Department of Commerce August 17, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces modifications to the provisions of the Commerce Alternative Personnel System, formerly the Department of Commerce Personnel Management Demonstration Project, published in the Federal Register on December 24, 1997. As published on January 2, 2015 (80 FR 25), the Commerce Alternative Personnel System implemented direct-hire authority, under section 3304(a)(3) of Title 5 of the United States Code, for recruitment of certain scientific and engineering positions in the ZP career path at the Pay Band IV and above. Direct-hire authority was authorized for positions located in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), employed under the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). The System was modified again, as published on June 22, 2016 (81 FR 40653), to increase the number of positions FirstNet could fill under direct-hire authority and to include certain occupational series in the ZP career path at the Pay Band III level and above. This notice serves to make changes to the System to expand the use of direct-hire authority to the NTIA, Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS), and authorizes ITS to fill certain ZP positions, on a limited basis, at the Pay Band III level and above. This notice also serves to announce the addition of the 1520Mathematics occupational series to the Commerce Alternative Personnel System.

This final rule implements changes that were proposed on May 22, 2015, in a proposed rule entitled Revisions to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR): Harmonization of the Destination Control Statements. This final rule revises the destination control statement in Sec. 758.6 of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to harmonize the statement required for the export of items subject to the EAR with the destination control statement in Sec. 123.9(b)(1) of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).