Agencies and Commissions July 28, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) is proposing to amend its regulations implementing the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, as amended. The Privacy Act has been amended multiple times since OSHRC first promulgated its regulations in 1979. The proposed amendments to OSHRC's regulations at 29 CFR part 2400 will assist the agency in complying with the requirements of the Privacy Act.

The Committee is proposing to add to the Procurement List a product and service to be furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities. Comments Must Be Received on or Before: August 27, 2006.

In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will publish periodic summaries of proposed data collections. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Title and purpose of information collection: Application for Employee Annuity Under the Railroad Retirement Act; OMB 3220-0002. Section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) provides for payments of age and service, disability, and supplemental annuities to qualified employees. An annuity cannot be paid until the employee stops working for a railroad employer. In addition, the age and service employee must relinquish any rights held to such jobs. A disabled employee does not need to relinquish employee rights until attaining Full Retirement Age, or if earlier, their spouse files for a spouse annuity. Benefits become payable after the employee meets certain other requirements, which depend on the type of annuity payable. The requirements for obtaining the annuities are prescribed in 20 CFR 216, and 220. The RRB currently uses the electronic AA-1cert, Application Summary and Certification process and the following forms to collect the information needed for determining entitlement to and the amount of, an employee retirement annuity: Form AA-1, Application for Employee Annuity Under the Railroad Retirement Act, Form AA-1d, Application for Determination of Employee Disability, and Form G-204, Verification of Workers Compensation/Public Disability Benefit Information. The AA-1cert process obtains information from an applicant for either an age and service, or disability annuity by means of an interview with an RRB field-office representative. It obtains information about an applicant's marital history, work history, military service, benefits from other governmental agencies and railroad pensions. During the interview, the field-office representative enters the information obtained into an on-line information system. Upon completion of the interview, the applicant receives Form AA-1cert, Application Summary and Certification, which summarizes the information that was provided by/or verified by the applicant, for review and signature. The RRB also uses a manual version, RRB Form AA-1, in instances where the RRB representative is unable to contact the applicant in-person or by telephone, i.e., the applicant lives in another country. Form AA-1d, Application for Determination of Employee Disability, is completed by an employee who is filing for a disability annuity under the RRA, or a disability freeze under the Social Security Act for early Medicare based on a disability. Form G-204, Verification of Workers Compensation/Public Disability Benefit Information, is used to obtain and verify information concerning worker's compensation or public disability benefits that are or will be paid by a public agency to a disabled railroad employee. The RRB estimates the burden for the collection as follows:

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., Federal agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, and to allow 60 days for comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on requirements relating to information collected to assist the Commission in the prevention of market manipulation.

The Peace Corps has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget, a request for approval of Reinstatement of OMB Control Number 0420-0531, the Career Information Consultants Waiver Form (PC-DP- 969.1.2). The purpose of this information collection is to gather and update contact information for individuals who volunteer to share information about their career field, their past or current employer(s), and their career and educational paths with current and returned Peace Corps Volunteers. The purpose of this notice is to allow for public comment on whether the proosed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Peace Corps, including whether the information will have practical use; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; ways to enhance the quality, utility and the clarity of the information to be collected; and, ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of automated collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information technology. This is a Request for Reinstatement of expired OMB Control Number 0420-0531. Five (5) comments were received in response to the Peace Corps' Federal Register Notice that was published January 12, 2006, Volume 71, No. 8, 60 days. These comments were evaluated. Comments regarding the number of available options for career field(s) suggested that the original number of options was too high and made the form difficult to read. The form was revised to include a fewer number of options and the font size was increased. Comments regarding the number of entries from a single respondent suggested that respondents were listed too many times. The form was revised to limit the number of entries allowed from each respondent. Comments regarding the title of career field options suggested that there was repetition in the titles and that some titles were confusing. The form was revised to include standard occupational titles. Comments regarding the number of pages in the print publication suggested that the book was too large and difficult to manage. The directory will now only be available in electronic form. A copy of the information collection may be obtained from Ms. Tamara Webb, Peace Corps, Office of Domestic Programs, Returned Volunteer Services, 1111 20th Street, NW., Room 2132, Washington, DC 20526. Ms. Webb can be contacted by telephone at 202-692-1435 or 800- 424-8580 ext 1435.