80_FR_35087 80 FR 34970 - Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

80 FR 34970 - Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions

REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE CENTER
Department of Agriculture

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 117 (June 18, 2015)

Page Range34970-34975
FR Document2015-14337

The Spring 2015 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. Publication of the Spring 2015 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions represents a key component of the regulatory planning mechanism prescribed in Executive Order 12866 ``Regulatory Planning and Review'' (58 FR 51735) and incorporated by reference in the President's Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' issued on January 18, 2011 (76 FR 3821). The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies publish semiannual regulatory agendas in the Federal Register describing regulatory actions they are developing that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities (5 U.S.C. 602). In the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda) agencies report regulatory actions upcoming in the next year. Executive Order 12866 ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' signed September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735), and Office of Management and Budget memoranda implementing section 4 of that Order establish minimum standards for agencies' agendas, including specific types of information for each entry. The Unified Agenda helps agencies fulfill these requirements. All Federal regulatory agencies have chosen to publish their regulatory agendas as part of the Unified Agenda. The complete Unified Agenda for spring 2015, which contains the regulatory agendas for 63 Federal agencies, is available to the public at http://reginfo.gov. The spring 2015 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the Federal Register consists of agency regulatory flexibility agendas, in accordance with the publication requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Agency regulatory flexibility agendas contain only those Agenda entries for rules that are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities and entries that have been selected for periodic review under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 117 (Thursday, June 18, 2015)
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 117 (Thursday, June 18, 2015)]
[Unknown Section]
[Pages 34970-34975]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14337]



[[Page 34969]]

Vol. 80

Thursday,

No. 117

June 18, 2015

Part II





Regulatory Information Service Center





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Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions

Federal Register / Vol. 80 , No. 117 / Thursday, June 18, 2015 / 
Unified Agenda

[[Page 34970]]


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REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE CENTER


Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions

AGENCY: Regulatory Information Service Center.

ACTION: Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions.

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SUMMARY: The Spring 2015 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions. Publication of the Spring 2015 Unified Agenda of 
Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions represents a key component 
of the regulatory planning mechanism prescribed in Executive Order 
12866 ``Regulatory Planning and Review'' (58 FR 51735) and incorporated 
by reference in the President's Executive Order 13563, ``Improving 
Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' issued on January 18, 2011 (76 FR 
3821).
    The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies publish 
semiannual regulatory agendas in the Federal Register describing 
regulatory actions they are developing that may have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities (5 U.S.C. 
602).
    In the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory 
Actions (Unified Agenda) agencies report regulatory actions upcoming in 
the next year. Executive Order 12866 ``Regulatory Planning and 
Review,'' signed September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735), and Office of 
Management and Budget memoranda implementing section 4 of that Order 
establish minimum standards for agencies' agendas, including specific 
types of information for each entry.
    The Unified Agenda helps agencies fulfill these requirements. All 
Federal regulatory agencies have chosen to publish their regulatory 
agendas as part of the Unified Agenda.
    The complete Unified Agenda for spring 2015, which contains the 
regulatory agendas for 63 Federal agencies, is available to the public 
at http://reginfo.gov.
    The spring 2015 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the Federal 
Register consists of agency regulatory flexibility agendas, in 
accordance with the publication requirements of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act. Agency regulatory flexibility agendas contain only 
those Agenda entries for rules that are likely to have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities and entries 
that have been selected for periodic review under section 610 of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act.

ADDRESSES: Regulatory Information Service Center (MVE), General 
Services Administration, 1800 F Street NW., MVE, Room 2219F, 
Washington, DC 20405.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about specific 
regulatory actions, please refer to the agency contact listed for each 
entry.
    To provide comment on or to obtain further information about this 
publication, contact: John C. Thomas, Executive Director, Regulatory 
Information Service Center (MVE), General Services Administration, 1800 
F Street NW., MVE, Room 2219F, Washington, DC 20405, (202) 482-7340. 
You may also send comments to us by email at: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 
Deregulatory Actions

    I. What is the Unified Agenda?
    II. Why is the Unified Agenda published?
    III. How is the Unified Agenda organized?
    IV. What information appears for each entry?
    V. Abbreviations
    VI. How can users get copies of the Plan and the Agenda?

AGENCY AGENDAS

Cabinet Departments

Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Department of the Interior
Department of Justice
Department of Labor
Department of Transportation

Other Executive Agencies

Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
Environmental Protection Agency
General Services Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Small Business Administration

Joint Authority

Department of Defense/General Services Administration/National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration (Federal Acquisition 
Regulation)

Independent Regulatory Agencies

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Reserve System
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Securities and Exchange Commission

INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIFIED AGENDA OF FEDERAL REGULATORY AND 
DEREGULATORY ACTIONS

I. What is the Unified Agenda?

    The Unified Agenda provides information about regulations that the 
Government is considering or reviewing. The Unified Agenda has appeared 
in the Federal Register twice each year since 1983 and has been 
available online since 1995. The complete Unified Agenda is available 
to the public at http://reginfo.gov. The online Unified Agenda offers 
user-friendly flexible search tools and a vast historical database.
    The spring 2015 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the Federal 
Register consists of agency regulatory flexibility agendas, in 
accordance with the publication requirements of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act. Agency regulatory flexibility agendas contain only 
those Agenda entries for rules that are likely to have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities and entries 
that have been selected for periodic review under section 610 of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act. Printed entries display only the fields 
required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Complete agenda information 
for those entries appears, in a uniform format, in the online Unified 
Agenda at http://reginfo.gov.
    These publication formats meet the publication mandates of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 12866. The complete 
online edition of the Unified Agenda includes regulatory agendas from 
63 Federal agencies. Agencies of the United States Congress are not 
included.
    The following agencies have no entries identified for inclusion in 
the printed regulatory flexibility agenda. The regulatory agendas of 
these agencies are available to the public at http://reginfo.gov.

Department of Education
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of State
Department of Treasury
Department of Veterans Affairs
Agency for International Development
Commission on Civil Rights
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely 
Disabled
Corporation for National and Community Service
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of 
Columbia
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Institute of Museum and Library Services
National Archives and Records Administration
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Humanities

[[Page 34971]]

National Science Foundation
Office of Government Ethics
Office of Management and Budget
Office of National Drug Control Policy
Office of Personnel Management
Peace Corps
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Railroad Retirement Board
Social Security Administration
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Farm Credit Administration
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Federal Maritime Commission
Federal Trade Commission
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council
National Credit Union Administration
National Indian Gaming Commission
National Labor Relations Board
National Transportation Safety Board
Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
Surface Transportation Board

    The Regulatory Information Service Center compiles the Unified 
Agenda for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), 
part of the Office of Management and Budget. OIRA is responsible for 
overseeing the Federal Government's regulatory, paperwork, and 
information resource management activities, including implementation of 
Executive Order 12866 (incorporated by reference in Executive Order 
13563). The Center also provides information about Federal regulatory 
activity to the President and his Executive Office, the Congress, 
agency officials, and the public.
    The activities included in the Unified Agenda are, in general, 
those that will have a regulatory action within the next 12 months. 
Agencies may choose to include activities that will have a longer 
timeframe than 12 months. Agency agendas also show actions or reviews 
completed or withdrawn since the last Unified Agenda. Executive Order 
12866 does not require agencies to include regulations concerning 
military or foreign affairs functions or regulations related to agency 
organization, management, or personnel matters.
    Agencies prepared entries for this publication to give the public 
notice of their plans to review, propose, and issue regulations. They 
have tried to predict their activities over the next 12 months as 
accurately as possible, but dates and schedules are subject to change. 
Agencies may withdraw some of the regulations now under development, 
and they may issue or propose other regulations not included in their 
agendas. Agency actions in the rulemaking process may occur before or 
after the dates they have listed. The Unified Agenda does not create a 
legal obligation on agencies to adhere to schedules in this publication 
or to confine their regulatory activities to those regulations that 
appear within it.

II. Why Is the Unified Agenda published?

    The Unified Agenda helps agencies comply with their obligations 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act and various Executive orders and 
other statutes.

Executive Order 12866

    Executive Order 12866 entitled ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' 
signed September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735), requires covered agencies to 
prepare an agenda of all regulations under development or review. The 
Order also requires that certain agencies prepare annually a regulatory 
plan of their ``most important significant regulatory actions,'' which 
appears as part of the fall Unified Agenda. Executive Order 13497, 
signed January 30, 2009 (74 FR 6113), revoked the amendments to 
Executive Order 12866 that were contained in Executive Order 13258 and 
Executive Order 13422.

Executive Order 13563

    Executive Order 13563 entitled ``Improving Regulation and 
Regulatory Review,'' issued on January 18, 2011, supplements and 
reaffirms the principles, structures, and definitions governing 
contemporary regulatory review that were established in Executive Order 
12866, which includes the general principles of regulation and public 
participation, and orders integration and innovation in coordination 
across agencies; flexible approaches where relevant, feasible, and 
consistent with regulatory approaches; scientific integrity in any 
scientific or technological information and processes used to support 
the agencies' regulatory actions; and retrospective analysis of 
existing regulations.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to identify those 
rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities (5 U.S.C. 602). Agencies meet that requirement 
by including the information in their submissions for the Unified 
Agenda. Agencies may also indicate those regulations that they are 
reviewing as part of their periodic review of existing rules under the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 610). Executive Order 13272 
entitled ``Proper Consideration of Small Entities in Agency 
Rulemaking,'' signed August 13, 2002 (67 FR 53461), provides additional 
guidance on compliance with the Act.

Executive Order 13132

    Executive Order 13132 entitled ``Federalism,'' signed August 4, 
1999, (64 FR 43255), directs agencies to have an accountable process to 
ensure meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in the 
development of regulatory policies that have ``federalism 
implications'' as defined in the Order. Under the Order, an agency that 
is proposing a regulation with federalism implications, which either 
preempt State law or impose non-statutory unfunded substantial direct 
compliance costs on State and local governments, must consult with 
State and local officials early in the process of developing the 
regulation. In addition, the agency must provide to the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget a federalism summary impact statement 
for such a regulation, which consists of a description of the extent of 
the agency's prior consultation with State and local officials, a 
summary of their concerns and the agency's position supporting the need 
to issue the regulation, and a statement of the extent to which those 
concerns have been met. As part of this effort, agencies include in 
their submissions for the Unified Agenda information on whether their 
regulatory actions may have an effect on the various levels of 
government and whether those actions have federalism implications.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4, title II) 
requires agencies to prepare written assessments of the costs and 
benefits of significant regulatory actions ``that may result in the 
expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, 
or by the private sector, of $100,000,000 or more . . . in any 1 year . 
. ..'' The requirement does not apply to independent regulatory 
agencies, nor does it apply to certain subject areas excluded by 
section 4 of the Act. Affected agencies identify in the Unified Agenda 
those regulatory actions they believe are subject to title II of the 
Act.

Executive Order 13211

    Executive Order 13211 entitled ``Actions Concerning Regulations 
That Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use,'' signed 
May 18, 2001 (66 FR 28355), directs agencies to provide, to the extent 
possible, information regarding the adverse effects that agency actions 
may have on the supply, distribution, and use of energy. Under the 
Order, the agency must prepare and submit a Statement of Energy Effects 
to the Administrator of

[[Page 34972]]

the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, for ``those matters identified as significant energy 
actions.'' As part of this effort, agencies may optionally include in 
their submissions for the Unified Agenda information on whether they 
have prepared or plan to prepare a Statement of Energy Effects for 
their regulatory actions.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

    The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (Pub. L. 
104-121, title II) established a procedure for congressional review of 
rules (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), which defers, unless exempted, the 
effective date of a ``major'' rule for at least 60 days from the 
publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. The Act 
specifies that a rule is ``major'' if it has resulted, or is likely to 
result, in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 
meets other criteria specified in that Act. The Act provides that the 
Administrator of OIRA will make the final determination as to whether a 
rule is major.

III. How is the Unified Agenda organized?

    Agency regulatory flexibility agendas are printed in a single daily 
edition of the Federal Register. A regulatory flexibility agenda is 
printed for each agency whose agenda includes entries for rules which 
are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities or rules that have been selected for periodic 
review under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Each 
printed agenda appears as a separate part. The parts are organized 
alphabetically in four groups: Cabinet departments; other executive 
agencies; the Federal Acquisition Regulation, a joint authority; and 
independent regulatory agencies. Agencies may in turn be divided into 
sub-agencies. Each agency's part of the Agenda contains a preamble 
providing information specific to that agency. Each printed agency 
agenda has a table of contents listing the agency's printed entries 
that follow.
    The online, complete Unified Agenda contains the preambles of all 
participating agencies. In the online Agenda, users can select the 
particular agencies whose agendas they want to see. Users have broad 
flexibility to specify the characteristics of the entries of interest 
to them by choosing the desired responses to individual data fields. To 
see a listing of all of an agency's entries, a user can select the 
agency without specifying any particular characteristics of entries.
    Each entry in the Unified Agenda is associated with one of five 
rulemaking stages. The rulemaking stages are:
    1. Prerule Stage--actions agencies will undertake to determine 
whether or how to initiate rulemaking. Such actions occur prior to a 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and may include Advance Notices of 
Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRMs) and reviews of existing regulations.
    2. Proposed Rule Stage--actions for which agencies plan to publish 
a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking as the next step in their rulemaking 
process or for which the closing date of the NPRM Comment Period is the 
next step.
    3. Final Rule Stage--actions for which agencies plan to publish a 
final rule or an interim final rule or to take other final action as 
the next step.
    4. Long-Term Actions--items under development but for which the 
agency does not expect to have a regulatory action within the 12 months 
after publication of this edition of the Unified Agenda. Some of the 
entries in this section may contain abbreviated information.
    5. Completed Actions--actions or reviews the agency has completed 
or withdrawn since publishing its last agenda. This section also 
includes items the agency began and completed between issues of the 
Agenda.
    Long-Term Actions are rulemakings reported during the publication 
cycle that are outside of the required 12-month reporting period for 
which the Agenda was intended. Completed Actions in the publication 
cycle are rulemakings that are ending their lifecycle either by 
Withdrawal or completion of the rulemaking process. Therefore, the 
Long-Term and Completed RINs do not represent the ongoing, forward-
looking nature intended for reporting developing rulemakings in the 
Agenda pursuant to Executive Order 12866, section 4(b) and 4(c). To 
further differentiate these two stages of rulemaking in the Unified 
Agenda from active rulemakings, Long-Term and Completed Actions are 
reported separately from active rulemakings, which can be any of the 
first three stages of rulemaking listed above. A separate search 
function is provided on http://reginfo.gov to search for Completed and 
Long-Term Actions apart from each other and active RINs.
    A bullet () preceding the title of an entry indicates that 
the entry is appearing in the Unified Agenda for the first time.
    In the printed edition, all entries are numbered sequentially from 
the beginning to the end of the publication. The sequence number 
preceding the title of each entry identifies the location of the entry 
in this edition. The sequence number is used as the reference in the 
printed table of contents. Sequence numbers are not used in the online 
Unified Agenda because the unique Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) is 
able to provide this cross-reference capability.
    Editions of the Unified Agenda prior to fall 2007 contained several 
indexes, which identified entries with various characteristics. These 
included regulatory actions for which agencies believe that the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act may require a Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis, actions selected for periodic review under section 610(c) of 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and actions that may have federalism 
implications as defined in Executive Order 13132 or other effects on 
levels of government. These indexes are no longer compiled, because 
users of the online Unified Agenda have the flexibility to search for 
entries with any combination of desired characteristics. The online 
edition retains the Unified Agenda's subject index based on the Federal 
Register Thesaurus of Indexing Terms. In addition, online users have 
the option of searching Agenda text fields for words or phrases.

IV. What information appears for each entry?

    All entries in the online Unified Agenda contain uniform data 
elements including, at a minimum, the following information:
    Title of the Regulation--a brief description of the subject of the 
regulation. In the printed edition, the notation ``Section 610 Review'' 
following the title indicates that the agency has selected the rule for 
its periodic review of existing rules under the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (5 U.S.C. 610(c)). Some agencies have indicated completions of 
section 610 reviews or rulemaking actions resulting from completed 
section 610 reviews. In the online edition, these notations appear in a 
separate field.
    Priority--an indication of the significance of the regulation. 
Agencies assign each entry to one of the following five categories of 
significance.
(1) Economically Significant
    As defined in Executive Order 12866, a rulemaking action that will 
have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or will 
adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the 
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment,

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public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or 
communities. The definition of an ``economically significant'' rule is 
similar but not identical to the definition of a ``major'' rule under 5 
U.S.C. 801 (Pub. L. 104-121). (See below.)
(2) Other Significant
    A rulemaking that is not Economically Significant but is considered 
Significant by the agency. This category includes rules that the agency 
anticipates will be reviewed under Executive Order 12866 or rules that 
are a priority of the agency head. These rules may or may not be 
included in the agency's regulatory plan.
(3) Substantive, Nonsignificant
    A rulemaking that has substantive impacts but is neither 
Significant, nor Routine and Frequent, nor Informational/
Administrative/Other.
(4) Routine and Frequent
    A rulemaking that is a specific case of a multiple recurring 
application of a regulatory program in the Code of Federal Regulations 
and that does not alter the body of the regulation.
(5) Informational/Administrative/Other
    A rulemaking that is primarily informational or pertains to agency 
matters not central to accomplishing the agency's regulatory mandate 
but that the agency places in the Unified Agenda to inform the public 
of the activity.
    Major--whether the rule is ``major'' under 5 U.S.C. 801 (Pub. L. 
104-121) because it has resulted or is likely to result in an annual 
effect on the economy of $100 million or more or meets other criteria 
specified in that Act. The Act provides that the Administrator of the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs will make the final 
determination as to whether a rule is major.
    Unfunded Mandates--whether the rule is covered by section 202 of 
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4). The Act 
requires that, before issuing an NPRM likely to result in a mandate 
that may result in expenditures by State, local, and tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector of more than 
$100 million in 1 year, agencies, other than independent regulatory 
agencies, shall prepare a written statement containing an assessment of 
the anticipated costs and benefits of the Federal mandate.
    Legal Authority--the section(s) of the United States Code (U.S.C.) 
or Public Law (Pub. L.) or the Executive order (E.O.) that authorize(s) 
the regulatory action. Agencies may provide popular name references to 
laws in addition to these citations.
    CFR Citation--the section(s) of the Code of Federal Regulations 
that will be affected by the action.
    Legal Deadline--whether the action is subject to a statutory or 
judicial deadline, the date of that deadline, and whether the deadline 
pertains to an NPRM, a Final Action, or some other action.
    Abstract--a brief description of the problem the regulation will 
address; the need for a Federal solution; to the extent available, 
alternatives that the agency is considering to address the problem; and 
potential costs and benefits of the action.
    Timetable--the dates and citations (if available) for all past 
steps and a projected date for at least the next step for the 
regulatory action. A date displayed in the form 06/00/14 means the 
agency is predicting the month and year the action will take place but 
not the day it will occur. In some instances, agencies may indicate 
what the next action will be, but the date of that action is ``To Be 
Determined.'' ``Next Action Undetermined'' indicates the agency does 
not know what action it will take next.
    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required--whether an analysis is 
required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) 
because the rulemaking action is likely to have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities as defined by the Act.
    Small Entities Affected--the types of small entities (businesses, 
governmental jurisdictions, or organizations) on which the rulemaking 
action is likely to have an impact as defined by the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act. Some agencies have chosen to indicate likely effects 
on small entities even though they believe that a Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis will not be required.
    Government Levels Affected--whether the action is expected to 
affect levels of government and, if so, whether the governments are 
State, local, tribal, or Federal.
    International Impacts--whether the regulation is expected to have 
international trade and investment effects, or otherwise may be of 
interest to the Nation's international trading partners.
    Federalism--whether the action has ``federalism implications'' as 
defined in Executive Order 13132. This term refers to actions ``that 
have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship 
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.'' 
Independent regulatory agencies are not required to supply this 
information.
    Included in the Regulatory Plan--whether the rulemaking was 
included in the agency's current regulatory plan published in fall 
2013.
    Agency Contact--the name and phone number of at least one person in 
the agency who is knowledgeable about the rulemaking action. The agency 
may also provide the title, address, fax number, email address, and TDD 
for each agency contact.
    Some agencies have provided the following optional information:
    RIN Information URL--the Internet address of a site that provides 
more information about the entry.
    Public Comment URL--the Internet address of a site that will accept 
public comments on the entry. Alternatively, timely public comments may 
be submitted at the government-wide e-rulemaking site, http://www.regulations.gov.
    Additional Information--any information an agency wishes to include 
that does not have a specific corresponding data element.
    Compliance Cost to the Public--the estimated gross compliance cost 
of the action.
    Affected Sectors--the industrial sectors that the action may most 
affect, either directly or indirectly. Affected sectors are identified 
by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes.
    Energy Effects--an indication of whether the agency has prepared or 
plans to prepare a Statement of Energy Effects for the action, as 
required by Executive Order 13211 ``Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use,'' signed May 
18, 2001 (66 FR 28355).
    Related RINs--one or more past or current RIN(s) associated with 
activity related to this action, such as merged RINs, split RINs, new 
activity for previously completed RINs, or duplicate RINs.
    Some agencies that participated in the fall 2014 edition of The 
Regulatory Plan have chosen to include the following information for 
those entries that appeared in the Plan:
    Statement of Need--a description of the need for the regulatory 
action.
    Summary of the Legal Basis--a description of the legal basis for 
the action, including whether any aspect of the action is required by 
statute or court order.
    Alternatives--a description of the alternatives the agency has 
considered

[[Page 34974]]

or will consider as required by section 4(c)(1)(B) of Executive Order 
12866.
    Anticipated Costs and Benefits--a description of preliminary 
estimates of the anticipated costs and benefits of the action.
    Risks--a description of the magnitude of the risk the action 
addresses, the amount by which the agency expects the action to reduce 
this risk, and the relation of the risk and this risk reduction effort 
to other risks and risk reduction efforts within the agency's 
jurisdiction.

V. Abbreviations

    The following abbreviations appear throughout this publication:
    ANPRM--An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is a preliminary 
notice, published in the Federal Register, announcing that an agency is 
considering a regulatory action. An agency may issue an ANPRM before it 
develops a detailed proposed rule. An ANPRM describes the general area 
that may be subject to regulation and usually asks for public comment 
on the issues and options being discussed. An ANPRM is issued only when 
an agency believes it needs to gather more information before 
proceeding to a notice of proposed rulemaking.
    CFR--The Code of Federal Regulations is an annual codification of 
the general and permanent regulations published in the Federal Register 
by the agencies of the Federal Government. The Code is divided into 50 
titles, each title covering a broad area subject to Federal regulation. 
The CFR is keyed to and kept up to date by the daily issues of the 
Federal Register.
    E.O.--An Executive Order is a directive from the President to 
Executive agencies, issued under constitutional or statutory authority. 
Executive orders are published in the Federal Register and in title 3 
of the Code of Federal Regulations.
    FR--The Federal Register is a daily Federal Government publication 
that provides a uniform system for publishing Presidential documents, 
all proposed and final regulations, notices of meetings, and other 
official documents issued by Federal agencies.
    FY--The Federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.
    NPRM--A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is the document an agency 
issues and publishes in the Federal Register that describes and 
solicits public comments on a proposed regulatory action. Under the 
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), an NPRM must include, at a 
minimum:
     a statement of the time, place, and nature of the public 
rulemaking proceeding;
     a reference to the legal authority under which the rule is 
proposed; and
     either the terms or substance of the proposed rule or a 
description of the subjects and issues involved.
    Pub. L.--A public law is a law passed by Congress and signed by the 
President or enacted over his veto. It has general applicability, 
unlike a private law that applies only to those persons or entities 
specifically designated. Public laws are numbered in sequence 
throughout the 2-year life of each Congress; for example, Pub. L. 110-4 
is the fourth public law of the 110th Congress.
    RFA--A Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is a description and 
analysis of the impact of a rule on small entities, including small 
businesses, small governmental jurisdictions, and certain small not-
for-profit organizations. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq.) requires each agency to prepare an initial RFA for public 
comment when it is required to publish an NPRM and to make available a 
final RFA when the final rule is published, unless the agency head 
certifies that the rule would not have a significant economic impact on 
a substantial number of small entities.
    RIN--The Regulation Identifier Number is assigned by the Regulatory 
Information Service Center to identify each regulatory action listed in 
the Unified Agenda, as directed by Executive Order 12866 (section 
4(b)). Additionally, OMB has asked agencies to include RINs in the 
headings of their Rule and Proposed Rule documents when publishing them 
in the Federal Register, to make it easier for the public and agency 
officials to track the publication history of regulatory actions 
throughout their development.
    Seq. No.--The sequence number identifies the location of an entry 
in the printed edition of the Unified Agenda. Note that a specific 
regulatory action will have the same RIN throughout its development but 
will generally have different sequence numbers if it appears in 
different printed editions of the Unified Agenda. Sequence numbers are 
not used in the online Unified Agenda.
    U.S.C.--The United States Code is a consolidation and codification 
of all general and permanent laws of the United States. The U.S.C. is 
divided into 50 titles, each title covering a broad area of Federal 
law.

VI. How can users get copies of the Agenda?

    Copies of the Federal Register issue containing the printed edition 
of the Unified Agenda (agency regulatory flexibility agendas) are 
available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government 
Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. Telephone: 
(202) 512-1800 or 1-866-512-1800 (toll-free).
    Copies of individual agency materials may be available directly 
from the agency or may be found on the agency's Web site. Please 
contact the particular agency for further information.
    All editions of The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of 
Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions since fall 1995 are 
available in electronic form at http://reginfo.gov, along with flexible 
search tools.
    The Government Printing Office's GPO FDsys Web site contains copies 
of the Agendas and Regulatory Plans that have been printed in the 
Federal Register. These documents are available at http://www.fdsys.gov.

    Dated: May 23, 2014.
 John C. Thomas,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-14337 Filed 6-17-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6820-27-P



                                                 34970                   Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 117 / Thursday, June 18, 2015 / Unified Agenda

                                                 REGULATORY INFORMATION                                  selected for periodic review under                     INTRODUCTION TO THE UNIFIED
                                                 SERVICE CENTER                                          section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility              AGENDA OF FEDERAL REGULATORY
                                                                                                         Act.                                                   AND DEREGULATORY ACTIONS
                                                 Introduction to the Unified Agenda of
                                                                                                         ADDRESSES: Regulatory Information                      I. What is the Unified Agenda?
                                                 Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory
                                                                                                         Service Center (MVE), General Services                    The Unified Agenda provides
                                                 Actions
                                                                                                         Administration, 1800 F Street NW.,                     information about regulations that the
                                                 AGENCY:  Regulatory Information Service                 MVE, Room 2219F, Washington, DC                        Government is considering or
                                                 Center.                                                 20405.                                                 reviewing. The Unified Agenda has
                                                 ACTION: Introduction to the Unified                     FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:      For              appeared in the Federal Register twice
                                                 Agenda of Federal Regulatory and                        further information about specific                     each year since 1983 and has been
                                                 Deregulatory Actions.                                   regulatory actions, please refer to the                available online since 1995. The
                                                                                                         agency contact listed for each entry.                  complete Unified Agenda is available to
                                                 SUMMARY:    The Spring 2015 Unified
                                                                                                           To provide comment on or to obtain                   the public at http://reginfo.gov. The
                                                 Agenda of Federal Regulatory and
                                                                                                         further information about this                         online Unified Agenda offers user-
                                                 Deregulatory Actions. Publication of the
                                                                                                         publication, contact: John C. Thomas,                  friendly flexible search tools and a vast
                                                 Spring 2015 Unified Agenda of Federal
                                                                                                         Executive Director, Regulatory                         historical database.
                                                 Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
                                                                                                         Information Service Center (MVE),                         The spring 2015 Unified Agenda
                                                 represents a key component of the
                                                                                                         General Services Administration, 1800 F                publication appearing in the Federal
                                                 regulatory planning mechanism
                                                                                                         Street NW., MVE, Room 2219F,                           Register consists of agency regulatory
                                                 prescribed in Executive Order 12866
                                                                                                         Washington, DC 20405, (202) 482–7340.                  flexibility agendas, in accordance with
                                                 ‘‘Regulatory Planning and Review’’ (58
                                                                                                         You may also send comments to us by                    the publication requirements of the
                                                 FR 51735) and incorporated by
                                                                                                         email at: RISC@gsa.gov.                                Regulatory Flexibility Act. Agency
                                                 reference in the President’s Executive
                                                                                                                                                                regulatory flexibility agendas contain
                                                 Order 13563, ‘‘Improving Regulation                     SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                             only those Agenda entries for rules that
                                                 and Regulatory Review,’’ issued on
                                                                                                         TABLE OF CONTENTS                                      are likely to have a significant economic
                                                 January 18, 2011 (76 FR 3821).
                                                                                                                                                                impact on a substantial number of small
                                                    The Regulatory Flexibility Act                       Introduction to the Unified Agenda of                  entities and entries that have been
                                                 requires that agencies publish                          Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
                                                                                                                                                                selected for periodic review under
                                                 semiannual regulatory agendas in the                      I. What is the Unified Agenda?                       section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility
                                                 Federal Register describing regulatory                    II. Why is the Unified Agenda published?             Act. Printed entries display only the
                                                 actions they are developing that may                      III. How is the Unified Agenda organized?
                                                                                                           IV. What information appears for each
                                                                                                                                                                fields required by the Regulatory
                                                 have a significant economic impact on
                                                                                                         entry?                                                 Flexibility Act. Complete agenda
                                                 a substantial number of small entities (5
                                                                                                           V. Abbreviations                                     information for those entries appears, in
                                                 U.S.C. 602).
                                                                                                           VI. How can users get copies of the Plan             a uniform format, in the online Unified
                                                    In the Unified Agenda of Federal
                                                                                                         and the Agenda?                                        Agenda at http://reginfo.gov.
                                                 Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
                                                                                                         AGENCY AGENDAS
                                                                                                                                                                   These publication formats meet the
                                                 (Unified Agenda) agencies report
                                                                                                                                                                publication mandates of the Regulatory
                                                 regulatory actions upcoming in the next                 Cabinet Departments                                    Flexibility Act and Executive Order
                                                 year. Executive Order 12866                             Department of Agriculture                              12866. The complete online edition of
                                                 ‘‘Regulatory Planning and Review,’’                     Department of Commerce                                 the Unified Agenda includes regulatory
                                                 signed September 30, 1993 (58 FR                        Department of Defense                                  agendas from 63 Federal agencies.
                                                 51735), and Office of Management and                    Department of Energy                                   Agencies of the United States Congress
                                                 Budget memoranda implementing                           Department of Health and Human Services
                                                                                                         Department of Homeland Security
                                                                                                                                                                are not included.
                                                 section 4 of that Order establish
                                                                                                         Department of the Interior                                The following agencies have no
                                                 minimum standards for agencies’
                                                                                                         Department of Justice                                  entries identified for inclusion in the
                                                 agendas, including specific types of
                                                                                                         Department of Labor                                    printed regulatory flexibility agenda.
                                                 information for each entry.
                                                                                                         Department of Transportation                           The regulatory agendas of these agencies
                                                    The Unified Agenda helps agencies
                                                                                                         Other Executive Agencies                               are available to the public at http://
                                                 fulfill these requirements. All Federal
                                                                                                                                                                reginfo.gov.
                                                 regulatory agencies have chosen to                      Architectural and Transportation Barriers
                                                 publish their regulatory agendas as part                    Compliance Board                                   Department of Education
                                                 of the Unified Agenda.                                  Environmental Protection Agency                        Department of Housing and Urban
                                                    The complete Unified Agenda for                      General Services Administration                             Development
                                                                                                         National Aeronautics and Space                         Department of State
                                                 spring 2015, which contains the
                                                                                                             Administration                                     Department of Treasury
                                                 regulatory agendas for 63 Federal                                                                              Department of Veterans Affairs
                                                                                                         Small Business Administration
                                                 agencies, is available to the public at                                                                        Agency for International Development
                                                 http://reginfo.gov.                                     Joint Authority                                        Commission on Civil Rights
                                                    The spring 2015 Unified Agenda                       Department of Defense/General Services                 Committee for Purchase From People Who
                                                 publication appearing in the Federal                       Administration/National Aeronautics                      Are Blind or Severely Disabled
                                                 Register consists of agency regulatory                     and Space Administration (Federal                   Corporation for National and Community
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                                                 flexibility agendas, in accordance with                    Acquisition Regulation)                                  Service
                                                 the publication requirements of the                                                                            Court Services and Offender Supervision
                                                                                                         Independent Regulatory Agencies                             Agency for the District of Columbia
                                                 Regulatory Flexibility Act. Agency
                                                                                                         Consumer Financial Protection Bureau                   Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
                                                 regulatory flexibility agendas contain                  Consumer Product Safety Commission                     Institute of Museum and Library Services
                                                 only those Agenda entries for rules that                Federal Communications Commission                      National Archives and Records
                                                 are likely to have a significant economic               Federal Reserve System                                      Administration
                                                 impact on a substantial number of small                 Nuclear Regulatory Commission                          National Endowment for the Arts
                                                 entities and entries that have been                     Securities and Exchange Commission                     National Endowment for the Humanities



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                                                                         Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 117 / Thursday, June 18, 2015 / Unified Agenda                                            34971

                                                 National Science Foundation                             confine their regulatory activities to                 Executive Order 13132
                                                 Office of Government Ethics                             those regulations that appear within it.
                                                 Office of Management and Budget                                                                                   Executive Order 13132 entitled
                                                 Office of National Drug Control Policy                  II. Why Is the Unified Agenda                          ‘‘Federalism,’’ signed August 4, 1999,
                                                 Office of Personnel Management                          published?                                             (64 FR 43255), directs agencies to have
                                                 Peace Corps                                                                                                    an accountable process to ensure
                                                 Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation                      The Unified Agenda helps agencies                    meaningful and timely input by State
                                                 Railroad Retirement Board                               comply with their obligations under the                and local officials in the development of
                                                 Social Security Administration                          Regulatory Flexibility Act and various
                                                 Commodity Futures Trading Commission
                                                                                                                                                                regulatory policies that have
                                                                                                         Executive orders and other statutes.                   ‘‘federalism implications’’ as defined in
                                                 Farm Credit Administration
                                                 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation                   Executive Order 12866                                  the Order. Under the Order, an agency
                                                 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission                                                                           that is proposing a regulation with
                                                 Federal Housing Finance Agency                             Executive Order 12866 entitled                      federalism implications, which either
                                                 Federal Maritime Commission                             ‘‘Regulatory Planning and Review,’’                    preempt State law or impose non-
                                                 Federal Trade Commission                                signed September 30, 1993 (58 FR                       statutory unfunded substantial direct
                                                 Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council                51735), requires covered agencies to                   compliance costs on State and local
                                                 National Credit Union Administration                    prepare an agenda of all regulations
                                                 National Indian Gaming Commission                                                                              governments, must consult with State
                                                                                                         under development or review. The                       and local officials early in the process
                                                 National Labor Relations Board
                                                 National Transportation Safety Board
                                                                                                         Order also requires that certain agencies              of developing the regulation. In
                                                 Recovery Accountability and Transparency                prepare annually a regulatory plan of                  addition, the agency must provide to the
                                                     Board                                               their ‘‘most important significant                     Director of the Office of Management
                                                 Surface Transportation Board                            regulatory actions,’’ which appears as                 and Budget a federalism summary
                                                    The Regulatory Information Service                   part of the fall Unified Agenda.                       impact statement for such a regulation,
                                                 Center compiles the Unified Agenda for                  Executive Order 13497, signed January                  which consists of a description of the
                                                 the Office of Information and Regulatory                30, 2009 (74 FR 6113), revoked the                     extent of the agency’s prior consultation
                                                 Affairs (OIRA), part of the Office of                   amendments to Executive Order 12866                    with State and local officials, a
                                                 Management and Budget. OIRA is                          that were contained in Executive Order                 summary of their concerns and the
                                                 responsible for overseeing the Federal                  13258 and Executive Order 13422.                       agency’s position supporting the need to
                                                 Government’s regulatory, paperwork,                     Executive Order 13563                                  issue the regulation, and a statement of
                                                 and information resource management                                                                            the extent to which those concerns have
                                                 activities, including implementation of                    Executive Order 13563 entitled                      been met. As part of this effort, agencies
                                                 Executive Order 12866 (incorporated by                  ‘‘Improving Regulation and Regulatory                  include in their submissions for the
                                                 reference in Executive Order 13563).                    Review,’’ issued on January 18, 2011,                  Unified Agenda information on whether
                                                 The Center also provides information                    supplements and reaffirms the                          their regulatory actions may have an
                                                 about Federal regulatory activity to the                principles, structures, and definitions                effect on the various levels of
                                                 President and his Executive Office, the                 governing contemporary regulatory                      government and whether those actions
                                                 Congress, agency officials, and the                     review that were established in                        have federalism implications.
                                                 public.                                                 Executive Order 12866, which includes
                                                    The activities included in the Unified               the general principles of regulation and               Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
                                                 Agenda are, in general, those that will                 public participation, and orders                          The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
                                                 have a regulatory action within the next                integration and innovation in                          of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4, title II) requires
                                                 12 months. Agencies may choose to                       coordination across agencies; flexible                 agencies to prepare written assessments
                                                 include activities that will have a longer              approaches where relevant, feasible, and               of the costs and benefits of significant
                                                 timeframe than 12 months. Agency                        consistent with regulatory approaches;                 regulatory actions ‘‘that may result in
                                                 agendas also show actions or reviews                    scientific integrity in any scientific or              the expenditure by State, local, and
                                                 completed or withdrawn since the last                   technological information and processes                tribal governments, in the aggregate, or
                                                 Unified Agenda. Executive Order 12866                   used to support the agencies’ regulatory               by the private sector, of $100,000,000 or
                                                 does not require agencies to include                    actions; and retrospective analysis of                 more . . . in any 1 year . . ..’’ The
                                                 regulations concerning military or                      existing regulations.                                  requirement does not apply to
                                                 foreign affairs functions or regulations                Regulatory Flexibility Act                             independent regulatory agencies, nor
                                                 related to agency organization,                                                                                does it apply to certain subject areas
                                                 management, or personnel matters.                          The Regulatory Flexibility Act                      excluded by section 4 of the Act.
                                                    Agencies prepared entries for this                   requires agencies to identify those rules              Affected agencies identify in the Unified
                                                 publication to give the public notice of                that may have a significant economic                   Agenda those regulatory actions they
                                                 their plans to review, propose, and issue               impact on a substantial number of small                believe are subject to title II of the Act.
                                                 regulations. They have tried to predict                 entities (5 U.S.C. 602). Agencies meet
                                                 their activities over the next 12 months                that requirement by including the                      Executive Order 13211
                                                 as accurately as possible, but dates and                information in their submissions for the                  Executive Order 13211 entitled
                                                 schedules are subject to change.                        Unified Agenda. Agencies may also                      ‘‘Actions Concerning Regulations That
                                                 Agencies may withdraw some of the                       indicate those regulations that they are               Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
                                                 regulations now under development,                      reviewing as part of their periodic                    Distribution, or Use,’’ signed May 18,
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                                                 and they may issue or propose other                     review of existing rules under the                     2001 (66 FR 28355), directs agencies to
                                                 regulations not included in their                       Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.                   provide, to the extent possible,
                                                 agendas. Agency actions in the                          610). Executive Order 13272 entitled                   information regarding the adverse
                                                 rulemaking process may occur before or                  ‘‘Proper Consideration of Small Entities               effects that agency actions may have on
                                                 after the dates they have listed. The                   in Agency Rulemaking,’’ signed August                  the supply, distribution, and use of
                                                 Unified Agenda does not create a legal                  13, 2002 (67 FR 53461), provides                       energy. Under the Order, the agency
                                                 obligation on agencies to adhere to                     additional guidance on compliance with                 must prepare and submit a Statement of
                                                 schedules in this publication or to                     the Act.                                               Energy Effects to the Administrator of


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                                                 34972                   Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 117 / Thursday, June 18, 2015 / Unified Agenda

                                                 the Office of Information and Regulatory                agency without specifying any                          beginning to the end of the publication.
                                                 Affairs, Office of Management and                       particular characteristics of entries.                 The sequence number preceding the
                                                 Budget, for ‘‘those matters identified as                  Each entry in the Unified Agenda is                 title of each entry identifies the location
                                                 significant energy actions.’’ As part of                associated with one of five rulemaking                 of the entry in this edition. The
                                                 this effort, agencies may optionally                    stages. The rulemaking stages are:                     sequence number is used as the
                                                 include in their submissions for the                       1. Prerule Stage—actions agencies                   reference in the printed table of
                                                 Unified Agenda information on whether                   will undertake to determine whether or                 contents. Sequence numbers are not
                                                 they have prepared or plan to prepare a                 how to initiate rulemaking. Such actions               used in the online Unified Agenda
                                                 Statement of Energy Effects for their                   occur prior to a Notice of Proposed                    because the unique Regulation Identifier
                                                 regulatory actions.                                     Rulemaking (NPRM) and may include                      Number (RIN) is able to provide this
                                                                                                         Advance Notices of Proposed                            cross-reference capability.
                                                 Small Business Regulatory Enforcement                   Rulemaking (ANPRMs) and reviews of                        Editions of the Unified Agenda prior
                                                 Fairness Act                                            existing regulations.                                  to fall 2007 contained several indexes,
                                                    The Small Business Regulatory                           2. Proposed Rule Stage—actions for                  which identified entries with various
                                                 Enforcement Fairness Act (Pub. L. 104–                  which agencies plan to publish a Notice                characteristics. These included
                                                 121, title II) established a procedure for              of Proposed Rulemaking as the next step                regulatory actions for which agencies
                                                 congressional review of rules (5 U.S.C.                 in their rulemaking process or for which               believe that the Regulatory Flexibility
                                                 801 et seq.), which defers, unless                      the closing date of the NPRM Comment                   Act may require a Regulatory Flexibility
                                                 exempted, the effective date of a                       Period is the next step.                               Analysis, actions selected for periodic
                                                 ‘‘major’’ rule for at least 60 days from                   3. Final Rule Stage—actions for which               review under section 610(c) of the
                                                 the publication of the final rule in the                agencies plan to publish a final rule or               Regulatory Flexibility Act, and actions
                                                 Federal Register. The Act specifies that                an interim final rule or to take other                 that may have federalism implications
                                                 a rule is ‘‘major’’ if it has resulted, or is           final action as the next step.                         as defined in Executive Order 13132 or
                                                                                                            4. Long-Term Actions—items under                    other effects on levels of government.
                                                 likely to result, in an annual effect on
                                                                                                         development but for which the agency                   These indexes are no longer compiled,
                                                 the economy of $100 million or more or
                                                                                                         does not expect to have a regulatory                   because users of the online Unified
                                                 meets other criteria specified in that
                                                                                                         action within the 12 months after                      Agenda have the flexibility to search for
                                                 Act. The Act provides that the
                                                                                                         publication of this edition of the Unified             entries with any combination of desired
                                                 Administrator of OIRA will make the
                                                                                                         Agenda. Some of the entries in this                    characteristics. The online edition
                                                 final determination as to whether a rule
                                                                                                         section may contain abbreviated                        retains the Unified Agenda’s subject
                                                 is major.
                                                                                                         information.                                           index based on the Federal Register
                                                 III. How is the Unified Agenda                             5. Completed Actions—actions or                     Thesaurus of Indexing Terms. In
                                                 organized?                                              reviews the agency has completed or                    addition, online users have the option of
                                                                                                         withdrawn since publishing its last                    searching Agenda text fields for words
                                                    Agency regulatory flexibility agendas                agenda. This section also includes items
                                                 are printed in a single daily edition of                                                                       or phrases.
                                                                                                         the agency began and completed
                                                 the Federal Register. A regulatory                      between issues of the Agenda.                          IV. What information appears for each
                                                 flexibility agenda is printed for each                     Long-Term Actions are rulemakings                   entry?
                                                 agency whose agenda includes entries                    reported during the publication cycle                     All entries in the online Unified
                                                 for rules which are likely to have a                    that are outside of the required 12-                   Agenda contain uniform data elements
                                                 significant economic impact on a                        month reporting period for which the                   including, at a minimum, the following
                                                 substantial number of small entities or                 Agenda was intended. Completed                         information:
                                                 rules that have been selected for                       Actions in the publication cycle are                      Title of the Regulation—a brief
                                                 periodic review under section 610 of the                rulemakings that are ending their                      description of the subject of the
                                                 Regulatory Flexibility Act. Each printed                lifecycle either by Withdrawal or                      regulation. In the printed edition, the
                                                 agenda appears as a separate part. The                  completion of the rulemaking process.                  notation ‘‘Section 610 Review’’
                                                 parts are organized alphabetically in                   Therefore, the Long-Term and                           following the title indicates that the
                                                 four groups: Cabinet departments; other                 Completed RINs do not represent the                    agency has selected the rule for its
                                                 executive agencies; the Federal                         ongoing, forward-looking nature                        periodic review of existing rules under
                                                 Acquisition Regulation, a joint                         intended for reporting developing                      the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.
                                                 authority; and independent regulatory                   rulemakings in the Agenda pursuant to                  610(c)). Some agencies have indicated
                                                 agencies. Agencies may in turn be                       Executive Order 12866, section 4(b) and                completions of section 610 reviews or
                                                 divided into sub-agencies. Each                         4(c). To further differentiate these two               rulemaking actions resulting from
                                                 agency’s part of the Agenda contains a                  stages of rulemaking in the Unified                    completed section 610 reviews. In the
                                                 preamble providing information specific                 Agenda from active rulemakings, Long-                  online edition, these notations appear in
                                                 to that agency. Each printed agency                     Term and Completed Actions are                         a separate field.
                                                 agenda has a table of contents listing the              reported separately from active                           Priority—an indication of the
                                                 agency’s printed entries that follow.                   rulemakings, which can be any of the                   significance of the regulation. Agencies
                                                    The online, complete Unified Agenda                  first three stages of rulemaking listed                assign each entry to one of the following
                                                 contains the preambles of all                           above. A separate search function is                   five categories of significance.
                                                 participating agencies. In the online                   provided on http://reginfo.gov to search
                                                                                                                                                                (1) Economically Significant
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                                                 Agenda, users can select the particular                 for Completed and Long-Term Actions
                                                 agencies whose agendas they want to                     apart from each other and active RINs.                    As defined in Executive Order 12866,
                                                 see. Users have broad flexibility to                       A bullet (•) preceding the title of an              a rulemaking action that will have an
                                                 specify the characteristics of the entries              entry indicates that the entry is                      annual effect on the economy of $100
                                                 of interest to them by choosing the                     appearing in the Unified Agenda for the                million or more or will adversely affect
                                                 desired responses to individual data                    first time.                                            in a material way the economy, a sector
                                                 fields. To see a listing of all of an                      In the printed edition, all entries are             of the economy, productivity,
                                                 agency’s entries, a user can select the                 numbered sequentially from the                         competition, jobs, the environment,


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                                                                         Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 117 / Thursday, June 18, 2015 / Unified Agenda                                           34973

                                                 public health or safety, or State, local,               name references to laws in addition to                 various levels of government.’’
                                                 or tribal governments or communities.                   these citations.                                       Independent regulatory agencies are not
                                                 The definition of an ‘‘economically                        CFR Citation—the section(s) of the                  required to supply this information.
                                                 significant’’ rule is similar but not                   Code of Federal Regulations that will be                  Included in the Regulatory Plan—
                                                 identical to the definition of a ‘‘major’’              affected by the action.                                whether the rulemaking was included in
                                                 rule under 5 U.S.C. 801 (Pub. L. 104–                      Legal Deadline—whether the action is                the agency’s current regulatory plan
                                                 121). (See below.)                                      subject to a statutory or judicial                     published in fall 2013.
                                                                                                         deadline, the date of that deadline, and                  Agency Contact—the name and phone
                                                 (2) Other Significant                                   whether the deadline pertains to an                    number of at least one person in the
                                                   A rulemaking that is not                              NPRM, a Final Action, or some other                    agency who is knowledgeable about the
                                                 Economically Significant but is                         action.                                                rulemaking action. The agency may also
                                                 considered Significant by the agency.                      Abstract—a brief description of the                 provide the title, address, fax number,
                                                 This category includes rules that the                   problem the regulation will address; the               email address, and TDD for each agency
                                                 agency anticipates will be reviewed                     need for a Federal solution; to the extent             contact.
                                                 under Executive Order 12866 or rules                    available, alternatives that the agency is                Some agencies have provided the
                                                 that are a priority of the agency head.                 considering to address the problem; and                following optional information:
                                                 These rules may or may not be included                  potential costs and benefits of the                       RIN Information URL—the Internet
                                                 in the agency’s regulatory plan.                        action.                                                address of a site that provides more
                                                                                                            Timetable—the dates and citations (if
                                                 (3) Substantive, Nonsignificant                                                                                information about the entry.
                                                                                                         available) for all past steps and a
                                                                                                                                                                   Public Comment URL—the Internet
                                                   A rulemaking that has substantive                     projected date for at least the next step
                                                                                                                                                                address of a site that will accept public
                                                 impacts but is neither Significant, nor                 for the regulatory action. A date
                                                                                                                                                                comments on the entry. Alternatively,
                                                 Routine and Frequent, nor                               displayed in the form 06/00/14 means
                                                                                                                                                                timely public comments may be
                                                 Informational/Administrative/Other.                     the agency is predicting the month and
                                                                                                                                                                submitted at the government-wide
                                                                                                         year the action will take place but not
                                                 (4) Routine and Frequent                                                                                       e-rulemaking site, http://
                                                                                                         the day it will occur. In some instances,
                                                    A rulemaking that is a specific case of                                                                     www.regulations.gov.
                                                                                                         agencies may indicate what the next
                                                 a multiple recurring application of a                                                                             Additional Information—any
                                                                                                         action will be, but the date of that action
                                                 regulatory program in the Code of                                                                              information an agency wishes to include
                                                                                                         is ‘‘To Be Determined.’’ ‘‘Next Action
                                                 Federal Regulations and that does not                                                                          that does not have a specific
                                                                                                         Undetermined’’ indicates the agency
                                                 alter the body of the regulation.                                                                              corresponding data element.
                                                                                                         does not know what action it will take
                                                                                                                                                                   Compliance Cost to the Public—the
                                                 (5) Informational/Administrative/Other                  next.
                                                                                                            Regulatory Flexibility Analysis                     estimated gross compliance cost of the
                                                   A rulemaking that is primarily                        Required—whether an analysis is                        action.
                                                 informational or pertains to agency                     required by the Regulatory Flexibility                    Affected Sectors—the industrial
                                                 matters not central to accomplishing the                Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) because the                 sectors that the action may most affect,
                                                 agency’s regulatory mandate but that the                rulemaking action is likely to have a                  either directly or indirectly. Affected
                                                 agency places in the Unified Agenda to                  significant economic impact on a                       sectors are identified by North
                                                 inform the public of the activity.                      substantial number of small entities as                American Industry Classification
                                                   Major—whether the rule is ‘‘major’’                   defined by the Act.                                    System (NAICS) codes.
                                                 under 5 U.S.C. 801 (Pub. L. 104–121)                       Small Entities Affected—the types of                   Energy Effects—an indication of
                                                 because it has resulted or is likely to                 small entities (businesses, governmental               whether the agency has prepared or
                                                 result in an annual effect on the                       jurisdictions, or organizations) on which              plans to prepare a Statement of Energy
                                                 economy of $100 million or more or                      the rulemaking action is likely to have                Effects for the action, as required by
                                                 meets other criteria specified in that                  an impact as defined by the Regulatory                 Executive Order 13211 ‘‘Actions
                                                 Act. The Act provides that the                          Flexibility Act. Some agencies have                    Concerning Regulations That
                                                 Administrator of the Office of                          chosen to indicate likely effects on                   Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
                                                 Information and Regulatory Affairs will                 small entities even though they believe                Distribution, or Use,’’ signed May 18,
                                                 make the final determination as to                      that a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis                 2001 (66 FR 28355).
                                                 whether a rule is major.                                will not be required.                                     Related RINs—one or more past or
                                                   Unfunded Mandates—whether the                            Government Levels Affected—whether                  current RIN(s) associated with activity
                                                 rule is covered by section 202 of the                   the action is expected to affect levels of             related to this action, such as merged
                                                 Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995                    government and, if so, whether the                     RINs, split RINs, new activity for
                                                 (Pub. L. 104–4). The Act requires that,                 governments are State, local, tribal, or               previously completed RINs, or duplicate
                                                 before issuing an NPRM likely to result                 Federal.                                               RINs.
                                                 in a mandate that may result in                            International Impacts—whether the                      Some agencies that participated in the
                                                 expenditures by State, local, and tribal                regulation is expected to have                         fall 2014 edition of The Regulatory Plan
                                                 governments, in the aggregate, or by the                international trade and investment                     have chosen to include the following
                                                 private sector of more than $100 million                effects, or otherwise may be of interest               information for those entries that
                                                 in 1 year, agencies, other than                         to the Nation’s international trading                  appeared in the Plan:
                                                 independent regulatory agencies, shall                  partners.                                                 Statement of Need—a description of
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                                                 prepare a written statement containing                     Federalism—whether the action has                   the need for the regulatory action.
                                                 an assessment of the anticipated costs                  ‘‘federalism implications’’ as defined in                 Summary of the Legal Basis—a
                                                 and benefits of the Federal mandate.                    Executive Order 13132. This term refers                description of the legal basis for the
                                                   Legal Authority—the section(s) of the                 to actions ‘‘that have substantial direct              action, including whether any aspect of
                                                 United States Code (U.S.C.) or Public                   effects on the States, on the relationship             the action is required by statute or court
                                                 Law (Pub. L.) or the Executive order                    between the national government and                    order.
                                                 (E.O.) that authorize(s) the regulatory                 the States, or on the distribution of                     Alternatives—a description of the
                                                 action. Agencies may provide popular                    power and responsibilities among the                   alternatives the agency has considered


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                                                 34974                   Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 117 / Thursday, June 18, 2015 / Unified Agenda

                                                 or will consider as required by section                 of meetings, and other official                        when publishing them in the Federal
                                                 4(c)(1)(B) of Executive Order 12866.                    documents issued by Federal agencies.                  Register, to make it easier for the public
                                                   Anticipated Costs and Benefits—a                         FY—The Federal fiscal year runs from                and agency officials to track the
                                                 description of preliminary estimates of                 October 1 to September 30.                             publication history of regulatory actions
                                                 the anticipated costs and benefits of the                  NPRM—A Notice of Proposed                           throughout their development.
                                                 action.                                                 Rulemaking is the document an agency                     Seq. No.—The sequence number
                                                   Risks—a description of the magnitude                  issues and publishes in the Federal                    identifies the location of an entry in the
                                                 of the risk the action addresses, the                   Register that describes and solicits                   printed edition of the Unified Agenda.
                                                 amount by which the agency expects the                  public comments on a proposed                          Note that a specific regulatory action
                                                 action to reduce this risk, and the                     regulatory action. Under the                           will have the same RIN throughout its
                                                 relation of the risk and this risk                      Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.                 development but will generally have
                                                 reduction effort to other risks and risk                553), an NPRM must include, at a                       different sequence numbers if it appears
                                                 reduction efforts within the agency’s                   minimum:                                               in different printed editions of the
                                                 jurisdiction.                                              • a statement of the time, place, and               Unified Agenda. Sequence numbers are
                                                                                                         nature of the public rulemaking                        not used in the online Unified Agenda.
                                                 V. Abbreviations                                        proceeding;                                              U.S.C.—The United States Code is a
                                                    The following abbreviations appear                      • a reference to the legal authority                consolidation and codification of all
                                                 throughout this publication:                            under which the rule is proposed; and                  general and permanent laws of the
                                                                                                            • either the terms or substance of the              United States. The U.S.C. is divided into
                                                    ANPRM—An Advance Notice of                           proposed rule or a description of the
                                                 Proposed Rulemaking is a preliminary                                                                           50 titles, each title covering a broad area
                                                                                                         subjects and issues involved.                          of Federal law.
                                                 notice, published in the Federal                           Pub. L.—A public law is a law passed
                                                 Register, announcing that an agency is                  by Congress and signed by the President                VI. How can users get copies of the
                                                 considering a regulatory action. An                     or enacted over his veto. It has general               Agenda?
                                                 agency may issue an ANPRM before it                     applicability, unlike a private law that
                                                 develops a detailed proposed rule. An                                                                             Copies of the Federal Register issue
                                                                                                         applies only to those persons or entities              containing the printed edition of the
                                                 ANPRM describes the general area that                   specifically designated. Public laws are
                                                 may be subject to regulation and usually                                                                       Unified Agenda (agency regulatory
                                                                                                         numbered in sequence throughout the 2-                 flexibility agendas) are available from
                                                 asks for public comment on the issues                   year life of each Congress; for example,
                                                 and options being discussed. An                                                                                the Superintendent of Documents, U.S.
                                                                                                         Pub. L. 110–4 is the fourth public law                 Government Printing Office, P.O. Box
                                                 ANPRM is issued only when an agency                     of the 110th Congress.
                                                 believes it needs to gather more                                                                               371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250–7954.
                                                                                                            RFA—A Regulatory Flexibility                        Telephone: (202) 512–1800 or 1–866–
                                                 information before proceeding to a                      Analysis is a description and analysis of
                                                 notice of proposed rulemaking.                                                                                 512–1800 (toll-free).
                                                                                                         the impact of a rule on small entities,                   Copies of individual agency materials
                                                    CFR—The Code of Federal                              including small businesses, small                      may be available directly from the
                                                 Regulations is an annual codification of                governmental jurisdictions, and certain                agency or may be found on the agency’s
                                                 the general and permanent regulations                   small not-for-profit organizations. The                Web site. Please contact the particular
                                                 published in the Federal Register by the                Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601               agency for further information.
                                                 agencies of the Federal Government.                     et seq.) requires each agency to prepare                  All editions of The Regulatory Plan
                                                 The Code is divided into 50 titles, each                an initial RFA for public comment when                 and the Unified Agenda of Federal
                                                 title covering a broad area subject to                  it is required to publish an NPRM and                  Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
                                                 Federal regulation. The CFR is keyed to                 to make available a final RFA when the                 since fall 1995 are available in
                                                 and kept up to date by the daily issues                 final rule is published, unless the                    electronic form at http://reginfo.gov,
                                                 of the Federal Register.                                agency head certifies that the rule                    along with flexible search tools.
                                                    E.O.—An Executive Order is a                         would not have a significant economic                     The Government Printing Office’s
                                                 directive from the President to                         impact on a substantial number of small                GPO FDsys Web site contains copies of
                                                 Executive agencies, issued under                        entities.                                              the Agendas and Regulatory Plans that
                                                 constitutional or statutory authority.                     RIN—The Regulation Identifier                       have been printed in the Federal
                                                 Executive orders are published in the                   Number is assigned by the Regulatory                   Register. These documents are available
                                                 Federal Register and in title 3 of the                  Information Service Center to identify                 at http://www.fdsys.gov.
                                                 Code of Federal Regulations.                            each regulatory action listed in the
                                                    FR—The Federal Register is a daily                   Unified Agenda, as directed by                           Dated: May 23, 2014.
                                                 Federal Government publication that                     Executive Order 12866 (section 4(b)).                  John C. Thomas,
                                                 provides a uniform system for                           Additionally, OMB has asked agencies                   Executive Director.
                                                 publishing Presidential documents, all                  to include RINs in the headings of their               [FR Doc. 2015–14337 Filed 6–17–15; 8:45 am]
                                                 proposed and final regulations, notices                 Rule and Proposed Rule documents                       BILLING CODE 6820–27–P
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                                                                                                       Vol. 80                           Thursday,
                                                                                                       No. 117                           June 18, 2015




                                                                                                       Part III


                                                                                                       Department of Agriculture
                                                                                                       Unified Agenda
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Document Created: 2018-02-22 11:12:20
Document Modified: 2018-02-22 11:12:20
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionUnknown Section
ActionIntroduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.
ContactFor further information about specific regulatory actions, please refer to the agency contact listed for each entry.
FR Citation80 FR 34970 

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