Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions-Spring 2023, 48508-48513 [2023-14540]

Agencies

• Regulatory Information Service Center

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 143 (Thursday, July 27, 2023)]
[Unknown Section]
[Pages 48508-48513]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14540]



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Vol. 88

Thursday,

No. 143

July 27, 2023

Part II





 Regulatory Information Service Center





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Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 143 / Thursday, July 27, 2023 / UA: 
Reg Flex Agenda

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REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE CENTER


Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions--Spring 2023

AGENCY: Regulatory Information Service Center.

ACTION: Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions.

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SUMMARY: Publication of the Spring 2023 Unified Agenda of Federal 
Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions represents a key component of the 
regulatory planning mechanism prescribed in Executive Order (``E.O.'') 
12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' (58 FR 51735, as amended) 
and reaffirmed in E.O. 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory 
Review,'' (76 FR 3821) and E.O. 14094, ``Modernizing Regulatory 
Review,'' (88 FR 21879). The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that 
agencies publish semiannual regulatory agendas in the Federal Register 
describing regulatory actions they are developing that may have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
(5 U.S.C. 602).
    The Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 
(Unified Agenda), published in the fall and spring, helps agencies 
fulfill all of these requirements. All federal regulatory agencies have 
chosen to publish their regulatory agendas as part of this publication. 
The complete publication of the Spring 2023 Unified Agenda containing 
the regulatory agendas for 67 Federal agencies is available to the 
public at www.reginfo.gov.
    The Spring 2023 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the Federal 
Register includes agency regulatory flexibility agendas, in accordance 
with the publication requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. 
Agency regulatory flexibility agendas contain only those Agenda entries 
for rules that are likely to have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities and entries that have been 
selected for periodic review under section 610 of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act.

ADDRESSES: Regulatory Information Service Center (MV), General Services 
Administration, 1800 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20405.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about specific 
regulatory actions, please refer to the agency contact listed for each 
entry. To provide comment on or to obtain further information about 
this publication, contact: Boris Arratia, Director, Regulatory 
Information Service Center (MV), General Services Administration, 1800 
F Street NW, Washington, DC 20405, 703-795-0816. You may also send 
comments to us by email at: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions

I. What is the Unified Agenda?
II. Why is the Unified Agenda published?
III. How is the Unified Agenda organized?
IV. What information appears for each entry?
V. Abbreviations
VI. How can users get copies of the Plan and the Agenda?

Agency Agendas

Cabinet Departments

Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Education
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Department of the Interior
Department of Justice
Department of Labor
Department of Transportation
Department of the Treasury

Other Executive Agencies

Environmental Protection Agency
General Services Administration
Small Business Administration

Joint Authority

Department of Defense/General Services Administration/National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration (Federal Acquisition Regulation)

Independent Regulatory Agencies

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Reserve System
National Labor Relations Board
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Securities and Exchange Commission
Surface Transportation Board

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions

I. What is the Unified Agenda?
II. Why is Unified Agenda published?
III. How is the Unified Agenda organized?
IV. What information appears for each entry?
V. Abbreviations
VI. How can users get copies of the Agenda?

Regulatory Flexibility Agendas

Cabinet Departments

Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Education
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Department of the Interior
Department of Justice
Department of Labor
Department of Transportation
Department of the Treasury

Other Executive Agencies

Environmental Protection Agency
General Services Administration
Small Business Administration

Joint Authority

Department of Defense/General Services Administration/National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration (Federal Acquisition Regulation)

Independent Regulatory Agencies

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Reserve System
National Labor Relations Board
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Securities and Exchange Commission
Surface Transportation Board

Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions

I. What is the Unified Agenda?

    The Unified Agenda provides information about regulations that the 
Government is considering or reviewing. The Unified Agenda has appeared 
in the Federal Register twice each year since 1983 and has been 
available online since 1995. The complete Unified Agenda is available 
to the public at www.reginfo.gov. The online Unified Agenda offers 
flexible search tools and access to the historic Unified Agenda 
database dating back to 1995. The complete online edition of the 
Unified Agenda includes regulatory agendas from 65 Federal agencies. 
Agencies of the United States Congress are not included.
    The Spring 2023 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the Federal

[[Page 48509]]

Register consists of the regulatory flexibility agendas, in accordance 
with the publication requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. 
Agency Regulatory Flexibility Agendas contain only those Agenda entries 
for rules that are likely to have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities and entries that have been 
selected for periodic review under section 610 of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act. Printed entries display only the fields required by 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Complete Unified Agenda information for 
those entries appears online in a uniform format at www.reginfo.gov.
    The regulatory agendas for agencies not publishing Regulatory 
Flexibility Agendas are listed below and are available to the public at 
www.reginfo.gov.

Cabinet Departments

Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of State
Department of Veterans Affairs

Other Executive Agencies

Agency for International Development
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
Corporation for National and Community Service
Council on Environmental Quality
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of 
Columbia
Federal Mediation Conciliation Service
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Inter-American Foundation
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Archives and Records Administration
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Humanities
National Mediation Board
National Science Foundation
Office of Government Ethics
Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator
Office of Management and Budget
Office of Personnel Management
Peace Corps
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Railroad Retirement Board
Selective Service System
Social Security Administration
U.S. Agency for Global Media

Independent Agencies

Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Farm Credit Administration
Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Federal Maritime Commission
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council
Federal Trade Commission
National Credit Union Administration
National Indian Gaming Commission
National Transportation Safety Board
Postal Regulatory Commission
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

    The Regulatory Information Service Center compiles the Unified 
Agenda for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), 
part of the Office of Management and Budget. OIRA is responsible for 
overseeing the Federal Government's regulatory, paperwork, and 
information resource management activities, including implementation of 
Executive Order 12866, as amended (incorporated in Executive Order 
13563). The Center also provides information about Federal regulatory 
activity to the President and his Executive Office, the Congress, 
agency officials, and the public.
    The activities included in the Agenda are, in general, those that 
will have a regulatory action within the next 12 months. Agencies may 
choose to include activities that will have a longer timeframe than 12 
months. Agency agendas also show actions or reviews completed or 
withdrawn since the last Unified Agenda. Executive Order 12866, as 
amended, does not require agencies to include regulations concerning 
military or foreign affairs functions or regulations related to agency 
organization, management, or personnel matters.
    Agencies prepared entries for this publication to give the public 
notice of their plans to review, propose, and issue regulations. They 
have tried to predict their activities over the next 12 months as 
accurately as possible, but dates and schedules are subject to change. 
Agencies may withdraw some of the regulations now under development, 
and they may issue or propose other regulations not included in their 
agendas. Agency actions in the rulemaking process may occur before or 
after the dates they have listed. The Unified Agenda does not create a 
legal obligation on agencies to adhere to schedules in this publication 
or to confine their regulatory activities to those regulations that 
appear within it.

II. Why is the Unified Agenda published?

    The Unified Agenda helps agencies comply with their obligations 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act and various Executive orders and 
other statutes.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to identify those 
rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities (5 U.S.C. 602). Agencies meet that requirement 
by including the information in their submissions for the Unified 
Agenda. Agencies may also indicate those regulations that they are 
reviewing as part of their periodic review of existing rules under the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 610). Executive Order 13272, 
``Proper Consideration of Small Entities in Agency Rulemaking,'' signed 
August 13, 2002 (67 FR 53461), provides additional guidance on 
compliance with the Act.

Executive Order 12866

    Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' 
September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735), as amended, requires covered agencies 
to prepare an agenda of all regulations under development or review. 
The Order also requires that certain agencies prepare annually a 
regulatory plan of their ``most important significant regulatory 
actions,'' which appears as part of the fall Unified Agenda. Executive 
Order 13497, signed January 30, 2009 (74 FR 6113), revoked the 
amendments to Executive Order 12866 that were contained in Executive 
Order 13258 and Executive Order 13422.

Executive Order 14094

    Executive Order (E.O.) 14094, ``Modernizing Regulatory Review,'' 
April 6, 2023 (88 FR 21879) sets forth specific actions for Federal 
agencies and OIRA designed to modernize the regulatory process in order 
to advance policies that promote the public interest and address 
national priorities. E.O. 14094, among other things, amends Section 
3(f)(1) of E.O. 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) to increase the 
monetary threshold for significance under that provision, amends 
Section 3(f)(4) to clarify what is significant under that provision, 
and encourages greater public participation during all stages of the 
regulatory process.

Executive Order 13563

    Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory 
Review,'' January 18, 2011 (76 FR 3821) supplements and reaffirms the 
principles, structures, and definitions

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governing contemporary regulatory review that were established in 
Executive Order 12866, which includes the general principles of 
regulation and public participation, and orders integration and 
innovation in coordination across agencies; flexible approaches where 
relevant, feasible, and consistent with regulatory approaches; 
scientific integrity in any scientific or technological information and 
processes used to support the agencies' regulatory actions; and 
retrospective analysis of existing regulations.

Executive Order 13132

    Executive Order 13132, ``Federalism,'' August 4, 1999 (64 FR 
43255), directs agencies to have an accountable process to ensure 
meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in the 
development of regulatory policies that have ``federalism 
implications'' as defined in the Order. Under the Order, an agency that 
is proposing a regulation with federalism implications, which either 
preempt State law or impose non-statutory unfunded substantial direct 
compliance costs on State and local governments, must consult with 
State and local officials early in the process of developing the 
regulation. In addition, the agency must provide to the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget a federalism summary impact statement 
for such a regulation, which consists of a description of the extent of 
the agency's prior consultation with State and local officials, a 
summary of their concerns and the agency's position supporting the need 
to issue the regulation, and a statement of the extent to which those 
concerns have been met. As part of this effort, agencies include in 
their submissions for the Unified Agenda information on whether their 
regulatory actions may have an effect on the various levels of 
government and whether those actions have federalism implications.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4, title II) 
requires agencies to prepare written assessments of the costs and 
benefits of significant regulatory actions ``that may result in the 
expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, 
or by the private sector, of $100,000,000 or more in any 1 year.'' The 
requirement does not apply to independent regulatory agencies, nor does 
it apply to certain subject areas excluded by section 4 of the Act. 
Affected agencies identify in the Unified Agenda those regulatory 
actions they believe are subject to title II of the Act.

Executive Order 13211

    Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use,'' May 18, 
2001 (66 FR 28355), directs agencies to provide, to the extent 
possible, information regarding the adverse effects that agency actions 
may have on the supply, distribution, and use of energy. Under the 
Order, the agency must prepare and submit a Statement of Energy Effects 
to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, for ``those matters 
identified as significant energy actions.'' As part of this effort, 
agencies may optionally include in their submissions for the Unified 
Agenda information on whether they have prepared or plan to prepare a 
Statement of Energy Effects for their regulatory actions.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (Pub. L. 
104-121, title II) established a procedure for congressional review of 
rules (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), which defers, unless exempted, the 
effective date of a ``major'' rule for at least 60 days from the 
publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. The Act 
specifies that a rule is ``major'' if it has resulted, or is likely to 
result, in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 
meets other criteria specified in that Act. The Act provides that the 
Administrator of OIRA will make the final determination as to whether a 
rule is major.

III. How is the Unified Agenda organized?

    Agency regulatory flexibility agendas are printed in a single daily 
edition of the Federal Register. A regulatory flexibility agenda is 
printed for each agency whose agenda includes entries for rules which 
are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities or rules that have been selected for periodic 
review under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Each 
printed agenda appears as a separate part. The parts are organized 
alphabetically in four groups: Cabinet departments; other executive 
agencies; the Federal Acquisition Regulation, a joint authority; and 
independent regulatory agencies. Agencies may in turn be divided into 
sub-agencies. Each agency's part of the Agenda contains a preamble 
providing information specific to that agency. Each printed agency 
agenda has a table of contents listing the agency's printed entries 
that follow.
    The online, complete Unified Agenda contains the preambles of all 
participating agencies. Unlike the printed edition, the online Agenda 
has no fixed ordering. In the online Agenda, users can select the 
particular agencies' agendas they want to see. Users have broad 
flexibility to specify the characteristics of the entries of interest 
to them by choosing the desired responses to individual data fields. To 
see a listing of all of an agency's entries, a user can select the 
agency without specifying any particular characteristics of entries.
    Each entry in the Agenda is associated with one of five rulemaking 
stages. The rulemaking stages are:
    1. Prerule Stage--actions agencies will undertake to determine 
whether or how to initiate rulemaking. Such actions occur prior to a 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and may include Advance Notices of 
Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRMs) and reviews of existing regulations.
    2. Proposed Rule Stage--actions for which agencies plan to publish 
a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking as the next step in their rulemaking 
process or for which the closing date of the NPRM Comment Period is the 
next step.
    3. Final Rule Stage--actions for which agencies plan to publish a 
final rule or an interim final rule or to take other final action as 
the next step.
    4. Long-Term Actions--items under development but for which the 
agency does not expect to have a regulatory action within the 12 months 
after publication of this edition of the Unified Agenda. Some of the 
entries in this section may contain abbreviated information.
    5. Completed Actions--actions or reviews the agency has completed 
or withdrawn since publishing its last agenda. This section also 
includes items the agency began and completed between issues of the 
Agenda.
    Long-Term Actions are rulemakings reported during the publication 
cycle that are outside of the required 12-month reporting period for 
which the Agenda was intended. Completed Actions in the publication 
cycle are rulemakings that are ending their lifecycle either by 
Withdrawal or completion of the rulemaking process. Therefore, the 
Long-Term and Completed RINs do not represent the ongoing, forward-
looking nature intended for reporting developing rulemakings in the 
Agenda pursuant to Executive Order 12866, section 4(b) and 4(c). To 
further differentiate these two stages of rulemaking in the Unified

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Agenda from active rulemakings, Long-Term and Completed Actions are 
reported separately from active rulemakings, which can be any of the 
first three stages of rulemaking listed above. A separate search 
function is provided on www.reginfo.gov to search for Completed and 
Long-Term Actions apart from each other and active RINs.
    A bullet () preceding the title of an entry indicates that 
the entry is appearing in the Unified Agenda for the first time.
    In the printed edition, all entries are numbered sequentially from 
the beginning to the end of the publication. The sequence number 
preceding the title of each entry identifies the location of the entry 
in this edition. The sequence number is used as the reference in the 
printed table of contents. Sequence numbers are not used in the online 
Unified Agenda because the unique Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) is 
able to provide this cross-reference capability.
    Editions of the Unified Agenda prior to fall 2007 contained several 
indexes, which identified entries with various characteristics. These 
included regulatory actions for which agencies believe that the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act may require a Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis, actions selected for periodic review under section 610(c) of 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and actions that may have federalism 
implications as defined in Executive Order 13132 or other effects on 
levels of government. These indexes are no longer compiled, because 
users of the online Unified Agenda have the flexibility to search for 
entries with any combination of desired characteristics. The online 
edition retains the Unified Agenda's subject index based on the Federal 
Register Thesaurus of Indexing Terms. In addition, online users have 
the option of searching Agenda text fields for words or phrases.

IV. What information appears for each entry?

    All entries in the online Unified Agenda contain uniform data 
elements including, at a minimum, the following information:
    Title of the Regulation--a brief description of the subject of the 
regulation. In the printed edition, the notation ``Section 610 Review'' 
following the title indicates that the agency has selected the rule for 
its periodic review of existing rules under the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (5 U.S.C. 610(c)). Some agencies have indicated completions of 
section 610 reviews or rulemaking actions resulting from completed 
section 610 reviews. In the online edition, these notations appear in a 
separate field.
    Priority--an indication of the significance of the regulation. 
Agencies assign each entry to one of the following five categories of 
significance.

(1) Economically Significant and Section 3(f)(1) Significant

    On April 6, 2023, the President issued E.O. 14904 entitled 
``Modernizing Regulatory Review.'' E.O 14904 amends Section 3(f)(1) of 
E.O. 12866 to increase the monetary threshold for significance under 
this provision from $100 million to $200 million in annual effects and 
directs that it be adjusted for GDP growth every three years. Given 
that the Spring Agenda was in development prior to the issuance of E.O. 
14904, the Agenda largely uses the previous nomenclature of 
``economically significant'' to indicate rulemaking actions expected to 
have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, the 
threshold in E.O. 12866 prior to April 6, 2023. For rulemaking actions 
which were submitted for OIRA review after the issuance of the E.O. 
14904 on April 6, 2023 and are expected to have an annual effect on the 
economy of $200 million or more, the term ``Section 3(f)(1) 
Significant'' is used and will continue to be used in future unified 
agendas. The amended definition of ``Section 3(f)(1) Significant'' 
under Executive Order 12866 is a rulemaking action that will ``have an 
annual effect on the economy of $200 million or more (adjusted every 3 
years by the Administrator of OIRA for changes in gross domestic 
product); or will adversely affect in a material way the economy, a 
sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the 
environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal 
governments or communities.''

(2) Other Significant

    A rulemaking that is not Economically Significant but is considered 
Significant by the agency. This category includes rules that the agency 
anticipates will be reviewed under Executive Order 12866, as amended, 
or rules that are a priority of the agency head. These rules may or may 
not be included in the agency's regulatory plan.

(3) Substantive, Nonsignificant

    A rulemaking that has substantive impacts, but is neither 
Significant, nor Routine and Frequent, nor Informational/
Administrative/Other.

(4) Routine and Frequent

    A rulemaking that is a specific case of a multiple recurring 
application of a regulatory program in the Code of Federal Regulations 
and that does not alter the body of the regulation.

(5) Informational/Administrative/Other

    A rulemaking that is primarily informational or pertains to agency 
matters not central to accomplishing the agency's regulatory mandate 
but that the agency places in the Unified Agenda to inform the public 
of the activity.
    Major--whether the rule is ``major'' under 5 U.S.C. 801 (Pub. L. 
104-121) because it has resulted or is likely to result in an annual 
effect on the economy of $100 million or more or meets other criteria 
specified in that Act. The Act provides that the Administrator of the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs will make the final 
determination as to whether a rule is major.
    Unfunded Mandates--whether the rule is covered by section 202 of 
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4). The Act 
requires that, before issuing an NPRM likely to result in a mandate 
that may result in expenditures by State, local, and tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector of more than 
$100 million in 1 year, agencies, other than independent regulatory 
agencies, shall prepare a written statement containing an assessment of 
the anticipated costs and benefits of the Federal mandate.
    Legal Authority--the section(s) of the United States Code (U.S.C.) 
or Public Law (Pub. L.) or the Executive order (E.O.) that authorize(s) 
the regulatory action. Agencies may provide popular name references to 
laws in addition to these citations.
    CFR Citation--the section(s) of the Code of Federal Regulations 
that will be affected by the action.
    Legal Deadline--whether the action is subject to a statutory or 
judicial deadline, the date of that deadline, and whether the deadline 
pertains to an NPRM, a Final Action, or some other action.
    Abstract--a brief description of the problem the regulation will 
address; the need for a Federal solution; to the extent available, 
alternatives that the agency is considering to address the problem; and 
potential costs and benefits of the action.
    Timetable--the dates and citations (if available) for all past 
steps and a projected date for at least the next step for the 
regulatory action. A date displayed in the form 12/00/19 means the 
agency is predicting the month and

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year the action will take place but not the day it will occur. In some 
instances, agencies may indicate what the next action will be, but the 
date of that action is ``To Be Determined.'' ``Next Action 
Undetermined'' indicates the agency does not know what action it will 
take next.
    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required--whether an analysis is 
required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) 
because the rulemaking action is likely to have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities as defined by the Act.
    Small Entities Affected--the types of small entities (businesses, 
governmental jurisdictions, or organizations) on which the rulemaking 
action is likely to have an impact as defined by the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act. Some agencies have chosen to indicate likely effects 
on small entities even though they believe that a Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis will not be required.
    Government Levels Affected--whether the action is expected to 
affect levels of government and, if so, whether the governments are 
State, local, tribal, or Federal.
    International Impacts--whether the regulation is expected to have 
international trade and investment effects, or otherwise may be of 
interest to the Nation's international trading partners.
    Federalism--whether the action has ``federalism implications'' as 
defined in Executive Order 13132. This term refers to actions ``that 
have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship 
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.'' 
Independent regulatory agencies are not required to supply this 
information.
    Included in the Regulatory Plan--whether the rulemaking was 
included in the agency's current regulatory plan published in the fall 
2022.
    Agency Contact--the name and phone number of at least one person in 
the agency who is knowledgeable about the rulemaking action. The agency 
may also provide the title, address, fax number, email address, and TDD 
for each agency contact.
    Some agencies have provided the following optional information:
    RIN Information URL--the internet address of a site that provides 
more information about the entry.
    Public Comment URL--the internet address of a site that will accept 
public comments on the entry.
    Alternatively, timely public comments may be submitted at the 
Governmentwide e-rulemaking site, www.regulations.gov.
    Additional Information--any information an agency wishes to include 
that does not have a specific corresponding data element.
    Compliance Cost to the Public--the estimated gross compliance cost 
of the action.
    Affected Sectors--the industrial sectors that the action may most 
affect, either directly or indirectly. Affected sectors are identified 
by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes.
    Energy Effects--an indication of whether the agency has prepared or 
plans to prepare a Statement of Energy Effects for the action, as 
required by Executive Order 13211 ``Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use,'' signed May 
18, 2001 (66 FR 28355).
    Related RINs--one or more past or current RIN(s) associated with 
activity related to this action, such as merged RINs, split RINs, new 
activity for previously completed RINs, or duplicate RINs.
    Statement of Need--a description of the need for the regulatory 
action.
    Summary of the Legal Basis--a description of the legal basis for 
the action, including whether any aspect of the action is required by 
statute or court order.
    Alternatives--a description of the alternatives the agency has 
considered or will consider as required by section 4(c)(1)(B) of 
Executive Order 12866.
    Anticipated Costs and Benefits--a description of preliminary 
estimates of the anticipated costs and benefits of the action.
    Risks--a description of the magnitude of the risk the action 
addresses, the amount by which the agency expects the action to reduce 
this risk, and the relation of the risk and this risk reduction effort 
to other risks and risk reduction efforts within the agency's 
jurisdiction.

V. Abbreviations

    The following abbreviations appear throughout this publication:
    ANPRM--An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is a preliminary 
notice, published in the Federal Register, announcing that an agency is 
considering a regulatory action. An agency may issue an ANPRM before it 
develops a detailed proposed rule. An ANPRM describes the general area 
that may be subject to regulation and usually asks for public comment 
on the issues and options being discussed. An ANPRM is issued only when 
an agency believes it needs to gather more information before 
proceeding to a notice of proposed rulemaking.
    CFR--The Code of Federal Regulations is an annual codification of 
the general and permanent regulations published in the Federal Register 
by the agencies of the Federal Government. The Code is divided into 50 
titles, each title covering a broad area subject to Federal regulation. 
The CFR is keyed to and kept up to date by the daily issues of the 
Federal Register.
    E.O.--An Executive order is a directive from the President to 
Executive agencies, issued under constitutional or statutory authority. 
Executive orders are published in the Federal Register and in title 3 
of the Code of Federal Regulations.
    FR--The Federal Register is a daily Federal Government publication 
that provides a uniform system for publishing Presidential documents, 
all proposed and final regulations, notices of meetings, and other 
official documents issued by Federal agencies.
    FY--The Federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
    NPRM--A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is the document an agency 
issues and publishes in the Federal Register that describes and 
solicits public comments on a proposed regulatory action. Under the 
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), an NPRM must include, at a 
minimum: A statement of the time, place, and nature of the public 
rulemaking proceeding;
    Legal Authority--A reference to the legal authority under which the 
rule is proposed; and either the terms or substance of the proposed 
rule or a description of the subjects and issues involved.
    Pub. L.--A public law is a law passed by Congress and signed by the 
President or enacted over his veto. It has general applicability, 
unlike a private law that applies only to those persons or entities 
specifically designated. Public laws are numbered in sequence 
throughout the 2-year life of each Congress; for example, Public Law 
112-4 is the fourth public law of the 112th Congress.
    RFA--A Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is a description and 
analysis of the impact of a rule on small entities, including small 
businesses, small governmental jurisdictions, and certain small not-
for-profit organizations. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq.) requires each agency to prepare an initial RFA for public 
comment when it is required to publish an NPRM and to make available a 
final RFA when the final rule is published, unless the agency head 
certifies that the rule

[[Page 48513]]

would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities.
    RIN--The Regulation Identifier Number is assigned by the Regulatory 
Information Service Center to identify each regulatory action listed in 
the Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda, as directed by Executive 
Order 12866 (section 4(b)). Additionally, OMB has asked agencies to 
include RINs in the headings of their Rule and Proposed Rule documents 
when publishing them in the Federal Register, to make it easier for the 
public and agency officials to track the publication history of 
regulatory actions throughout their development.
    Seq. No.--The sequence number identifies the location of an entry 
in the printed edition of the Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda. 
Note that a specific regulatory action will have the same RIN 
throughout its development but will generally have different sequence 
numbers if it appears in different printed editions of the Unified 
Agenda. Sequence numbers are not used in the online Unified Agenda.
    U.S.C.--The United States Code is a consolidation and codification 
of all general and permanent laws of the United States. The U.S.C. is 
divided into 50 titles, each title covering a broad area of Federal 
law.

VI. How can users get copies of the Unified Agenda?

    Copies of the Federal Register issue containing the printed edition 
of the Unified Agenda (agency regulatory flexibility agendas) are 
available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government 
Publishing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. 
Telephone: (202) 512-1800 or 1-866-512-1800 (toll-free). Copies of 
individual agency materials may be available directly from the agency 
or may be found on the agency's website. Please contact the particular 
agency for further information. All editions of The Regulatory Plan and 
the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions since 
fall 1995 are available in electronic form at www.reginfo.gov, along 
with flexible search tools. The Government Publishing Office's GPO 
GovInfo website contains copies of the Agendas and Regulatory Plans 
that have been printed in the Federal Register. These documents are 
available at www.govinfo.gov.

Boris Arratia,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-14540 Filed 7-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-27-P