Agencies and Commissions December 28, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently submitted to OMB for review the following proposal for the collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). The information collection is entitled, ``Reporting of Defects and Noncompliance.''

Notice is hereby given of the appointment of new members to the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) and the Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia (PSA), Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board. PSA is an independent agency within CSOSA. The Performance Review Board assures consistency, stability, and objectivity in the appraisal process.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is discontinuing the rulemaking activities associated with potential changes to its radiation protection and reactor effluents regulations. The purpose of this action is to inform members of the public that these rulemaking activities are being discontinued and to provide a brief discussion of the NRC's decision to discontinue them. These rulemaking activities will no longer be reported in the NRC's portion of the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (the Unified Agenda).

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is revising the regulations for the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program to expand permitted investments in passive businesses and provide further clarification with regard to investments in such businesses. SBICs are generally prohibited from investing in passive businesses under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, as amended (Act). SBIC program regulations provide for two exceptions that allow an SBIC to structure an investment utilizing a passive small business as a pass-through. The first exception provides conditions under which an SBIC may structure an investment through up to two levels of passive entities to make an investment in a non-passive business that is a subsidiary of the passive business directly financed by the SBIC. The second exception, prior to this final rule, enabled a partnership SBIC, with SBA's prior approval, to provide financing to a small business through a passive, wholly-owned C corporation (commonly known as a blocker corporation), but only if a direct financing would cause the SBIC's investors to incur Unrelated Business Taxable Income (UBTI). This final rule clarifies several aspects of the first exception and in the second exception eliminates the prior approval requirement and expands the purposes for which a blocker corporation may be formed. The final rule also adds new reporting and other requirements for passive investments to help protect SBA's financial interests and ensure adequate oversight and makes minor technical amendments. Finally, this rule makes a conforming change to the regulations regarding the amount of leverage available to SBICs under common control. This change is necessary for consistency with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, which increased the maximum amount of such leverage to $350 million.

This document makes technical corrections to a rule that was published in the Federal Register on May 10, 2016 (81 FR 28689). The Commission adopted revisions to Rule 12g-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') in light of the statutory changes made by Title V and Title VI of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act and Title LXXXV of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act. This document is being published to correct language in that rule to more precisely reflect the holder of record threshold established by Exchange Act Section 12(g)(1).

GSA is required by statute to set the mileage reimbursement rate for privately owned automobiles (POA) as the single standard mileage rate established by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In addition, the IRS' mileage rate for medical or moving purposes is used to determine the POA rate when a Government-furnished automobile is authorized. This IRS rate also establishes the standard mileage rate for moving purposes as it pertains to official relocation. Finally, GSA's annual privately owned airplane and motorcycle mileage reimbursement rate reviews have resulted in new CY 2017 rates. GSA conducts independent airplane and motorcycle studies that evaluate various factors, such as the cost of fuel, the depreciation of the original vehicles costs, maintenance and insurance, and/or by applying consumer price index data. FTR Bulletin 17-02 establishes and announces the new CY 2017 POV mileage reimbursement rates for official temporary duty and relocation travel ($0.535 per mile for POAs, $0.17 per mile for POAs when a Government furnished automobile is authorized, $1.15 per mile for privately owned airplanes, $0.505 per mile for privately owned motorcycles, and $0.17 per mile for moving purposes), pursuant to the process discussed above. This notice of subject bulletin is the only notification to agencies of revisions to the POV mileage rates for official travel, and relocation, other than the changes posted on GSA's Web site.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is adjusting the maximum amount of each civil money penalty (CMP) within its jurisdiction to account for inflation. This action is required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Adjustment Act). The FDIC is also amending its rules of practice and procedure to correct a technical error from the previous inflation-adjustment rulemaking.

The Open Government Act of 2007 created the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) within the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). OGIS has three statutorily defined functions: OGIS offers mediation services to help resolve FOIA disputes; reviews agency FOIA policies, procedures and compliance; and identifies procedures and methods for improving compliance under the FOIA. This proposed rule sets out the implementing guidance and procedures by which OGIS carries out its statutory mission, and explains OGIS's role in the FOIA process.