Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 129 / Monday, July 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 36205 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Pension and Welfare Benefits 

Administration 

29 CFR Part 2520 

RIN 1210–AA55 

Interim Rules for Amending ERISA 

Disclosure Requirements for Group 

Health Plans; Approval of Information 

Collection Requirements 

AGENCY: Pension and Welfare Benefits 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Interim rules; approval of 

information collection requirements. 

SUMMARY: On April 8, 1997, the 

Department of Labor published interim 

final rules governing disclosure 

requirements for private sector group 

health plans (62 FR 16979). The rules 

implemented changes made to certain 

provisions of the Employee Retirement 

Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 

enacted as part of the Health Insurance 

Portability and Accountability Act of 

1996 (HIPAA) and the Newborns’ and 

Mothers’ Health Protection Act of 1996 

(NMHPA). In the April 8 publication, 

the Department submitted its revision of 

the currently approved collection 

regarding Summary Plan Description 

requirements under ERISA to the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) for 

emergency review under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95). This 

document amends the April 8 Federal 

Register document to properly display 

the OMB control number, 1210–0039. 

DATES: These amendments are effective 

June 1, 1997. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gerald B. Lindrew, Office of Policy and 

Research, U.S. Department of Labor, 

Pension and Welfare Benefits 

Administration, 200 Constitution 

Avenue, N.W., Room N–5647, 

Washington, D.C. 20210; telephone 

(202) 219–4782. (This is not a toll-free 

number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

interim rules govern the content of the 

summary plan description (SPD) for 

group health plans, the furnishing of 

summaries of material reductions in 

covered services or benefits by group 

health plans, and the disclosure of SPD 

and related materials by group health 

plans through electronic media. The 

rules were adopted on an interim basis 

in order to accommodate statutorily 

established time frames for providing 

regulatory guidance. 

OMB reviewed the Department of 

Labor’s collection of information 

requirements in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 

95), 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, and 5 CFR 

1320.11. On May 30, 1997, OMB 

approved revision of the information 

collection requirements contained in 29 

CFR 2520.102–3, 2520.104b–1, and 

2520.104b–3 under OMB control 

number 1210–0039. This approval 

expires on December 31, 1997. 

Statutory Authorities 

The interim regulation is adopted 

pursuant to authority contained in 

Section 505 of ERISA (Pub. L. 93–406, 

88 Stat. 894, 29 U.S.C. 1135) and 

sections 104(b) and 734 of ERISA, as 

amended, (Pub. L. 104–191, 110 Stat. 

1936, 1951 and Pub. L. 104–204, 110 

Stat. 2935, 29 U.S.C. 1024 and 1191c) 

and under the Secretary of Labor’s 

Order No. 1–87, 52 FR 13139, April 21, 

1987. 

List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 2520 

Accounting, Employee benefit plans, 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act, Group health plans, Health care, 

Health insurance, Pensions, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, 

Welfare benefit plans. 

For the reasons set forth above, Part 

2520 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations is amended as follows: 

PART 2520—[AMENDED] 

1. The authority citation for Part 2520 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Sec. 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 

109, 110, 111(b)(2), 111(c), and 505, Pub. L. 

93–406, 88 Stat. 840–52 and 894 (29 U.S.C. 

1021–25, 1029–31, and 1135); Secretary of 

Labor’s Order No. 27–74, 13–76, 1–87, and 

Labor Management Services Administration 

Order 2–6. 

Sections 2520.102–3, 2520.104b–1 and 

2520.104b–3 are also issued under sec. 101 

(a), (c) and (g)(4) of Pub. L. 104–191, 110 Stat. 

1936, 1939, 1951, and 1955 and sec. 603 of 

Pub. L. 104–204, 110 Stat. 2935 (29 U.S.C. 

1185 and 1191c). 

2. Section 2520.102–3 is amended by 

adding a parenthetical at the end of the 

section to read as follows: 

§ 2520.102–3 Contents of summary plan 

description. 

* * * * *


(Approved by the Office of Management and


Budget under control number 1210–0039.)


3. Section 2520.104b–1 is amended by 

adding a parenthetical at the end of the 

section to read as follows: 

§ 2520.104b–1 Disclosure. 

* * * * *


(Approved by the Office of Management and


Budget under control number 1210–0039.)


4. Section 2520.104b–3 is amended by 

adding a parenthetical at the end of the 

section to read as follows: 

§ 2520.104b–3 Summary of material 

modifications to the plan and changes in 

the information required to be included in 

the summary plan description. 

* * * * *


(Approved by the Office of Management and


Budget under control number 1210–0039.)


Signed at Washington D.C. this 1st day of 

July, 1997. 

Alan D. Lebowitz, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program 

Operations, Pension and Welfare Benefits 

Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. 

[FR Doc. 97–17635 Filed 7–3–97; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–M 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Fiscal Service 

31 CFR Part 285 

RIN 1510–AA58 

Collection of Past-Due Support by 

Administrative Offset 

AGENCY: Financial Management Service, 

Fiscal Service, Treasury. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Debt Collection 

Improvement Act of 1996 (DCIA), 

enacted on April 26, 1996, authorizes 

the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) 

to collect past-due support by the 

administrative offset of Federal 

payments. Executive Order 13019 of 

September 28, 1996 (Executive Order) 

requires that the Secretary promptly 

develop and implement procedures 

necessary for the collection of past-due 

support debts by administrative offset. 

In addition, the Executive Order 

requires each executive agency to 

review each class of payments certified 

by such agencies to determine whether 

any class of payments should be exempt 

from offset. With respect to any class of 

payments so identified, agencies must 

submit a request for exemption from 

offset to the Secretary within 30 days 

after the Secretary establishes standards 

for determining exemptions. The 

Executive Order further requires that 

Federal payment agencies and 

disbursing officials promptly implement 

any rules, regulations, or procedures 

issued by the Secretary that are 

necessary to implement offset for the 

collection of past-due support. 

The Financial Management Service 

(FMS), as the central disbursing agency 

of the Federal Government, is 
36206 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 129 / Monday, July 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 

responsible for implementation of 

centralized administrative offset for the 

collection of nontax delinquent debt 

owed to the Federal Government, pastdue support, and other debt owed to 

States. This regulation implements 

administrative offset for the collection 

of past-due support pursuant to the 

DCIA and the Executive Order. 

As authorized by the DCIA, FMS 

intends to promulgate additional rules 

for centralized administrative offset for 

the collection of nontax debt owed to 

Federal and State Governments, other 

than child support. FMS anticipates that 

Part 285 will eventually contain all of 

the provisions relating to centralized 

administrative offset. 

DATES: This rule is effective on July 25, 

1997. Comments will be accepted until 

September 5, 1997. 

ADDRESSES: Comments or inquiries may 

be mailed to Gerry Isenberg, Financial 

Program Specialist, Debt Management 

Services, Financial Management 

Service, Department of the Treasury, 

401 14th Street SW., Room 151, 

Washington, DC 20227. A copy of this 

interim rule is being made available for 

downloading from the Financial 

Management Service web site at the 

following address: http:// 

www.fms.treas.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gerry Isenberg, Financial Program 

Specialist, at (202) 874–6660; Pamela 

Dillon, Director, Treasury Offset 

Program, at (202) 874–8700; Ellen 

Neubauer or Ronda Kent, Senior 

Attorneys, at (202) 874–6680. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Debt Collection Improvement Act 

of 1996 (DCIA), Pub. L. 104–134, 110 

Stat. 1321–358 (1996), requires that 

disbursing officials of the Department of 

the Treasury and other Federal 

disbursing officials offset Federal 

payments to collect nontax delinquent 

debts owed to the United States. 

Subsection (h) of 31 U.S.C. 3716, as 

added by section 31001(f) of the DCIA, 

authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury 

(Secretary) to collect State debts, 

including past-due support, by the 

administrative offset of Federal 

payments. See also section 

31001(z)(1)(B) of the DCIA, codified at 

31 U.S.C. 3701(b)(2). 

FMS, as the Treasury disbursing 

office, is responsible for implementation 

of centralized administrative offset for 

the collection of nontax debt owed to 

the United States, past-due support, and 

other State debt. On September 28, 

1996, the President issued Executive 

Order 13019 entitled ‘‘Supporting 

Families: Collecting Delinquent Child 

Support Obligations’’ (Executive Order) 

which requires that the Secretary 

promptly develop and implement 

procedures necessary to collect past-due 

support debts by administrative offset. 

The Executive Order recognizes that the 

failure of some parents to meet their 

child support obligations threatens the 

health, education, and well-being of 

their children and requires the 

collection of delinquent child support 

obligations from persons who may be 

entitled or eligible to receive certain 

Federal payments. FMS is publishing 

this interim regulation to establish and 

notify the public of the procedures 

necessary for the collection of past-due 

support debts by administrative offset in 

accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3716(h) and 

the Executive Order. 

Federal law prohibits the use of 

administrative offset to collect State 

debts (including past-due support) for 

many types of Federal payments, 

including payments due to an 

individual under (a) title IV of the 

Higher Education Act of 1965; (b) the 

Social Security Act; (c) part B of the 

Black Lung Benefits Act; (d) any law 

administered by the Railroad Retirement 

Board; (e) the tariff laws of the United 

States; and (f) any other law that 

expressly prohibits collection of pastdue support by administrative offset. 

Regulations promulgated by the Internal 

Revenue Service and the Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS) 

govern the offsetting of Federal tax 

refund payments to collect past due 

child support as authorized under 26 

U.S.C. 6402 and 42 U.S.C. 664. See 26 

CFR 301.6402–5 and 45 CFR 303.72. 

FMS will be responsible for operation of 

the tax refund offset program effective 

January 1, 1998, and will issue new 

regulations governing the offset of tax 

refund payments to collect past-due 

support. 

To implement the Executive Order 

and 31 U.S.C. 3716(h), FMS is working 

with HHS, Treasury and non-Treasury 

disbursing officials, and other affected 

agencies, including Federal payment 

agencies. The Executive Order requires 

that disbursing officials (officials 

authorized to disburse Federal 

payments) and payment agencies 

(agencies that certify Federal payments) 

promptly implement any rule, 

regulation, or procedure necessary to 

conduct administrative offset to collect 

delinquent child support payments. 

Subsection (c)(3)(B) of 31 U.S.C. 3716, 

as added by section 31001(d)(2)(D) of 

the DCIA, requires the Secretary to 

exempt payments under means-tested 

programs from administrative offset 

when requested by the head of the 

respective agency. In addition, this 

subsection authorizes the Secretary to 

exempt other payments from 

administrative offset upon the written 

request of the head of the payment 

certifying agency. The written request 

for exemption must provide justification 

for the exemption. Standards and 

instructions for making such requests 

are available from FMS at the above 

address and at the FMS web site at 

www.fms.treas.gov. The Executive 

Order requires that Federal payment 

agencies determine the classes and 

types of payments that should be 

considered for exemption from 

administrative offset by the Secretary 

and submit requests for exemption to 

FMS within 30 days of the date the 

Secretary prescribes standards. In acting 

on such requests, the Secretary will give 

due consideration to whether 

administrative offset would tend to 

interfere substantially with or defeat the 

purposes of the payment agency’s 

program. The DCIA requires that the 

Secretary report to the Congress 

annually on exemptions granted under 

the DCIA. 

FMS is working closely with HHS to 

implement procedures necessary to 

report to the Secretary information on 

past-due support claims referred to HHS 

by States for tax refund offset purposes 

under 42 U.S.C. 664 and 26 U.S.C. 

6402(c), including claims enforced by 

States pursuant to cooperative 

agreements with or by Indian tribal 

governments. Such procedures are 

appropriate to facilitate offset and 

prevent duplicative efforts by the States. 

FMS is also working closely with HHS 

to implement procedures necessary to 

report to the Secretary information on 

past-due support claims referred to HHS 

by States under this rule. It is 

anticipated that States will continue to 

refer debts to HHS for offset from both 

Federal tax refunds and other Federal 

payments and that HHS will report 

those debts to the Secretary. While 

nothing in this rule is intended to 

require States to refer debts directly to 

FMS for administrative offset, this rule 

provides States with that option. 

‘‘Past-due support’’ means the amount 

of support, determined under a court 

order, or an order of an administrative 

procedure established under State law, 

for support and maintenance of a child, 

or of a child and the parent with whom 

the child is living, which has not been 

paid. States will have the option of 

directly notifying FMS of past-due 

support for administrative offset 

purposes or of notifying HHS, 

whereupon HHS will report those debts 

to FMS. 
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 129 / Monday, July 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 36207 

Before notifying FMS or HHS that an 

individual owes past-due support, the 

State or its agents will be required to 

send notice to such individual that an 

offset may be taken from certain Federal 

payments otherwise payable to such 

individual. The notice shall inform the 

individual owing the past-due support 

of the type and amount of the support 

owed, as well as such individual’s right 

to a review of the State’s determination 

that past-due support is owed or of the 

amount owed. The State will certify that 

the requirements of this regulation and 

applicable State law have been met. 

Section by Section Analysis 

(a) Definitions 

Administrative Offset. Administrative 

offset has the same meaning as found at 

31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(1) except that as used 

in this rule the term is limited to the 

offsetting of payments to collect pastdue support. 

Debt. As used in this rule, the term 

‘‘debt’’ is limited to debt based on pastdue support. Debt based on past-due 

support is among the many kinds of 

debts subject to collection by 

administrative offset and encompassed 

by the statutory definition of debt found 

at 31 U.S.C. 3701(b) (1) and (2). The 

definition of debt contained in this rule 

does not alter the statutory definition. It 

merely limits the scope of the rule to 

debt based on past-due support. 

Disbursing Official. Disbursing official 

means an official who has authority to 

disburse public money pursuant to 31 

U.S.C. 3321 or another law. It includes 

disbursing officials of the Department of 

the Treasury, the Department of 

Defense, the United States Postal 

Service, or any other Government 

corporation, any disbursing official of 

the United States designated by the 

Secretary of the Treasury, or any 

disbursing official of any other 

executive department or agency that 

disburses Federal payments. 

Past-Due Support. Past-due support 

means the amount of support 

determined under a court order or an 

order of an administrative procedure 

established under State law for support 

and maintenance of a child or of a child 

and the parent with whom the child is 

living, which has not been paid. Unless 

so limited by court order or under State 

law or procedure, the term ‘‘child’’ as 

used in this definition is not intended 

to be limited to minor children. 

State. Treasury considered including 

legal subdivisions of States within the 

definition of ‘‘State’’ to ensure that there 

were no impediments to collecting pastdue support being enforced at, for 

example, the county level. Legal 

subdivisions of States were not included 

in the definition of ‘‘State’’ because of 

concerns about the potential impact on 

current relationships between States 

and their legal subdivisions in the 

collection of past-due support. The 

public is invited to comment on the 

impact of including or excluding legal 

subdivisions of States in the definition 

of ‘‘State’’ as well as on any other 

provision of this rule. 

(b) General Rule 

Paragraph (b) states the general rule 

that disbursing officials of FMS and 

other disbursing officials of the Federal 

Government will offset Federal 

payments to collect past-due support. 

States enforcing past-due support may 

notify FMS of past-due support either 

by entering into an agreement with FMS 

and requesting that the offset be 

conducted or by notifying HHS. 

Amounts offset will be forwarded to the 

State less any fee charged for the offset. 

(c) Agreements 

Paragraph (c) states that FMS may, 

within its discretion, enter into an 

agreement with a State for disbursing 

officials of FMS and other Federal 

disbursing officials to collect past-due 

support by administrative offset. The 

agreement will contain requirements 

that FMS considers appropriate to 

facilitate the offset such as the manner 

and time frames for submitting debts to 

FMS; requirements for updating debts; 

and other procedures to ensure offsets 

are properly made. The agreement also 

will require that States have procedures 

in place for collecting debt by 

administrative offset including 

procedures for ensuring that individuals 

who owe past-due support are provided 

with notice and an opportunity to be 

heard before the debt is referred to FMS 

for offset. There is a strong Federal and 

State interest in ensuring that parents 

meet their child support obligations. 

The failure of some parents to meet their 

child support obligations weakens 

families and increases State and Federal 

welfare expenditures. Thus, agreements 

entered into between FMS and a State 

for the collection of past-due support by 

administrative offset are of mutual 

benefit to both the State and FMS and 

are therefore considered reciprocal. 

There is no requirement that States 

offset their payments to collect debts 

owed to the Federal Government and 

thus the request for offset from the State 

may come from the appropriate official 

of the State responsible for enforcing 

past-due support rather than a State 

disbursing official. 

(d) Notification to FMS of Past-Due 

Support 

Paragraph (d) describes the 

procedures which must be followed for 

each debt when a State notifies FMS or 

HHS of past-due support for purposes of 

collection by administrative offset. More 

specific instructions regarding the 

formatting of information and the 

required data elements will be provided 

to States. 

States which are enforcing a past-due 

support order issued by another State or 

otherwise have knowledge that another 

State is involved in enforcing a 

particular past-due support order, are 

required to inform any other State 

involved in enforcing the order that it 

has notified FMS of the past-due 

support. States must also notify any 

other State involved in enforcing the 

order of any amounts received as a 

result of an offset. The purpose of this 

notification is to avoid referral of the 

same debt from more than one State and 

to ensure that debt amounts are 

accurately maintained. 

Before a debt can be referred to FMS, 

States must sign a certification for each 

debt or group of debts certifying that 

each debt is past-due, legally 

enforceable, that the notice described in 

paragraph (h) has been sent, and that the 

State has completed any requirements 

imposed by its own laws or procedures 

for collection of debts by administrative 

offset. The certifying official must have 

both the knowledge and the authority to 

certify to FMS, on behalf of the State, 

that these requirements have been met. 

One of the purposes of the certification 

is to permit the Secretary of the 

Treasury, as authorized by the DCIA, to 

waive certain requirements of the 

Computer Matching and Privacy 

Protection Act of 1988, 5 U.S.C. 552a, 

when applicable, upon certification by a 

State that the requirements of 31 U.S.C. 

3716(a) have been met. Section 3716(a) 

of Title 31 sets forth the due process 

requirements applicable to the 

collection of delinquent debts owed to 

the Federal Government. The due 

process requirements applicable to the 

determination and collection of pastdue support are established under State 

laws and procedures. Additionally, 

paragraph (h) of this rule sets forth 

specific due process requirements States 

must meet to collect past-due support 

under this rule. Thus, certification of 

compliance with both the requirements 

of State laws and procedures and the 

requirements of paragraph (h) of this 

rule will be considered equivalent to 

certification of compliance with the 

requirements of 31 U.S.C. 3716(a). 
36208 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 129 / Monday, July 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 

Any debts which are not properly 

certified or do not otherwise comply 

with the requirement of this section will 

not be accepted by FMS. States will be 

notified that a particular debt or group 

of debts has been rejected and will be 

given the reason for the rejection. Such 

debts may be submitted to FMS once 

any deficiencies noted have been 

resolved. 

(e) Minimum Amount of Past-due 

Support 

Paragraph (e) states that FMS will not 

accept debts of less than $25.00 for 

collection by administrative offset. If a 

debt is referred to FMS which is over 

$25.00 at the time it is referred, the debt 

will remain subject to collection by 

administrative offset until it is paid in 

full even if it falls below the $25.00 

minimum. The $25.00 minimum is 

intended to ensure that FMS is not 

collecting debt by administrative offset 

where the administrative cost of 

collection exceeds the amount of the 

debt. The minimum amount may be 

adjusted either upward or downward by 

FMS. States will be notified of any 

adjustments. 

(f) Limitations 

Paragraph (f) provides that a debt 

properly submitted to FMS for 

administrative offset will remain subject 

to collection by offset until it is paid in 

full as long as the debt remains past-due 

and legally enforceable. A debt will be 

considered legally enforceable for 

purposes of this paragraph (f) if, under 

applicable State law, it may lawfully be 

collected by administrative offset. 

(g) Notification of Changes in Status of 

Debt 

To ensure that debts referred to FMS 

for collection by administrative offset 

remain accurate as to their amount and 

that amounts offset do not exceed the 

amount of the debt, paragraph (g) 

requires States to notify FMS or HHS of 

any decreases in the amount of a debt 

referred. States are also required to 

notify FMS or HHS if any debt should 

be deleted from the debtor database 

either because it has been paid in full 

or for any other reason. States are 

permitted to notify FMS or HHS of any 

increases in the amount of a debt 

referred to FMS as long as the State has 

provided proper notice to the debtor 

and has complied with any other 

requirements of State law or procedure. 

Where a debt represents an ongoing 

obligation and it is anticipated that the 

debt will increase on a regular basis, 

States should ensure that the notices 

sent pursuant to paragraph (h) of this 

regulation include such amounts. 

Under paragraph (g), States will be 

required to report, at established time 

intervals, the total net adjustment made 

to the amount of the debt if the net 

adjustment results in a decrease in the 

debt amount. If the total net adjustment 

made to the debt amount during the 

established time interval results in an 

increase in the debt amount, States are 

encouraged, but are not required, to 

report the total net adjustment. 

(h) Advance Notification of Intent to 

Collect by Administrative Offset 

Paragraph (h) sets forth requirements 

concerning the notice and opportunity 

to exercise certain rights that must be 

provided to individuals who owe pastdue support before the debt can be 

referred for collection by administrative 

offset. States must have procedures in 

place to afford individuals who owe 

past-due support the opportunity for a 

review as provided for under this 

paragraph (h) and must comply with 

those procedures prior to referring a 

debt for collection by administrative 

offset. Where a State intends to refer a 

debt which it is enforcing based upon 

an order issued by another State, the 

referring State must ensure that the 

individual who owes the past-due 

support has the opportunity for a review 

by either the referring State or the State 

which issued the order. 

(i) Payments Subject to Offset 

All Federal payments are subject to 

offset to collect past-due support except 

those payments described in paragraph 

(i). Those payments listed in paragraph 

(i)(1) are specifically excluded from 

offset to collect past-due support by the 

DCIA. Paragraph (i)(2) sets forth the 

authority of the Secretary under the 

DCIA to exempt additional payments 

from offset. Payments which may be 

exempted from offset under this 

authority are described in paragraph (k). 

Paragraph (i)(3) is intended to recognize 

that other laws may prohibit the offset 

of certain payments to collect past-due 

support. This exception applies only 

where another law specifically and 

expressly prohibits offset. For example, 

38 U.S.C. 5301(a) expressly prohibits 

the collection of most debt by offset 

from certain Veterans’ benefit payments. 

Paragraphs (i)(4) and (i)(5) reflect the 

DCIA provisions which exclude 

payments made under the Internal 

Revenue Code and the tariff laws of the 

United States from administrative offset 

under 31 U.S.C. 3716. Authority to 

offset tax refund payments to collect 

past-due support is found at 42 U.S.C. 

664 and 26 U.S.C. 6402 and is governed 

by regulations at 45 CFR 303.72 and 26 

CFR 301.6402–5. All other Federal 

payments are subject to offset under this 

rule although restrictions may apply to 

limit the amount of a particular 

payment which may be offset. 

(j) Special Provisions Applicable to 

Federal Salary Payments 

Federal salary payments are included 

in those payments subject to offset to 

collect past-due support under 31 U.S.C. 

3716. The special rules contained in 

paragraph (j) are intended to ensure that 

the amount of a Federal salary payment 

subject to offset does not exceed the 

limitations applicable to the 

garnishment of Federal pay to collect 

support under 15 U.S.C. 1673(b)(2) (A) 

and (B). The authority to offset Federal 

salary payments to collect past-due 

support is not intended to alter or 

supersede the authority to garnish the 

wages of a Federal employee who owes 

past-due support. Thus, this rule 

provides that the maximum allowable 

offset amount will be reduced by the 

amount of a garnishment order for 

support. For example, if a Federal 

employee’s pay in a given pay period, 

after required deductions, is $1,000 and 

50% of that pay may be offset, the total 

amount subject to offset is $500. If, 

however, there is a garnishment order 

for support of $300 against that 

employee’s pay, the amount subject to 

offset is reduced to $200. Where there 

is a $500 garnishment order against that 

employee’s pay, no offset would be 

permitted. Because Federal salary pay is 

being offset to collect past-due support 

under 31 U.S.C. 3716, the provisions 

applicable to the offset of Federal salary 

payments to collect debt owed to the 

Federal Government do not apply. 

(k) Payments Exempt From 

Administrative Offset to Collect Pastdue Support Being Enforced by a State 

Paragraph (k) describes the authority 

of the Secretary as contained in the 

DCIA to exempt certain payments from 

administrative offset. Examples of 

means-tested programs as defined in 

paragraph (k) include food stamps and 

Supplemental Security Income (SSI). 

Such programs are exempt from offset 

so long as a request for an exemption is 

properly submitted to the Secretary and 

the Secretary determines that such 

programs are, in fact, means-tested. 

Other payments may be exempted from 

offset at the discretion of the Secretary 

upon receipt of a proper request from 

the agency that issues the payment 

which justifies the reason for the 

exemption. FMS has issued standards 

for payment agencies to follow when for 

making such requests. These standards 

are available from FMS at the above 

address and at the FMS web site. In 
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 129 / Monday, July 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 36209 

acting on such requests, the Secretary 

will give due consideration to whether 

or not the offset would tend to 

substantially interfere with the purpose 

of the program. 

(l) Fees 

FMS will charge a fee to cover the 

costs of the offset. 

The fee will be deducted from the 

amount offset before that amount is 

forwarded to the States and will only be 

charged when an offset has been made. 

States may add this fee to the amount 

of the debt if permitted by law. The fee 

charged is intended to reimburse FMS 

for the administrative costs of the offset 

and therefore may be adjusted to reflect 

costs. Once a fee is established, 

however, it will not be adjusted for a 

period of at least 12 months. States will 

be notified in advance of any 

adjustments. 

(m) Conducting the Offset 

Paragraph (m) describes how the 

offset program works. Debts referred to 

FMS are entered into a centralized 

debtor database. When disbursing 

officials of the Federal Government 

issue payments, those payments are 

compared with the debtor database to 

determine if the person to whom the 

payment is to be issued (the payee) 

owes a debt. If a match occurs (a match 

occurs when the taxpayer identification 

number and name of the payee match 

the taxpayer identification number and 

name of a debtor) and the payment is 

one which is subject to offset for the 

collection of past-due support, the offset 

will take place. Amounts offset will be 

forwarded to the State, less any fee. If 

the amount offset is less than the 

amount of the payment, the remainder 

of the payment will be forwarded to the 

payee. Certain payments may only be 

partially offset, that is, only a certain 

percentage of the payment may be offset 

to collect a debt. If the offset does not 

result in payment of the debt in full, 

offsets from future payments to the 

payee will continue until the debt is 

paid in full. Although only those debts 

based on past-due support are the 

subject of this rule, other debts as 

defined at 31 U.S.C. 3701(b) are also 

included in the database to be collected 

by administrative offset. Separate rules 

govern the collection of other debts 

(debts not based on past-due support) by 

administrative offset. 

(n) Priorities 

Paragraph (n) is intended to establish 

a priority for offsets where an individual 

owes more than one debt and a payment 

being issued to that individual (or the 

amount of that payment which is 

available for offset) is not sufficient to 

satisfy all debts. Debt based on past-due 

support may be of more than one type 

depending on whether or not the debt 

has been assigned to the State. 

Paragraph (n) provides that debt which 

has been assigned to the State will be 

collected first and that debt which has 

not been assigned to the State will be 

collected only after other reductions 

allowed by law have been taken, such 

as offsets to collect debt as defined at 31 

U.S.C. 3701(b) which is owed to the 

Federal Government. 

(o) Notification of Offset 

Paragraph (o) provides that once an 

offset has occurred, the disbursing 

official who conducted the offset will 

provide notice to the payee that the 

offset has occurred. A disbursing 

official, however, cannot be held liable 

for failure to provide this notice. 

(p) Liability of Disbursing Officials and 

Payment Agencies 

Paragraph (p) restates the DCIA which 

provides that neither the disbursing 

official nor the payment agency shall be 

liable for the amount of the offset on the 

basis that the underlying obligation, 

represented by the payment amount 

before the offset was taken, was not 

satisfied. Thus, if a payee is due a 

payment and receives less than the full 

amount of that payment because an 

offset has occurred, no cause of action 

exists against the disbursing official or 

the payment agency on the basis that the 

payment was not made in full. 

Paragraph (p) also provides that the 

payment agency will receive notice that 

the offset has occurred and will be 

provided with contact information at 

the State which referred the debt for 

offset. The purpose of this notice is to 

allow the payment agency to properly 

direct any inquiries it may receive 

concerning the offset. 

Regulatory Analyses 

It has been determined that this rule 

is not a significant regulatory action as 

defined in Executive Order 12866. 

Because no notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required, the provisions 

of the Regulatory Flexibility Act do not 

apply. 

Special Analyses 

FMS is promulgating this interim rule 

without opportunity for prior public 

comment pursuant to the 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 

U.S.C. 553, because FMS has 

determined, for the following reasons, 

that a comment period would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. The DCIA was effective 

immediately upon its enactment on 

April 26, 1996, and for the first time, 

authorized the collection of past-due 

support by administrative offset from 

certain Federal payments. Prior to the 

passage of the DCIA only debts owed to 

the United States could be collected by 

administrative offset from these Federal 

payments. Thus, States enforcing pastdue support as well as members of the 

public who either owe or are owed pastdue support may not be aware of the 

impact of the law. 

Executive Order 13019 dated 

September 28, 1996 requires the 

Secretary to promptly develop and 

implement procedures necessary for the 

Secretary to collect past-due support by 

administrative offset. The Executive 

Order states that the failure of some 

parents to meet their child support 

obligations threatens the health, 

education, and well-being of their 

children. It is the intent of the Executive 

Order to facilitate the collection of 

delinquent child support obligations 

from persons who may be entitled to 

receive certain Federal payments 

thereby supporting our children and 

strengthening American families. Since 

this interim rule provides critical 

guidance needed to facilitate the offset 

of Federal payments to collect past-due 

support, FMS believes that it is in the 

public interest to issue this interim rule 

without opportunity for prior public 

comment. 

The public is invited to submit 

comments on the interim rule which 

will be taken into account before a final 

rule is issued. 

FMS has determined that good cause 

exists to make this interim rule effective 

upon publication without providing the 

30 day period between publication and 

the effective date contemplated by 5 

U.S.C. 553(d). The purpose of a delayed 

effective date is to afford persons 

affected by a rule a reasonable time to 

prepare for compliance. However, in 

this case, the authority to collect pastdue support by administrative offset 

from Federal payments became effective 

on April 26, 1996. Inasmuch as this 

interim rule provides important 

guidance that is expected to facilitate 

implementation of the authority 

contained in the law, FMS believes that 

good cause exists to make the rule 

effective upon publication. 

Since the interim rule is being issued 

without prior notice and public 

procedure pursuant to the APA, the 

collections of information contained in 

the interim rule has been reviewed 

under the requirements of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

3507(j)) and, pending receipt and 

evaluation of public comments, 
36210 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 129 / Monday, July 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under control 

number 1510–0069. An agency may not 

conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 

required to respond to, a collection of 

information unless it displays a valid 

control number assigned by OMB. 

Comments concerning the collection 

of information should be directed to 

OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the 

Department of the Treasury, Financial 

Management Service, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Washington, D.C. 20503, with copies to 

Jacqueline Perry, Public Reports 

Clearance Officer, Financial 

Management Service, 3361 75th 

Avenue, Landover, Maryland 20785. 

Any such comments should be 

submitted not later than September 5, 

1997. Comments are specifically 

requested concerning: 

Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of FMS, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; 

The accuracy of the estimated burden 

associated with the proposed collection 

of information (see below); 

How the quality, utility, and clarity of 

the information to be collected may be 

enhanced; and 

How the burden of complying with 

the proposed collection of information 

may be minimized, including through 

the application of automated collection 

techniques and other forms of 

information technology. 

The collections of information in this 

interim regulation are in § 285.1 (d)(1), 

(d)(2), (d)(3), (g), and (h). The 

information collected under 

§ 285.1(d)(1) may include the name of 

the person owing past-due support, the 

person’s social security number, the 

person’s address, the amount of pastdue support owed, and an identity code 

for the State. This information is needed 

to determine if the debtor and the payee 

of a Federal payment is the same 

person, to notify the debtor/payee of the 

occurrence of an offset, and to forward 

the money offset to the appropriate 

State. 

The information collected under 

§ 285.1(d)(2) shall include name and 

social security number of the debtor. 

This information is necessary to prevent 

duplication of reporting to FMS. 

The information collection under 

§ 285.1(d)(3) shall include a signed 

statement that the debt is past-due and 

legally enforceable and that the State 

has complied with all the requirements 

under § 285.1(h). This information is 

necessary to provide a waiver of certain 

sections of the Computer Matching and 

Privacy Protection Act of 1988 where 

such a waiver is necessary to conduct 

administrative offset under this rule. 

The information collected under 

§ 285.1(g) may include changes to the 

name of the person owing past-due 

support, the person’s social security 

number, the person’s address, the 

amount of past-due support owed, or 

the identity code for the State collecting 

the debt. This information is needed to 

assure that the information concerning 

the debtor is accurate, which prevents 

erroneous offsets. 

The information collected under 

§ 285.1(h) shall include the name and 

address of the debtor, information 

concerning the existence of a past-due 

support debt and the intent to collect 

the debt by administrative offset, and a 

listing of the debtor’s rights. This 

information is a prerequisite for 

conducting administrative offset under 

31 U.S.C. 3716(a). 

The collections of information under 

this rule is voluntary. Likely 

respondents to all the collections of 

information listed above are States, 

Territories, and Commonwealths of the 

Federal Government. 

The estimated total annual reporting 

burden is 5562 hours. The estimated 

burden hours per respondent is 103 

hours. The estimated number of 

respondents is 54. These figures 

represent the burden imposed by FMS. 

The reporting burden imposed by other 

agencies will be addressed by those 

agencies. 

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 285 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Child Support, Claims, 

Debts, Privacy, Taxes. 

Authority and Issuance 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 31 CFR part 285 is amended 

to read as follows: 

PART 285—DEBT COLLECTION 

AUTHORITIES UNDER THE DEBT 

COLLECTION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 

1996 

1. The authority citation for part 285 

is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 26 U.S.C. 6402; 31 U.S.C. 321, 

3716, 3720A; E.O. 13019. 

2. Section 285.1 is added to part 285, 

subpart A, to read as follows: 

§ 285.1 Collection of past-due support by 

administrative offset. 

(a) Definitions. For purposes of this 

section: 

Administrative offset means 

withholding funds payable by the 

United States (including funds payable 

by the United States on behalf of a State 

government) to, or held by the United 

States for, a person to satisfy a debt. 

Debt as used in this section is 

synonymous with the term past-due 

support. 

Disbursing official includes an official 

who has authority to disburse public 

money pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 3321 or 

another Federal law. 

FMS means the Financial 

Management Service, a bureau of the 

Department of the Treasury. FMS is the 

designee of the Secretary of the Treasury 

for all matters concerning this section, 

unless otherwise specified. 

HHS means the Department of Health 

and Human Services, Office of Child 

Support Enforcement. 

Past-due support means the amount 

of support determined under a court 

order, or an order of an administrative 

procedure established under State law, 

for support and maintenance of a child, 

or of a child and the parent with whom 

the child is living, which has not been 

paid. 

Past-due support being enforced by 

the State means there has been an 

assignment of the support rights to the 

State or the State making the request for 

offset is providing services to 

individuals pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 654(5) 

(section 454(5) of the Social Security 

Act). 

State means the several States of the 

United States. The term State also 

includes the District of Columbia, 

American Samoa, Guam, the United 

States Virgin Islands, the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, and the Commonwealth of 

Puerto Rico. 

Secretary means the Secretary of the 

Treasury. 

(b) General Rule. FMS may enter into 

a reciprocal agreement with a State for 

the collection of past-due support being 

enforced by the State by administrative 

offset from certain Federal payments. 

Upon notification of past-due support 

either directly from a State which has 

entered into such an agreement or from 

HHS, disbursing officials of FMS or any 

other disbursing official of the United 

States shall offset Federal payments 

which are subject to offset under this 

section, to collect past-due support. The 

amount offset, minus the offset fee, shall 

be forwarded to the State to be 

distributed in accordance with 

applicable laws and procedures. 

(c) Agreements. FMS may enter into 

reciprocal agreements with States for 

disbursing officials of FMS and any 

other Federal disbursing official to offset 

certain Federal payments to collect pastdue support being enforced by the State. 

The agreement shall contain any 

requirements which FMS considers 
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 129 / Monday, July 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 36211 

appropriate to facilitate the offset and 

prevent duplicative efforts and shall 

require States to prescribe procedures 

governing the collection of past-due 

support by Federal administrative offset. 

For purposes of this section, reciprocal 

means of mutual benefit. An agreement 

between FMS and a State to collect pastdue support by offsetting Federal 

payments will be considered of mutual 

benefit and it is not required that States 

conduct administrative offsets to collect 

debts owed to the Federal Government. 

States which have entered into an 

agreement with FMS pursuant to this 

section may thereafter request, in the 

manner prescribed herein, that an offset 

be performed. Such requests shall be 

made by the appropriate State 

disbursing official which, for purposes 

of this section, means an appropriate 

official of the State agency which 

administers or supervises the 

administration of the State plan under 

Title IV–D of the Social Security Act. 

(d) Notification to FMS of past-due 

support. (1) States notifying FMS of 

past-due support must do so in the 

manner and format prescribed by FMS. 

States notifying HHS of past-due 

support must do so in the manner and 

format prescribed by HHS. HHS shall 

notify FMS of all past-due support 

referred to HHS by States for collection 

by administrative offset provided that 

the requirements of paragraphs (d)(3) 

and (h) of this section have been met. 

(2) When a State has knowledge that 

past-due support is being enforced by 

more than one State, the State notifying 

FMS or HHS of the past-due support 

must inform any other State involved in 

enforcing the past-due support when it 

refers the debt for offset and when it 

receives the offset amount. 

(3) The notification of past-due 

support must be accompanied by a 

certification that the debt is past-due, 

legally enforceable, and that the State 

has complied with all the requirements 

as set forth in paragraph (h) of this 

section and with any requirements 

imposed by State law or procedure. For 

debts so certified, the Secretary may 

waive sections 552a (o) and (p) of Title 

5, United States Code, where applicable, 

in accordance with the Secretary’s 

authority under 31 U.S.C. 3716(f). 

(4) FMS may reject a notification of 

past-due support which does not 

comply with the requirements of this 

section. The State will be notified of the 

rejection along with the reason for the 

rejection. 

(e) Minimum amount of past-due 

support. FMS will reject a notification 

of past-due support where the past-due 

support owed is less than $25.00. This 

amount may be adjusted from time to 

time by FMS to ensure that the cost of 

collection does not exceed the debt. 

(f) Limitations. Debts properly 

submitted to FMS for administrative 

offset will remain subject to collection 

by administrative offset until withdrawn 

by the State provided the debt remains 

past-due and legally enforceable. 

(g) Notification of changes in status of 

debt. The State notifying FMS or HHS 

of past-due support shall, in the manner 

and in the time frames provided by FMS 

or HHS, notify FMS or HHS of any 

deletion or decrease in the amount of a 

debt referred for collection by 

administrative offset. The State may 

notify FMS or HHS of any increases in 

the amount of a debt referred for 

collection by administrative offset 

provided the State has complied with 

the requirements of paragraph (h) of this 

section with regard to those amounts. 

(h) Advance notification of intent to 

collect by administrative offset. (1) The 

State, or FMS or HHS on behalf of the 

State, if the State requests and FMS or 

HHS agrees, shall send a written 

notification, at least 30 days in advance 

of referral of the debt for offset, to the 

individual owing past-due support, 

informing the individual that the State 

intends to refer the debt for collection 

by administrative offset against Federal 

payments. The notice must also inform 

the individual of: 

(i) The nature and amount of the debt; 

and 

(ii) The right to an administrative 

review by the State referring the debt or, 

upon the request of the individual, by 

the State with the order upon which the 

referral was based, of the determination 

of the State with respect to the debt and 

of the procedures and time frames 

established by the State for such 

reviews. 

(2) Prior to referring a debt to FMS for 

collection by administrative offset, 

States must provide individuals with a 

reasonable opportunity to exercise the 

rights enumerated in paragraph (h)(1) of 

this section in accordance with 

procedures prescribed by the State. 

(i) Payments subject to offset. Federal 

payments subject to offset under this 

section include all Federal payments 

except: 

(1) Payments due to an individual 

under 

(i) Title IV of the Higher Education 

Act of 1965; 

(ii) The Social Security Act; 

(iii) Part B of the Black Lung Benefits 

Act; 

(iv) Any law administered by the 

Railroad Retirement Board; 

(2) Payments which the Secretary 

determines are exempt from offset in 

accordance with paragraph (k) of this 

section; 

(3) Payments from which collection of 

past-due support by administrative 

offset is expressly prohibited by law; 

(4) Payments made under the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986 (except that tax 

refund payments are subject to offset 

under separate authority); and 

(5) Payments made under the tariff 

laws of the United States. 

(j) Special provisions applicable to 

Federal salary payments. (1) Unless a 

lower maximum offset limitation is 

provided by applicable State law, the 

maximum part of a Federal salary 

payment per pay period subject to offset 

to collect past-due support shall not 

exceed those amounts set forth at 

section 1673(b)(2) (A) and (B) of Title 

15, United States Code, as follows: 

(i) Fifty (50%) percent of the debtor’s 

aggregate disposable earnings for any 

pay period, where the debtor asserts by 

affidavit, or by other acceptable 

evidence, that he/she is supporting a 

spouse and/or dependent child, other 

than the former spouse and/or child for 

whom support is being collected, except 

that an additional five (5%) percent will 

apply if it appears that such earnings are 

to enforce past-due support for a period 

which is twelve (12) weeks or more 

prior to the pay period to which the 

offset applies. A debtor shall be 

considered to be supporting a spouse 

and/or dependent child only if the 

debtor provides over half of the spouse’s 

and/or dependent child’s support. 

(ii) Sixty (60%) percent of the debtor’s 

aggregate disposable earnings for any 

pay period where the debtor fails to 

assert by affidavit or establish by other 

acceptable evidence that he/she is 

supporting a spouse and/or dependent 

child, other than a former spouse and/ 

or child for whom support is being 

collected, except that an additional five 

(5%) percent will apply if it appears 

that such earnings are to enforce pastdue support for a period which is 

twelve (12) weeks or more prior to the 

pay period to which the offset applies. 

(2) The maximum allowable offset 

amount shall be reduced by the amount 

of any deductions in pay resulting from 

a garnishment order for support. 

Nothing in this rule is intended to alter 

rules applicable to processing 

garnishment orders for child support 

and/or alimony. 

(3) Federal salary payments subject to 

offset for the collection of past-due 

support include current basic pay, 

special pay, incentive pay, retainer pay, 

overtime, or in the case of an employee 

not entitled to basic pay, other 

authorized pay. Aggregate disposable 

earnings for purposes of determining the 
36212 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 129 / Monday, July 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 

maximum amounts which may be offset 

under paragraph (j)(1) of this section is 

Federal salary pay remaining after the 

deduction of: 

(i) Any amount required by law to be 

withheld; 

(ii) Amounts properly withheld for 

Federal, State or local income tax 

purposes; 

(iii) Amounts deducted as health 

insurance premiums; 

(iv) Amounts deducted as normal 

retirement contributions, not including 

amounts deducted for supplementary 

coverage; and 

(v) Amounts deducted as normal life 

insurance premiums not including 

amounts deducted for supplementary 

coverage. 

(4) At least 30 days in advance of 

offset, the disbursing official shall send 

written notice to the debtor of the 

maximum offset limitations described in 

paragraph (j)(1) of this section. The 

notice shall include a request that the 

debtor submit supporting affidavits or 

other documentation necessary to 

determine the applicable offset 

percentage limitation. The notice shall 

also inform the debtor of the percentage 

that will be deducted if he/she fails to 

submit the requested documentation. 

(k) Payments exempt from 

administrative offset to collect past-due 

support being enforced by a State. The 

Secretary will exempt from 

administrative offset under this part 

payments made under means-tested 

programs when requested by the head of 

the Federal agency which administers 

the program. For purposes of this 

section, means-tested programs are 

programs for which eligibility is based 

on a determination that income and/or 

assets of the beneficiary are inadequate 

to provide the beneficiary with an 

adequate standard of living without 

program assistance. The Secretary may 

exempt from administrative offset under 

this section any other class or type of 

payment upon the written request of the 

head of the agency which authorizes the 

payments. In determining whether or 

not to grant such exemptions, the 

Secretary shall give due consideration to 

whether administrative offset would 

tend to interfere substantially with or 

defeat the purposes of the payment 

agency’s program. 

(l) Fees. A fee which FMS has 

determined to be sufficient to reimburse 

FMS for the full cost of the offset 

procedure, shall be deducted from each 

offset amount. FMS will notify the 

States, annually and in advance, of the 

amount of the fee to be charged for each 

offset. 

(m) Conducting the offset. Disbursing 

officials of the Department of the 

Treasury, the Department of Defense, 

the United States Postal Service, or any 

other Government corporation, any 

disbursing official of the United States 

designated by the Secretary, or any 

disbursing official of an executive 

department or agency that disburses 

Federal payments shall offset payments 

subject to offset under this section to 

satisfy, in whole or part, a debt owed by 

the payee. Disbursing officials shall 

compare payment certification records 

with records of debts submitted to FMS 

for collection by administrative offset. A 

match will occur when the taxpayer 

identifying number and name control of 

a payment record are the same as the 

taxpayer identifying number and name 

control of a debt record. The taxpayer 

identifying number for an individual is 

the individual’s social security number. 

When a match occurs and all other 

requirements for offset have been met, 

the disbursing official shall offset the 

payment to satisfy, in whole or part, the 

debt. Any amounts not offset shall be 

paid to the payee. The amount that can 

be offset from a single payment is the 

lesser of the amount of the debt 

(including interest, penalties, and 

administrative costs); the amount of the 

payment; or the amount of the payment 

available for offset if a statute or 

regulation prohibits offset of the entire 

amount. Debts remain subject to 

collection by offset until paid in full. 

(n) Priorities. When a payee owes 

more than one debt which has been 

referred to FMS for collection by 

administrative offset, any offset will be 

applied first to past-due support 

assigned to a State and will be applied 

to any other past-due support after any 

other reductions allowed by law. 

(o) Notification of offset. Disbursing 

officials of FMS or any other disbursing 

official which conducts an offset will 

notify the payee in writing of the 

occurrence of the offset to satisfy pastdue support. The notice shall inform the 

payee of the type and amount of the 

payment that was offset; the identity of 

the State which requested the offset; and 

a contact point within the State that will 

handle concerns regarding the offset. 

Disbursing officials shall not be liable 

for failure to provide this notice. 

(p) Liability of disbursing officials and 

payment agencies. Neither the 

disbursing official nor the agency 

authorizing the payment shall be liable 

for the amount of the administrative 

offset on the basis that the underlying 

obligation, represented by the payment 

before the administrative offset was 

taken, was not satisfied. Disbursing 

officials will notify the agency 

authorizing the payment that the offset 

has occurred so that the agency 

authorizing the payment may direct any 

inquiries concerning the offset to the 

appropriate State. 

Dated: June 30, 1997. 

Russell D. Morris, 

Commissioner. 

[FR Doc. 97–17518 Filed 7–3–97; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–35–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[KS 026–1026; FRL–5853–1] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; State of Kansas 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The EPA is taking final action 

to approve the State Implementation 

Plan (SIP) revision concerning Kansas 

Air Regulation (K.A.R.) 28–19–79, Fuel 

Volatility, submitted by the Kansas 

Department of Health and Environment 

(KDHE). This revision sets a 

summertime gasoline Reid vapor 

pressure (RVP) limit of 7.2 pounds per 

square inch (psi), and 8.2 psi for 

gasoline containing at least 9.0 percent 

by volume but not more than 10.0 

percent by volume ethanol, for gasoline 

distributed in Wyandotte and Johnson 

Counties in Kansas. This revision is 

necessary to ensure that the area 

continues to maintain the National 

Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) 

for ozone. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

August 6, 1997. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents 

relevant to this action are available for 

public inspection during normal 

business hours at the: Environmental 

Protection Agency, Air Planning and 

Development Branch, 726 Minnesota 

Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stan 

Walker at (913) 551–7494. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 

24, 1997 (62 FR 13849), the EPA 

proposed approval of the SIP revision 

concerning K.A.R. 28–19–79, Fuel 

Volatility, submitted by KDHE. This 

revision, which limits the RVP of 

gasoline sold in the Kansas portion of 

the metropolitan area, is necessary to 

help the Kansas City area maintain the 

NAAQS for ozone. In accord with 

section 211(c)(4)(C), the EPA is able to 

approve this fuel control measure 

because the state of Kansas 

demonstrated that the measure is