Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 117 / Friday, June 18, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 34625 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Bureau of Prisons 

28 CFR Part 542 

[BOP–1159I] 

RIN 1120–AB59 

Administrative Remedy Program: 

Exception to Initial Filing Procedures 

AGENCY: Bureau of Prisons, Justice. 

ACTION: Interim rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the Bureau 

of Prisons (Bureau) revises current 

regulations on the Administrative 

Remedy Program to add an exception to 

initial filing of Administrative Remedy 

appeals at the institution level. The 

exception will state that formal 

administrative remedy requests 

regarding initial decisions that did not 

originate with the Warden, or his/her 

staff, may be initially filed with the 

Bureau office which made the original 

decision, and appealed directly to the 

General Counsel. 

DATES: This rule is effective on June 18, 

2010. Comments due by August 17, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments to the 

Rules Unit, Office of General Counsel, 

Bureau of Prisons, 320 First Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20534. You may view 

an electronic version of this rule at 

http://www.regulations.gov. You may 

also comment via the Internet by using 

the http://www.regulations.gov 

comment form for this regulation. When 

submitting comments electronically you 

must include the BOP Docket No. in the 

subject box. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Qureshi, Office of General 

Counsel, Bureau of Prisons, phone (202) 

307–2105. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Posting of Public Comments 

Please note that all comments 

received are considered part of the 

public record and are made available for 

public inspection online at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Such information 

includes personal identifying 

information (such as your name, 

address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 

the commenter. 

If you want to submit personal 

identifying information (such as your 

name, address, etc.) as part of your 

comment, but do not want it to be 

posted online, you must include the 

phrase ‘‘PERSONAL IDENTIFYING 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment. You must also locate 

all the personal identifying information 

you do not want posted online in the 

first paragraph of your comment and 

identify what information you want 

redacted. 

If you want to submit confidential 

business information as part of your 

comment but do not want it to be posted 

online, you must include the phrase 

‘‘CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment. You must also 

prominently identify confidential 

business information to be redacted 

within the comment. If a comment 

contains/includes so much confidential 

business information that it cannot be 

effectively redacted, all or part of that 

comment may not be posted on http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Personal identifying information 

identified and located as set forth above 

will be placed in the agency’s public 

docket file, but not posted online. 

Confidential business information 

identified and located as set forth above 

will not be placed in the public docket 

file. If you want to inspect the agency’s 

public docket file in person by 

appointment, please see the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

paragraph. 

Exception to Initial Filing Procedures 

In this document, the Bureau of 

Prisons (Bureau) revises current 

regulations on the Administrative 

Remedy Program to add an exception to 

initial filing of Administrative Remedy 

appeals at the institution level. The 

exception will state that formal 

administrative remedy requests 

regarding initial decisions that did not 

originate with the Warden, or his/her 

staff, may be initially filed with the 

Bureau office which made the original 

decision, and appealed directly to the 

General Counsel. 

Section 542.14 describes filing 

procedures for Administrative Remedy 

appeals (also called ‘‘complaints’’ or 

‘‘requests’’), including the time-frame or 

deadline for submitting appeals, how to 

request extensions in filing time, and 

instructions for completing and 

submitting the requisite appeal form. 

The regulation states that inmates must 

submit appeals to the institution staff 

member designated to receive such 

appeals at the institution where the 

inmate is located. The regulation also 

states that inmates in community 

confinement may mail their appeals to 

the appropriate Community Corrections 

Manager for their location. 

Subparagraph (d) of § 542.14 currently 

lists four exceptions to initial filing at 

the institution where the inmate is 

located. For sensitive issues, Discipline 

Hearing Officer (DHO) appeals, Control 

Unit appeals, and Controlled Housing 

Status appeals, inmates are permitted to 

bypass the institution level and raise the 

issue/appeal with the more appropriate 

authority. In each of these cases, 

because the initial decision was not 

made by institution staff, the 

appropriate authority to review appeals 

from such decisions is not at the 

institution level. 

Proposed additional exception: Other 

requests for formal review of decisions 

not originating from the Warden. The 

Bureau now adds a fifth exception to the 

initial filing procedures: Formal 

administrative remedy requests 

regarding initial decisions that did not 

originate with the Warden, or his/her 

staff, may be initially filed with the 

Bureau office which made the original 

decision, and appealed directly to the 

General Counsel. 

This new exception encompasses 

other situations similar to the currently 

existing exceptions, in which the 

institution level is not the appropriate 

or controlling authority to review an 

appeal because the decision being 

appealed was not decided at that level. 

The exception is a technical change to 

the regulation to accommodate internal 

redistribution of Bureau functions. For 

example, in 2005, the Bureau 

centralized its designation and sentence 

computation functions in a new Bureau 

branch, the Designation and Sentence 

Computation Center (DSCC), to 

streamline the Bureau’s administrative 

functions and reduce operational costs. 

DSCC staff, not institution staff, make 

determinations on initial designation 

and sentence computation issues. 

Inmate requests for formal review of 

these types of issues are therefore 

appropriately considered by the DSCC 

instead of institution staff. 

With regard to initial determinations 

made by the DSCC and any other 

decisions not made at the institution 

level, Bureau policy on sentence 

computation and designation will direct 

staff to notify inmates of the alternative 

administrative remedy filing 

procedures. It is important to note, 

however, that if inmates mistakenly file 

a grievance at the institution level, they 

will not be penalized for that filing, but 

will rather be re-directed to the correct 

Bureau office. 

Administrative Procedure Act 

The Administrative Procedure Act (5 

U.S.C. 553) allows exceptions to noticeand-comment rulemaking for ‘‘(A) 

interpretive rules, general statements of 

policy, or rules of agency organization, 

procedure, or practice; or (B) when the 

agency for good cause finds * * * that 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with RULES
34626 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 117 / Friday, June 18, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

notice and public procedure thereon are 

impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 

to the public interest.’’ 

This rulemaking is exempt from 

normal notice-and-comment procedures 

because it is a technical change 

intended to reflect restructuring of 

Bureau of Prisons functions within the 

agency. We are also modifying our rule 

to permit inmates a more direct and 

efficient route of appeal of decisions/ 

determinations made by Bureau entities 

other than institution-level staff. 

Because the regulations still reflect 

current Bureau policy, and because the 

regulations are being changed only to 

accommodate a restructuring of Bureau 

functions, we find that normal noticeand-comment rulemaking is 

unnecessary. We are, however, allowing 

the public to comment on this rule 

change by publishing it as an interim 

final rule. 

Executive Order 12866 

This rule falls within a category of 

actions that the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) has determined to 

constitute a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under section 3(f) of Executive 

Order 12866 and, accordingly, it was 

reviewed by OMB. 

The Bureau has assessed the costs and 

benefits of this rule as required by 

Executive Order 12866 Section 1(b)(6) 

and has made a reasoned determination 

that the benefits of this rule justify its 

costs. This rule will have the benefit of 

eliminating confusion in the courts that 

has been caused by the changes in the 

Bureau’s statutory interpretation, while 

allowing us to continue to operate in 

compliance with the revised statute. 

There will be no new costs associated 

with this rulemaking. 

Executive Order 13132 

This regulation will not have 

substantial direct effects on the States, 

on the relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. Therefore, under 

Executive Order 13132, we determine 

that this rule does not have sufficient 

Federalism implications to warrant the 

preparation of a Federalism Assessment. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Director of the Bureau of Prisons, 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 605(b)), reviewed this regulation 

and by approving it certifies that it will 

not have a significant economic impact 

upon a substantial number of small 

entities for the following reasons: This 

rule pertains to the correctional 

management of offenders committed to 

the custody of the Attorney General or 

the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, 

and its economic impact is limited to 

the Bureau’s appropriated funds. 

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 were 

deemed necessary under the provisions 

of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995. 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 

This rule is not a major rule as 

defined by § 804 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996. This rule will not result in an 

annual effect on the economy of 

$100,000,000 or more; a major increase 

in costs or prices; or significant adverse 

effects on competition, employment, 

investment, productivity, innovation, or 

on the ability of United States-based 

companies to compete with foreignbased companies in domestic and 

export markets. 

List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 542 

Prisoners. 

Harley G. Lappin, 

Director, Bureau of Prisons. 

■ Under rulemaking authority vested in 

the Attorney General in 5 U.S.C 301; 28 

U.S.C. 509, 510 and delegated to the 

Director, Bureau of Prisons in 28 CFR 

0.96, we amend 28 CFR part 542 as set 

forth below. 

SUBCHAPTER C—INSTITUTIONAL 

MANAGEMENT 

PART 542—ADMINISTRATIVE 

REMEDY 

■ 1. The authority citation for 28 CFR 

part 542 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 18 U.S.C. 3621, 

3622, 3624, 4001, 4042, 4081, 4082 (Repealed 

in part as to offenses committed on or after 

November 1, 1987), 5006–5024 (Repealed 

October 12, 1984, as to offenses committed 

after that date), 5039; 28 U.S.C. 509, 510. 

■ 2. Add a new paragraph (d)(5) to 

§ 542.14 to read as follows: 

§ 542.14 Initial filing. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(5) Other requests for formal review of 

decisions not originating from the 

Warden. Other than the exceptions 

listed above, formal administrative 

remedy requests regarding initial 

decisions that did not originate with the 

Warden, or his/her staff, may be initially 

filed with the Bureau office which made 

the original decision, and appealed 

directly to the General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2010–14715 Filed 6–17–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

29 CFR Part 2578 

Rules and Regulations for Abandoned 

Individual Account Plans 

CFR Correction 

In Title 29 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations, Part 1927 to End, revised as 

of July 1, 2009, on pages 664 and 665, 

remove the second Appendix C; and on 

page 661, correct Appendix B to read as 

follows: 


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