Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustments for Inflation

This Final Rule finalizes the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Interim Final Rule that adjusted DHS civil monetary penalties for inflation. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act) was signed into law on November 2, 2015. Using the formula in the 2015 Act and guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), DHS calculated adjusted penalties. On July 1, 2016, DHS published an Interim Final Rule setting forth the adjusted civil penalty amounts, effective for civil penalties assessed after August 1, 2016 whose associated violations occurred after November 2, 2015. Pursuant to the 2015 Act, all agencies must adjust civil monetary penalties annually and publish the adjustment in the Federal Register. Accordingly, this Final Rule adjusts DHS's civil monetary penalties pursuant to the 2015 Act and OMB guidance. The new penalties will be effective for penalties assessed after January 27, 2017 whose associated violations occurred after November 2, 2015. DHS also announces that it will make its required annual adjustment of civil monetary penalties in future years by publication of a Final Rule notwithstanding the notice and comment provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.