This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

69529 

Vol. 88, No. 193 

Friday, October 6, 2023 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 27 

[Doc. No. AMS–CN–22–0061] 

Redefining Bona Fide Cotton Spot 

Markets 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Technical amendment. 

SUMMARY: On August 1, 2023, the 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 

published a rule amending the 

regulation that redefines two of the 

seven designated spot markets and 

changing the names of the affected 

markets. The amendatory language in 

this rule did not provide instructions 

necessary to effectuate the changes in 

the Code of Federal Regulations. This 

action corrects the names and 

definitions of the two affected cotton 

spot markets. 

DATES: Effective October 6, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Barbara Meredith, Division Director, 

Cotton Market News, Cotton & Tobacco 

Program, AMS, USDA, 3275 Appling 

Road, Room 10, Memphis, TN 38133. 

Telephone: (901) 384–3300, or Email: 

Barbara.Meredith@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A final 

rule published in the Federal Register 

on August 1, 2023 (88 FR 49993) revised 

the regulations concerning bona fide 

spot market definitions, redefining 

which counties and states compose each 

of these spot markets. Specifically, the 

rule removed the terms ‘‘East Texas and 

Oklahoma’’ and ‘‘West Texas’’, and 

added the terms ‘‘East Texas and South 

Texas’’ and ‘‘West Texas, Kansas, and 

Oklahoma.’’ Furthermore, the rule 

removed the definitions of ‘‘East Texas 

and Oklahoma’’ and ‘‘West Texas’’ and 

added the definitions of ‘‘East Texas and 

South Texas’’ and ‘‘West Texas, Kansas, 

and Oklahoma’’ in their place. This 

action corrects the names and 

definitions of the two spot markets. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 27 

Commodity futures, Cotton. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Agricultural Marketing 

Service amends 7 CFR part 27 with the 

following technical amendment: 

PART 27—[Amended] 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 27 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 15b, 7 U.S.C. 473b, 7 

U.S.C. 1622(g). 

■ 2. Amend § 27.93: 

■ a. Revising the introductory paragraph 

of the extract; 

■ b. By removing the definitions of 

‘‘East Texas and Oklahoma’’ and ‘‘West 

Texas’’ and; 

■ c. By adding the definitions of ‘‘East 

Texas and South Texas’’ and ‘‘West 

Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma’’ in their 

place. 

The additions and revision read as 

follows: 

§ 27.93 Bona fide spot markets. 

The following markets have been 

determined, after investigation, and are 

hereby designated to be bona fide spot 

markets within the meaning of the act: 

Southeastern; North Delta; South 

Delta; East Texas and South Texas; West 

Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma; Desert 

Southwest; and San Joaquin Valley. 

Such markets will comprise the 

following areas: 

* * * * * 

East Texas and South Texas 

Texas counties east of and including 

Montague, Wise, Parker, Erath, 

Comanche, Mills, San Saba, Mason, 

Sutton, Edwards, Kinney, Maverick, 

Webb, Zapata, Star, and Hidalgo 

counties. 

West Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma 

All counties in Kansas and Oklahoma, 

all Texas counties not included in the 

East Texas, South Texas, and Desert 

Southwest Markets, and the New 

Mexico counties of Union, Quay, Curry, 

Roosevelt, and Lea. 

* * * * * 

Melissa Bailey, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22180 Filed 10–5–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

[Docket No. SBA–2023–0012] 

13 CFR Part 120 

ALP Express Pilot Program 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA). 

ACTION: Notification of ALP Express 

Pilot Program. 

SUMMARY: SBA is introducing a new 

pilot loan program (ALP Express Pilot) 

to provide to Certified Development 

Companies (CDCs) participating in the 

Accredited Lenders Program (ALP) 

increased delegated authority for 504 

loans of $500,000 or less. These 

increased delegated authorities (ALP 

Express authority) were previously 

authorized under the Economic Aid to 

Hard-hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, 

and Venues Act (Economic Aid Act), 

but they expire on September 30, 2023. 

SBA will evaluate the use of the ALP 

Express Pilot and will make a 

recommendation to Congress as to 

whether these increased authorities 

should become permanent. SBA will 

limit the number of ALP Express Pilot 

loans to not more than fifteen percent 

(15%) of the total dollar amount of 504 

loans made in any fiscal year. 

DATES: 

Availability date: The ALP Express 

Pilot is available on October 1, 2023, 

and will remain in effect for up to two 

years, but not to extend beyond 

September 30, 2025. 

Comment date: Send comments by 

December 5, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by SBA docket number SBA– 

2023–0012, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

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

the instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Gregorius Suryadi, Office of 

Financial Assistance, U.S. Small 


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69530 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

Business Administration, 409 Third 

Street SW, Washington, DC 20416. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Gregorius 

Suryadi, Office of Financial Assistance, 

U.S. Small Business Administration, 

409 Third Street SW, Washington, DC 

20416. 

SBA will post all comments on 

https://www.regulations.gov. 

If you wish to submit confidential 

business information (‘‘CBI’’) as defined 

in the User Notice at https://

www.regulations.gov, please submit the 

information to Gregorius Suryadi, Office 

of Financial Assistance, U.S. Small 

Business Administration, 409 Third 

Street SW, Washington, DC 20416; or 

send an email to gregorius.suryadi@

sba.gov. Highlight the information that 

you consider to be CBI and explain why 

you believe SBA should hold this 

information as confidential. SBA will 

review the information and make the 

final determination as to whether it will 

publish the information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gregorius Suryadi, Office of Financial 

Assistance, U.S. Small Business 

Administration at (202) 205–6806 or 

gregorius.suryadi@sba.gov. The phone 

number above may also be reached by 

individuals who are deaf or hard of 

hearing, or who have speech 

disabilities, through the Federal 

Communications Commission’s TTYBased Telecommunications Relay 

Service teletype service at 711. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background 

The 504 Loan Program is an SBA 

financing program authorized under 

title V of the Small Business Investment 

Act of 1958, as amended, 15 U.S.C. 695 

et seq. (Small Business Investment Act). 

The core mission of the 504 Loan 

Program is to provide long-term 

financing to small businesses for the 

purchase or improvement of land, 

buildings, and major equipment, to 

facilitate the creation or retention of jobs 

and local economic development. Under 

the 504 Loan Program, loans are made 

to small business applicants by Certified 

Development Companies (‘‘CDCs’’), 

which are certified and regulated by 

SBA to promote economic development 

within their community. In general, a 

project in the 504 Loan Program (a ‘‘504 

Project’’) includes: A loan obtained from 

a private sector lender with a senior lien 

covering at least 50 percent of the 

project cost; a loan obtained from a CDC 

(a ‘‘504 Loan’’) with a junior lien 

covering up to 40 percent of the total 

cost (backed by a 100 percent SBA 

guaranteed debenture); and a 

contribution from the Borrower of at 

least 10 percent equity. 

There are three types of CDCs that 

participate in the 504 Loan Program. 

This notification relates to the 

temporary increased delegated authority 

that was granted, in accordance with 

section 328(b) of the Economic Aid Act, 

to CDCs that are approved by SBA to 

participate in the Accredited Lenders 

Program (hereafter ‘‘ALP CDCs’’), which 

is authorized under section 507(a) of the 

Small Business Investment Act. Under 

section 507(c) of the Small Business 

Investment Act, SBA is authorized to 

develop an expedited procedure for 

processing a loan application or 

servicing action submitted by ALP 

CDCs. 15 U.S.C. 697d. 

Prior to the Economic Aid Act, ALP 

CDCs were required to obtain SBA’s 

approval to make a 504 loan, including 

with respect to both the loan’s eligibility 

and creditworthiness. With respect to 

closing, ALP CDCs only had delegated 

authority to make certain ‘‘No Adverse 

Change’’ certifications prior to loan 

closing without SBA’s review and 

approval, and were authorized to close 

504 loans under the expedited loan 

closing procedures applicable to a 

Priority CDC. Further, ALP CDCs were 

required to obtain SBA’s approval for 

most servicing actions. 

The ALP Express Pilot will 

temporarily provide increased delegated 

authority to ALP CDCs with respect to 

loans made under ALP authority 

(hereafter referred to as ‘‘ALP Express 

Pilot Loans’’). Although ALP CDCs have 

had the option to use these new 

delegated authorities since the 

publication of the interim final rule 

implementing section 328(b) of the 

Economic Aid Act, they expire on 

September 30. 2023. 87 FR 37979 (June 

27, 2022). The ALP Express Pilot’s new 

delegated authorities represent a 

continuation of the ALP Express 

authority provided by the Economic Aid 

Act, which themselves are the most 

substantial changes to an ALP CDC’s 

authority to approve, authorize, close 

and service loans made under ALP 

authority since the onset of the 

Accredited Lender’s Program, while also 

incorporating new elements. For the 

ALP Express Pilot SBA has declined to 

include the prohibition in section 328(b) 

of the Economic Aid Act against making 

loans with ALP Express authority to a 

borrower in an industry with a high rate 

of default (defined as an industry that 

for the past 5 fiscal years has 50 or more 

approvals per year and an annualized 

default rate of 5% or above) because 

SBA has determined there are no 

industries with a high rate of default in 

the 504 program based on prior SBA 504 

portfolio performance. Further, as of 

May 11, 2023, SBA instituted a 

technology compliance check on all 

loans, including those with ALP Express 

authority, and streamlined the 

affiliation policy guidance that reduces 

the amount of paperwork required for 

submitting loan packages. As these 

changes are recent the ALP Express 

Pilot will enable SBA to season the ALP 

Express Pilot and observe the impact of 

these recent changes. 

Under the ALP Express Pilot, SBA 

will delegate to ALP CDCs the authority 

to make the final decision with respect 

to the applicant’s creditworthiness on 

ALP Express Pilot Loans. SBA continues 

to be responsible for reviewing each 

loan to ensure that it meets all Loan 

Program Requirements for program 

eligibility. 

SBA will delegate to ALP CDCs the 

authority to approve certain servicing 

actions after closing on ALP Express 

Pilot Loans. ALP CDCs must promptly 

notify the appropriate SBA servicing 

center of their approval of any servicing 

action on ALP Express Pilot Loans. SBA 

will consider prompt notification to be 

within five (5) business days of 

approval. Finally, SBA will delegate to 

ALP CDCs the responsibility to 

undertake all actions necessary to close 

the ALP Express Pilot Loan and 

Debenture in accordance with the 

expedited loan closing procedures 

applicable to a Priority CDC and with 13 

CFR 120.960. 

In their own discretion, ALP CDCs 

may decide not to exercise their 

delegated authority with respect to an 

ALP Express Pilot Loan and may instead 

submit the loan to SBA under 

nondelegated procedures. ALP CDCs 

may not use their ALP Express authority 

to service a loan that was approved 

under non-delegated authority that 

could have been made as an ALP 

Express Pilot Loan. In addition, PCLP 

CDCs may decide to process an ALP 

Express Pilot Loan under their status as 

an ALP CDC instead of as a PCLP CDC, 

thereby not requiring the CDC to comply 

with Loan Loss Reserve Fund 

requirements for that loan. 

In making, closing, servicing, or 

liquidating an ALP Express Pilot Loan, 

CDCs must follow all Loan Program 

Requirements under the 504 Loan 

Program. This includes the loan closing 

and disbursement procedures in SOP 50 

10 7 and the servicing and liquidation 

requirements in 13 CFR 120.535, 

120.536, 120.540, 120.842 and 120.960, 

as well as SOP 50 55. 

To implement this ALP Express Pilot 

Program, SBA is relying on 13 CFR 

120.3, which permits the SBA suspend, 

modify, or waive rules for a limited 

period of time to test new programs or 

ideas. SBA wishes to implement this 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 193 / Friday, October 6, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 69531 

pilot to evaluate the use of this 

increased delegated authority by ALP 

CDCs and to identify opportunities for 

further modification. 

For further guidance on ALP Express 

authority, see the Economic Aid Act and 

the ALP Express Pilot Program Guide. 

2. Application Terms and Conditions 

and Forms 

CDCs must use the application forms 

required for current 504 loan processing 

and execute an SBA Terms and 

Conditions document for each ALP 

Express Pilot Loan, as set forth in SOP 

50 10 7. For further guidance on the 

SBA Terms and Conditions and the 

required forms, see SOP 50 10 7 and the 

ALP Express Pilot Program Guide. 

Reporting Requirements 

CDCs must document on SBA Form 

1244 (by checking the ALP Express box 

on page 12) whether the ALP CDC is 

using its ALP Express authority when 

submitting an application for an ALP 

Express Pilot Loan. This will allow SBA 

to track ALP CDCs’ use of this increased 

delegated authority. CDCs must also 

continue to comply with the reporting 

requirements in 13 CFR 120.830. 

Lender Oversight 

ALP CDC oversight procedures shall 

follow the requirements set forth in 13 

CFR part 120—Subpart I and SOPs 50 

53 (Lender Supervision and 

Enforcement) and 51 00 (On-Site Lender 

Reviews and Examinations). The SOPs 

can be found at: https://archive.sba.gov/ 

tools/resourcelibrary/sops/index.html. 

ALP CDCs will be monitored both for 

performance and other risk 

characteristics as well as for compliance 

with the requirements of the ALP 

Express Pilot Program. The ALP CDC 

must maintain compliance with the 

requirement that it only makes ALP 

Express Pilot Loans in an amount of 

$500,000 or less, along with all other 

Loan Program Requirements. ALP CDCs 

also will be subject to 13 CFR 120.1400 

through 120.1600 and the provisions of 

SOP 50 53 concerning supervision and 

enforcement. 

Evaluation Criteria for ALP Express 

Pilot 

SBA is reviewing the following data 

related to ALP CDCs and their use of 

ALP Express authority and will use the 

same evaluation criteria for the ALP 

Express Pilot: 

(1.) Did the number and/or percentage 

of 504 loans in the portfolio under 

$500,000 increase as a result of the 

availability of ALP Express authority? 

(2.) How do the default rates of ALP 

Express loans compare with similarly 

sized loans not processed and serviced 

using this authority? 

(3.) Did ALP Express loan approvals 

and servicing turn times improve, 

resulting in enhanced customer service? 

For data collections to evaluate the 

effectiveness of this pilot, SBA will use 

ETran, SBA’s electronic system for loan 

submission and servicing. 

Authority: 13 CFR 120.3. 

Isabella Casillas Guzman, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22171 Filed 10–5–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8026–09–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

45 CFR Part 102 

RIN 0991–AC34 

Annual Civil Monetary Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Financial Resources, 

Department of Health and Human 

Services. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Health and 

Human Services (HHS) is updating its 

regulations to reflect required annual 

inflation-related increases to the civil 

monetary penalty (CMP) amounts in its 

regulations, under the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015 and adds 

references to new penalty authorities. 

DATES: 

Effective date: This final rule is 

effective October 6, 2023. 

Applicability date: The adjusted civil 

monetary penalty amounts apply to 

penalties assessed on or after the date of 

publication to the Federal Register, if 

the violation occurred on or after 

November 2, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Katrina Brisbon, Deputy Assistant 

Secretary, Office of Acquisitions, Office 

of the Assistant Secretary for Financial 

Resources, Room 536–H, Hubert 

Humphrey Building, 200 Independence 

Avenue SW, Washington DC 20201; 

(202)260–6677. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015 (section 701 of Pub. L. 114–74) 

(the ‘‘2015 Act’’) amended the Federal 

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

of 1990 (Pub. L. 101–410, 104 Stat. 890 

(1990)), which is intended to improve 

the effectiveness of CMPs and to 

maintain the deterrent effect of such 

penalties, requires agencies to adjust the 

CMPs for inflation annually. 

HHS lists the CMP authorities and the 

amounts administered by all of its 

agencies in tabular form in 45 CFR 

102.3, which was issued in an interim 

final rule published in the September 6, 

2016, Federal Register (81 FR 61538). 

Annual adjustments were subsequently 

published on February 3, 2017 (82 FR 

9175), October 11, 2018 (83 FR 51369), 

November 5, 2019 (84 FR 59549), 

January 17, 2020 (85 FR 2869), 

November 15, 2021 (86 FR 62928), and 

March 17, 2022 (87 FR 15100). 

II. Calculation of Annual Inflation 

Adjustment and Other Updates 

The annual inflation adjustment for 

each applicable CMP is determined 

using the percent increase in the 

Consumer Price Index for all Urban 

Consumers (CPI–U) for the month of 

October of the year in which the amount 

of each CMP was most recently 

established or modified. In the 

December 15, 2022, Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

Memorandum for the Heads of 

Executive Agencies and Departments, 

M–23–05, ‘‘Implementation of Penalty 

Inflation Adjustments for 2023, 

Pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements 

Act of 2015,’’ OMB published the 

multiplier for the required annual 

adjustment. The cost-of-living 

adjustment multiplier for 2023, based 

on the CPI–U for the month of October 

2022, not seasonally adjusted, is 

1.07745. The multiplier is applied to 

each applicable penalty amount that 

was updated and published for fiscal 

year (FY) 2022 and is rounded to the 

nearest dollar. 

In addition to the inflation 

adjustments for 2023, this final rule 

updates the table in 45 CFR 102.3 to add 

references to new, applicable CMP 

authorities that were established or 

implemented since the publication of 

the March 17, 2022, update and that are 

being updated in this rule. 

First, in the final rule, ‘‘Medicare and 

Medicaid Program: Hospital Outpatient 

Prospective Payment and Ambulatory 

Surgical Center Payment Systems and 

Quality Reporting Programs; Price 

Transparency of Hospital Standard 

Charges; Radiation Oncology Model’’ 

final rule with comment period (86 FR 

63548, November 16, 2021), the Centers 

for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 

finalized a new provision, effective 

January 1, 2022, at 45 CFR 180.90(c)(ii) 

to increase the CMP amounts associated 

with a hospital’s noncompliance with 


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