Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 217 / Monday, November 13, 2023 / Notices 77587 

f. Travel. This includes airfare, car 

rental, mileage, and meals for HISA’s 

corporate staff in the course of traveling 

to Covered Racetracks, industry 

meetings, HISA meetings (strategic 

planning summits, board meetings, etc.), 

and meetings with industry 

stakeholders. Travel to these events 

allows HISA’s corporate staff to conduct 

its business more efficiently and to 

perform its duties under the Act. 

g. Interest. This includes the interest 

expected to be charged on the loans that 

HISA procured to fund its initial 

operations. 

h. Bank Fees. This includes the cost 

of bank fees and credit card fees. These 

fees are minimal and are necessary to 

efficiently and effectively conduct 

business. 

i. Supplies. This includes the cost of 

all office supplies, including printer/ 

copier paper, printer/copier ink and 

toner, postage, shipping, and other 

miscellaneous office supplies. 

j. Accounting Services. This consists 

of the cost of a contract bookkeeping 

service that will book accounting 

entries, produce financial statements, 

manage and process Accounts 

Receivable, manage and process 

Accounts Payable, and draft/file HISA’s 

annual IRS Form 990. Contracting this 

work out to a company with expertise 

in these areas is much more costeffective than if HISA were to hire staff 

to perform these functions in-house. 

Additionally, this includes the 

estimated cost of an annual independent 

audit of HISA. 

k. Public Relations Services. This is 

the cost of a contract public relations 

service to manage HISA’s website, issue 

press releases, assist with the 

production and distribution of 

information to industry stakeholders, 

and provide continuing education 

information for industry stakeholders. 

The public relations firm that HISA is 

working with has many years of 

expertise in P/R for thoroughbred racing 

enterprises. The firm can perform the 

aforementioned tasks more efficiently 

and effectively than if HISA were to hire 

staff to perform these tasks in-house. 

l. Legal. This includes the cost of 

outside legal counsel for the creation, 

management, and updating of Racetrack 

Safety and ADMC rules as well as the 

cost of outside counsel that is working 

on the various lawsuits in which HISA 

is a party. Doing all of these tasks 

requires a decentralized group of 

lawyers with varied skill sets. At 

present, it is much more efficient and 

effective to utilize outside counsel than 

for HISA to hire a large in-house legal 

team to handle these issues. 

m. Insurance. This includes the 

following insurance policies for HISA: 

i. Directors & Officers insurance. 

ii. Workers’ Compensation insurance. 

All these policies were competitively 

shopped by a broker to get the lowest 

rate possible. 

n. Payroll Services. This includes all 

costs of HISA’s relationship with 

Resource Management, Inc. (RMI), a 

Professional Employer Organization 

(PEO). RMI provides Human Resources 

administration (handbook and policy 

management resources, new employee 

onboarding, labor law assistance, etc.), 

benefits management, compliance 

services (workers’ compensation claims 

management and annual reporting, 

unemployment claims management, 

etc.) and payroll administration (payroll 

processing, W2 management, vacation 

tracking, etc.). The relationship with 

RMI allows these functions to be 

performed in a more cost-effective 

manner than if HISA hired employees to 

perform those functions. 

o. Professional Services. This account 

consists of: 

i. Consulting fees to assist HISA with 

board and executive functions. 

ii. $300,000 contingency fund set 

aside for unexpected expenses. 

These items will ensure that HISA has 

high quality employees who are welltrained to properly serve its 

constituents. 

Please note that the 2024 HISA budget 

contemplates the repayment of $1.25M 

of loans; it does not assume that any 

funding shortfall will be incurred. 

V. Information Concerning Rule 

1.150(b)(5). Attached as Appendix 8 is 

a comparison of the approved HISA 

2023 Budget to actual revenues and 

expenditures. A variance has been 

calculated for each line item, and a 

narrative explanation has been provided 

for all variances >10% and at least 

$100,000. 

Conclusion 

The budget furthers the purpose of the 

Act in that it allocates the funding 

necessary for the successful 

implementation by HISA of the 

requirements of the Act. The budget has 

been carefully analyzed and is narrowly 

tailored to the various regulatory 

activities of HISA as contemplated by 

the Act. 

By direction of the Commission. 

April J. Tabor, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24939 Filed 11–9–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6750–01–P 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

[Notice–PBS–2023–04; Docket No. 2023– 

0002; Sequence No. 23] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Notice of Public Scoping Meeting and 

Comment Period 

AGENCY: Office of Public Buildings 

Service (PBS), General Services 

Administration (GSA) 

ACTION: Notice of intent; notice of public 

scoping meeting and comment period. 

SUMMARY: GSA intends to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

which will be prepared in order to 

analyze potential environmental 

impacts from the proposed 

modernization of the Bridge of the 

Americas Land Port of Entry (LPOE) in 

El Paso, Texas. 

DATES: Public Scoping—The public 

scoping period will begin November 13, 

2023. 

Meeting Date—An initial public 

scoping meeting will be held on 

Wednesday December 13, 2023, from 6 

p.m. to 8 p.m. central standard time 

(CST), where GSA will meet with 

governmental and public stakeholders 

to explain the project and obtain input 

on the scoping of the project. The 

meeting will be an informal open house, 

where visitors may come, receive 

information, and provide written 

comments. There will be a brief opening 

statement and review of the project. 

Interested parties are encouraged to 

provide written comments regarding the 

scope of the proposed EIS. Written 

comments pertaining to this initial 

public scoping meeting must be 

received by Tuesday, January 16, 2024, 

in order to be considered during 

preparation of the Draft EIS. 

ADDRESSES: The initial public scoping 

meeting will be held at the Hilos De 

Plata Senior Center, 4451 Delta Dr., El 

Paso, Texas 79905. 

Written comments may be sent to 

GSA BOTA.NEPAcomments@gsa.gov, or 

the address in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karla R. Carmichael, NEPA Program 

Manager, Environmental, Fire and 

Safety & Health Branch, GSA/PBS, 

Facilities Management and Services 

Programs Division, Greater Southwest 

Region 7, 819 Taylor St., Fort Worth, TX 

76102 or via telephone at 817–822– 

1372. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
77588 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 217 / Monday, November 13, 2023 / Notices 

Background 

On November 6, 2021, Congress 

passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 

(BIL), also known as the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). On 

November 15, 2021, the President 

signed Executive Order (E.O.) 14052 

‘‘Implementation of the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act.’’ On December 

13, 2021, the President signed E.O. 

14508 ‘‘Transforming Federal Customer 

Experience and Service Delivery to 

Rebuild Trust in Government.’’ On 

February 25, 2022, President Biden and 

the GSA announced the list of major 

LPOE projects funded by the BIL. This 

included the Bridge of the Americas 

(BOTA) LPOE in El Paso, Texas. 

The Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) will be prepared in accordance 

with section 102 of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969 (42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 

4321 to 4370d), as implemented by the 

regulations promulgated by the Council 

on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (40 

Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 

1500–1508). The principal objectives of 

NEPA are to ensure the careful 

consideration of environmental aspects 

of proposed actions in Federal decisionmaking processes and to make 

environmental information available to 

decision makers and the public before 

decisions are made and actions are 

taken. 

Additionally, this EIS will be 

prepared in accordance with GSA NEPA 

guidelines (GSA Order ADM 1095.1F 

and the Public Buildings Service [PBS] 

NEPA Desk Guide, both dated October 

1999) and serves as a mechanism for 

compliance with the National Historic 

Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 (as 

amended) and other relevant laws and/ 

or regulations. 

Scoping Process 

The purpose of this initial public 

scoping meeting is to seek input from 

stakeholders and the public regarding 

potential environmental issues that 

could affect the proposed project. The 

EIS will include public input on 

alternatives being developed to 

implement the proposed improvements 

and the potential impacts that could 

result from implementing those 

improvements. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The purpose of the proposed action is 

for the GSA to support the U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection (CBP) mission by 

bringing the BOTA LPOE infrastructure 

in line with current CBP land port 

design standards (i.e., CBP Land Port of 

Entry Design Standard) and operational 

requirements while addressing existing 

deficiencies identified with the ongoing 

port operations. In order to bring the 

BOTA LPOE in line with CBP’s design 

standards and operational requirements, 

action is needed to satisfy the following 

overriding needs: 

• Improve the capacity and 

functionality of the LPOE to meet future 

public demand, while maintaining the 

capability to meet border security 

initiatives. 

• Ensure the safety and security for 

the employees and the travelling public. 

Proposed Action and Alternatives 

Development 

As part of initial project planning, the 

GSA has developed three (3) action 

alternatives as potential means of 

implementing the proposed action. The 

no action alternative will also be 

considered in the EIS. All three action 

alternatives include the phased razing of 

all existing buildings/structures and 

infrastructure within the existing LPOE 

boundaries and construction of new 

buildings/structures and supporting 

infrastructure. All three also include 

minimal land acquisition in areas 

immediately adjacent to the port. 

Summary of Potential Impacts 

The EIS will identify, describe, and 

analyze the potential effects of the 

action alternatives developed to 

implement the proposed action and the 

no action alternative. This will include 

direct, indirect, and cumulative effects. 

At present, GSA has identified the 

following resources/issues for analysis 

of both beneficial and adverse potential 

impacts: 

• Hazardous Materials, Waste, and/or 

Site Contamination 

• Socioeconomics (including 

Environmental Justice) 

• Public Services, Infrastructure, and 

Utilities 

• Surface Waters, Drainage, and 

Floodplains 

• Land Use and Zoning (including 

Visual and Aesthetics) 

• Traffic (Vehicular and Pedestrian), 

Transportation, and Parking 

• Air Quality (including Greenhouse 

Gas Emissions) 

• Noise and Vibration 

• Cultural and Historic Resources 

The EIS will document measures that 

could potentially avoid, minimize, or 

mitigate any identified adverse impacts. 

GSA welcomes public input on these 

potential impacts and other resources 

that could be considered. 

Anticipated Schedule for DecisionMaking Process 

All dates are estimated and may 

change. 

• EIS NOI published in the Federal 

Register: Friday November 17, 2023. 

• Initial NEPA Scoping Meeting: 

Wednesday December 13, 2023. 

• End of Initial NEPA Scoping Period: 

Tuesday January 16, 2024. 

• Publication of the Draft EIS: May– 

June 2024 TBD. 

• Draft EIS Public Comment Period: 

June–August 2024 TBD. 

• Final EIS: September 2024 TBD. 

• Record of Decision: October 2024 

TBD. 

Michael Clardy, 

Director, Facilities Management Division. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24927 Filed 11–9–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–AY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Proposed Collection; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Agency for Healthcare Research 

and Quality, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

intention of the Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality (AHRQ) to request 

that the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) approve the proposed 

information collection project 

‘‘Questionnaire and Data Collection 

Testing, Evaluation, and Research for 

the Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality.’’ 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by January 12, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be submitted to: Doris Lefkowitz, 

Reports Clearance Officer, AHRQ, by 

email at doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov. 

Copies of the proposed collection 

plans, data collection instruments, and 

specific details on the estimated burden 

can be obtained from the AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Doris Lefkowitz, AHRQ Reports 

Clearance Officer, (301) 427–1477, or by 

email at doris.lefkowitz@AHRQ.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES