Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 233 / Monday, December 6, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 70367

area the senior executive’s converted 

rate of basic pay may not exceed the rate 

for level III of the Executive Schedule. 

The newly converted rate is the senior 

executive’s SES rate of basic pay. 

(d) On the first day of the first 

applicable pay period beginning on or 

after January 1, 2004, a law enforcement 

officer (LEO), as defined in 5 CFR 

531.301, who is a member of the SES 

will have his or her rate of basic pay, 

plus any applicable special geographic 

pay adjustment established for LEOs 

under section 404(a) of the Federal 

Employees Pay Comparability Act of 

1990 (Pub. L. 101–509) to which he or 

she was entitled immediately before that 

date, converted to a new SES rate of 

basic pay. The newly converted rate is 

the senior executive’s SES rate of basic 

pay, and any pay adjustments approved 

on or after January 11, 2004, must be 

computed based on the senior 

executive’s converted rate of basic pay. 

Conversion to a new SES rate of basic 

pay is not considered a pay adjustment 

for the purpose of applying § 534.404(c).

■ 19. Section 534.407 is added to read as 

follows:

§ 534.407 Pay computation and aggregate 

compensation. 

(a) Except as provided in paragraph 

(b) of this section, pay for members of 

the SES must be computed in 

accordance with 5 U.S.C. 5504(b). 

(b) To determine the hourly rate of 

pay for members of the SES, divide the 

annual SES rate of basic pay by 2,087 

and round to the nearest cent, counting 

one-half cent and over as a whole cent. 

To derive the biweekly rate, multiply 

the hourly rate by 80. 

(c) Senior executives are subject to the 

applicable aggregate limitation on pay 

in 5 CFR part 530, subpart B.

■ 20. In newly redesignated § 534.408, in 

the last sentence of paragraph (b) remove 

the word ‘‘subject’’ and add in its place 

the word ‘‘subpart.’’

PART 575—RECRUITMENT AND 

RELOCATION BONUSES; RETENTION 

ALLOWANCES; SUPERVISORY 

DIFFERENTIALS

■ 21. The authority citation for part 575 

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 1104(a)(2), 5753, 5754, 

5755 and 5757; Pub. L. 107–273, 116 Stat. 

1780; secs. 302 and 404 of the Federal 

Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 

(FEPCA) (Pub. L. 101–509), 104 Stat. 1462 

and 1466, respectively; E.O. 12748, 3 CFR, 

1992 Comp. p. 316.

Subpart C—Retention Allowances

■ 22. In § 575.306, paragraph (b) is 

revised to read as follows:

§ 575.306 Payment of retention allowance.

* * * * *

(b) The head of an agency may not 

authorize a retention allowance for an 

employee if or to the extent that such an 

allowance, when added to the 

employee’s estimated aggregate 

compensation, as defined in 5 CFR 

530.202, would cause the aggregate 

compensation actually received by the 

employee during the calendar year to 

exceed the applicable aggregate 

limitation on pay under 5 CFR part 530, 

subpart B, at the end of the calendar 

year.

* * * * *

■ 23. In § 575.307, paragraph (a) is 

revised to read as follows:

§ 575.307 Reduction or termination of 

retention allowance. 

(a) The agency must reduce or 

terminate the authorized amount of a 

retention allowance to the extent 

necessary to ensure that the employee’s 

estimated aggregate compensation, as 

defined in 5 CFR 530.202, does not 

exceed the applicable aggregate 

limitation on pay under 5 CFR part 530, 

subpart B, at the end of the calendar 

year.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 04–26728 Filed 12–1–04; 5:03 pm] 

BILLING CODE 6325–39–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation 

7 CFR Part 1464 

RIN 0560–AH13 

Tobacco Loan Program—Removal of 

Requirement That Producers of Burley 

and Flue Cured Tobacco Designate 

Sales Locations

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, 

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This rule amends the 

regulations governing the tobacco price 

support program to remove the 

requirement that flue-cured tobacco 

farmers designate the auction 

warehouses where they will sell their 

tobacco and that burley tobacco farmers 

designate all locations where they will 

sell their tobacco. Currently price 

support is available only at designated 

auction warehouses on eligible tobacco.

DATES: Effective Date: December 3, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ann 

Wortham, (202) 720–2715 or 

ann_wortham@wdc.usda.gov. Tobacco 

Division (TD), Farm Service Agency, 

United States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), STOP 0514, Room 5750–S, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0514.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) 

published in the Federal Register, on 

June 22, 2004, (69 FR 34615) a proposed 

rule to rescind the price support 

eligibility provision that requires fluecured and burley tobacco farmers to 

designate the locations where they will 

sell their tobacco. The proposed rule 

requested public comments, and the 

comment period ended on July 22, 2004. 

To the extent practicable, some 

comments that were received after that 

date were also considered. 

Summary of Comments 

FSA received 368 comments on the 

proposed rule. Two respondents asked 

that no change be made in the current 

designation requirement. This request 

was considered, however, weighing the 

requests to maintain the existing 

program against the prevalence of 

comments requesting elimination of the 

program, as was proposed, weigh 

heavily in favor of changing the current 

requirements. 

Eighteen respondents asked that the 

designation program be eliminated 

entirely. Although FSA proposed 

rescinding the designation program in 

June when the Agency requested input 

from the public, the majority of the 

comments on the proposed rule did not 

favor total elimination of the program. 

In deference to the majority of the 

comments on the proposed rule, FSA 

will not entirely eliminate the 

designation program. Thus, the final 

rule still contains a limited designation 

requirement. 

Three hundred and forty three 

comments suggested adjustments to the 

timing of the designation requirements. 

Of these, 101 respondents asked only 

that the waiting period for redesignation be reduced to five days or 

less, 13 respondents asked that the 

designation program proceed as it is 

currently outlined, 209 respondents 

asked that both designation and 

subsequent re-designation requirements 

be made more simple. Two hundred and 

twenty two of these same commentors 

requested that designations be made 

immediately effective, and that 

designations be suspended and not 

necessary after the first week of tobacco 

sales. These comments and suggestions 

are addressed below. 

Twenty-five comments expressed 

concerns about the burley tobacco 

designation program. These respondents 

70368 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 233 / Monday, December 6, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 

asked that designations end on August 

1 of the market year, followed by two redesignation periods at the beginning of 

October and November, and then 

immediately effective re-designations 

beginning on November 25. These 

comments requested no other changes to 

the current requirements. These 

comments were not adopted for the 

reasons discussed below. 

The existing technology that the 

Agency uses for this program does not 

allow FSA to make designations 

immediately effective. Therefore, this 

suggestion will not be adopted. 

On October 22, 2004, the Fair and 

Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 

repealed the tobacco marketing quota 

and acreage allotment and price support 

programs effective for the 2005 and 

subsequent crop years. The designation 

program, part of these programs, will 

end with the close of the 2004 

marketing year. Accordingly, this rule 

deletes the price support eligibility 

requirement that flue-cured and burley 

tobacco farmers designate the locations 

where they will sell their tobacco. The 

majority of the commentors wanted the 

designation program to remain 

unchanged through the first week of 

tobacco sales, a time period which has 

ended for both flue-cured and burley 

tobaccos. Rescinding the designation 

requirements effective December 3, 

2004, will have the effect of complying 

with the majority of commentors’

requests that designation and 

subsequent re-designation requirements 

not be necessary after the first week of 

sales. Tobacco producers will be able to 

sell their tobacco where they wish, 

without waiting for a designation to 

become effective through this final crop 

year of the tobacco quota and price 

support programs. 

Executive Order 12372 

This final rule is not subject to the 

provisions of Executive Order 12372, 

which require consultation with State 

and local officials. See the notice related 

to 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V, 

published at 48 FR 29115 (June 24, 

1983). 

Executive Order 12866 

This rule has been determined to be 

not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866 and therefore 

was not reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act is not 

applicable to this proposed rule because 

USDA is not required by 5 U.S.C. 553 

or any other provision of law to publish 

a notice of proposed rulemaking with 

respect to the subject matter of this rule. 

Unfunded Mandates 

This rule contains no Federal 

mandates under Title II of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) 

for State, local and tribal governments 

or the private sector. Therefore, this rule 

is not subject to sections 202 and 205 of 

the UMRA. 

Federal Assistance Programs 

The title and number of the Federal 

Assistance Program, as found in the 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

to which this rule applies, are: 10.051—

Commodity Loans and Loan Deficiency 

Payments. 

Environmental Evaluation 

The environmental impacts of this 

rule have been considered under the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., the 

regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 

1500–1508), and regulations of the Farm 

Service Agency (FSA) of the Department 

of Agriculture (USDA) for compliance 

with NEPA, 7 CFR part 799. An 

environmental evaluation was 

completed and the action has been 

determined not to have the potential to 

significantly impact the quality of the 

human environment and no 

environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement is 

necessary. A copy of the environmental 

evaluation is available for inspection 

and review upon request. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 5501 

et seq.), the information collection or 

recordkeeping requirements of 7 CFR 

part 1464 are approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

OMB control numbers 0560–0058 and 

0560–0217. Also, section 642(b) of 

FETRA provides these regulations be 

promulgated without regard to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, nor be 

subject to the normal requirement for a 

60-day public comment period. 

Nonetheless, this action will reduce the 

information collected and the Agency’s 

currently approved burden, thus, a new 

burden estimate will be submitted to 

OMB for approval.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1464 

Price support programs, Tobacco, 

Warehouses.

■ Accordingly, 7 CFR part 1464 is 

amended as follows:

PART 1464—TOBACCO

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 

1464 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1421, 1423, 1441, 1445, 

1445–1 and 1445–2; 15 U.S.C. 714b, 714c; 

Pub. L. 106–78, 113 Stat. 1135; Pub. L. 106–

113, 113 Stat. 1501; Pub. L. 1087, 117 Stat. 

11.

Subpart A—Tobacco Loan Program

■ 2. Amend 7 CFR 1464.2 by removing 

paragraph (b)(2) and redesignating 

paragraphs (b)(3), (b)(4) and (b)(5) as 

(b)(2), (b)(3), and (b)(4), respectively.

Signed at Washington, DC, on November 

19, 2004. 

James R. Little, 

Executive Vice-President, Commodity Credit 

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 04–26828 Filed 12–2–04; 2:26 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. 2003–CE–48–AD; Amendment 

39–13886; AD 2004–24–10] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier, 

Inc. Model DHC–3 Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The FAA adopts a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

Bombardier, Inc. Model DHC–3 

airplanes modified with A.M. Luton’s 

Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) 

number SA3777NM. This AD requires 

you to inspect the wiring for the heating 

blankets on P3 and PY pneumatic lines 

and the push-to-test function lights to 

ensure that they are wired to the correct 

schematic; replace the circuit breaker 

switch as applicable; and replace the 

flight manual supplement currently in 

use with Revision G, dated March 28, 

2001 (incorporates Revision I of Sheet 1 

of Drawing 20075, ‘‘Electrical System 

Schematic,’’ dated October 10, 2000). 

This AD is the result of mandatory 

continuing airworthiness information 

(MCAI) issued by the airworthiness 

authority for Canada. We are issuing 

this AD to detect and correct wiring 

installed in accordance with an 

incorrect drawing, which shows the 

pneumatic heating blankets to the P3

and PY pneumatic lines wired in series 

with the indicator lights, rather than 

parallel. This can result in reduced