2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule's Competitive Products List.

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule's Competitive Products List.

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule's Competitive Products List.

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule's Competitive Products List.

The ASC as part of a continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the following extension of a currently approved collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. On June 5, 2020, the ASC requested comment for 60 days on a proposal to renew this information collection. No comments were received. The ASC hereby gives notice of its plan to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to approve the renewal of this collection and again invites comment on its renewal.

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule's Competitive Products List.

Patents and published patent applications provide a key source of free-flowing technical information among the world's brightest minds, thus promoting further innovation. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or Office) recognizes that its charge to issue high-quality patents to inventors goes hand-in-hand with dissemination of this important information. Such information flow is now more important than ever in view of the urgent challenges posed by COVID-19. Therefore, the USPTO is implementing a deferred-fee provisional patent application pilot program (the program) to promote the expedited exchange of information about inventions designed to combat COVID-19. Under this program, the USPTO will permit applicants to defer payment of the provisional application filing fee until the filing of a corresponding nonprovisional application. In turn, applicants must agree that the technical subject matter disclosed in their provisional applications will be made available to the public via a searchable collaboration database maintained on the USPTO's website. To qualify for the program, the subject matter disclosed in the provisional application must concern a product or process related to COVID-19, and such product or process must be subject to an applicable Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for COVID-19 use, whether such approval has been obtained, is pending, or will be sought prior to marketing the subject matter for COVID-19.

We are implementing specifications submitted by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils in Framework Adjustment 12 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan. This action sets monkfish specifications for fishing year 2020 and projects specifications for the 2021 and 2022 fishing years. This action is needed to establish allowable monkfish harvest levels that will prevent overfishing.

The FAA proposes to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier, Inc., Model BD-700-1A10 airplanes. This proposed AD was prompted by a report of smoke and signs of an overheating condition from the emergency light battery (ELB) due to excessive corrosion surrounding the internal lead acid batteries, which caused an electrical short circuit that led to the smoke and overheating condition. This proposed AD would require an inspection to determine the last replacement date of the ELB, and replacement if necessary. This proposed AD would also require the incorporation of a new maintenance task into the aircraft maintenance schedule. The FAA is proposing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing an interim rule regarding the obligations of the mechanical licensing collective to report and distribute royalties paid by digital music providers under the blanket license to musical work copyright owners under title I of the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. After soliciting public comments through a notice of proposed rulemaking, the Office is now issuing regulations establishing the timing, form, and delivery of statements accompanying royalty distributions to musical work copyright owners. These regulations concern only royalty statements and distributions regarding matched uses of musical works embodied in sound recordings and do not address issues related to the distribution of unclaimed, accrued royalties.

The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing an interim rule regarding information to be provided by digital music providers pursuant to the new compulsory blanket license to make and deliver digital phonorecords of musical works established by title I of the Orrin G. Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act. The law establishes a new blanket license, to be administered by a mechanical licensing collective, and to become available on the January 1, 2021 license availability date. Having solicited multiple rounds of public comments through a notification of inquiry and notice of proposed rulemaking, the Office is adopting interim regulations concerning notices of license, data collection and delivery efforts, and reports of usage and payment by digital music providers. The Office is also adopting interim regulations concerning notices of nonblanket activity and reports of usage by significant nonblanket licensees and data collection efforts by musical work copyright owners.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is providing notice of a new agreement re- establishing the ``Do Not Pay Initiative'' matching program between CMS and the Department of Treasury, Bureau of Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service).

On April 23, 2020, the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published the Economic Analysis Report related to the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices final rule (OLPP Rule), published on January 19, 2017, and the final rule withdrawing the OLPP Rule (Withdrawal Rule), published on March 13, 2018. AMS sought comment to evaluate the analysis in the Economic Analysis Report and to decide whether additional action should be taken in regard to the OLPP Rule. The public comment process for the Economic Analysis Report is being conducted consistent with an Order of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, which granted USDA's Motion to Remand a legal challenge to the Withdrawal Rule for purposes of clarifying and supplementing the record regarding the economic analysis underlying both the OLPP Rule and the Withdrawal Rule. (See Organic Trade Association v. USDA; Civil Action No. 17-1875 (RMC) (March 12, 2020), ECF No. 112). After reviewing the Economic Analysis Report and the public comments on it, AMS is issuing this Final Decision concluding that no additional rulemaking action with respect to the OLPP Rule is necessary.

We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), propose to list Astragalus schmolliae (hereafter referred to by the common name Chapin Mesa milkvetch), a plant species from southwestern Colorado, as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act), as amended, and to designate critical habitat. If we make this rule final as proposed, the effect of this rule will be to add this species to the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants and to designate critical habitat for the species. In total, we propose to designate approximately 3,635 acres (1,471 hectares) in Montezuma County in southwestern Colorado as critical habitat for the species. We also announce the availability of a draft economic analysis of the proposed designation of critical habitat for Chapin Mesa milkvetch.

EPA is issuing significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs) and are subject to Orders issued by EPA pursuant to TSCA. This action requires persons to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or processing of any of these chemical substances for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by this rule. The required notification initiates EPA's evaluation of the chemical under the conditions of use within the applicable review period. Persons may not commence manufacture or processing for the significant new use until EPA has conducted a review of the notice, made an appropriate determination on the notice, and has taken such actions as are required as a result of that determination.

This final rule removes DoD's regulation concerning the Defense Commissary Agency Privacy Act Program. On April 11, 2019, the Department of Defense published a revised DoD-level Privacy Program rule, which implements the Privacy Act and establishes an agency-wide privacy program that serves as the single Privacy Program rule for the Department. That revised Privacy Program rule also includes all DoD component exemption rules. Therefore, this part is now unnecessary and should be removed from the CFR.

The Office of Child Support Enforcement proposes to provide States the flexibility to incorporate in their State child support guidelines two optional exceptions to the prohibition against treating incarceration as voluntary unemployment. Under the proposal, States have the option to exclude cases where the individual is incarcerated due to intentional nonpayment of child support resulting from a criminal case or civil contempt action in accordance with guidelines established by the state and/or incarceration for any offense of which the individual's dependent child or the child support recipient was a victim. The State may apply the second exception to the individual's other child support cases.

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom (Rosatom) have initialed a draft amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation (Agreement). The draft amendment will allow the Russian Federation to export Russian uranium products to the United States in accordance with the export limits and other terms detailed in the amendment. Commerce is inviting interested parties, industrial users, and the public to comment on the text of the draft amendment to the Agreement.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) publishes notice of certain Federal agency requests for records disposition authority (records schedules). We publish notice in the Federal Register and on regulations.gov for records schedules in which agencies propose to dispose of records they no longer need to conduct agency business. We invite public comments on such records schedules.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is requesting a 3-year extension of the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) Post-Expenditure Report (OMB #0970-0234, expiration 1/31/2021). ACF is proposing to reduce the burden estimates in the previously approved request by removing use of the form for the Pre-Expenditure Report.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has received a complaint entitled Certain Video Processing Devices, Components Thereof, and Digital Smart Televisions Containing the Same, DN 3489; the Commission is soliciting comments on any public interest issues raised by the complaint or complainant's filing pursuant to the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure.