Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 27 / Monday, February 10, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 7569 

accompanied by a certificate specifying 

that the articles were cooked and 

processed in accordance with the 

regulations in § 94.6(b)(3) or (b)(4): 

* * * * * 

Done in Washington, DC, this 3rd day of 

February 2014. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–02768 Filed 2–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

12 CFR Part 1071 

[Docket No: CFPB–2012–0020] 

RIN 3170–AA27 

Equal Access to Justice Act 

Implementation Rule 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: On June 29, 2012, the 

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

(Bureau) published in the Federal 

Register an interim final rule 

implementing the Equal Access to 

Justice Act (EAJA or the Act). EAJA 

requires agencies that conduct adversary 

adjudications to award attorney fees and 

other litigation expenses to certain 

parties other than the United States in 

certain circumstances. EAJA also 

requires agencies that conduct adversary 

adjudications to establish procedures for 

the submission and consideration of 

applications for the award of fees and 

other expenses. After reviewing and 

considering the single public comment 

offered on its interim final rule, the 

Bureau adopts the interim final rule 

without change. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

March 12, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

R. Coleman, Senior Counsel, Legal 

Division, Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20552; (202) 435–7254. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Originally enacted in 1980, EAJA 

provides that ‘‘[a]n agency that conducts 

an adversary adjudication shall award, 

to a prevailing party other than the 

United States, fees and other expenses 

incurred by that party in connection 

with that proceeding, unless the 

adjudicative officer of the agency finds 

that the position of the agency was 

substantially justified or that special 

circumstances make an award unjust.’’ 5 

U.S.C. 504(a)(1). The Administrative 

Conference of the United States (ACUS) 

was charged with coordination of the 

procedural rules adopted by various 

agencies to implement EAJA. To carry 

out this responsibility, ACUS issued 

model rules implementing EAJA (46 FR 

32900, June 25, 1981), after receiving 

public comment on draft model rules 

(46 FR 15895, March 10, 1981). ACUS 

published revised model rules in 1986 

that reflected the amendments Congress 

made when it re-authorized the Act in 

1985. 51 FR 16659 (May 6, 1986), 

previously codified at 1 CFR part 315 

(1995); see Administrative Conference 

of the U.S., Federal Administrative 

Procedure Sourcebook at 419 (2d ed. 

1992). ACUS did not publish model 

rules reflecting amendments to the Act 

made since 1985 before ACUS was 

temporarily defunded in 1996. 

When drafting the interim final rule, 

the Bureau used the 1986 ACUS model 

rules as a point of departure, modifying 

them to put them in plain language, to 

reflect more recent amendments to the 

Act, and to make certain changes the 

Bureau believed were warranted for 

reasons explained in the section-bysection analysis published with the 

interim final rule. 

On June 29, 2012, the Bureau 

published its interim final rule 

implementing EAJA with a request for 

comment. 77 FR 39117. The interim 

final rule described each section of the 

rule and explained the basis of the rule 

with reference to the ACUS model rules, 

or those of other agencies, as 

appropriate. The comment period on the 

interim final rule ended on August 28, 

2012. After reviewing and considering 

the single public comment offered, the 

Bureau is now promulgating its final 

rule implementing EAJA. 

II. Legal Authority 

The Bureau promulgates the final rule 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 504(c)(1). 

III. Public Comment on the Interim 

Final Rule 

In response to the interim final rule, 

the Bureau received one letter from an 

individual consumer. The comment 

letter from the consumer did not contain 

any specific comments or suggestions 

pertaining to the interim final rule. 

Accordingly, the Bureau is adopting the 

interim final rule without change. 

IV. Regulatory Requirements 

As noted in publishing the Interim 

Final Rule, under the Administrative 

Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(b), notice 

and comment is not required for rules 

of agency organization, procedure, or 

practice. As discussed in the preamble 

to the Interim Final Rule, the Bureau 

confirms its finding that this is a 

procedural rule for which notice and 

comment is not required. Because no 

notice of proposed rulemaking is 

required, the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

does not require an initial or final 

regulatory flexibility analysis. 5 U.S.C. 

603(a), 604(a). 

V. Paperwork Reduction Act 

According to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq.) the Bureau may not 

conduct or sponsor a collection of 

information as defined by the PRA and, 

notwithstanding any other provisions of 

law, persons are not required to respond 

to a collection of information unless it 

displays a current valid Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) control 

number. The collections of information 

contained in this rule, and identified as 

such, have been approved by OMB and 

assigned the control number 3170–0040. 

A. Information Collection Requirements 

EAJA provides for payment of fees 

and expenses to eligible parties who 

have prevailed against the Bureau in 

certain administrative proceedings. In 

order to obtain an award, the statute and 

associated regulations (12 CFR part 

1071) require the filing of an application 

that shows that the party is a prevailing 

party and is eligible to receive an award 

under the Act. The Bureau regulations 

implementing the EAJA require 

applicants to submit certain information 

in their applications, as detailed in 12 

CFR part 1071, subparts B, C. The 

Bureau estimates that as many as 3 

applications may be filed annually with 

the Bureau and that it will take on 

average about 5 hours to complete and 

file an application for an award in 

accordance with the requirements of 12 

CFR part 1071, subparts B, C, for a total 

estimated annual burden of 15 hours. 

B. Comments 

The Bureau published a 60-day 

Federal Register notice on August 23, 

2013 (78 FR 52513). Comments were 

solicited on: (a) Whether the collection 

of information is necessary for the 

proper performance of the functions of 

the Bureau, including whether the 

information shall have practical utility; 

(b) The accuracy of the Bureau’s 

estimate of the burden of the collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the methods and the assumptions used; 

(c) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) Ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with RULES
7570 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 27 / Monday, February 10, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

1 15 U.S.C. 77a et seq. 

2 15 U.S.C. 78a et seq. 

3 15 U.S.C. 77aaa et seq. 

4See 17 CFR 230.240, 17 CFR 240.12a–11, 17 CFR 

240.12h–1, and 17 CFR 260.4d–12. See also 

Exemptions for Security-Based Swaps, Release No. 

33–9231 (Jul. 1, 2011), 76 FR 40605 (Jul. 11, 2011) 

(‘‘Interim Final Rules Adopting Release’’). 

5The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 111–203, 124 

Stat. 1376 (2010). The provisions of Title VII 

generally were effective on July 16, 2011 (360 days 

after enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act), unless a 

provision requires a rulemaking. If a Title VII 

provision requires a rulemaking, it will go into 

effect ‘‘not less than’’ 60 days after publication of 

the related final rule or on July 16, 2011, whichever 

is later. See Section 774 of the Dodd-Frank Act. 

6The category of security-based swaps covered by 

the interim final rules involves those that would 

have been defined as ‘‘security-based swap 

agreements’’ prior to the enactment of Title VII. 

That definition of ‘‘security-based swap agreement’’ 

does not include security-based swaps that are 

based on or reference only loans and indexes only 

of loans. The Division of Corporation Finance 

issued a no-action letter that addressed the 

availability of the interim final rules to offers and 

sales of security-based swaps that are based on or 

reference only loans or indexes only of loans. See 

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (Jul. 15, 

2011) (‘‘Cleary Gottlieb No-Action Letter’’). The 

Cleary Gottlieb No-Action Letter will remain in 

effect for so long as the interim final rules remain 

in effect. 

7The security-based swap that is exempt must be 

a security-based swap agreement (as defined prior 

to the Title VII effective date) and entered into 

between eligible contract participants (as defined 

prior to the Title VII effective date). See Rule 240 

under the Securities Act [17 CFR 230.240]. See also 

Interim Final Rules Adopting Release. 

8See Extension of Exemptions for Security-Based 

Swaps, Release No. 33–9383 (Jan. 29, 2013), 78 FR 

7654 (Feb. 4, 2013). 

9See Sections 761(a)(2) and 768(a)(1) of the 

Dodd-Frank Act (amending Section 3(a)(10) of the 

Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(10)] and Section 

2(a)(1) of the Securities Act [15 U.S.C. 77b(a)(1)], 

respectively). 

10The Securities Act requires that any offer and 

sale of a security must be either registered under the 

Securities Act or made pursuant to an exemption 

from registration. See Section 5 of the Securities Act 

[15 U.S.C. 77e]. In addition, certain provisions of 

the Exchange Act relating to the registration of 

classes of securities and the indenture qualification 

provisions of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 

(‘‘Trust Indenture Act’’) [15 U.S.C. 77aaa et seq.] 

also potentially could apply to security-based 

swaps. The provisions of Section 12 of the 

Exchange Act could, without an exemption, require 

that security-based swaps be registered before a 

transaction could be effected on a national 

securities exchange. See Section 12(a) of the 

Exchange Act [15 U.S.C. 78l(a)]. In addition, 

registration of a class of security-based swaps under 

Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act could be required 

on respondents, including through the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. The Bureau received no 

comments in response to this notice. 

The Bureau has a continuing interest in 

the public’s opinions of its collections 

of information. At any time, comments 

regarding the burden estimate, or any 

other aspect of this collection of 

information, including suggestions for 

reducing the burden, may be sent to the 

Bureau at the Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau (Attention: PRA 

Office), 1700 G Street NW., Washington, 

DC 20552, or by the Internet to CFPB_

Public_PRA@cfpb.gov. 

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 1071 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Banks, Banking, Consumer 

protection, Credit, Credit unions, Equal 

access to justice, Law enforcement, 

National banks, Savings associations. 

Authority and Issuance 

Accordingly, for the reasons set forth 

above, under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 

504, the interim final rule establishing 

12 CFR part 1071 published at 77 FR 

39117, June 29, 2012, is adopted as a 

final rule without change. 

Richard Cordray, 

Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

[FR Doc. 2014–02115 Filed 2–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

17 CFR Parts 230, 240 and 260 

[Release Nos. 33–9545; 34–71482; 39–2495; 

File No. S7–26–11] 

RIN 3235–AL17 

Extension of Exemptions for SecurityBased Swaps 

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange 

Commission. 

ACTION: Interim final rule; extension. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting amendments 

to the expiration dates in our interim 

final rules that provide exemptions 

under the Securities Act of 1933, the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and 

the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 for 

those security-based swaps that prior to 

July 16, 2011 were security-based swap 

agreements and are defined as 

‘‘securities’’ under the Securities Act 

and the Exchange Act as of July 16, 2011 

due solely to the provisions of Title VII 

of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 

and Consumer Protection Act. Under 

the amendments, the expiration dates in 

the interim final rules will be extended 

to February 11, 2017. If we adopt further 

rules relating to issues raised by the 

application of the Securities Act or the 

other federal securities laws to securitybased swaps before February 11, 2017, 

we may determine to alter the 

expiration dates in the interim final 

rules as part of that rulemaking. 

DATES: The amendments are effective 

February 10, 2014. See Section I of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION concerning 

amendment of expiration dates in the 

interim final rules. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Andrew Schoeffler, Special Counsel, 

Office of Capital Markets Trends, 

Division of Corporation Finance, at 

(202) 551–3860, U.S. Securities and 

Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549–3628. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We are 

adopting amendments to the following 

rules: interim final Rule 240 under the 

Securities Act of 1933 (‘‘Securities 

Act’’),1 interim final Rules 12a–11 and 

12h–1(i) under the Securities Exchange 

Act of 1934 (‘‘Exchange Act’’),2 and 

interim final Rule 4d–12 under the 

Trust Indenture Act of 1939 (‘‘Trust 

Indenture Act’’).3

I. Amendment of Expiration Dates in 

the Interim Final Rules 

A. Background Regarding the Adoption 

of the Interim Final Rules 

In July 2011, we adopted interim final 

Rule 240 under the Securities Act, 

interim final Rules 12a–11 and 12h–1(i) 

under the Exchange Act, and interim 

final Rule 4d–12 under the Trust 

Indenture Act (collectively, the ‘‘interim 

final rules’’).4 The interim final rules 

provide exemptions under the 

Securities Act, the Exchange Act, and 

the Trust Indenture Act for those 

security-based swaps that prior to July 

16, 2011 (‘‘Title VII effective date’’) were 

‘‘security-based swap agreements’’ and 

are defined as ‘‘securities’’ under the 

Securities Act and the Exchange Act as 

of the Title VII effective date due solely 

to the provisions of Title VII of the 

Dodd-Frank Act.5 The interim final 

rules exempt offers and sales of 

security-based swap agreements that 

became security-based swaps on the 

Title VII effective date from all 

provisions of the Securities Act, other 

than the Section 17(a) anti-fraud 

provisions, as well as from the Exchange 

Act registration requirements and from 

the provisions of the Trust Indenture 

Act,6 provided certain conditions are 

met.7 In February 2013, we adopted 

amendments to the interim final rules to 

extend the expiration dates in the 

interim final rules from February 11, 

2013 to February 11, 2014.8

Title VII amended the Securities Act 

and the Exchange Act to include 

‘‘security-based swaps’’ in the definition 

of ‘‘security’’ for purposes of those 

statutes.9 As a result, ‘‘security-based 

swaps’’ became subject to the provisions 

of the Securities Act and the Exchange 

Act and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to ‘‘securities.’’ 10


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with RULES