54110 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 169 / Wednesday, August 31, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

appropriate to the aircraft category and class 

rating for which the course applies. 

(b) Each student must demonstrate 

satisfactory proficiency prior to receiving an 

endorsement to operate an aircraft in solo 

flight. 

PART 142—TRAINING CENTERS 

■ 20. The authority citation for 14 CFR 

part 142 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(g), 40113, 40119, 

44101, 44701–44703, 44705, 44707, 44709– 

44711, 45102–45103, 45301–45302. 

■ 21. Amend § 142.3 by revising the 

definition of Flight training equipment 

to read as follows: 

§ 142.3 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Flight training equipment means 

flight simulators, as defined in 

§ 61.1(b)(6) of this chapter, flight 

training devices, as defined in 

§ 61.1(b)(8) of this chapter, and aircraft. 

* * * * * 

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 19, 

2011. 

J. Randolph Babbitt, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2011–22308 Filed 8–30–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

28 CFR Part 55 

[CRT Docket No. 121; A.G. Order No. 3291– 

2011] 

Attorney General’s Guidelines on 

Implementation of the Provisions of 

the Voting Rights Act Regarding 

Language Minority Groups 

AGENCY: Civil Rights Division, 

Department of Justice. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule updates the 

Attorney General’s interpretative 

guidelines under the language minority 

provisions of the Voting Rights Act, 

which require certain states and 

political subdivisions to conduct 

elections in the language of certain 

‘‘language minority groups’’ in addition 

to English. The rule reflects 2006 

statutory amendments extending the 

time period for which covered 

jurisdictions must adhere to the 

minority language requirements in 

sections 4(f)(4) and 203 of the Voting 

Rights Act. The rule also amends the 

Appendix to the guidelines to reflect 

2002 coverage determinations based 

upon the 2000 Census made by the 

Director of the Census pursuant to 

section 203(b) of the Act. It also makes 

technical changes to conform the 

guidelines to the 2006 and 2008 

amendments to the Voting Rights Act, 

the 2002 Census determinations, and a 

2009 Supreme Court decision, as well as 

to add or correct statutory citations. 

DATES: Effective Date: August 31, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: T. 

Christian Herren, Jr., Chief, Voting 

Section, Civil Rights Division, United 

States Department of Justice, Room 

7254–NWB, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC 20530, or by 

telephone at 800–253–3931. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

203 of the Voting Rights Act, which 

requires covered jurisdictions to use 

languages in addition to English in the 

electoral process, was added to the 

Voting Rights Act in 1975, and was 

amended and extended in 1982, 1992, 

and, most recently, on July 27, 2006. 

120 Stat. 577, Public Law 109–246. The 

2006 amendments to the Voting Rights 

Act extended the requirements of 

section 203 until August 6, 2032. 

Section 4(f)(4) of the Voting Rights Act, 

which requires certain jurisdictions 

covered by the other special provisions 

of the Act to use languages in addition 

to English in the electoral process, was 

added to the Voting Rights Act in 1975, 

and was extended in 1982 and in 2006. 

The 2006 amendments to the Voting 

Rights Act extended the requirements of 

section 4(f)(4) until 25 years from the 

July 27, 2006 date of the enactment of 

those amendments. 

Pursuant to section 203(b) of the 

Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 1973aa– 

1a(b), the Director of the Census 

published in the Federal Register on 

July 26, 2002, new determinations of 

coverage based upon the 2000 Census. 

67 FR 48871. Under the terms of section 

203(b)(4), these determinations became 

effective upon publication in the 

Federal Register and are not subject to 

judicial review. Also, on July 26, 2002, 

the Assistant Attorney General of the 

Civil Rights Division sent a letter to 

each covered jurisdiction to notify the 

jurisdiction of the determinations of 

coverage, the language minority group 

or groups for which the jurisdiction is 

covered, and to provide suggestions to 

the jurisdiction for developing a 

successful program of compliance. 

These letters provided the jurisdictions 

with a copy of the Census 

determinations, as published on July 26, 

2002, in the Federal Register, and a 

copy of the then-existing Attorney 

General’s interpretative guidelines, 28 

CFR part 55. 

This rule conforms the Attorney 

General’s language minority 

interpretative guidelines, 28 CFR part 

55, to the new determinations of 

coverage. No new determinations of 

coverage have been made pursuant to 

section 4(f)(4) of the Act. Further 

information about the language minority 

requirements of the Act can be found on 

the Web site of the Voting Section of the 

U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights 

Division at http://www.justice.gov/crt/ 

voting. 

The definition of ‘‘Act’’ in § 55.1 

(describing the amendments to the 

Voting Rights Act) has been amended to 

reflect the fact of the enactment of the 

2006 and 2008 amendments to the 

Voting Rights Act. Paragraph (a) of 

§ 55.4 has been amended to add 

statutory citations. Paragraphs (a) and 

(b) of § 55.7 have been amended to 

reflect the extension of the time period 

for the requirements of sections 4(f)(4) 

and 203 contained in the 2006 

amendments to the Voting Rights Act. 

These paragraphs also have been 

amended to clarify that earlier 

termination of these requirements is 

possible through a bailout action, and to 

incorporate the United States Supreme 

Court’s interpretation of the bailout 

provision of section 4(a) of the Voting 

Rights Act contained in Northwest 

Austin Municipal Utility District 

Number One v. Holder, 557 U.S. ll, 

129 S. Ct. 2504 (2009). Paragraph (b) of 

§ 55.8 has been amended to reflect the 

change in the 2006 amendments to the 

Voting Rights Act repealing provisions 

relating to Federal examiners and 

substituting references to federal 

observers. The last sentence in § 55.11 

has been amended to reflect the manner 

in which the Director of the Census 

reported the new coverage 

determinations under Section 203 after 

the 2000 Census. Paragraph (b) of 

§ 55.23 is amended to correct an 

erroneous statutory citation. The 

Appendix to Part 55 has been revised to 

reflect the 2002 determinations of the 

Director of the Census based upon 2000 

Census data. 

Administrative Procedure Act 5 U.S.C. 

553 

This rule amends interpretative rules 

and is therefore exempt from the notice 

requirement of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and the 

opportunity for public participation 

requirement of 5 U.S.C. 553(c), and the 

delayed effective date requirement of 5 

U.S.C. 553(d) is not mandatory. As 

provided in 28 CFR 55.24, comments 

and suggestions from interested persons 

on the Attorney General’s language 

minority guidelines are always 

welcome. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 169 / Wednesday, August 31, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 54111 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Attorney General, in accordance 

with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 605(b)), has reviewed this rule 

and by approving it certifies that this 

rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities because it 

applies only to governmental entities 

and jurisdictions that already are 

required by sections 4(f)(4) and 203 of 

the Voting Rights Act to provide 

information related to elections and 

voting in one or more languages other 

than English, and this rule does not 

change these requirements. These 

jurisdictions have been subject to the 

requirements of section 4(f)(4) since at 

least 1975 or 1976, and have been 

subject to the requirements of section 

203 since at least 2002, when the most 

recent determinations of the Director of 

the Census were published in the 

Federal Register. In addition, a 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis was not 

required to be prepared for this rule 

because the Department was not 

required to publish a general notice of 

proposed rulemaking for this matter. 

Executive Order 12866—Regulatory 

Planning and Review 

This rule has been drafted and 

reviewed in accordance with Executive 

Order 12866 Regulatory Planning and 

Review, § 1(b), Principles of Regulation. 

This rule merely updates an appendix to 

reflect determinations made by the 

Bureau of the Census and makes minor 

technical changes in pre-existing 

interpretative rules and, therefore, is not 

a ’’regulation’’ or ’’rule’’ as defined by 

Executive Order 12866, § 3(d). 

Accordingly, this rule has not been 

reviewed by the Office of Management 

and Budget. 

Executive Order 13132—Federalism 

This rule does not have federalism 

implications warranting the preparation 

of a federalism assessment under 

Section 6 of Executive Order 13132 

because the rule does not alter or 

modify the existing, statutory 

requirements of Section 203 of the 

Voting Rights Act imposed on the states, 

including units of local government or 

political subdivisions of the states. 

Executive Order 12988—Civil Justice 

Reform 

This rule meets the applicable 

standards set forth in Sections 3(a) and 

3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This rule will not 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 one year, and it will not 

significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments. Therefore, no actions are 

necessary under the provisions of the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995. 

Plain Language Instructions 

Suggestions on improving the clarity 

of this document should be provided by 

mail to T. Christian Herren, Jr., Chief, 

Voting Section, Civil Rights Division, 

United States Department of Justice, 

Room 7254–NWB, 950 Pennsylvania 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20530, 

or by telephone to 800–253–3931. 

Congressional Review Act 

This action pertains to agency 

organization, procedure, or practice and 

does not substantially affect the rights or 

obligations of non-agency parties and, 

accordingly, is not a ‘‘rule’’ as that term 

is used by the Congressional Review Act 

(Subtitle E of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 (SBREFA)). Therefore, the 

reporting requirement of 5 U.S.C. 801 

does not apply. 

List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 55 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Civil rights, Elections, 

Voting rights. 

Accordingly, by virtue of the 

authority vested in me as Attorney 

General, including 5 U.S.C. 301, 28 

U.S.C. 509 and 510, 42 U.S.C. 1973b, 

1973j(d), 1973aa–1a and 1973aa–2, and 

for the reasons set forth in the preamble, 

Part 55 of title 28 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations is amended as set forth 

below. 

PART 55—IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 

PROVISIONS OF THE VOTING RIGHTS 

ACT REGARDING LANGUAGE 

MINORITY GROUPS 

■ 1. The authority citation continues to 

read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 28 U.S.C. 509, 

510; 42 U.S.C. 1973b, 1973j(d), 1973aa–1a, 

1973aa–2. 

■ 2. Amend § 55.1 by revising the 

definition of ‘‘Act’’ to read as follows: 

§ 55.1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Act means the Voting Rights Act of 

1965, 79 Stat. 437, Public Law 89–110, 

as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 

1968, 82 Stat. 73, Public Law 90–284, 

the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 

1970, 84 Stat. 314, Public Law 91–285, 

the District of Columbia Delegate Act, 

84 Stat. 853, Public Law 91–405, the 

Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1975, 

89 Stat. 400, Public Law 94–73, the 

Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982, 

96 Stat. 131, Public Law 97–205, the 

Voting Rights Language Assistance Act 

of 1992, 106 Stat. 921, Public Law 102– 

344, the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, 

Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act 

Reauthorization and Amendments Act 

of 2006, 120 Stat. 577, Public Law 109– 

246, and the Act to Revise the Short 

Title of the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa 

Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting 

Rights Act Reauthorization and 

Amendments Act, 122 Stat. 2428, Public 

Law 110–258, 42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq. 

Section numbers, such as ‘‘section 

14(c)(3),’’ refer to sections of the Act. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 55.4 by revising paragraph 

(a) to read as follows: 

§ 55.4 Effective date; list of covered 

jurisdictions. 

(a) The minority language provisions 

of the Voting Rights Act were added by 

the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 

1975, and amended and extended in 

1982, 1992, and 2006. 

(1) The requirements of section 4(f)(4) 

take effect upon publication in the 

Federal Register of the requisite 

determinations of the Director of the 

Census and the Attorney General. Such 

determinations are not reviewable in 

any court. See section 4(b). 

(2) The requirements of section 203(c) 

take effect upon publication in the 

Federal Register of the requisite 

determinations of the Director of the 

Census. Such determinations are not 

reviewable in any court. See section 

203(b)(4). 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Revise § 55.7 to read as follows: 

§ 55.7 Termination of coverage. 

(a) Section 4(f)(4). The requirements 

of section 4(f)(4) apply for a twenty-fiveyear period following the effective date 

of the amendments made by the Fannie 

Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott 

King, Ce ́sar E. Cha ́vez, Barbara C. 

Jordan, William C. Vela ́squez, and Dr. 

Hector P. Garcia Voting Rights Act 

Reauthorization and Amendments Act 

of 2006, which amendments became 

effective on July 27, 2006. See section 

4(a)(8). A covered State, a political 

subdivision of a covered State, a 

separately covered political subdivision, 

or a political subunit of any of the 

above, may terminate the application of 

section 4(f)(4) earlier by obtaining the 

declaratory judgment described in 

section 4(a) of the Act. 

(b) Section 203(c). The requirements 

of section 203(c) apply until August 6, 


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54112 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 169 / Wednesday, August 31, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

2 In addition, a jurisdiction covered under section 

203(c) but not under section 4(f)(4) is subject to the 

Act’s special provisions if it was covered under section 4(b) prior to the 1975 Amendments to the 

Act. 

2032. See section 203(b). A covered 

jurisdiction may terminate Section 203 

coverage earlier if it can prove in a 

declaratory judgment action in a United 

States district court, that the illiteracy 

rate of the applicable language minority 

group is equal to or less than the 

national illiteracy rate, as described in 

section 203(d) of the Act. 

■ 5. Amend § 55.8 by revising paragraph 

(b) to read as follows: 

§ 55.8 Relationship between section 4(f)(4) 

and section 203(c). 

* * * * * 

(b) Jurisdictions subject to the 

requirements of section 4(f)(4)—but not 

jurisdictions subject only to the 

requirements of section 203(c)—are also 

subject to the Act’s special provisions, 

such as section 5 (regarding 

preclearance of changes in voting laws) 

and section 8 (regarding federal 

observers).2 See part 51 of this chapter. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Amend § 55.11 by revising the last 

sentence to read as follows: 

§ 55.11 General. 

* * * For those jurisdictions covered 

under section 203(c), the coverage 

determination (indicated in the 

appendix) may specify the particular 

language minority group (in 

parentheses) for which the jurisdiction 

is covered, but does not specify the 

language or dialect to be used for such 

group. 

■ 7. Amend § 55.23 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 55.23 Enforcement by the Attorney 

General. 

* * * * * 

(b) Also, certain violations may be 

subject to criminal sanctions. See 

sections 12(a) and (c) and 205. 

■ 8. Revise the Appendix to part 55 to 

read as follows: 

Appendix to Part 55—Jurisdictions 

Covered Under Sections 4(f)(4) and 

203(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 

as Amended [Applicable language 

minority group(s)] 

Jurisdiction Coverage under sec. 4(f)(4) 1 Coverage under sec. 203(c) 2

1 Coverage determinations for Section 4(f)(4) were published at 40 FR 43746 (Sept. 23, 1975), 40 FR 49422 (Oct. 22, 1975), 41 FR 783 (Jan. 

5, 1976) (corrected at 41 FR 1503 (Jan. 8, 1976)), and 41 FR 34329 (Aug. 13, 1976). The Voting Section maintains a current list of those jurisdictions that have maintained successful declaratory judgments from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia pursuant to section 4 of the Act on its Web site at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/. See § 55.7 of this part. 2 Coverage determinations for Section 203 based on 2000 Census data were published at 67 FR 48871 (July 26, 2002). Subsequent coverage 

determinations for Section 203 will be based on 2010 American Community Survey census data and subsequent American Community Survey 

data in 5-year increments, or comparable census data. See section 203(b)(2)(A). New coverage determinations for Section 203 by the Director of 

the Census Bureau are forthcoming. 

Dated: August 24, 2011. 

Eric H. Holder, Jr., 

Attorney General. 

[FR Doc. 2011–22160 Filed 8–30–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

28 CFR Part 104 

[Docket No. CIV 151] 

RIN 1105–AB39 

James Zadroga 9/11 Health and 

Compensation Act of 2010 

AGENCY: Department of Justice. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: On January 2, 2011, President 

Obama signed into law the James 

Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation 

Act of 2010 (Zadroga Act). Title II of the 

Zadroga Act reactivates the September 

11th Victim Compensation Fund of 

2001 and requires a Special Master, 

appointed by the Attorney General, to 

provide compensation to any individual 

(or a personal representative of a 

deceased individual) who suffered 

physical harm or was killed as a result 

of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of 

September 11, 2001, or the debris 

removal efforts that took place in the 

immediate aftermath of those crashes. 

The Attorney General appointed Sheila 

L. Birnbaum to serve as Special Master 

and administer the Fund. On June 21, 

2011, the Special Master issued a Notice 

of Proposed Rulemaking that proposed 

to amend the regulations implementing 

the Fund to reflect the changes made by 

the Zadroga Act. After reviewing the 

extensive public comments and meeting 

with numerous victims, victims’ 

families, and other groups, the Special 

Master is issuing this final rule and 

associated commentary, which make 

certain clarifications and changes that 

are designed to address issues that have 

been raised. Specifically, the final rule 

clarifies, supplements, and amends the 

proposed rule by, among other things: 

Expanding the geographic zone 

recognized as a ‘‘9/11 crash site’’; 

providing greater consistency with the 

World Trade Center Health Program by 

adding additional forms of proof that 

may be used to establish eligibility; and 

clarifying the types of fees and charges 

that would come within the caps on 

amounts that a claimant’s representative 

may charge in connection with a claim 

made to the Fund. 

DATES: This final rule takes effect on 

October 3, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kenneth L. Zwick, Director, Office of 

Management Programs, Civil Division, 

U.S. Department of Justice, Main 

Building, Room 3140, 950 Pennsylvania 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20530, 

telephone 855–885–1555 (TTY 855– 

885–1558). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background 

Pursuant to Title IV of Public Law 

107–42 (‘‘Air Transportation Safety and 

System Stabilization Act’’) (2001 Act), 

the September 11th Victim 

Compensation Fund of 2001 was open 

for claims from December 21, 2001, 

through December 22, 2003. The Fund 

provided compensation to eligible 

individuals who were physically 

injured as a result of the terrorist-related 

aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, 

and to personal representatives of those 

who died as a result of the crashes. 

Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg 

was appointed by the Attorney General 

to administer the Fund. The Fund was 

governed by Interim Final Regulations 

issued on December 21, 2001, see 66 FR 

66274, and by Final Regulations issued 

on March 13, 2002, see 67 FR 11233. 

During its two years of operation, the 

Fund distributed over $7.049 billion to 

survivors of 2,880 persons killed in the 

September 11th attacks and to 2,680 

individuals who were injured in the 

attacks or in the rescue efforts 

conducted thereafter. In 2004, Special 

Master Feinberg issued a report 

describing how the fund was 

administered. See Final Report of the 


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