Office of the Secretary March 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On December 30, 2009, the Department of Transportation (DOT or Department) published a final rule that requires, among other things, that U.S. carriers adopt contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays that include an assurance that a carrier will not permit an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours in the case of domestic flights and for more than a set number of hours as determined by a carrier in the case of international flights without providing passengers an opportunity to deplane, with certain exceptions for safety, security or Air Traffic Control-related reasons. This rule becomes effective on April 29, 2010. Several airlines have requested an exemption from these requirements for operations at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), for seven months in 2010 during which runway construction is expected to be under way at that airport and the rule will otherwise be effective, one airline has asked that operations at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA) be similarly exempted for the same time period, and another has requested that Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) be included in any relief granted by the Department. The Department is seeking comment on the exemption requests to assist it in deciding whether it should grant or deny these requests. The Department will publish a document in the Federal Register regarding its decision on the exemption requests after it has reviewed the comments submitted.

The Defense Logistics Agency proposes to delete a system of records notice in its existing inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

This notice is to advise interested parties of an extension to the Military Health System (MHS) demonstration project, under authority of Title 10, United States Code, Section 1092, entitled Web-Based TRICARE Assistance Program. This demonstration was effective August 1, 2009, as referenced in the original Federal Register (FR) Notice, 74 FR 3667, dated July 24, 2009. The demonstration project uses existing managed care support contracts (MCSC) to allow Web-based behavioral health and related services, including non-medical counseling and advice services to Active Duty Service members (ADSM), their families, and members and their dependents enrolled in TRICARE Reserve Select, and those eligible for the Transitional Assistance Management Program (TAMP) who reside in the continental United States. The extension is necessary to allow more time to measure the effectiveness of the demonstration in meeting its goal of improving beneficiary access to behavioral health care by incorporating Web-based technology.

In compliance with section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service announces the extension of a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The Defense Science Board will meet in closed session on May 12 and 13, 2010, at the Pentagon, Arlington, VA. The mission of the Defense Science Board is to advise the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics on scientific and technical matters as they affect the perceived needs of the Department of Defense.

The Department of the Interior, Office of the Secretary is announcing a public meeting of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Committee.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense is proposing to add a system of records notice to its inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

Under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C., Appendix, as amended), the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), and 41 CFR 102-3.150, the Department of Defense announces that the Defense Business Board (DBB or Board) will meet on April 22, 2010. Subject to the availability of space, the meeting is open to the public.

This document proposes regulations to implement Executive Order 13495, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts, signed by President Obama on January 30, 2009. The Executive Order establishes a general policy of the Federal Government that service contracts and solicitations for such contracts shall include a clause that requires the contractor, and its subcontractors, under a contract that succeeds a contract for performance of the same or similar services at the same location, to offer those employees employed under the predecessor contract whose employment will be terminated as a result of the award of the successor contract, a right of first refusal of employment under the contract in positions for which they are qualified. The Executive Order also directs the Department of Labor (DOL), in consultation with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FARC), to issue regulations, within 180 days of the date of the Order to the extent permitted by law, to implement the requirements of this Order. The Regulatory Information Number (RIN) identified for this rulemaking will change with publication of the Spring Regulatory Agenda due to an organizational restructuring. The old RIN was assigned to the Employment Standards Administration, which no longer exists; a new RIN has been assigned to the Wage and Hour Division.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense proposes to alter a system of records in its inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

Under the provisions of Public Law 101-510, the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, (5 U.S.C. Appendix, as amended), the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), and 41 CFR 102-3.50(c), the Department of Defense gives notice that it is renewing the charter for the Defense Acquisition University Board of Visitors (hereafter referred to as the Board).

The Office of the Secretary of Defense proposes to add a system of records to its inventory of record systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below will be forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected costs and burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on the following collection of information was published on January 8, 2010 [Vol. 75, No. 5, Page 1112]. No comments were received.

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, as codified at 50 U.S.C. App. 531, prohibits a landlord from evicting a servicemember (or the servicemember's family) from a residence during a period of military service except by court order. The law as originally passed by Congress applied to dwellings with monthly rents of $2,400 or less. The law requires the Department of Defense to adjust this amount annually to reflect inflation and to publish the new amount in the Federal Register. We have applied the inflation index required by the statute. The maximum monthly rental amount for 50 U.S.C. App. 531(a)(1)(A)(ii) as of January 1, 2010, will be $2,958.53.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. 2, the United States Department of Agriculture announces a meeting of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board.

This final rule implements the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act by adding procedures for the disposition of culturally unidentifiable Native American human remains in the possession or control of museums or Federal agencies. This rule also amends sections related to purpose and applicability of the regulations, definitions, inventories of human remains and related funerary objects, civil penalties, and limitations and remedies.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C., Appendix as amended), the Sunshine in the Government Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), and 41 CFR 102-3.150, and in accordance with section 10(a)(2) of Public Law, the Department of Defense Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces will meet on April 12, 2010. Subject to the availability of space, the meeting is open to the public.

The Department of Transportation is proposing to extend by 45 days, or until June 14, 2010, the compliance date of the provision in its final rule entitled ``Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections,'' published December 30, 2009, and effective April 29, 2010, that requires airlines to publish flight delay information on their Web sites. This proposal is in response to the petition of the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the Regional Airline Association (RAA) and the Air Carrier Association of America (ACAA) for an additional 90 days time for airlines to comply with the requirement to display flight delay data on Web sites in view of the extensive changes to carriers' reporting systems that are necessitated by the rule and their contention that completion of these tasks is not possible by April 29, 2010, the current effective date of the requirement. The Department acknowledges that additional time to comply with the posting of flight delay information on the carriers' Web sites may be warranted to ensure the posting of complete and accurate information but is not persuaded that the full 90 days requested by the carrier associations is needed. Therefore, this NPRM proposes to extend the compliance date for the provision in question for an additional 45 days, from April 29, 2010, to June 14, 2010.

Under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, (5 U.S.C. Appendix, as amended), the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), and title 41 of the CFR, the Department of Defense gives notice that it is terminating the charter for the U.S. Nuclear Command and Control System Comprehensive Review Committee.