Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 198 / Tuesday, October 14, 2014 / Notices 61655 

5 It is unclear from the Board’s order whether 

Respondent offered any evidence in the State 

proceeding that he acknowledges his misconduct 

and has undertaken remedial measures to prevent 

its recurrence, and given the outcome of the 

proceeding and the absence of any discussion in the 

Order, it seems unlikely that he did. Indeed, while 

in the DEA proceeding, Respondent faced similar 

allegations of unlawful prescribing, he declined to 

testify and offered no evidence at all. See R.D. at 

61–62. 

While under this Agency’s precedents, evidence 

that a practitioner acknowledges his misconduct 

and has undertaken remedial measures may refute 

the Government’s prima facie case when it seeks 

the revocation of a practitioner’s registration on 

public interest grounds, it is unnecessary to 

determine whether Respondent offered such 

evidence in the board proceeding. This is so 

because Respondent’s loss of his state authority 

provides a separate and independent ground for 

revoking his registration. And because under the 

CSA, possessing authority under state law to 

dispense controlled substances is a mandatory 

requirement for obtaining and maintaining a DEA 

practitioner’s registration, it does not matter 

whether Respondent offered such evidence in the 

state board proceeding. 

6Based on the extensive and egregious nature of 

the misconduct proved by the Government, I 

conclude that the public interest necessitates that 

this Order be effectively immediately. 21 CFR 

1316.67. 

Appx. 826, 828 (4th Cir. June 6, 2012) 

(unpublished). 

This rule derives from the text of two 

provisions of the CSA. First, Congress 

defined ‘‘the term ‘practitioner’ [to] 

mean[] a physician . . . or other person 

licensed, registered or otherwise 

permitted, by . . . the jurisdiction in 

which he practices . . . to distribute, 

dispense, [or] administer . . . a 

controlled substance in the course of 

professional practice.’’ 21 U.S.C. 

802(21). Second, in setting the 

requirements for obtaining a 

practitioner’s registration, Congress 

directed that ‘‘[t]he Attorney General 

shall register practitioners . . . if the 

applicant is authorized to dispense . . . 

controlled substances under the laws of 

the State in which he practices.’’ 21 

U.S.C. 823(f) (emphasis added). 

Because Congress has clearly 

mandated that a practitioner possess 

state authority in order to be deemed a 

practitioner under the Act, DEA has 

held repeatedly that revocation of a 

practitioner’s registration is the 

appropriate sanction if the practitioner 

is no longer authorized to dispense 

controlled substances under the laws of 

the State in which he practices 

medicine.5 See, e.g., Calvin Ramsey, 76 

FR 20034, 20036 (2011); Sheran Arden 

Yeates, M.D., 71 FR 39130, 39131 

(2006); Dominick A. Ricci, 58 FR 51104, 

51105 (1993); Bobby Watts, 53 FR 

11919, 11920 (1988). It is of no 

consequence that Respondent has 

sought judicial review of the Board’s 

decision. See Ramsey, 76 FR at 20036 

(citing Michael G. Dolin, 65 FR 5661, 

5662 (2000)). Under the CSA, all that 

matters is that Respondent is no longer 

currently authorized to dispense 

controlled substances in Louisiana. Id. 

Here, the Louisiana Board has 

suspended Respondent’s medical 

license for at least two years, and even 

in the event the Board reinstates his 

license, he will be prohibited from 

prescribing controlled substances for at 

least five years from the date of 

reinstatement. Accordingly, I conclude 

that Registrant is without authority 

under Louisiana law to handle 

controlled substances in the State in 

which he holds his DEA registration. 

Because Respondent no longer meets 

the CSA’s requirement that he be 

currently authorized to dispense 

controlled substances in the State in 

which he holds his registration, I will 

order that his registration be revoked. 

See Craig Bammer, 73 FR 34327, 34329 

(2008); Richard Carino, M.D., 72 FR 

71955, 71956 (2007) (citing cases). 

Order 

Pursuant to the authority vested in me 

by 21 U.S.C. 823(f) and 824(a)(3) & (4), 

as well as 28 CFR 0.100(b) and 0.104, I 

order that DEA Certificate of 

Registration BA5142308, issued to Fiaz 

Afzal, M.D., be, and it hereby is, 

revoked. I further order that any 

application of Fiaz Afzal, M.D., to renew 

or modify his registration, be, and it 

hereby is, denied. This Order is 

effectively immediately.6

Dated: October 2, 2014. 

Thomas M. Harrigan, 

Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2014–24373 Filed 10–10–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–09–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Office of the Secretary 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request; 

Representative Payee Report, 

Representative Payee Report Short 

Form, and Physician’s/Medical 

Officer’s Statement 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor 

(DOL) is submitting the Office of 

Workers’ Compensation Programs 

(OWCP) sponsored information 

collection request (ICR) revision titled, 

‘‘Representative Payee Report, 

Representative Payee Report Short 

Form, and Physician’s/Medical Officer’s 

Statement,’’ to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and approval for use in 

accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq.). Public comments on the 

ICR are invited. 

DATES: The OMB will consider all 

written comments that agency receives 

on or before November 13, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with 

applicable supporting documentation; 

including a description of the likely 

respondents, proposed frequency of 

response, and estimated total burden 

may be obtained free of charge from the 

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

reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR

?ref_nbr=201405-1240-004 (this link 

will only become active on the day 

following publication of this notice) or 

by contacting Michel Smyth by 

telephone at 202–693–4129, TTY 202– 

693–8064, (these are not toll-free 

numbers) or sending an email to DOL_

PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov. 

Submit comments about this request 

by mail or courier to the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL– 

OWCP, Office of Management and 

Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street 

NW., Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: 

202–395–5806 (this is not a toll-free 

number); or by email: 

OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov. 

Commenters are encouraged, but not 

required, to send a courtesy copy of any 

comments by mail or courier to the U.S. 

Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of 

the Chief Information Officer, Attn: 

Departmental Information Compliance 

Management Program, Room N1301, 

200 Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20210; or by email: 

DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Contact Michel Smyth by telephone at 

202–693–4129, TTY 202–693–8064, 

(these are not toll-free numbers) or 

sending an email to 

DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov. 

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR 

seeks approval under the PRA for 

revisions to the Representative Payee 

Report, Representative Payee Report 

Short Form, and Physician’s/Medical 

Officer’s Statement information 

collection. Benefits due a DOL black 

lung beneficiary may be paid to a 

representative payee on behalf of the 

beneficiary when he or she is unable to 

manage the benefits due to incapability 

or incompetence or because the 

beneficiary is a minor. The 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

61656 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 198 / Tuesday, October 14, 2014 / Notices 

Representative Payee Report (Form CM– 

623) and Representative Payee Report 

Short Form (Form CM–623S) are used to 

ensure that benefits paid to a 

representative payee are used for the 

beneficiary’s well-being. The 

Physician’s/Medical Officer’s Statement 

(Form CM–787) is used to determine the 

beneficiary’s capability to manage 

monthly black lung benefits. While not 

expected to affect respondent burden, 

this ICR has been classified as a revision 

because of minor clarifications that 

should help claimants better understand 

what information to provide on the 

forms. The Black Lung Benefits Act 

authorizes this information collection. 

See 30 U.S.C. 921, 922. 

This information collection is subject 

to the PRA. A Federal agency generally 

cannot conduct or sponsor a collection 

of information, and the public is 

generally not required to respond to an 

information collection, unless it is 

approved by the OMB under the PRA 

and displays a currently valid OMB 

Control Number. In addition, 

notwithstanding any other provisions of 

law, no person shall generally be subject 

to penalty for failing to comply with a 

collection of information that does not 

display a valid Control Number. See 5 

CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The DOL 

obtains OMB approval for this 

information collection under Control 

Number 1240–0020. The current 

approval is scheduled to expire on 

October 31, 2014; however, the DOL 

notes that existing information 

collection requirements submitted to the 

OMB receive a month-to-month 

extension while they undergo review. 

New requirements would only take 

effect upon OMB approval. For 

additional substantive information 

about this ICR, see the related notice 

published in the Federal Register on 

May 21, 2014 (79 FR 29219). 

Interested parties are encouraged to 

send comments to the OMB, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs at 

the address shown in the ADDRESSES

section within thirty (30) days of 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register. In order to help ensure 

appropriate consideration, comments 

should mention OMB Control Number 

1240–0020. The OMB is particularly 

interested in comments that: 

• Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

• Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

• Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

• Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., permitting electronic submission of 

responses. 

Agency: DOL–OWCP 

Title of Collection: Representative 

Payee Report, Representative Payee 

Report Short Form, and Physician’s/ 

Medical Officer’s Statement. 

OMB Control Number: 1240–0020. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households and private sector— 

businesses or other for-profits and notfor profit institutions. 

Total Estimated Number of 

Respondents: 2,100. 

Total Estimated Number of 

Responses: 2,100. 

Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 

1,642 hours. 

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs 

Burden: $0 

Dated: October 6, 2014. 

Michel Smyth, 

Departmental Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2014–24278 Filed 10–10–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–CK–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employment and Training 

Administration 

Investigations Regarding Eligibility To 

Apply for Worker Adjustment 

Assistance 

Petitions have been filed with the 

Secretary of Labor under Section 221(a) 

of the Trade Act of 1974 (‘‘the Act’’) and 

are identified in the Appendix to this 

notice. Upon receipt of these petitions, 

the Director of the Office of Trade 

Adjustment Assistance, Employment 

and Training Administration, has 

instituted investigations pursuant to 

Section 221(a) of the Act. 

The purpose of each of the 

investigations is to determine whether 

the workers are eligible to apply for 

adjustment assistance under Title II, 

Chapter 2, of the Act. The investigations 

will further relate, as appropriate, to the 

determination of the date on which total 

or partial separations began or 

threatened to begin and the subdivision 

of the firm involved. 

The petitioners or any other persons 

showing a substantial interest in the 

subject matter of the investigations may 

request a public hearing, provided such 

request is filed in writing with the 

Director, Office of Trade Adjustment 

Assistance, at the address shown below, 

not later than October 24, 2014. 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written comments regarding the 

subject matter of the investigations to 

the Director, Office of Trade Adjustment 

Assistance, at the address shown below, 

not later than October 24, 2014. 

The petitions filed in this case are 

available for inspection at the Office of 

the Director, Office of Trade Adjustment 

Assistance, Employment and Training 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor, Room N–5428, 200 Constitution 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. 

Signed at Washington, DC this 25th day of 

September 2014. 

Michael W. Jaffe, 

Certifying Officer, Office of Trade Adjustment 

Assistance. 

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