This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

6003 

Vol. 74, No. 22 

Wednesday, February 4, 2009 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

5 CFR Part 532 

RIN 3206–AL79 

Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition 

of the Fresno and Stockton, CA, 

Appropriated Fund Federal Wage 

System Wage Areas 

AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management is issuing a proposed rule 

that would redefine the geographic 

boundaries of the Fresno and Stockton, 

CA, appropriated fund Federal Wage 

System (FWS) wage areas. The proposed 

rule would redefine Mariposa and 

Merced Counties and the Yosemite 

National Park portion of Madera and 

Tuolumne Counties, CA, to the Stockton 

wage area. These changes are based on 

recent consensus recommendations of 

the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory 

Committee to best match the counties 

proposed for redefinition to a nearby 

FWS survey area. 

DATES: We must receive comments on or 

before March 6, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments 

to Charles D. Grimes III, Deputy 

Associate Director for Performance and 

Pay Systems, Strategic Human 

Resources Policy Division, U.S. Office of 

Personnel Management, Room 7H31, 

1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20415–8200; e-mail pay-performancepolicy@opm.gov; or FAX: (202) 606– 

4264. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Madeline Gonzalez, (202) 606–2838; email pay-performance-policy@opm.gov; 

or FAX: (202) 606–4264. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 

is issuing a proposed rule to redefine 

the Fresno and Stockton, CA, 

appropriated fund Federal Wage System 

(FWS) wage areas. This proposed rule 

would redefine Mariposa and Merced 

Counties and the Yosemite National 

Park portion of Madera and Tuolumne 

Counties, CA, from the Fresno wage area 

to the Stockton wage area. 

OPM considers the following 

regulatory criteria under 5 CFR 532.211 

when defining FWS wage area 

boundaries: 

(i) Distance, transportation facilities, 

and geographic features; 

(ii) Commuting patterns; and 

(iii) Similarities in overall population, 

employment, and the kinds and sizes of 

private industrial establishments. 

Mariposa County is currently defined 

to the Fresno area of application. Based 

on our analysis of the regulatory criteria 

for defining appropriated fund wage 

area boundaries, we find that Mariposa 

County would be more appropriately 

defined as part of the Stockton area of 

application. When measuring from 

cities, the distance criterion does not 

favor one wage area more than another. 

When measuring from host installations, 

the distance criterion favors the 

Stockton wage area. The transportation 

facilities and geographic features criteria 

favor the Stockton wage area more than 

the Fresno wage area. Information from 

local employees indicates that at certain 

times roads from the south are blocked 

due to floods or rockslides, while routes 

from the north remain open. All other 

criteria are inconclusive. An additional 

factor to weigh in the decision to 

redefine Mariposa County is that the 

Department of the Interior (DOI) 

believes that recent economic 

developments in the area indicate some 

linkage between Mariposa County and 

the Stockton wage area. 

Merced County is currently defined to 

the Fresno area of application. Our 

analysis of the regulatory criteria 

indicates that Merced County would be 

more appropriately defined as part of 

the Stockton wage area. The distance 

criterion favors the Stockton wage area 

more than the Fresno wage area. Merced 

County has a similar distribution of 

surveyable employment to the Stockton 

survey area. All other criteria are 

inconclusive. Although a standard 

review of regulatory criteria shows that 

most factors are inconclusive, distance 

does favor Stockton. 

Tuolumne County, except for the 

Yosemite National Park portion, is 

currently defined to the Stockton area of 

application. The distance criterion for 

Tuolumne County favors the Stockton 

wage area more than the Fresno wage 

area. All other criteria are inconclusive. 

We believe that the mixed nature of our 

regulatory analysis findings indicate 

that Tuolumne County is appropriately 

defined to the Stockton wage area. DOI 

officials have requested that OPM 

consider redefining Yosemite National 

Park to the Stockton wage area. Because 

we are proposing to redefine Mariposa 

County to the Stockton wage area and 

because of the geographic proximity of 

Tuolumne County to the Stockton wage 

area, we propose that the portion of 

Tuolumne County occupied by 

Yosemite National Park be part of the 

Stockton wage area. This change would 

place the entire Tuolumne County in 

the Stockton wage area. 

Madera County is currently defined to 

the Fresno area of application. Our 

analysis of the regulatory criteria 

indicates that Madera County is 

appropriately defined to the Fresno 

wage area. The distance and commuting 

patterns criteria for Madera County 

favors the Fresno wage area more than 

the Stockton wage area. However, DOI 

officials have requested that OPM 

consider redefining Yosemite National 

Park to the Stockton wage area. Because 

we are proposing that Mariposa County 

and the Yosemite National Park portion 

of Tuolumne County be redefined to the 

Stockton wage area and because we 

believe Yosemite National Park should 

not be split between the Fresno and the 

Stockton wage areas, we also propose 

that the portion of Madera County 

occupied by Yosemite National Park be 

part of the Stockton wage area. The 

remaining portion of Madera County 

would continue to be part of the Fresno 

wage area. We believe the distance and 

commuting patterns criteria indicate 

that the remaining locations in Madera 

County remain appropriately defined to 

the Fresno wage area. The Devils 

Postpile National Monument within 

Madera County would remain in the 

Reno, NV, wage area. 

The Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory 

Committee (FPRAC), the national labormanagement committee responsible for 

advising OPM on matters concerning 

the pay of FWS employees, 

recommended these changes by 

consensus. The affected employees in 

Mariposa and Merced Counties and the 

Yosemite National Park portion of 

Madera and Tuolumne Counties would 

6004 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 22 / Wednesday, February 4, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

be placed on the wage schedule for the 

Stockton wage area on the first day of 

the first applicable pay period beginning 

on or after 30 days following 

publication of the final regulations. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

I certify that these regulations would 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small entities 

because they would affect only Federal 

agencies and employees. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 532 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Freedom of information, 

Government employees, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Wages. 

U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 

Kathie Ann Whipple, 

Acting Director. 

Accordingly, the U.S. Office of 

Personnel Management is proposing to 

amend 5 CFR part 532 as follows: 

PART 532—PREVAILING RATE 

SYSTEMS 

1. The authority citation for part 532 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5343, 5346; § 532.707 

also issued under 5 U.S.C. 552. 

2. In appendix C to subpart B, the 

wage area listing for the State of 

California is amended by revising the 

listings for Fresno and Stockton, to read 

as follows: 

Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532— 

Appropriated Fund Wage and Survey 

Areas 

* * * * * 

CALIFORNIA 

Fresno 

Survey Area 

California: 

Fresno 

Kings 

Tulare 

Area of Application. Survey area plus: 

California: 

Kern (Does not include China Lake 

Naval Weapons Center, Edwards Air 

Force Base, and portions occupied 

by Federal activities in Boron (City).) 

Madera (Does not include Devils 

Postpile National Monument and Yosemite National Park portions.) 

*****

Stockton 

Survey Area 

California: 

San Joaquin 

Area of Application. Survey area plus: 

California: 

Calaveras 

Madera (Only includes Yosemite National Park portion.) 

Mariposa 

Merced 

Stanislaus 

Tuolumne 

*****

[FR Doc. E9–2392 Filed 2–3–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–39–P 

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION 

ADMINISTRATION 

12 CFR Part 704 

RIN 3133–AD58 

Corporate Credit Unions 

AGENCY: National Credit Union 

Administration (NCUA). 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking and request for comment 

(ANPR). 

SUMMARY: In the light of current 

economic circumstances affecting the 

U.S. economy and, in particular, the 

financial sector, NCUA is evaluating 

and reconsidering the role corporate 

credit unions currently play in the 

credit union system, including 

corporates’ membership structure, size, 

and types of services they offer. NCUA 

is also considering whether to amend its 

regulation governing corporate credit 

unions to clarify or revise current 

provisions, including those related to: 

Capital; permissible investments; 

management of credit risk and liquidity; 

and corporate governance. NCUA seeks 

comment on these issues and any others 

commenters think NCUA should 

consider. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 6, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods (Please 

send comments by one method only): 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• NCUA Web Site: http:// 

www.ncua.gov/RegulationsOpinions

Laws/proposed_regs/proposed_

regs.html. Follow the instructions for 

submitting comments. 

• E-mail: Address to 

regcomments@ncua.gov. Include ‘‘[Your 

name]—Comments on Advanced Notice 

of Proposed Rulemaking for Part 704’’ in 

the e-mail subject line. 

• Fax: (703) 518–6319. Use the 

subject line described above for e-mail. 

• Mail: Address to Mary Rupp, 

Secretary of the Board, National Credit 

Union Administration, 1775 Duke 

Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314– 

3428. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as 

mail address. 

Public Inspection: All public 

comments are available on the agency’s 

Web site at http://www.ncua.gov/ 

RegulationsOpinionsLaws/comments as 

submitted, except as may not be 

possible for technical reasons. Public 

comments will not be edited to remove 

any identifying or contact information. 

Paper copies of comments may be 

inspected in NCUA’s law library at 1775 

Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 

by appointment weekdays between 9 

a.m. and 3 p.m. To make an 

appointment, call (703) 518–6540 or 

send an e-mail to OGCMail@ncua.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ross 

Kendall, Trial Attorney, Office of 

General Counsel, at the above address or 

telephone: (703) 518–6540, or David 

Shetler, Senior Corporate Program 

Specialist, at the above address or 

telephone (703) 518–6640. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

The Federal Credit Union Act (Act) 

authorizes natural person federal credit 

unions (FCUs) to invest in shares or 

deposits of any central credit union 

(corporate credit union). 12 U.S.C. 

1757(7)(G). A corporate credit union is 

an organization, chartered under the Act 

or under applicable state law as a credit 

union that receives shares from and 

provides loan and other services 

primarily to other credit unions. 12 CFR 

704.2. Historically, corporate credit 

unions have fulfilled an important role 

in the credit union industry and have 

provided credit unions with payment 

and clearing services, including access 

to wire transfer facilities and automated 

clearing house transactions. Corporate 

credit unions have also provided 

investment services, enabling smaller 

credit unions to achieve economies of 

scale and access to greater market 

returns otherwise unavailable to them. 

Corporate credit unions have been an 

important source of liquidity for credit 

unions through short and medium term 

credit facilities, and have served as 

agents on behalf of NCUA’s Central 

Liquidity Facility (CLF) in connection 

with loans funded by the CLF. 

Corporate credit unions have also 

provided other operational services, 

such as coin and currency services and 

safekeeping of investments. 

There are currently twenty-eight 

corporate credit unions serving the 

nation’s approximately 7,900 credit 

unions. As with all credit unions, 

corporate credit unions are organized as 

cooperatives, owned by their members 

and responsive to their needs, enabling