This document contains final regulations that amend the definition of "coverage month" and amend certain other rules in existing income tax regulations regarding the computation of an individual taxpayer's premium tax credit. The coverage month amendment generally provides that, in computing a premium tax credit, a month may be a coverage month for an individual if the amount of the premium paid, including by advance payments of the premium tax credit, for the month for the individual's coverage is sufficient to avoid termination of the individual's coverage for that month. The final regulations also amend the existing regulations relating to the amount of enrollment premiums used in computing the taxpayer's monthly premium tax credit if a portion of the monthly enrollment premium for a coverage month is unpaid. Finally, the final regulations clarify when an individual is considered to be not eligible for coverage under a State's Basic Health Program. The final regulations affect taxpayers who enroll themselves, or enroll a family member, in individual health insurance coverage through a Health Insurance Exchange and may be allowed a premium tax credit for the coverage.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS or Department) is amending its regulations to allow asylum officers (AOs) to consider the potential applicability of certain bars to asylum and statutory withholding of removal during credible fear and reasonable fear screenings, including credible fear screenings where the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways or Securing the Border rules apply. The rule is intended to enhance operational flexibility and help DHS more swiftly remove certain noncitizens who are barred from asylum and statutory withholding of removal.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is partially approving and partially disapproving the regional haze state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by Arizona on August 15, 2022 ("2022 Arizona Regional Haze Plan"), under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the EPA's Regional Haze Rule (RHR) for the program's second implementation period. Arizona's SIP submission was developed to address the requirement that states must periodically revise their long-term strategies for making reasonable progress towards the national goal of preventing any future, and remedying any existing, anthropogenic impairment of visibility, including regional haze, in mandatory Class I Federal areas. The SIP submission also addresses other applicable requirements for the second implementation period of the regional haze program. Within this action, the EPA is also disapproving the visibility transport prong of Arizona's infrastructure SIP submittals for the 2012 annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The EPA is taking this action pursuant to CAA sections 110 and 169A.

Pursuant to the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve the CAA section 111(d)State plan submitted by the State of Oklahoma for sources subject to the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Landfills Emission Guidelines (EG). The Oklahoma MSW landfills plan was submitted to fulfill the State's obligations under CAA section 111(d) to implement and enforce the requirements under the MSW Landfills EG. The EPA is proposing to approve the State plan and amend the agency regulations in accordance with the requirements of the CAA.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending its regulations affecting temporary agricultural (H-2A) and temporary nonagricultural (H-2B) nonimmigrant workers (H-2 programs) and their employers. This rulemaking is intended to better ensure the integrity of the H-2 programs and enhance protections for workers.

DoD is issuing a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 that provides directions for awarding architectural and engineering service task orders and delivery orders under multiple-award contracts.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is amending the new chemicals procedural regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). These amendments align the regulatory text with the amendments to TSCA's new chemicals review provisions contained in the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, enacted on June 22, 2016, will improve the efficiency of EPA's review processes, and update the regulations based on existing policies and experience implementing the New Chemicals Program. This final rule includes amendments that will increase the quality of information initially submitted in new chemicals notices and improve the Agency's processes for timely, effective completion of individual risk assessments and the new chemicals review process overall. EPA is also finalizing several amendments to the regulations for low volume exemptions (LVEs) and low release and exposure exemptions (LoREXs), which will require EPA approval of an exemption notice prior to commencement of manufacture, make per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) categorically ineligible for these exemptions, and provide that certain persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic (PBT) chemical substances are ineligible for these exemptions.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is publishing this final rule to formally adopt the Office of Management & Budget's Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards regulations for EAC grants management, which is already included in the EAC's agreements with its grant recipients.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is correcting a final rule entitled, "Adoption of 2020 Core Based Statistical Area Standards" that published in the Federal Register on December 6, 2024.

This supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking would update and streamline regulations regarding the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program (IFRP).

The Department of Energy (DOE or Department) is revising its regulations to exempt certain records maintained under a newly established system of recordsDOE-85, Research, Technology, and Economic Security Due Diligence Review Recordsfrom the notification and access provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974. The Department is exempting portions of this system of records from these subsections of the Privacy Act because of requirements related to classified information.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT or the Department) is issuing a final rule to strengthen its regulation implementing the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and to address the serious problems that individuals with disabilities using wheelchairs and scooters face when traveling by air that impact their safety and dignity, including mishandled wheelchairs and scooters and improper transfers to and from aircraft seats, aisle chairs, and personal wheelchairs. This final rule also carries out certain rulemaking provisions required by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or Agency) amends its regulations governing the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program to clarify certain policies. In 2019, SBA published a comprehensive revision to the HUBZone Program regulations, which implemented changes intended to make the HUBZone Program more efficient and effective. This rule clarifies and improves policies surrounding some of those changes. In particular, the rule requires any certified HUBZone small business to be eligible as of the date of offer for any HUBZone contract. The rule also makes several changes to SBA's size and 8(a) Business Development (BD) regulations, as well as some technical changes to the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) programs. Of note, the rule deletes the program specific recertification requirements contained separately in SBA's size, 8(a) BD, HUBZone, WOSB, and VetCert and moves them to a new section that covers all size and status recertification requirements. This should ensure that the size and status requirements will be uniformly applied.

EPA is proposing significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for certain chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMNs) and are also subject to an Order issued by EPA pursuant to TSCA. The SNURs require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process any of these chemical substances for an activity that is proposed as a significant new use by this rulemaking to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity. The required notification initiates EPA's evaluation of the conditions of that use for that chemical substance. In addition, the manufacture or processing for the significant new use may not commence until EPA has conducted a review of the required notification, made an appropriate determination regarding that notification, and taken such actions as required by that determination.

This final rule addresses an important source of motor vehicle safety information and fulfills a requirement in the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act (Whistleblower Act) that NHTSA promulgate regulations on the requirements of the Act, in complement to NHTSA's existing whistleblower program. The Whistleblower Act authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to pay an award, subject to certain limitations, to eligible whistleblowers who voluntarily provide original information relating to any motor vehicle defect, noncompliance, or any violation or alleged violation of any notification or reporting requirement, which is likely to cause unreasonable risk of death or serious physical injury, if the information provided leads to the successful resolution of a covered action. This final rule defines certain terms important to the operation of the whistleblower program, outlines the procedures for submitting original information to NHTSA and applying for awards, discusses NHTSA's procedures for making decisions on award applications, and generally explains the scope of the whistleblower program to the public and potential whistleblowers.

The Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA or the Agency) is finalizing the redesignation of portions of Cambria County and Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, to "nonattainment" for the 2010 1- hour primary sulfur dioxide (SO2) national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS or standard). Westmoreland County was previously designated "attainment/ unclassifiable," and Cambria County was designated "unclassifiable." The EPA notified the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania of its intended redesignation of portions of Cambria and Westmoreland counties on February 17, 2023, and published a Notice of Availability (NOA) for this action on February 12, 2024. The EPA's redesignation of portions of these counties is based on modeled violations of the 2010 1-hour primary SO2 NAAQS.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is determining that the Allegan County, MI; Berrien County, MI; Chicago, IL-IN-WI; Cleveland, OH; Milwaukee, WI; Muskegon County, MI; Sheboygan County, WI; and Illinois portion of the St. Louis, MO-IL areas failed to attain the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by the applicable attainment date. The effect of failing to attain by the applicable attainment date is that the areas will be reclassified by operation of law to "Serious" nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS on January 16, 2025, the effective date of this final rule. This action fulfills EPA's obligation under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to determine whether ozone nonattainment areas attained the NAAQS by the attainment date and to publish a document in the Federal Register identifying each area that is determined as having failed to attain and identifying the reclassification.

This rule finalizes updates to the HHS list of select agents and toxins that could pose a severe threat to public health and safety. These updates were proposed along with other changes to the select agent and toxin regulations, which will be addressed in a separate regulatory action. In a companion document published in this issue of the Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making parallel regulatory changes.

NMFS proposes to implement management measures described in Framework Action 3 under the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Puerto Rico (Framework Action 3). If implemented, this proposed rule would modify the annual catch limits (ACLs) for the triggerfish stock complex in Federal waters off Puerto Rico. The purpose of this proposed rule and Framework Action 3 is to update management reference points for the triggerfish stock complex under the Puerto Rico FMP consistent with the most recent stock assessment to prevent overfishing and achieve optimum yield (OY).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a revision to New Jersey's State Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), to incorporate regulations concerning permits and certificates for minor source facilities and major source facilities without an operating permit. The intended effect of the NJDEP's revisions to the SIP, is to regulate the construction and modification of stationary sources with adequate requirements to ensure that the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are satisfied. In addition, the NJDEP's revisions will strengthen the SIP by conforming it with the State regulations that were in effect at the time of the SIP submission. If the EPA finalizes this rulemaking as it is being proposed, the Federal air permitting program for New Jersey will be updated, which will better serve the regulated community and help to protect the quality of air in the State.

The Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA or the Agency) is amending a Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) rule, the California Toxics Rule, to promulgate a final, revised statewide chronic freshwater selenium water quality criterion applicable to certain California waters to protect aquatic life and aquatic-dependent wildlife from exposure to toxic levels of selenium. This revised criterion builds upon the science underlying the EPA's current national CWA section 304(a) recommended aquatic life freshwater criterion for selenium.

NMFS is changing the status of pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) from threatened to endangered on the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Species. We have considered the 5-year review of the status of D. cylindrus, expert reviewer comments, and public comments submitted on the proposed rule. Based on this information, we have determined that D. cylindrus is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Thus, we are changing the status of D. cylindrus from threatened to endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its medical regulations to allow VA to initiate a waiver request for debt accumulated from health care copayments on behalf of veterans in certain circumstances and to remove the requirement that veterans submit VA Form 5655 when seeking a waiver of copayment debt.

The Coast Guard is issuing this final rule to permit the electronic submission of required mariner credentialing information to allow for the future implementation of a new Merchant Mariner Credentialing information technology system. This rule also requires the electronic payment of mandatory merchant mariner credentialing fees, removes the requirement for prospective mariners to take an oath before an authorized official, and changes the requirements for the Certificate of Discharge to Merchant Mariners. Finally, this rule makes technical amendments to update addresses and websites, remove antiquated terminology, and adopt gender-neutral terms.

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act), the Department of the Treasury, Departmental Offices is issuing a final rule, exempting a new system of records entitled "Department of the Treasury, Departmental Offices .413Outbound Investment Security Program Notification System" from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. The Outbound Investment Security Program Notification System is being established for information collected in connection with the implementation of Executive Order 14105 of August 9, 2023. The exemption is intended to comply with the legal prohibitions against the disclosure of certain kinds of information and to protect certain information maintained in this system of records.