Department of Commerce December 14, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice provides information about the State of Connecticut's (hereafter Connecticut or the State) formal request to the Bureau of the Census (hereafter, Census Bureau) to adopt the State's nine planning regions as the county equivalent geographic unit for purposes of collecting, tabulating, and disseminating statistical data, replacing the eight counties, which ceased to function as governmental and administrative entities in 1960. The Census Bureau proposes to implement this change in 2023. The Census Bureau is publishing this Notice to inform users of county-level data of the proposed change and is requesting information related to potential impacts of this change. The Census Bureau and the State of Connecticut will use this information to reach a final decision regarding whether to implement this change to the county equivalents in Connecticut as well as the timing of implementation.

Free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops and Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops will be held in January, February, and March of 2021. Certain fishermen and shark dealers are required to attend a workshop to meet regulatory requirements and to maintain valid permits. Specifically, the Atlantic Shark Identification Workshop is mandatory for all federally permitted Atlantic shark dealers. The Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshop is mandatory for vessel owners and operators who use bottom longline, pelagic longline, or gillnet gear, and who have also been issued shark or swordfish limited access permits. Additional free workshops will be conducted during 2021 and will be announced in a future notice.

The Bureau of the Census (U.S. Census Bureau) publishes this notice to request public comment on the content of the 2022 Census of Governments. This collection will be primarily electronic using a secure encrypted internet data collection system called Centurion. The Census of Governments is conducted at 5-year intervals (years ending in 2 and 7) and is the most comprehensive compilation of statistics about U.S. state and local governments.

This interim final rule revises aspects of the process for requesting exclusions from the duties and quantitative limitations on imports of aluminum and steel discussed in three previous Department of Commerce (``Commerce'') interim final rules implementing the exclusion process authorized by the President under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended (``232''). These changes are also informed by a notice of inquiry with request for comments on the 232 exclusions process that was published by Commerce on May 26, 2020. Based on public comments on the current process for submissions to Commerce, Commerce is publishing this interim final rule to make additional revisions to the 232 exclusion process, including to the 232 Exclusions Portal.