Management and Budget Office September 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing guidance on drug-free workplace requirements for financial assistance. The guidance conforms with the common rule that 31 Federal agencies published on November 26, 2003 and therefore makes no substantive change to Federal policies and procedures in this area. The agencies issued that common rule after resolving public comments received in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. OMB is proposing to issue this guidance as an administrative simplification that will streamline the policy framework for drug-free workplace requirements in two ways. First, the guidance is in a form suitable for Federal agency adoption, which will reduce the volume of Federal regulations on drug-free workplace, make it easier for the affected public to use them, and make it easier and less expensive for the Federal Government to maintain them. Second, the guidance is located in the recently established Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (2 CFR). Locating the OMB guidance in 2 CFR will make it easier to find. It also is the first step toward co-locating in the same CFR title the agencies' regulations that implement the guidance, a further simplification for the public. This notice also proposes a minor change to the previously issued 2 CFR part 1, to conform that part with the guidance published today.

In accordance with the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3520), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is publishing a ``list of the compliance assistance resources available to small businesses'' and a list of the points of contacts in agencies ``to act as a liaison between the agency and small business concerns'' with respect to the collection of information and the control of paperwork. This information is posted on the following Web site: http:/ /www.business.gov/contacts/federal/.