Department of Commerce January 2, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS announces the receipt of exempted fishing permit (EFP) applications, and is considering issuance of EFPs for vessels participating in the EFP fisheries. The EFPs are necessary to allow activities that are otherwise prohibited by Federal regulations. The EFPs will be effective no earlier than April 1, 2015, and will be for a minimum duration of two years unless there is a need to extend the EFP to collect more information or the need for the EFP no longer exists because appropriate regulations have been implemented. These EFPs can be terminated earlier under terms and conditions of the EFPs and other applicable laws.

This notice announces the expansion of employee coverage under the Commerce Alternative Personnel System, formerly the Department of Commerce Personnel Management Demonstration Project, published in the Federal Register on December 24, 1997. This coverage is extended to include employees located in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), employed under the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). FirstNet was created as an independent authority within the NTIA, Department of Commerce, to provide emergency responders with the first high-speed, nation-wide network dedicated to public safety. This notice also serves to make changes to the plan to accommodate the expansion of and modification to the Commerce Alternative Personnel System. These changes include the addition of specific occupational series, Commerce Alternative Personnel System Board composition, and the implementation of direct-hire authority on a limited basis for certain FirstNet positions in the ZP career path at the Pay Band IV and above.