending expiration date to April 1, 2000), 64 FR 51892 (extending
expiration date to April 2, 2001).
\3\ 72 FR 44763.
\4\ 73 FR 11349.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As before, we intended the attorney advisor program to be a
temporary modification to our procedures, but with the potential to
become a permanent program. Therefore, we included in sections
404.942(g) and 416.1442(g) of the interim final rule a provision that
the program would end on August 10, 2009, unless we decided to either
terminate the rule earlier or extend it beyond that date by publication
of a final rule in the Federal Register. Since that time, we have
periodically extended the sunset date.\5\ The current sunset date for
the program is August 2, 2019.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ 74 FR 33327 (extending the expiration date to August 10,
2011); 76 FR 18383 (extending the expiration date to August 9,
2013); 78 FR 45459 (extending the expiration date to August 7,
2015); 80 FR 31990 (extending the expiration date to August 4,
2017); 82 FR 34400 (extending the expiration date to February 5,
2018); and 83 FR 711 (extending the expiration date to August 3,
2018).
\6\ 83 FR 28992 (extending the expiration date to August 2,
2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We explained in the 2008 final rule that the number of requests for
hearings had increased significantly in recent years. From 2008 to the
present, the number of pending hearing requests has continued to remain
high, and we anticipate that we will receive several hundred thousand
hearing requests in fiscal year 2018 and in fiscal year 2019.\7\ To
preserve the maximum degree of flexibility and manage our hearings-
level workloads effectively, we have decided to make the attorney
advisor rule permanent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Our budget estimates indicate that we expect to receive
approximately 582,000 hearing requests in fiscal year 2018 and
578,000 in fiscal year 2019 (available at: https://www.ssa.gov/budget/FY19Files/2019CJ.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time Savings and Other Benefits of Making the Program Permanent
Under the attorney advisor program, attorney advisors conduct
certain prehearing proceedings and, when the record clearly establishes
that a fully favorable decision is warranted, may issue a fully
favorable decision before an ALJ holds a hearing. Thus, the attorney
advisor program allows us to issue fully favorable decisions more
quickly in appropriate cases, which, in turn, allows claimants to
receive disability benefits under title II or disability payments under
title XVI months, or perhaps even a year, earlier than if they had to
wait for a hearing before an ALJ. As well, since attorney advisors may
issue fully favorable decisions in cases that would otherwise require
an ALJ to hold a hearing and issue a decision, the program allows ALJs
to spend their time adjudicating more complex cases.
As an added benefit of the program, even if an attorney advisor
cannot issue a fully favorable decision after conducting prehearing
proceedings, the summary the attorney advisor drafts during his or her
review can be valuable to the ALJ, helping to expedite the hearing
process. Moreover, prehearing proceedings by an attorney advisor do not
delay the scheduling of a hearing unless a fully favorable decision is
in process. Thus, if the attorney advisor is unable to issue a fully
favorable decision after conducting prehearing proceedings, the case
returns to its original place in line and continues under our standard
hearing process, with no delays caused by the attorney advisor's
review. For these reasons, making the attorney advisor program
permanent benefits claimants by giving them a chance to receive a fully
favorable decision more quickly and by expediting the overall hearings
process, and it benefits ALJs and their support staff by allowing them
to receive helpful case summaries from attorney advisors who assist
with developing the record in cases that are selected for prehearing
proceedings but that still require a hearing before an ALJ.
Regulatory Procedures
Justification for Issuing a Final Rule Without Notice and Comment
We follow the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) rulemaking
procedures specified in 5 U.S.C. 553 when we develop regulations.
Generally, the APA requires that an agency provide prior notice and
opportunity for public comment before issuing a final rule. The APA
provides exceptions to its notice and public comment procedures when an
agency finds there is good cause for dispensing with such procedures
because they are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public
interest.
We find that there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to issue
this regulatory change as a final rule without prior public comment. We
find that prior public comment is unnecessary because this final rule
merely removes the sunset provision of 20 CFR 404.942 and 416.1442 and
does not make any substantive changes to the attorney advisor program.
Importantly, we developed the attorney advisor program through notice
and comment rulemaking in 1995, and we requested public comments again
when we reinstituted the program, without change, in 2007. We received
only three public comments in response to our 2007 interim final rule,
and two of them supported the rule. The current rules expressly provide
that we may extend the program beyond the current expiration date by
notice of a final rule in the Federal Register. Accordingly, in light
of the technical nature of the rule, and because we requested and
addressed public comments on the attorney advisor program on two prior
occasions, we find there is good cause to issue this final rule without
prior public comment.
In addition, because we are not making any substantive changes to
the attorney advisor program, we find that there is good cause for
dispensing with the 30-day delay in the effective date of a substantive
rule provided by 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). To ensure that we have
uninterrupted authority to use attorney advisors to address the number
of pending cases at the hearing level, we find that it is in the public
interest to make this final rule effective on the date of publication.
Executive Order 12866 as Supplemented by Executive Order 13563
We consulted with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and
determined that this final rule meets the requirements for a
significant regulatory action under Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, as
supplemented by E.O. 13563. Therefore, OMB has reviewed this final
rule.
Executive Order 13771
This rule is not subject to the requirements of Executive Order
13771 because it is administrative in nature
[[Page 40453]]
and results in no more than de minimis costs.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
We certify that this final rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because it
affects individuals only. Therefore, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as
amended, does not require us to prepare a regulatory flexibility
analysis.
Paperwork Reduction Act
These rules do not create any new or affect any existing
collections and, therefore, do not require Office of Management and
Budget approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 96.001, Social
Security--Disability Insurance; 96.002, Social Security--Retirement
Insurance; 96.004, Social Security--Survivors Insurance; 96.006,
Supplemental Security Income.)
List of Subjects
20 CFR Part 404
Administrative practice and procedure; Blind; Disability benefits;
Old-age, Survivors and Disability Insurance; Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements; Social security.
20 CFR Part 416
Administrative practice and procedure; Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements; Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Nancy A. Berryhill,
Acting Commissioner of Social Security.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, we are amending subpart J
of part 404 and subpart N of part 416 of Chapter III of title 20 of the
Code of Federal Regulations as set forth below:
PART 404--FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY INSURANCE
(1950- )
Subpart J--[Amended]
0
1. The authority citation for subpart J of part 404 continues to read
as follows:
Authority: Secs. 201(j), 204(f), 205(a)-(b), (d)-(h), and (j),
221, 223(i), 225, and 702(a)(5) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 401(j), 404(f), 405(a)-(b), (d)-(h), and (j), 421, 423(i),
425, and 902(a)(5)); sec. 5, Pub. L. 97-455, 96 Stat. 2500 (42
U.S.C. 405 note); secs. 5, 6(c)-(e), and 15, Pub. L. 98-460, 98
Stat. 1802 (42 U.S.C. 421 note); sec. 202, Pub. L. 108-203, 118
Stat. 509 (42 U.S.C. 902 note).
Sec. 404.942 [Amended]
0
2. In Sec. 404.942, remove paragraph (g).
PART 416--SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND
DISABLED
Subpart N--[Amended]
0
3. The authority citation for subpart N continues to read as follows:
Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1631, and 1633 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 902(a)(5), 1383, and 1383b); sec. 202, Pub.
L. 108-203, 118 Stat. 509 (42 U.S.C. 902 note).
Sec. 416.1442 [Amended]
0
4. In Sec. 416.1442, remove paragraph (g).
[FR Doc. 2018-17547 Filed 8-14-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P