Office of the Secretary April 18, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In response to several petitions, the Department of Transportation (the Department) is extending the comment period for 90 days until July 18, 2005, for its NPRM on aviation data modernization published in the Federal Register on February 17, 2005. In the NPRM, DOT proposed to revise the rules governing the nature, scope, source, and means for collecting and processing aviation traffic data.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Department of Homeland Security is giving notice that it proposes to add a new system of records to its inventory of record systems, the Homeland Security Operations Center Database.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services is proposing rules for the imposition of civil money penalties on entities that violate rules adopted by the Secretary to implement the Administrative Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-191 (HIPAA). The proposed rule would amend the existing rules relating to the investigation of noncompliance to make them apply to all of the HIPAA Administrative Simplification rules, rather than exclusively to the privacy standards. It would also amend the existing rules relating to the process for imposition of civil money penalties. Among other matters, the proposed rules would clarify and elaborate upon the investigation process, bases for liability, determination of the penalty amount, grounds for waiver, conduct of the hearing, and the appeal process.