February 1, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule will remove seven voluntary U.S. grade standards and one consumer standard for fresh fruits and vegetables from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). This regulatory action is being taken as part of USDA's work to eliminate regulations that are outdated, unnecessary, ineffective, or impose costs that exceed benefits. None of the eight voluntary standards slated for removal from the CFR are related to a current, active marketing order, import regulation, or export act. The cost of printing these eight standards in the CFR annually exceeds the benefits of further inclusion in the CFR. These voluntary standards and all subsequent revisions or new standards for these products will be available in a separate publication. The standards for the affected commodities will continue to be administered by the AMS Specialty Crops Inspection (SCI) Division and catalogued using the existing numbering system for voluntary standards. Any proposed, new, or revised voluntary standards will appear in the Federal Register with the opportunity for public comment.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services announces the following information collection has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. By this notice, IMLS is soliciting comments concerning the forms and instructions for the program application for the Museum Assessment Program for the next three years. A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the individual listed below in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary moving safety zone around the vessels OCEAN PATRIOT and ROSS CANDIES operating in the Mississippi Canyon Block 20 in the Gulf of Mexico. The safety zone encompasses all navigable waters within a 500-yard radius of the vessels. The safety zone is needed to protect persons, vessels, and the marine environment from hazards associated with the vessels' limited maneuverability during installation of a containment system. Persons and vessels are prohibited from entering or remaining in this zone unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector New Orleans or a designated representative.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is proposing to revise its regulations regarding the horizontal market power analysis required for market-based rate sellers that study certain Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) or Independent System Operator (ISO) markets and submarkets therein. This proposed modification of the Commission's horizontal market power analysis would relieve such sellers of the obligation to submit indicative screens when seeking to obtain or retain market-based rate authority. The Commission's regulations would continue to require market-based rate sellers that study an RTO, ISO, or submarket therein, to submit indicative screens for authorization to make capacity sales at market- based rates in any RTO/ISO market that lacks an RTO/ISO-administered capacity market subject to Commission-approved RTO/ISO monitoring and mitigation. For those RTOs and ISOs lacking an RTO/ISO-administered capacity market, we propose that Commission-approved RTO/ISO monitoring and mitigation no longer be presumed sufficient to address any horizontal market power concerns for capacity sales where there are indicative screen failures.

This final rule removes DoD's regulation which contains internal policy regarding criteria and training requirements for satisfactory participation by members of the Reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces, and uniform DoD policy for training members of such Reserve components who may be temporarily residing in sovereign foreign nations. This part is internal, has not been updated since 1979, and is obsolete. Current internal procedures will continue to be maintained and updated in a DoD issuance.

The Commission is adopting final rules amending the Commission's regulations governing market tests of experimental products. The final rules revise the method for calculating applicable market test revenue limitations and clarify the process for filing a request to add a non-experimental product or price category based on an experimental product to the market dominant or competitive product list. For additional information, Order No. 4973 can be accessed electronically through the Commission's website at https://www.prc.gov.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is proposing to amend and update its VA Acquisition Regulation (VAAR) in phased increments to revise or remove any policy superseded by changes in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), to remove procedural guidance that is internal to VA into the VA Acquisition Manual (VAAM), and to incorporate any new agency specific regulations or policies. These changes seek to streamline and align the VAAR with the FAR and remove outdated and duplicative requirements and reduce burden on contractors. The VAAM incorporates portions of the removed VAAR as well as other internal agency acquisition policy. VA will rewrite certain parts of the VAAR and VAAM, and as VAAR parts are rewritten, will publish them in the Federal Register. VA will combine related topics, as appropriate. In particular, this rulemaking revises the VAAR concerning Competition Requirements.

Federal law generally limits the amount of time an able-bodied adult without dependents (ABAWD) can receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to 3 months in a 36-month period, unless the individual meets certain work requirements. On the request of a State SNAP agency, the law also gives the Department of Agriculture (the Department) the authority to temporarily waive the time limit in areas that have an unemployment rate of over 10 percent or a lack of sufficient jobs. The law also provides State agencies with a limited number of percentage exemptions that can be used by States to extend SNAP eligibility for ABAWDs subject to the time limit. The Department proposes to amend the regulatory standards by which the Department evaluates State SNAP agency requests to waive the time limit and to end the unlimited carryover of ABAWD percentage exemptions. The proposed rule would encourage broader application of the statutory ABAWD work requirement, consistent with the Administration's focus on fostering self-sufficiency. The Department seeks comments from the public on the proposed regulations.