Agencies and Commissions February 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Per the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), agencies may reimburse employees for the use of nonconventional lodging ``when there are no conventional lodging facilities in the area (e.g., in remote areas) or when conventional facilities are in short supply.'' As the use of nonconventional lodging amongst Federal travelers has grown, so have questions about the associated fees agencies may reimburse. FTR Bulletin 19-04 clarifies what fees agencies may reimburse when employees use either conventional or nonconventional lodging while on official temporary duty (TDY) travel. This Bulletin is located at www.gsa.gov/ftr under the ``FTR & Related Files'' tab.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an existing OMB emergency clearance notice concerning North Carolina sales tax certification.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has determined to extend the target date by six weeks, from February 25, 2019, to April 8, 2019. As set forth below, the Commission also extends the deadlines for filing written submissions and reply submissions on the issues of remedy, the public interest, and bonding.

The FDIC is extending the public comment period for its request for information on the FDIC's deposit insurance application process until March 31, 2019.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public to take this opportunity to comment on the ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery'' for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). This collection was developed as part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process for seeking feedback from the public on service delivery. This notice announces our intent to submit this collection to OMB for approval and solicits comments on specific aspects for the proposed information collection.

On December 4, 2018, the Federal Election Commission received a Petition for Rulemaking asking the Commission to amend the existing regulation pertaining to the size of letters in disclaimers on television ads. The Commission seeks comments on the petition.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections.

NASA hereby gives notice of its intent to grant a partially exclusive patent license in the United States to practice the inventions described and claimed in U.S. Patent Application entitled, ``Fluid-Filled Frequency-Tunable Vibration Damper'', MFS-33613-1-CIP, and Patent entitled ``Variable-Aperture Reciprocating Reed Valve'', U.S. Patent Number 8,939,178 to Hummingbird Kinetics, having its principal place of business in New York, NY. The patent rights in these inventions have been assigned to the United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA has not yet made a determination to grant the requested license and may deny the requested license even if no objections are submitted within the comment period.

Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding the packing list clause.

This is an amendment of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the Commonwealth of Virginia (FEMA-4411-DR), dated 12/18/2018. Incident: Tropical Storm Michael. Incident Period: 10/09/2018 through 10/16/2018.

This is a Notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for Public Assistance Only for the State of Minnesota (FEMA- 4414-DR), dated 02/01/2019. Incident: Severe Storms and Flooding. Incident Period: 10/09/2018 through 10/11/2018.

This is a Notice of the Presidential declaration of a major disaster for the State of Alaska (FEMA-4413-DR), dated 01/31/2019. Incident: Earthquake. Incident Period: 11/30/2018.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Review and approval by OIRA ensures that we impose appropriate paperwork burdens. The RRB invites comments on the proposed collections of information to determine (1) the practical utility of the collections; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden of the collections; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information that is the subject of collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of collections on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments to the RRB or OIRA must contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper consideration of your comments, it is best if the RRB and OIRA receive them within 30 days of the publication date. Title and purpose of information collection: Application for Survivor Death Benefits; OMB 3220-0031. Under Section 6 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), lump-sum death benefits are payable to surviving widow(er)s, children, and certain other dependents. Lump-sum death benefits are payable after the death of a railroad employee only if there are no qualified survivors of the employee immediately eligible for annuities. With the exception of the residual death benefit, eligibility for survivor benefits depends on whether the deceased employee was ``insured'' under the RRA at the time of death. If the deceased employee was not insured, jurisdiction of any survivor benefits payable is transferred to the Social Security Administration and survivor benefits are paid by that agency instead of the RRB. The requirements for applying for benefits are prescribed in 20 CFR 217, 219, and 234. The collection obtains the information required by the RRB to determine entitlement to and amount of the survivor death benefits applied for. To collect the information, the RRB uses Forms AA-21, Application for Lump-Sum Death Payment and Annuities Unpaid at Death; AA-21cert, Application Summary and Certification; G-131, Authorization of Payment and Release of All Claims to a Death Benefit or Accrued Annuity Payment; and G-273a, Funeral Director's Statement of Burial Charges. One response is requested of each respondent. Completion is required to obtain benefits. Previous requests for comments: The RRB has already published the initial 60-day notice (83 FR 62390 on December 3, 2018) required by 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.

Pursuant to section 104 of Title 11, United States Code, certain dollar amounts in title 11 and title 28, United States Code, are increased.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (``Commission'') is extending the comment period for a proposed rule regarding swap execution facilities and the trade execution requirement (the ``SEF NPRM'') that published November 30, 2018 in the Federal Register.

Pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (the Act), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is publishing this regular biweekly notice. The Act requires the Commission to publish notice of any amendments issued, or proposed to be issued, and grants the Commission the authority to issue and make immediately effective any amendment to an operating license or combined license, as applicable, upon a determination by the Commission that such amendment involves no significant hazards consideration, notwithstanding the pendency before the Commission of a request for a hearing from any person. This biweekly notice includes all notices of amendments issued, or proposed to be issued, from January 15, 2019 to January 28, 2019. The last biweekly notice was published on January 31, 2019.