2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. Pursuant to Section 5404 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, 2015 (FAST Act), FMCSA proposes a 3-year period of information collection to determine: (1) Whether the safety outcomes (to include crashes, moving violations, inspection violations, and safety critical events as available) of drivers under the age of 21 with military experience in the operation of heavy vehicles (i.e., ``covered drivers'') participating in interstate commerce are similar to the safety outcomes of CMV drivers between the ages of 21 and 24 (i.e., drivers aged 21, 22, 23, or 24) operating freight-carrying CMVs, and (2) how training and experience impact the safety of the 18- to 20- year-old driving population. FMCSA proposed this pilot program and solicited public comment on August 22, 2016. Two Federal Register notices were published on July 6, 2018. One notice requested comments on this proposed information collection request (83 FR 31631) and the other announced programmatic details for participating in the pilot program and responded to comments received on the initial proposal for the pilot program (83 FR 31633). The comment period was open for 60- days and closed on September 4, 2018. In response to the notice, FMCSA received 37 comments.

FMCSA announces receipt of applications from eight individuals for an exemption from the prohibition in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) against persons with a clinical diagnosis of epilepsy or any other condition that is likely to cause a loss of consciousness or any loss of ability to control a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) to drive in interstate commerce. If granted, the exemptions would enable these individuals who have had one or more seizures and are taking anti-seizure medication to operate CMVs in interstate commerce.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish a temporary safety zone for certain waters of Spa Creek. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters of Spa Creek at Annapolis, MD, during a fireworks display on December 31, 2018. This proposed rulemaking would prohibit persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Maryland- National Capital Region or a designated representative. We invite your comments on this proposed rulemaking.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and approval and invites public comment. This new request titled ``Truck and Bus Maintenance Requirements and Their Impact on Safety'' will allow for a study that focuses on vehicle maintenance and aims to determine the impact of vehicle maintenance requirements on overall motor carrier safety. This information collection supports the DOT Strategic Goal of Safety.

The U.S. Department of Energy (``DOE'') is granting a waiver extension (Case No. 2018-010) to Apple Inc. (``Apple'') to waive certain requirements of the DOE external power supply test procedure for determining the energy efficiency of the Apple brand external power supply basic models A1947 and A1720. Apple is required to test and rate these basic models in accordance with the alternate test procedure specified.

In October 2014, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published a notice in the Federal Register (79 FR 61241) with the final plan to replace the statewide data indicators used to determine a state's substantial conformity with titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act through the Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs). In May 2015, ACF published a notice in the Federal Register (80 FR 27263) to correct some of the calculations and language used in the October 2014 notice. After the May 2015 notice, additional technical errors in the syntax and formulation of the statewide data indicators were identified. Some of those errors were discovered by states and other interested parties that operationalized the indicators for continuous quality improvement. Based on the amount of time required to complete a comprehensive review of the syntax, make revisions and validate the accuracy of the calculations; the Children's Bureau (CB) decided to suspend use of the indicators in determinations of substantial conformity during the third round of CFSRs. In October 2016, CB published CFSR Technical Bulletin #9 to inform states of the decision to limit use of the CFSR statewide data indicators and national performance to context information for round three of CFSRs. Since then, CB has thoroughly reviewed, revised, tested, and obtained independent review and validation of the syntax used to perform data quality checks and calculate state performance on the statewide data indicators. Before CB finalizes the revised syntax, and publishes revised performance results for all states and revised national standards, we invite state child welfare agencies, partner organizations, and the public to review, test, and provide comments on the revised syntax used to perform data quality checks and calculate observed performance on the statewide data indicators.

This document withdraws a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on October 2, 2013. The proposed rule sought public comment on the proposed change in the definition of ``human organ'' in section 301 of the National Organ and Transplant Act of 1984, as amended, (NOTA) to explicitly incorporate hematopoietic stem cells within peripheral blood in the definition of ``bone marrow.'' HHS received over 500 comments on the proposed rule. Given the number of substantive comments, at this time HHS has decided to consider the issue further and may issue an NPRM in the future.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will hold a one- day meeting of its Ad Hoc Reef Fish Headboat Advisory Panel.

The Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel (NTAP) of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a meeting.

FMCSA announces its decision to renew the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association's (SC&RA) exemption from the 30-minute rest break rule of the Agency's hours-of-service (HOS) regulations for certain commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. SC&RA currently holds an exemption valid through November 1, 2018. The exemption renewal is for five years. All qualifying motor carriers and drivers operating mobile cranes with a rated lifting capacity of greater than 30 tons are exempt from the 30-minute break provision.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of Transportation's Office of the Secretary of Transportation (DOT/OST) intends to establish a DOT-wide System of Records titled, ``DOT/ALL-27, Training Programs.'' This system of records will allow the Department of Transportation, to include its Operating Administrations and Secretarial Offices, to collect and maintain contact, registration, and other information about Department of Transportation employees and other individuals related to participation in and management of Department of Transportation training programs. This system, titled Training Programs, will be included in the Department of Transportation's inventory of record systems. The Department also intends to rescind existing Notices for DOT/RITA-O12, TSI Online Catalog and Learning Management System'', and DOT/FHWA-221, ``National Highway Institute website (NHIW) and Course Management Tracking System (CMTS)'', as these records will be part of the new DOT/ALL-27 described in this Notice.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Comments are requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Comments are requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.

The Commission is noticing a recent Postal Service filing for the Commission's consideration concerning a negotiated service agreement. This notice informs the public of the filing, invites public comment, and takes other administrative steps.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collections. Comments are requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.

NMFS is closing the commercial fishery for blacktip sharks in the eastern Gulf of Mexico sub-region. This action is necessary because, as of reports received by November 16, 2018, the commercial landings of blacktip sharks in the eastern Gulf of Mexico sub-region for the 2018 fishing season have reached 97 percent of the available commercial quota. Therefore, NMFS is closing the blacktip shark fishery in the eastern Gulf of Mexico sub-region. This closure will affect anyone commercially fishing for blacktip sharks in the eastern Gulf of Mexico sub-region.