2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The Internal Revenue Service, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The IRS is soliciting comments concerning Notice 2021-57, Funding relief for multiemployer defined benefit pension plans under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

NMFS announces that the states of North Carolina and Maine are transferring a portion of their 2021 commercial summer flounder quota to the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island, respectively. This adjustment to the 2021 fishing year quota is necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs the public of the revised 2021 commercial quotas for North Carolina, Maine, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment upon this proposed extension of a currently approved collection of information. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the information collection notice is published in the Federal Register to obtain comments regarding the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden (i.e. the time, effort, and resources used by the respondents to respond), the estimated cost to the respondent, and the actual information collection instruments.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is publishing this notice seeking comment on a Generic Information Collection titled, ``The Effect of Different Savings Elicitation Strategies on Emergency Savings Targets,'' prior to requesting the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB's) approval of this collection under the Generic Information Collection ``Generic Information Collection Plan for Studies of Consumers using Controlled Trials in Field and Economic Laboratory Settings'' under OMB Control number 3170-0048.

This document finalizes NHTSA's proposal to repeal in full ``The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule Part One: One National Program,'' published September 27, 2019 (SAFE I Rule), in which NHTSA codified regulatory text and made additional pronouncements regarding the preemption of state and local laws related to fuel economy standards. NHTSA originally proposed to repeal the SAFE I Rule in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking entitled ``Corporate Average Fuel Economy Preemption,'' which was published on May 12, 2021. After evaluating all public comments submitted for this Proposal, the Agency is finalizing the Proposal. As such, the Agency is repealing all regulatory text and appendices promulgated in the SAFE I Rule. In doing so, the Agency underscores that any positions announced in preambulatory statements of prior NHTSA rulemakings, including in the SAFE I Rule, which purported to define the scope of preemption under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), do not reflect the Agency's reconsidered understanding of its proper role in matters of EPCA preemption. Through this final rule, NHTSA makes clear that no prior regulations or positions of the Agency reflect ongoing NHTSA views on the scope of preemption of states or local jurisdictions under EPCA.

The Department of State (Department) proposes adjustments to the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services (Schedule of Fees) of the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) for several nonimmigrant visa (NIV) application processing fees, the Border Crossing Card (BCC) for Mexican citizens age 15 and over, and the waiver of the two-year residency requirement (J-Waiver) fee. The proposed changes are based on the findings of the most recently approved update to the Cost of Service Model (CoSM). They ensure that the fees for providing these consular services better align with the costs of providing the services.

The Additional Protocol is an agreement between the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to allow monitoring and reporting of certain civil nuclear fuel cycle-related activities. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) administers the Additional Protocol Regulations (APR), which implement the provisions of the Additional Protocol affecting U.S. industry and other U.S. persons engaged in certain civil nuclear fuel cycle-related activities that are not regulated by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), or its domestic Agreement States, and are not situated at certain U.S. government locations. The APR describe the requirement to report such activities to BIS, as well as the conduct of on-site activities in conjunction with IAEA complementary access to locations where such civil nuclear fuel cycle-related activities take place. This rule proposes to amend the APR to replace the existing manual reporting and processing procedures with a mandatory requirement to submit reports and other documents on-line through the Additional Protocol Reporting System (APRS). As a result of this proposed change, all persons and locations in the United States that are subject to the reporting requirements in the APR would be required to register on-line to set up an APRS account, submit reports and other documents to BIS via APRS, and maintain current user account information in APRS. This rule also proposes to amend the APR to clarify and update other requirements (e.g., by removing the provisions that address the Initial Report requirements for calendar year 2008, replacing the provisions that address Amended Report requirements, and revising the definitions of certain terms used in the APR).

In the document, the Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) seeks comment on the requirements for the Affordable Connectivity Program and a timeline for its rapid implementation.

This document announces receipt of a petition for rulemaking received by the Department of Energy (DOE) on October 22, 2021, from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Sierra Club requesting that DOE update its regulations concerning procedures for calculating a value for the petroleum-equivalent fuel economy of electric vehicles (EVs) for use in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program administered by the Department of Transportation (DOT). This document summarizes the substantive aspects of this petition and requests public comments on the merits of the petition.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments.

This action proposes to amend United States Area Navigation (RNAV) route T-269 in the vicinity of Yakutat, AK in support of a large and comprehensive T-route modernization project for the state of Alaska.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) intends to request approval, from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collection of information described below. The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) requires federal agencies to publish a notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information before submission to OMB, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice complies with that requirement.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted an information collection request (ICR), Aircraft EnginesSupplemental Information Related to Exhaust Emissions (EPA ICR Number 2427.06, OMB Control Number 2060-0680), to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This is a proposed extension of the ICR, which is currently approved through December 31, 2021. Public comments were previously requested on this ICR renewal via the Federal Register on May 7, 2021. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. An agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be submitting the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The purpose of this notice is to allow an additional 30 days for public comments.