Agencies and Commissions April 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission) is seeking public comment on topics and issues being addressed by the Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee (Subcommittee, or MRAC Climate Subcommittee) under the Market Risk Advisory Committee (MRAC). The MRAC is a discretionary advisory committee established by the Commission in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 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. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might ``further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.'' The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 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 OMB control number.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting public comment on its draft Design Review Guide (DRG): Instrumentation and Controls for Non-Light-Water Reactor (non-LWR) Reviews. This DRG provides guidance for the NRC staff to use in reviewing the Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) portions of applications for advanced non-LWRs within the bounds of existing regulations. The guidance supports NRC's Non-LWR Vision and Strategy, Implementation Action Plan Strategy 3, which involves developing: (1) Guidance for flexible regulatory review processes for non-LWRs within the bounds of existing regulations; and (2) a new non-LWR regulatory framework that is risk-informed and performance-based, and that features NRC staff's review efforts commensurate with the demonstrated safety performance of non-LWR technologies.

The National Endowment for the Humanities will hold one meeting of the Humanities Panel, a federal advisory committee, during May 2020. The purpose of the meeting is for panel review, discussion, evaluation, and recommendation of applications for financial assistance under the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965.

The FDIC, as part of its obligations under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the renewal of the existing information collections described below (OMB Control No. 3064-0061; -0125; and -0176).

In this document, the Commission seeks comment on modernizing its methodology for determining whether a television broadcast station is ``significantly viewed'' in a community outside of its local television market and therefore may be treated as a local station in that community, permitted under the Commission's rules to be carried by cable systems and satellite operators. An examination into whether the existing methodology has become outdated or overly burdensome, particularly for smaller entities, is warranted given changes in the marketplace in the nearly fifty years since its adoption.

The Farm Credit Administration (FCA), on February 5, 2020, issued a final rule amending its regulations to reflect changes in FCA's organizational structure and to correct the mailing address for the McLean office. In accordance the law, the effective date of the rule is no earlier than 30 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register during which either or both Houses of Congress are in session.

On January 30, 2020, the NCUA Board (Board) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register. The NPRM requested comment on the Board's proposal to add subpart D to part 708a of its regulations and clarify the scope of section 741.8 of the NCUA's regulations related to procedures and requirements for combination transactions. The NPRM provided a 60-day comment period that closed on March 30, 2020. To allow stakeholders more time to consider and submit their comments, the Board has determined to reopen the comment period for an additional 60 days.

The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) corrects the DATES section of a document published on April 9, 2020 to provide clarification as it pertains to the effective date of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the Ongoing Intermittent Survey of Households (FR 3016; OMB No. 7100-0150).

To provide liquidity to small business lenders and the broader credit markets, to help stabilize the financial system, and to provide economic relief to small businesses nationwide, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) authorized each of the Federal Reserve Banks to participate in the Paycheck Protection Program Lending Facility (PPPL Facility), pursuant to section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act. Under the PPPL Facility, each of the Federal Reserve Banks will extend non-recourse loans to eligible financial institutions to fund loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration under the Paycheck Protection Program established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). To facilitate use of this Federal Reserve facility, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (together, the agencies) are adopting this interim final rule to allow banking organizations to neutralize the regulatory capital effects of participating in the facility. This treatment is similar to the treatment extended previously by the agencies in connection with the Federal Reserve's Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility. In addition, as mandated by section 1102 of the CARES Act, loans originated under the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program will receive a zero percent risk weight under the agencies' regulatory capital rule.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has found no violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. The investigation is hereby terminated.