Agencies and Commissions 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Copyright Royalty Judges are publishing final regulations setting the royalty rates and terms under the Copyright Act for the noncommercial educational broadcasting statutory license for the license period 2008-2012.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing amendments to the form used by mutual funds to register under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and to offer their securities under the Securities Act of 1933 in order to enhance the disclosures that are provided to mutual fund investors. The proposed amendments, if adopted, would require key information to appear in plain English in a standardized order at the front of the mutual fund statutory prospectus. The Commission is also proposing rule amendments that would permit a person to satisfy its mutual fund prospectus delivery obligations under Section 5(b)(2) of the Securities Act by sending or giving the key information directly to investors in the form of a summary prospectus and providing the statutory prospectus on an Internet Web site. Upon an investor's request, mutual funds would also be required to send the statutory prospectus to the investor. The proposals are intended to improve mutual fund disclosure by providing investors with key information in plain English in a clear and concise format, while enhancing the means of delivering more detailed information to investors.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published in the Federal Register of August 24, 2007, a document concerning the adoption of final rules governing wireless licenses in the 698-806 MHz Band (i.e., the 700 MHz Band). (72 FR 48814) This document corrects and amends portions of that document.

The Executive Director of the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries gives notice of a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Actuarial Examinations (portions of which will be open to the public) in Washington, DC at the Office of Professional Responsibility on January 7 and January 8, 2008.

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is the national organization charged with administering federal funds provided for civil legal services to low-income people. LSC hereby announces the availability of competitive grant funds for the provision of a full range of civil legal services to eligible clients throughout the VA-20 service area in northern Virginia. The annualized grant amount is anticipated to be approximately $1.1 million. The grant will be awarded in or around June 2008.

Louisiana has scheduled special elections to fill the U.S. House of Representatives seat in the First Congressional District being vacated by Representative Bobby Jindal. There are three possible special elections, but only two may be necessary. Primary Election: March 8, 2008. Possible Runoff Election: April 5, 2008. In the event that one candidate does not achieve a majority vote in his/her party's Special Primary Election, the top two vote-getters will participate in a Special Runoff Election. General Election: May 3, 2008. However, if a Special Runoff Election is not necessary, the Special General will instead be held on April 5, 2008.

The Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'') is planning to host a public workshop on January 8, 2008 to examine the emerging market for carbon offsets (i.e., greenhouse gas emission reduction products) and renewable energy certificates, and related advertising claims. The workshop is a component of the Commission's regulatory review of the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, which is being announced in a separate Federal Register notice published concurrently.