Agencies and Commissions January 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are adopting amendments to the rule that defines a venture capital fund (rule 203(l)-1) and the rule that implements the private fund adviser exemption (rule 203(m)-1) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the ``Advisers Act'') in order to reflect changes made by title LXXIV, sections 74001 and 74002 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (the ``FAST Act''), which amended sections 203(l) and 203(m) of the Advisers Act. Title LXXIV, section 74001 of the FAST Act amended the exemption from investment adviser registration for any adviser solely to one or more ``venture capital funds'' in Advisers Act section 203(l) by deeming ``small business investment companies'' to be ``venture capital funds'' for purposes of the exemption. Accordingly, we are amending the definition of a venture capital fund to include ``small business investment companies.'' Title LXXIV, section 74002 of the FAST Act amended the exemption from investment adviser registration for any adviser solely to ``private funds'' with less than $150 million in assets under management in Advisers Act section 203(m) by excluding the assets of ``small business investment companies'' when calculating ``private fund assets'' towards the registration threshold of $150 million. Accordingly, we are amending the definition of ``assets under management'' in the rule that implements the private fund adviser exemption to exclude the assets of ``small business investment companies.''

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the Government in the Sunshine Act, of the regular meeting of the Farm Credit Administration Board (Board).

This final rule adjusts the level of civil monetary penalties (CMPs) in regulations maintained and enforced by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) with an annual adjustment under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (the 2015 Act) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance.

This document announces a freeze on the filing of minor change applications by low power television and TV translator stations.

The Postal Service announces the issuance of Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail (Publication 52) dated August 2017, and its incorporation by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an exemption in response to an August 22, 2017, request from the American Centrifuge Operating, LLC (ACO) for a one-time exemption from the requirement to conduct a biennial Emergency Preparedness (EP) onsite exercise. The ACO requested to postpone conducting the exercise from calendar year (CY) 2017, to the third quarter of CY 2018.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will convene a meeting of the Licensing Support Network Advisory Review Panel (LSNARP) on February 27-28, 2018, at the NRC's Headquarters Offices in Room 01C3, Three White Flint North Building, 11601 Landsdown Street, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The NRC has revised the meeting date from January 30-31 to February 27-28, 2018, to allow more time to evaluate options for the potential reconstitution or replacement of the Licensing Support Network (LSN). The meeting is being held to carry out the NRC's responsibilities under the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's decision in the case In re Aiken County, 645 F.3d 428 (D.C. Cir. 2011), and the Commission's July 31, 2017, direction in the Staff Requirements Memorandum associated with COMSECY-17-0019 that a next step in the Yucca Mountain licensing process is for the NRC to initiate information-gathering activities regarding reinstituting or replacing the LSN. The LSN, which was used to make documentary material associated with the Yucca Mountain adjudicatory proceeding available to hearing participants and the public, was decommissioned when the adjudication was suspended in 2011. The information being collected will assist the Commission in making efficient, informed decisions concerning appropriate means for reconstituting the LSN's functionality if the currently-suspended Yucca Mountain adjudication were to re- commence in the future. The meeting will be open to the public pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (Pub. L. 94-463, 86 Stat. 770-776) and will be conducted as a virtual meeting with representatives of LSNARP member organizations utilizing the capabilities of GoToMeeting[supreg] and the general public having access via GoToWebinar[supreg]. Representatives of LSNARP member organizations and the public may also attend in person at the location indicated above.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Comments are requested concerning: 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; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; 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 ways to further reduce the information collection burden on 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 control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) is announcing that three final rules that appeared in the Federal Register as part of the Commission's rulemaking Commercial Operations in the 3550-3650 MHz Band do not need information collection approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and are effective immediately. This document is consistent with the First Report and Order and Second Report and Order, which stated that the Commission would publish a document in the Federal Register announcing OMB approval and the effective date of these rules.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is required to publish notice of permits issued under the Antarctic Conservation Act of 1978. This is the required notice.

The Postal Service is amending Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[supreg]), to add verification standards for the eInduction Option, Seamless Acceptance Program, and Full-Service Automation Option.

In accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the OCC, the Board, and the FDIC (the ``agencies'') may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. On June 27, 2017, the agencies, under the auspices of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), requested public comment for 60 days on a proposal to revise the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income for a Bank with Domestic and Foreign Offices (FFIEC 031), the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income for a Bank with Domestic Offices Only (FFIEC 041), and the Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income for a Bank with Domestic Offices Only and Total Assets Less than $1 Billion (FFIEC 051), which are currently approved collections of information. The Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income are commonly referred to as the Call Report. The proposed revisions to the FFIEC 031, FFIEC 041, and FFIEC 051 Call Reports would result in an overall reduction in burden. The comment period for the June 2017 notice ended on August 28, 2017. As described in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section, after considering the comments received on the proposal, the FFIEC and the agencies will proceed with the proposed reporting revisions to the FFIEC 031, FFIEC 041, and FFIEC 051. These reporting revisions relate to the deletion or consolidation of a large number of items, the raising of certain reporting thresholds, and a reduction in reporting frequency for a number of items. For small institutions filing the FFIEC 051 report, these changes affect approximately seven percent of the data items collected. The agencies will also proceed with the scope revision to the FFIEC 031 and FFIEC 041 reports to require all institutions with consolidated total assets of $100 billion or more, regardless of whether an institution has any foreign offices, to file the FFIEC 031. However, the agencies will delay the effective date of these reporting revisions and scope revision until the June 30, 2018, report date, rather than implementing them as of the March 31, 2018, report date, as originally proposed. In addition, the agencies will proceed with the revisions to address the changes in the accounting for equity investments, with some modifications to the proposal in response to comments received. The effective date for these revisions would be the March 31, 2018, report date, as originally proposed, to coincide with the first reporting period in which the accounting changes will be adopted under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) by certain reporting institutions. Finally, because of concerns raised by commenters regarding the proposed revisions to the definition of ``past due'' assets for regulatory reporting purposes, the agencies are giving further consideration to this proposal, including its effect on and relationship to other regulatory reporting requirements, and are not proceeding with this proposed revision at this time. The agencies are giving notice that they have sent the collection to OMB for review.

Notice is hereby given that a complaint was filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission on November 30, 2017, under section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, on behalf of Qualcomm Incorporated of San Diego, California. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 based upon the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, and the sale within the United States after importation of certain mobile electronic devices and radio frequency and processing components thereof by reason of infringement of certain claims of U.S. Patent No. 9,154,356 (``the '356 patent''); U.S. Patent No. 9,473,336 (``the '336 patent''); U.S. Patent No. 8,063,674 (``the '674 patent''); U.S. Patent No. 7,693,002 (``the '002 patent''); and U.S. Patent No. 9,552,633 (``the '633 patent''). The complaint further alleges that an industry in the United States exists as required by the applicable Federal Statute. The complainant requests that the Commission institute an investigation and, after the investigation, issue a limited exclusion order and a cease and desist order.

In this document, the Commission invites comment on proposed changes to its rules. The Commission proposes rules regarding mechanisms to ensure that erroneously blocked calls can be unblocked as quickly as possible and without undue harm to callers and consumers. It also seeks comment on ways to measure the effectiveness of the Commission's robocalling efforts, as well as those of industry.