Agencies and Commissions September 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Public Law 104-13. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) that does not display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Once this notice is published in the Federal Register, the Office of Government Ethics will promptly submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a proposed modified version of the OGE Form 450 Executive Branch Confidential Financial Disclosure Report form (hereafter, OGE Form 450) for review and three-year extension of approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). After that approval, the modified form would be used by covered departments and agency employees starting January 1, 2007. In August of 2005, the Office of Government Ethics published a first round paperwork notice that it intended to modify the OGE Form 450 to improve its clarity and design and to change in part the information that it collects. Because OGE received so many helpful comments in response to that notice, it significantly redesigned the proposed new OGE Form 450 and published another first round paperwork notice on March 17, 2006, in order to provide a further comment period. OGE received a number of comments on the March 2006 notice and has made a few minor changes to the proposed modified form in response.

The Postal ServiceTM is transferring responsibility for representation of the Postal Service in certain consumer protection administrative actions before the Judicial Officer Department from the Office of the General Counsel to the Inspection Service Office of Counsel.

We are proposing to revise our privacy and disclosure rules to clarify certain provisions and to provide expanded regulatory support for new and existing responsibilities and functions. These changes in the regulations will increase Agency efficiency and ensure consistency in the implementation of the Social Security Administration's (SSA) policies and responsibilities under the Privacy Act and the Social Security Act.

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Public Law 104-13. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act that does not display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

This document addresses a Petition for Reconsideration or Clarification of the Commission's Second Report and Order in this proceeding, submitted on behalf of PDI Communications Systems, Inc. (PDI) and a subsequent Supplement to Petition for Clarification also filed on behalf of PDI in this same matter.

This notice announces the first of a series of open Webcast stakeholder meetings sponsored by the Grants Policy Committee of the U.S. Chief Financial Officer Council.

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Public Law No. 104-13. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act that does not display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is granting a waiver of the Nonmanufacturer Rule for Plastics Pallets (Twin Sheet Thermoformed). The basis for waiver is that no small business manufacturers are supplying this class of product to the Federal government. The effect of a waiver would be to allow otherwise qualified regular dealers to supply the products of any domestic manufacturer on a Federal contract set aside for small businesses; service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses or SBA's 8(a) Business Development Program.

Notice is hereby given of the regular meeting of the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation Board (Board). Date and Time: The meeting of the Board will be held at the offices of the Farm Credit Administration in McLean, Virginia, on September 12, 2006, from 9 a.m. until such time as the Board concludes its business.

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) had placed in the docket and on its Web site for public review and comment draft guidelines on accessibility for passenger vessels which are permitted to carry more than 150 passengers or more than 49 overnight passengers, all ferries regardless of size and passenger capacity, and certain tenders which carry 60 or more passengers. The comment period closed on September 5, 2006. This document reopens the comment period for an additional 60 days.

We are withdrawing the notice we published in the Federal Register Notice on August 14, 2006. That notice explained that the Agency intended to expand the methods available for requesting administrative review by accepting oral requests from claimants in person or by telephone. In developing the business process, we discovered this change would not provide the same protections to the claimant that exist in the current process. As a result, we have determined that we will not change the appeal process in this manner at this time.

The NCUA intends to submit the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). This information collection is published to obtain comments from the public.

The U.S. Merit Systems Board is requesting approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct employee surveys for a period of three years from the approval date. Before submitting the Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval, MSPB is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the information collection in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). In this regard, we are soliciting comments on the public reporting burden. The reporting burden for the collection of information on this form is estimated to average 30 minutes per respondent, including time for reviewing instructions and completing the survey. In addition, the MSPB invites comments on (1) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of MSPB's functions, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of MSPB's estimate of burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information technology.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is adopting as a final rule, without changes, an interim rule that amended its direct- hire authority regulations to allow non-Department of Defense agencies to recruit and appoint highly-qualified individuals for certain Federal acquisition positions deemed a shortage category under the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003.