Announcement of Departmental Web Portal for Guidance Documents, 12771 [2020-04386]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 43 / Wednesday, March 4, 2020 / Notices
modifications must be within the scope
of the original application.
Justin R. Domer,
Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service.
[FR Doc. 2020–04430 Filed 3–3–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[Docket No. 200227–0067]
RIN 0605–XD005
Announcement of Departmental Web
Portal for Guidance Documents
Commerce.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
In accordance with Executive
Order 13891, ‘‘Promoting the Rule of
Law Through Improved Agency
Guidance Documents’’ (84 FR 55235),
the Department of Commerce
(Department) announces the launch of a
dedicated web page for the
Department’s guidance documents.
DATES: The Department of Commerce’s
web page for guidance documents was
launched on February 28, 2020.
ADDRESSES: The Department of
Commerce’s web page for guidance
documents is located at
www.commerce.gov/guidance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Xenia Kler, Office of the Assistant
General Counsel for Legislation and
Regulation, 202–482–5354, or via email
xkler1@doc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
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Background
On October 9, 2019, the President
issued Executive Order 13891, which
addresses the issuance and treatment of
agency guidance documents. The
Executive Order seeks to ensure that
when federal agencies issue guidance
documents, the agencies: Do not treat
those guidance documents as imposing
binding obligations on the public; take
public input into account in formulating
significant guidance documents; and
make the guidance documents readily
available to the public.
The Executive Order defines
‘‘guidance document’’ as ‘‘an agency
statement of general applicability,
intended to have future effect on the
behavior of regulated parties, that sets
forth a policy on a statutory, regulatory,
or technical issue, or an interpretation
of a statute or regulation.’’ It further
distinguishes guidance documents from,
among other things, rules promulgated
under the Administrative Procedure Act
(APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), which, as
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:41 Mar 03, 2020
Jkt 250001
authorized by statute, may bind the
public, and agency adjudications
conducted under the APA (5 U.S.C.
554), which may bind parties on a caseby-case basis. Guidance documents may
help clarify existing obligations, but
unlike statutes, regulations, and
adjudications, cannot themselves
impose obligations on the public.
As part of the government-wide effort
to ensure the availability of agency
guidance documents, Executive Order
13891 and an associated implementing
memorandum from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB
Memorandum M–20–02) direct agencies
to establish a single website containing,
or linking to, all of an agency’s guidance
documents currently in effect.
Accordingly, the Department announces
that it is now providing access to its
guidance documents through a
centralized web portal at
www.commerce.gov/guidance.
The Department, through its
component bureaus, issues a variety of
guidance documents in an effort to
assist businesses and the public in
understanding their obligations, as well
as agency procedures, under existing
statutes and regulations. These
documents are intended to provide
information and be helpful to the public
and none are intended to impose new or
additional obligations. The
Department’s new web portal will serve
as a central hub for information on the
Department’s guidance documents and
provides links to the corresponding
guidance web pages maintained by
individual bureaus of the Department.
The Department will, to the greatest
extent possible, make all of the guidance
documents currently in effect across the
Department and its bureaus accessible
through this web portal. Note that many
of these guidance documents have been,
and to ensure maximum public
accessibility will continue to be, also
available through the relevant subject
matter section of the website of the
bureau that issued them.
Dated: February 27, 2020.
Beth M. Grossman,
Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and
Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2020–04386 Filed 3–3–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–12–P
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
12771
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[Docket No.: 200130–0038]
RIN 0690–XC008
Commerce Alternative Personnel
System
Office of Administration, Office
of Human Resources Management,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of modifications to the
Commerce Alternative Personnel
System project plan.
AGENCY:
This notice announces
modifications of the provisions of the
Commerce Alternative Personnel
System, formerly the Department of
Commerce Personnel Management
Demonstration Project, published in the
Federal Register on December 24, 1997.
This notice makes permanent the threeyear probationary period, a hallmark of
the original Department of Commerce
Demonstration Project and later the
Commerce Alternative Personnel
System.
SUMMARY:
The modified Commerce
Alternative Personnel System is
effective March 4, 2020.
DATES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Department of Commerce—Sandra
Thompson, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Room 51020, Washington, DC
20230, (202) 482–0056 or Valerie Smith
at (202) 482–0272.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under 5 U.S.C. 4703, the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM) may
authorize Federal agencies to conduct
demonstration projects that waive
various provisions of Title 5 of the
United States Code that pertain to
Federal employees’ conditions of
employment. On December 24, 1997,
OPM announced it had approved a
Department of Commerce (DoC)
demonstration project for an alternative
personnel management system and
published the final plan in the Federal
Register (62 FR 67434). The
demonstration project was designed to
simplify current classification systems
for greater flexibility in classifying work
and paying employees; establish a
performance management and rewards
system for improving individual and
organizational performance; and
improve recruiting and examining to
attract highly qualified candidates. The
purpose of the project was to strengthen
the contribution of human resources
management and test whether the same
innovations conducted under the
E:\FR\FM\04MRN1.SGM
04MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 4, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 12771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04386]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[Docket No. 200227-0067]
RIN 0605-XD005
Announcement of Departmental Web Portal for Guidance Documents
AGENCY: Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with Executive Order 13891, ``Promoting the Rule
of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents'' (84 FR 55235), the
Department of Commerce (Department) announces the launch of a dedicated
web page for the Department's guidance documents.
DATES: The Department of Commerce's web page for guidance documents was
launched on February 28, 2020.
ADDRESSES: The Department of Commerce's web page for guidance documents
is located at www.commerce.gov/guidance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Xenia Kler, Office of the Assistant
General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation, 202-482-5354, or via
email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 9, 2019, the President issued Executive Order 13891,
which addresses the issuance and treatment of agency guidance
documents. The Executive Order seeks to ensure that when federal
agencies issue guidance documents, the agencies: Do not treat those
guidance documents as imposing binding obligations on the public; take
public input into account in formulating significant guidance
documents; and make the guidance documents readily available to the
public.
The Executive Order defines ``guidance document'' as ``an agency
statement of general applicability, intended to have future effect on
the behavior of regulated parties, that sets forth a policy on a
statutory, regulatory, or technical issue, or an interpretation of a
statute or regulation.'' It further distinguishes guidance documents
from, among other things, rules promulgated under the Administrative
Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), which, as authorized by statute,
may bind the public, and agency adjudications conducted under the APA
(5 U.S.C. 554), which may bind parties on a case-by-case basis.
Guidance documents may help clarify existing obligations, but unlike
statutes, regulations, and adjudications, cannot themselves impose
obligations on the public.
As part of the government-wide effort to ensure the availability of
agency guidance documents, Executive Order 13891 and an associated
implementing memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB
Memorandum M-20-02) direct agencies to establish a single website
containing, or linking to, all of an agency's guidance documents
currently in effect. Accordingly, the Department announces that it is
now providing access to its guidance documents through a centralized
web portal at www.commerce.gov/guidance.
The Department, through its component bureaus, issues a variety of
guidance documents in an effort to assist businesses and the public in
understanding their obligations, as well as agency procedures, under
existing statutes and regulations. These documents are intended to
provide information and be helpful to the public and none are intended
to impose new or additional obligations. The Department's new web
portal will serve as a central hub for information on the Department's
guidance documents and provides links to the corresponding guidance web
pages maintained by individual bureaus of the Department. The
Department will, to the greatest extent possible, make all of the
guidance documents currently in effect across the Department and its
bureaus accessible through this web portal. Note that many of these
guidance documents have been, and to ensure maximum public
accessibility will continue to be, also available through the relevant
subject matter section of the website of the bureau that issued them.
Dated: February 27, 2020.
Beth M. Grossman,
Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation.
[FR Doc. 2020-04386 Filed 3-3-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-12-P
