8334 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

30Order No. 4257 at 255 (citing Docket No. 

N2010–1 Advisory Opinion at 7–10). 

31See Order No. 5763 at 171 (citing Order No. 

5337 at 142, 144; Order No. 4257 at 255); see also 

2006 Joskow, supra at 8 (observing that regulatory 

mechanisms focusing on cost reductions 

exclusively may lead to the operator reducing its 

service). 

suggestions on how to improve upon 

that mechanism, they may propose 

changes in their response to this Order. 

An effective price cap system 

maintains reliable, efficient, and 

economical service.30 ‘‘The Postal 

Service cannot be permitted to degrade 

service in order to comply with the 

revenue constraints associated with the 

price cap.’’ Order No. 4257 at 255 (citing 

Docket No. N2010–1, Advisory Opinion 

at 8). ‘‘A reduction in service must be 

warranted by declining demand for the 

service, rather than to ease the 

obligation of adhering to the price cap.’’ 

Docket No. N2010–1, Advisory Opinion 

at 10. Introducing a direct financial 

incentive connected to operational 

efficiency gains and cost reductions may 

undermine the existing incentives to 

maintain high-quality service 

standards.31 Accordingly, to give due 

consideration to a potential need to 

counterbalance such unintended 

consequences, the Commission raises 

the following discussion points: 

1. How to identify potential regulatory 

changes that may be needed to 

counterbalance any perverse incentive 

to degrade service standards and/or 

service performance that may be created 

by introducing an operational-efficiency 

based requirement? 

2. How to identify the relative 

advantages of designing a system that 

creates a direct financial link to changes 

in service standards? 

3. What data and methods could be 

used to design a system that creates a 

direct financial link to changes in 

service standards? 

IV. Administrative Actions 

The Commission establishes Docket 

No. RM2021–2 for consideration of the 

matters discussed in the body of this 

advance notice of proposed rulemaking. 

The Commission will accept 

comments and reply comments 

concerning the topics identified in this 

advance notice of proposed rulemaking. 

Comments are due April 15, 2021. Reply 

comments are due May 17, 2021. 

Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, Richard A. 

Oliver is designated as an officer of the 

Commission (Public Representative) to 

represent the interests of the general 

public in this proceeding. 

The Postal Service shall file the 

documentation and linked workpapers 

for its TFP methodology to aid in the 

evaluation of TFP by February 16, 2021. 

Materials filed in this docket will be 

available for review on the 

Commission’s website (http://

www.prc.gov). 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

requires federal agencies, in 

promulgating rules, to consider the 

impact of those rules on small entities. 

See 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq. If the proposed 

or final rules will not, if promulgated, 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities, 

the head of the agency may certify that 

the initial and final regulatory flexibility 

analysis requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 

and 604 do not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 

605(b). In the context of this 

rulemaking, the Commission’s primary 

responsibility is in the regulatory 

oversight of the United States Postal 

Service. The rules that are the subject of 

this rulemaking have a regulatory 

impact on the Postal Service, but do not 

impose any regulatory obligation upon 

any other entity. Based on these 

findings, the Chairman of the 

Commission certifies that the rules that 

are the subject of this rulemaking will 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

605(b), this rulemaking is exempt from 

the initial and final regulatory flexibility 

analysis requirements of 5 U.S.C. 603 

and 604. 

V. Ordering Paragraphs 

It is ordered: 

1. Docket No. RM2021–2 is 

established for the purpose of 

considering amendments to Chapter III 

of title 39 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations as discussed in this advance 

notice of proposed rulemaking. 

2. The Postal Service shall file the 

documentation and linked workpapers 

for its total factor productivity 

methodology, in a manner that displays 

the formulae used and links to related 

spreadsheets by February 16, 2021. 

3. If the Postal Service proposes to use 

a metric other than total factor 

productivity for a performance incentive 

mechanism, then it shall file a detailed 

public explanation of the methodology 

along with its comments. 

4. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, Richard 

A. Oliver shall serve as an officer of the 

Commission (Public Representative) to 

represent the interests of the general 

public in this proceeding. 

5. Interested persons may submit 

comments no later than April 15, 2021. 

6. Interested persons may submit 

reply comments no later than May 17, 

2021. 

7. The Secretary shall arrange for 

publication of this order in the Federal 

Register. 

By the Commission. 

Erica A. Barker, 

Secretary. 

Editorial Note: This document was 

received at the Office of the Federal Register 

on January 19, 2021. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01500 Filed 2–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency 

44 CFR Part 206 

[Docket ID FEMA–2020–0038] 

RIN 1660–AA99 

Cost of Assistance Estimates in the 

Disaster Declaration Process for the 

Public Assistance Program; Public 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, Department of 

Homeland Security. 

ACTION: Announcement of meeting; 

extension of comment period. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) is 

extending the public comment period 

for its proposed rule published 

December 14, 2020, and will hold a 

public meeting remotely via web 

conference to solicit feedback on the 

proposed rule. The rule proposed to 

substantively revise the ‘‘estimated cost 

of the assistance’’ disaster declaration 

factor that FEMA uses to review a 

Governor’s request for a major disaster 

under the Public Assistance Program. 

DATES: Written comments on the 

proposed rule published at 85 FR 80719 

(December 14, 2020) may be submitted 

until 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, March 

12, 2021. 

The meeting will take place on 

Wednesday, February 24, 2021, from 1 

to 3 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). 

To register in order to make remarks 

during the meeting, contact the 

individual listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section below by 

12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 23, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held 

via web conference. Members of the 

public may view the public portion of 

the meeting online at https://

fema.zoomgov.com/s/1617851830. 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 23 / Friday, February 5, 2021 / Proposed Rules 8335 

1 85 FR 80719. 

2Public Law 115–254, 132 Stat. 3438 (Oct. 5, 

2018). 

3 DRRA sec. 1239. 

4 44 CFR 206.48(a)(2), (5). 

5 DRRA sec. 1232. 

6See Memorandum on Regulatory Freeze Pending 

Review for the Heads of Executive Departments and 

Agencies (Jan. 20, 2021), available at https://

www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidentialactions/2021/01/20/regulatory-freeze-pendingreview/ (last visited Jan. 22, 2021). 

7See 85 FR 80719. 

8 Id. 

9See Explanatory Statement for H.R.133, 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, 166 Cong. 

Rec. H8479 (daily ed. Dec. 21, 2020). 

Reasonable accommodations are 

available for people with disabilities. To 

request a reasonable accommodation, 

contact the person listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section 

below as soon as possible. Last minute 

requests will be accepted but may not be 

possible to fulfill. 

Written comments must be submitted 

via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Instructions: All written comments 

must include the docket ID FEMA– 

2020–0038. All comments received, 

including any personal information 

provided, may be posted without 

alteration at https://

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to the docket and 

to read comments received by FEMA, go 

to https://www.regulations.gov and 

search for Docket ID FEMA–2020–0038. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tod 

Wells, Deputy Division Director, 

Recovery Directorate, Public Assistance, 

via email at FEMA-PA-PolicyQuestions@fema.dhs.gov or via phone at 

(202) 646–2500. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

December 14, 2020, FEMA published a 

proposed rule titled Cost of Assistance 

Estimates in the Disaster Declaration 

Process for the Public Assistance 

Program.1 Pursuant to 44 CFR 206.48(a), 

FEMA considers several factors when 

determining whether to recommend that 

the President declare a major disaster 

authorizing the Public Assistance 

program. In the Disaster Recovery 

Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA),2 Congress 

directed FEMA to generally review 

those factors, specifically the estimated 

cost of the assistance factor, and to 

update them through rulemaking, as 

appropriate.3 Congress also directed 

FEMA to give greater consideration to 

the recent multiple disasters and 

localized impacts factors 4 when 

evaluating a request for a major 

disaster.5

On January 20, 2021, Assistant to the 

President and Chief of Staff Ronald A. 

Klain issued a memorandum titled 

‘‘Regulatory Freeze Pending Review’’ to 

ensure that President Biden’s 

appointees or designees have the 

opportunity to review pending rules.6

This regulatory freeze does not require 

FEMA to withdraw pending notices of 

proposed rulemaking out for public 

comment, but the agency wants to 

ensure the memorandum’s intent is met 

and all parties are given ample 

opportunity to provide input. FEMA is 

therefore extending the comment period 

for this rule from February 12 to March 

12, 2021, and will also hold a public 

meeting on February 24, 2021, to solicit 

feedback on the proposed rule. These 

measures will help ensure all interested 

parties have sufficient opportunity to 

review and provide comments on the 

proposed changes. 

As published on December 14, 2020, 

FEMA proposes to amend the estimated 

cost of the assistance factor in 44 CFR 

206.48(a)(1) to raise the per capita 

indicator and the minimum threshold. 

As is detailed in the proposed rule, the 

current per capita indicator and 

minimum threshold do not provide an 

accurate measure of States’ capabilities 

to respond to disasters.7 FEMA does not 

propose to substantively revise the 

localized impacts factor because it is 

already sufficiently flexible to address 

the requirements of section 1232 of the 

DRRA. FEMA also does not propose any 

revisions to the recent multiple disasters 

factor, but requests comment on 

whether the 12-month time limit 

currently in place is sufficient to 

address this factor as required by the 

DRRA. 

DRRA further provided that FEMA 

shall engage in meaningful consultation 

with relevant representatives of State 

regional, local, and Indian tribal 

government stakeholders.8 FEMA’s 

public meeting will solicit feedback on 

the proposed rule from these 

stakeholders in fulfillment of this 

requirement. FEMA welcomes input, 

both at the meeting and in written 

comments submitted separately, on 

considerations of local economic factors 

such as the local assessable tax base; the 

local sales tax; the median income and 

poverty rate of the local affected area as 

it compares to that of the State and the 

economic health of the State, including 

such factors as the State unemployment 

rate compared to the national rate; and 

how such factors can be used to 

evaluate whether the affected State and 

local governments have been 

overwhelmed.9

FEMA will carefully consider all 

relevant comments received during the 

meeting, and during the rest of the 

comment period for the proposed rule, 

which now runs through March 12, 

2021, before issuing a final rule. All 

verbal comments or remarks provided 

on the proposed rule during the meeting 

will be recorded and posted to the 

rulemaking docket on https://

www.regulations.gov. 

MaryAnn Tierney, 

Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal 

Emergency Management Agency. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02459 Filed 2–4–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–23–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Parts 1 and 54 

[GN Docket No. 20–32; Report No. 3165; 

FRS 17451] 

Petitions for Reconsideration of Action 

in Rulemaking Proceeding 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Petitions for Reconsideration; 

correction. 

SUMMARY: This document corrects a date 

that appeared in the Federal Register on 

January 22, 2021. That Federal Register 

document, which invited comment on 

the Petitions for Reconsideration 

(Petitions) filed in the Commission’s 

rulemaking proceeding, incorrectly 

listed the date by which replies to an 

opposition to the Petitions must be filed 

as February 16, 2021, rather than 

February 18, 2021. 

DATES: Effective on February 5, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Valerie Barrish, Office of Economics and 

Analytics, Auctions Division, (202) 418– 

0660, or Valerie.Barrish@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document corrects the date by which by 

which replies to an opposition to the 

Petitions for Reconsideration (Petitions) 

filed in the Commission’s rulemaking 

proceeding must be filed, published at 

86 FR 6611 on January 22, 2021, which 

incorrectly listed that date as February 

16, 2021, rather than February 18, 2021. 

In FR Doc. 2021–00464 appearing on 

page 6611 in the Federal Register of 

Friday, January 22, 2021, the following 

corrections are made: 

1. On page 6611, in the second 

column, in the DATES section, the 

statement ‘‘Replies to an opposition 

must be filed on or before February 16, 

2021’’ is corrected to read ‘‘Replies to an 

opposition must be filed on or before 

February 18, 2021.’’ 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS