Agencies and Commissions 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document informs the public that an appeal of the closing of the McCallsburg, Iowa post office has been filed. It identifies preliminary steps and provides a procedural schedule. Publication of this document will allow the Postal Service, petitioners, and others to take appropriate action.

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. 1. Title and purpose of information collection: Supplemental Information on Accident and Insurance; OMB 3220-0036. Under Section 12(o) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is entitled to reimbursement of the sickness benefits paid to a railroad employee if the employee receives a sum or damages for the same infirmity for which the benefits are paid. Section 2(f) of the RUIA requires employers to reimburse the RRB for days in which salary, wages, pay for time lost or other remuneration is later determined to be payable. Reimbursements under section 2(f) generally result from the award of pay for time lost or the payment of guaranteed wages. The RUIA prescribes that the amount of benefits paid be deducted and held by the employer in a special fund for reimbursement to the RRB. The RRB currently utilizes Forms SI-1c, Supplemental Information on Accident and Insurance; SI-5, Report of Payments to Employee Claiming Sickness Benefits Under the RUIA; ID-3s, Request for Lien Information; Report of Settlement; ID-3s-1, Lien Information Under Section 12(o) of the RUIA; ID-3u, Request for Section 2(f) Information; ID-30k, Notice to Request Supplemental Information on Injury or Illness; and ID-30k-1, Notice to Request Supplemental Information on Injury or Illness; to obtain the necessary information from claimants and railroad employers. Completion is required to obtain benefits. One response is requested of each respondent. The RRB proposes no changes to the forms in the collection.

The Postal Service gives notice of filing a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to add a domestic shipping services contract to the list of Negotiated Service Agreements in the Mail Classification Schedule's Competitive Products List.

The NCUA is submitting 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 Federal Maritime Commission is issuing this Notice of Inquiry seeking comments on ways to make the tariff filing exemption provided to licensed non-vessel-operating common carriers in its regulations more useful, including its possible extension to foreign- based non-vessel-operating common carriers not licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (``the Commission,'' ``CPSC,'' or ``we'') has reason to believe that firepots and gel fuel used together may present an unreasonable risk of injury. As of September 30, 2011, the Commission is aware of 76 incidents that resulted in 2 deaths and 86 injuries involving firepots used with gel fuel. All of these incidents occurred between April 3, 2010 and September 1, 2011. Many of the injuries were severe; over half of the victims reportedly required hospitalization. This advance notice of proposed rulemaking (``ANPR'') initiates a rulemaking proceeding under the Consumer Product Safety Act (``CPSA''). We invite comments concerning the risk of injury associated with firepots, gel fuel and gel fuel containers, the regulatory alternatives discussed in this notice, and other possible ways to address this risk. We also invite interested persons to submit an existing standard or a statement of intent to modify or develop a voluntary standard to address the risk of injury described in this notice.

The Federal Election Commission seeks comments on proposed changes to its rules regarding corporate and labor organization funding of expenditures, independent expenditures and electioneering communications. These and other proposed changes are in response to a Petition for Rulemaking filed by the James Madison Center for Free Speech urging the Commission to amend its regulations in response to the decision of the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. FEC. The Commission has made no final decision on the issues presented in this rulemaking.

It is the policy of the Commission to publish settlements which it provisionally accepts under the Consumer Product Safety Act in the Federal Register in accordance with the terms of 16 CFR 1118.20(e). Published below is a provisionally-accepted Settlement Agreement with E & B Giftware LLC, containing a civil penalty of $550,000.00, of which $50,000 shall be suspended, within twenty (20) days of service of the Commission's final Order accepting the Settlement Agreement.

This policy statement addresses PBGC's policy on accepting and responding to amended premium filings based on recharacterization of contributions. Recharacterization of contributions refers to a situation in which contributions originally designated as being for the plan year in which they were made are retroactively redesignated as being for the preceding plan year. This makes plan assets for the current year higher, and the plan's variable-rate premium lower, than originally reported. Such recharacterization seeks not to correct a factual error but to change a valid designation and is not an appropriate basis for an amended premium filing or premium refund.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the Federal Communications Commission invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s). 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; (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; and (e) ways to further reduce the information burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 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 OMB control number.

This is a notice of an Administrative declaration of a disaster for the State of California dated 12/14/2011. Incident: Sequoia Apartment Complex Fire. Incident Period: 11/18/2011. Effective Date: 12/14/2011. Physical Loan Application Deadline Date: 02/13/2012. Economic Injury (EIDL) Loan Application Deadline Date: 09/14/2012.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has determined to review in part the final initial determination (``ID'') issued by the presiding administrative law judge (``ALJ'') on October 17, 2011, finding no violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, 19 U.S.C. 1337, in this investigation.

NCUA is issuing final amendments to its rule governing corporate credit unions (corporates). The final amendments make technical corrections to and clarify certain provisions of the rule. The amendments: delete the definition of ``daily average net risk- weighted assets''; revise the definition of ``net assets'' to exclude Central Liquidity Facility (CLF) stock subscriptions; clarify certain requirements regarding investment action plans; clarify the weighted average life (WAL) tests; revise the consequences of WAL violations; substitute the term ``core capital'' for the phrase ``the sum of retained earnings and paid-in capital''; correct a section heading; and correct a model form instruction.

The NCUA Board (Board) requests public comment on its proposal to amend its loan participation regulation and relevant provisions in the eligible obligations rule and the rule governing the purchase of assets and assumption of liabilities. NCUA has received many questions about the loan participation rule, indicating confusion about its application and its relationship to these other rules. The proposed rule reorganizes the current rule and directs its regulatory provisions to the purchase of a loan participation. It aims to improve understanding of the transactions covered under the rule, as well as the requirements for purchase and ongoing monitoring and the applicability of related provisions. The proposed rule also expands loan participation requirements to federally insured, state-chartered credit unions (FISCUs).

On June 22, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (the Board) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing various amendments of its rules and regulations governing the filing and processing of petitions relating to the representation of employees for purposes of collective bargaining with their employer. This document explains which of the proposed amendments the Board is adopting at this time in the final rule and sets forth the Board's responses to comments concerning those proposals. The Board believes that the final rule will reduce unnecessary litigation in representation cases and thereby enable the Board to better fulfill its duty to expeditiously resolve questions concerning representation. The final rule will also save time and resources for the parties and the agency. The final rule will focus pre-election hearings on those issues relevant to determining if there is a question concerning representation, provide for pre-election briefing only when it will assist the decision makers, reduce piecemeal appeals to the Board, consolidate requests for Board review of regional directors' pre- and post-election determinations into a single, post-election request, make Board review of post-election regional determinations discretionary, and eliminate duplicative regulations. The final rule will allow the Board to more promptly determine if there is a question concerning representation and, if so, to resolve it by conducting a secret-ballot election and certifying the results.