Agencies and Commissions October 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In this document, the Commission clarifies a number of existing rules relating to cable carriage of digital signals. As explained, the carriage elections that must be made by October 1, 2008, will determine a station's carriage rights throughout the entire 2009- 2011 carriage election cycle. We also clarify the channel placement options applicable to digital must-carry stations, based upon the First Report and Order and the statute. Also, for those low-power stations that have the right to demand carriage by cable operators, we clarify that their statutory carriage rights extend to broadcasting in digital.

Notice is hereby given of the appointment of members to the EEOC Performance Review Board.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request for approval of a new information collection requirement regarding small business size rerepresentation. A request for public comments was published in the Federal Register at 72 FR 36852, July 5, 2007. No comments were received.

The FDIC is issuing this Interim Rule following a determination of systemic risk pursuant to section 13(c)(4)(G) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. As a result of this systemic risk determination, and in an effort to avoid or mitigate serious adverse effects on economic conditions or financial stability, the FDIC is establishing the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program. As further described in the Interim Rule, the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program has two primary components: the Debt Guarantee Program, by which the FDIC will guarantee the payment of certain newly- issued senior unsecured debt, and the Transaction Account Guarantee Program, by which the FDIC will guarantee certain noninterest-bearing transaction accounts.

We are modifying the rules we use to determine disability under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (``Act'') to revise the definition of persons ``closely approaching retirement age'' from ``60-64'' to ``60 or older.'' These changes acknowledge that we make disability determinations for persons over age 64. We are also making minor technical changes that will not have any effect on how we determine your eligibility for benefits.

The Commission requests comments on a channel substitution proposed by Colins Broadcasting Corporation (``Colins''), the permittee of KSNB-DT, post-transition DTV channel 34, Superior, Nebraska. Colins requests the substitution of DTV channel 4 for post-transition DTV channel 34 at Superior.

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, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act 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.

The SBA is issuing this notice to announce the location, date, time, and agenda for the next meeting of the Audit and Financial Management Advisory (AFMAC). The meeting will be open to the public.

Because of a software problem at the Federal eRulemaking Portal (https://www.regulations.gov), the Board did not receive certain public comments submitted through that portal. This problem affected comments on four of the Board's proposed rules [Docket Nos. R-1286; R- 1314, R-1315; and R-1316] that were submitted only through the Federal eRulemaking Portal between March 22, 2008, and September 8, 2008. A total of 83 comments on the four proposals were not relayed to the Board. As set forth below, the Board will accept resubmission of those comments that were not received.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) publishes notice at least once monthly of certain Federal agency requests for records disposition authority (records schedules). Once approved by NARA, records schedules provide mandatory instructions on what happens to records when no longer needed for current Government business. They authorize the preservation of records of continuing value in the National Archives of the United States and the destruction, after a specified period, of records lacking administrative, legal, research, or other value. Notice is published for records schedules in which agencies propose to destroy records not previously authorized for disposal or reduce the retention period of records already authorized for disposal. NARA invites public comments on such records schedules, as required by 44 U.S.C. 3303a(a).

On September 7, 2008, the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) entered into senior preferred stock purchase agreements (the Agreement or Agreements) with the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), which effectively provide protection to the holders of senior debt, subordinated debt, and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issued or guaranteed by these entities. In light of the financial support provided under the Agreements, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) (collectively, the agencies) are proposing to adopt a 10 percent risk weight for claims on, and the portion of claims guaranteed by, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The 10 percent risk weight would apply so long as an Agreement remains in effect with the respective entity.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its spent fuel storage cask regulations by revising the NAC International, Inc., NAC-UMS Universal Storage System listing within the ``List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage Casks'' to include Amendment No. 5 to Certificate of Compliance (CoC) Number 1015. Amendment No. 5 would modify the CoC to incorporate certain high burnup pressurized water reactor fuel as approved contents and to reflect those changes in the associated Technical Specifications (TS). In addition, the proposed amendment to the CoC would include several other changes to the TS and the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) to enhance the loading and storage operation of the NAC-UMS Universal Storage System.