Agencies and Commissions 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Copyright Office is amending its regulations governing the group registration options for newsletters and serials. With respect to group newsletters, the final rule amends the definition of ``newsletter,'' eliminating the requirement that each issue must be a work made for hire, and the provision stating that group newsletter claims must be received within three months after publication. Under the final rule, newsletter publishers now should register their issues with the online application and upload a digital copy of each issue through the electronic registration system instead of submitting them in a physical form. With respect to group serials, the final rule clarifies that serials governed by the rule generally must be published at intervals of a week or longer, and that the publication dates provided in the application need not match the dates appearing on the issues themselves. In addition, the rule phases out the paper application for group serials and the submission of physical copies. Beginning one year after the rule goes into effect, serial publishers will be required to use the online application for group serials and to upload a digital copy of each issue, rather than submitting them in a physical form. The final rule updates the regulations for both newsletters and serials by confirming that publishers do not need to provide the Library of Congress with complimentary subscriptions to or microfilm of each issue as a condition for registering their works with the Office, but newsletter and serial issues that are submitted for purposes of registration will no longer satisfy the mandatory deposit requirement. Publishers will be expected to separately provide the Library with two complimentary subscriptions if the newsletter or serial is published in the United States in a physical format (unless the publisher is informed that the publication is not needed for the Library's collections). If the newsletter or serial is published solely in electronic form, the publisher will remain exempt from mandatory deposit unless the Office issues a formal demand for copies of that publication.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the Recordkeeping Provisions Associated with the Guidance on Sound Incentive Compensation Policies (FR 4027; OMB No. 7100-0327).

The TVA Regional Energy Resource Council (RERC) will hold a meeting on Tuesday, December 18, 2018, to discuss the metrics and evaluation criteria that TVA is establishing for the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). The RERC was established to advise TVA on its energy resource activities and the priority to be placed among competing objectives and values. Notice of this meeting is given under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

The Committee is proposing to delete a product and services from the Procurement List that was previously furnished by nonprofit agencies employing persons who are blind or have other severe disabilities.

On October 19, 2018, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced appointments to the NRC Performance Review Board (PRB) responsible for making recommendations on performance appraisal ratings and performance awards for NRC Senior Executives and Senior Level System employees and appointments to the NRC PRB Panel responsible for making recommendations to the appointing and awarding authorities for NRC PRB members. Since then, the NRC has made revisions to the list of PRB member appointees.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to address the potential environmental effects associated with the future management of coal combustion residual (CCR) material at the Allen Fossil Plant (ALF) located in Shelby County, Tennessee, southwest of the City of Memphis. The purpose of this EIS is to support the implementation of TVA's goal to eliminate all wet CCR storage at its coal plants by closing CCR surface impoundments across the TVA system, and to assist TVA in complying with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) CCR Rule. In addition, the proposed actions would make the ALF closure area land available for future economic development projects in the greater Memphis area. TVA will evaluate closure of the East Ash Pond Complex, the West Ash Pond, and the Metal Cleaning Pond. In addition to these closures, TVA will analyze potential location requirements and associated environmental impacts associated with construction and utilization of a proposed beneficial re-use facility to process CCR materials. TVA will also evaluate potential impacts associated with actions requiring use of permitted borrow sites and the disposal of CCR at existing offsite permitted landfills. TVA will develop and evaluate various alternatives to these actions, including the No Action Alternative. Public comments are invited concerning both the scope of the review and environmental issues that should be addressed.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) is requesting public comment regarding the practice of ``post-trade name give-up'' on swap execution facilities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing rule and form amendments that are intended to help investors make informed investment decisions regarding variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts. The proposal would modernize disclosures by using a layered disclosure approach designed to provide investors with key information relating to the contract's terms, benefits, and risks in a concise and more reader-friendly presentation, with access to more detailed information available online and electronically or in paper format on request. The proposed new rule would permit a person to satisfy its prospectus delivery obligations under the Securities Act of 1933 for a variable annuity or variable life insurance contract by sending or giving a summary prospectus to investors and making the statutory prospectus available online. The proposed rule also would consider a person to have met its prospectus delivery obligations for any portfolio companies associated with a variable annuity or variable life insurance contract if the portfolio company prospectuses are posted online. In addition, we are proposing amendments to the registration forms for variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts to update and enhance the disclosures to investors in these contracts, and to implement the proposed summary prospectus framework. We are further proposing to require variable contracts to use the Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language (``Inline XBRL'') format for the submission of certain required disclosures in the variable contract statutory prospectus. We are also proposing certain technical and conforming amendments to our rules and forms, including amendments to rules relating to variable life insurance contracts, as well as rescission of certain related rules and forms. Lastly, we are seeking comments regarding parallel amendments to rules governing mutual fund summary prospectuses and registration forms applicable to other types of registered investment companies.

ODNI provides notice that it is establishing one new Privacy Act system of records at the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC). This new system of records is titled the NCSC Continuous Evaluation System, also identified as ODNI/NCSC-003. This notice is necessary to inform the public of the existence and character of records that the agency maintains. Continuous Evaluation (CE) is a personnel security investigative process used to review the continued eligibility of individuals who have been determined eligible for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position. Individuals subject to CE include current Executive Branch employees, detailees, contractors, and other sponsored individuals who are cleared for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position. The Departments and Agencies (D/As) that sponsor these individuals for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position ``enroll'' the individuals (enrollees) for CE by electronically entering their identifying information into a technical system that carries out the CE capability. All D/As are required to submit their qualifying populations to CE. D/As may choose to develop a technical CE system of their own, or subscribe to CE services provided by another agency. The ODNI/NCSC will provide CE services to subscribing agencies. The NCSC CE System leverages electronic checks of government and commercial databases and, based on automated business rules, transmits alerts and reports to the enrolling D/A. Datasets queried in the CE process are those that contain security-relevant information, e.g., government-owned financial, law enforcement, terrorism, foreign travel, and current clearance status information. Credit data and commercially-obtained aggregated data also is utilized. On receipt of the electronic prompt, the personnel security function at the enrolling agency verifies that the alert or report received pertains to the enrollee (the subject of the electronic queries). Where the agency verifies that the alert or report pertains to the enrollee, appropriate personnel security officials review the nature of the alert or report to determine the need for further investigation, as dictated by Federal Investigative Standards requirements. Information obtained through the follow-on investigation is considered in adjudicating the enrollee's continued eligibility for access to classified information or to hold a sensitive position. The NCSC CE System retains the enrollment information (personal identifiers as provided by the enrolling D/A) in order to facilitate ongoing CE checks. The system does not retain the records returned from the electronic database queries beyond the time needed to ensure proper electronic delivery to the enrolling agency. Data necessary to implement CE business rules, to perform program assessments, and to satisfy auditing requirements will be retained. D/As conducting CE will adhere to the principles articulated in the Security Executive Agent Directive (SEAD) relating to CE (i.e., SEAD 6). A SEAD provides high level guidance and instruction for the conduct of a personnel security process. SEAD 6 establishes policy and requirements specifically related to CE.

The information collection requirements described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''). The FTC seeks public comments on its proposal to extend for an additional three years the current PRA clearance for information collection requirements contained in its Alternative Fuels Rule (``Rule''). That clearance expires on May 31, 2019.

This notice is to inform the public that the Export-Import Bank of the United States has received an application for a $5 billion direct loan to support the export of approximately $4.348 billion in U.S. equipment and services to establish an integrated liquefied natural gas, or LNG, project in Mozambique. The U.S. exports will enable the facility to produce approximately 12.8 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas. Available information indicates the Mozambique gas producer plans to sell the liquefied natural gas in the Asia-Pacific market (including India, China, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Thailand), as well as smaller quantities to markets in Europe.

The Board is requesting comment on a proposed rule that would establish risk-based categories for determining prudential standards for large U.S. banking organizations, consistent with section 401 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. The proposal would also amend certain prudential standards, including standards relating to liquidity, risk management, stress testing, and single-counterparty credit limits, to reflect the risk profiles of banking organizations under each proposed category of standards and would apply prudential standards to certain large savings and loan holding companies using the same categories. In addition, the proposal would make corresponding changes to reporting forms. Separately, the Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC, and together with the Board and the OCC, the agencies), are proposing amendments to the agencies' capital and liquidity requirements based on the same categories. The proposal would not apply to foreign banking organizations, including to an intermediate holding company of a foreign banking organization.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently submitted a request for revision of an existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The information collection is entitled, NRC Form 531, ``Request for Taxpayer Identification Number.''

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently submitted a request for renewal of an existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The information collection is entitled, Domestic Licensing of Source Material.

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 the Consumer Product Safety Commission's regulations. Published below is a provisionally-accepted Settlement Agreement with EKO Development, Ltd. and EKO USA, LLC, containing a civil penalty in the amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000), subject to the terms and conditions of the Settlement Agreement.\1\