8628 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 38 / Tuesday, February 27, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

bracket correctly, the submitter may file 

a corrected version or portion of the 

confidential document at the same time 

as the nonconfidential version is filed. 

No changes to the document other than 

bracketing and deletion of confidential 

business information are permitted after 

the deadline. Failure to comply with 

this paragraph may result in the striking 

of all or a portion of a submitter’s 

document. 

(b) Service. Any party submitting a 

document for the consideration of the 

Commission in the course of an 

investigation to which this part pertains 

shall, in addition to complying with 

§ 201.8 of this chapter, serve a copy of 

the public version of such document on 

all other parties to the investigation in 

the manner prescribed in § 201.16 of 

this chapter. If a document is filed 

before the Secretary’s issuance of the 

service list provided for in § 201.11 of 

this chapter, the document need not be 

accompanied by a certificate of service, 

but the document shall be served on all 

appropriate parties within two (2) days 

of the issuance of the service list and a 

certificate of service shall then be filed. 

Notwithstanding § 201.16 of this 

chapter, petitions, briefs, and testimony 

filed by parties shall be served by hand 

or, if served by mail, by overnight mail 

or its equivalent. Failure to comply with 

the requirements of this rule may result 

in removal from status as a party to the 

investigation. The Commission shall 

make available, upon request, to all 

parties to the investigation a copy of 

each document, except transcripts of 

hearings, confidential business 

information, privileged information, and 

information required to be served under 

this section, placed in the docket file of 

the investigation by the Commission. 

(c) Certification. Any person 

submitting factual information on behalf 

of the petitioner or any other interested 

party for the consideration of the 

Commission in the course of an 

investigation to which this part pertains, 

and any person submitting a response to 

a Commission questionnaire issued in 

connection with an investigation to 

which this part pertains, must certify 

that such information is accurate and 

complete to the best of the submitter’s 

knowledge. 

§ 208.7 Determinations and reports. 

(a) Determinations. When relevant 

information is not available on the 

record or any party withholds 

information that has been requested by 

the Commission, the Commission will 

make its determination on the basis of 

the facts available. When the 

Commission relies on information 

submitted as facts available, it will, to 

the extent practicable, corroborate the 

information from independent sources 

that are reasonably available to the 

Commission. 

(b) Time for determinations and 

reports. The Commission will make its 

determinations under section 

112(c)(2)(A) and (B)(i) of AGOA and 

transmit its reports to the President by 

September 25, 2007, with respect to 

petitions received on or before March 28 

and accepted on or before April 11, 

2007, and will make its determinations 

by August 1 of subsequent years with 

respect to petitions received on or 

before January 15 and accepted on or 

before February 1 of those years. 

(c) Contents of report. The 

Commission will include in its report to 

the President the following: 

(1) The determination made with 

respect to whether a fabric or yarn 

produced in beneficiary sub-Saharan 

African countries is available in 

commercial quantities for use in lesser 

developed beneficiary sub-Saharan 

African countries, and an explanation of 

the basis for the determination; 

(2) If the determination in paragraph 

(c)(1) of this section is affirmative, a 

determination with respect to the 

quantity of the fabric or yarn that will 

be so available in lesser developed 

beneficiary sub-Saharan African 

countries in the applicable 1-year period 

beginning after the determination is 

made; 

(3) Any dissenting or separate views 

by members of the Commission 

regarding such determinations. 

(c) Public version of report. Upon 

making its report to the President, the 

Commission will make such report 

public (with the exception of 

information which the Commission 

determines to be confidential), and 

publish a summary thereof in the 

Federal Register. 

§ 208.8 Confidential business information; 

furnishing of nonconfidential summaries 

thereof. 

(a) Nonrelease of information. In the 

case of an investigation under this part, 

the Commission will not release 

information which the Commission 

considers to be confidential business 

information within the meaning of 

§ 201.6 of this chapter unless the party 

submitting the confidential business 

information had notice, at the time of 

submission, that such information 

would be released by the Commission, 

or such party subsequently consents to 

the release of the information. When 

appropriate, the Commission will 

include confidential business 

information in reports transmitted to the 

President (and/or the United States 

Trade Representative); such reports will 

be marked as containing confidential 

business information, and a 

nonconfidential version of such report 

will be made available to the public. 

(b) Nonconfidential summaries. 

Except as the Commission may 

otherwise provide, a party submitting 

confidential business information shall 

also submit to the Commission, at the 

time it submits such information, a 

nonconfidential summary of the 

information. If a party indicates that the 

confidential business information 

cannot be summarized, it shall state in 

writing the reasons why a summary 

cannot be provided. If the Commission 

finds that a request for confidentiality is 

not warranted and if the party 

concerned is either unwilling to make 

the information public or to authorize 

its disclosure in generalized or 

summarized form, the Commission may 

disregard the submission. 

By order of the Commission. 

Issued: February 21, 2007. 

Marilyn R. Abbott, 

Secretary to the Commission. 

[FR Doc. E7–3387 Filed 2–26–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7020–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

29 CFR Part 2590 

RIN 1210–AA62 

Mental Health Parity 

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Interim final amendment to 

regulation. 

SUMMARY: This document contains an 

interim final amendment to modify the 

sunset date of interim final regulations 

under the Mental Health Parity Act 

(MHPA) to be consistent with legislation 

passed during the 109th Congress. 

DATES: Effective date. The interim final 

amendment is effective December 31, 

2006. 

Applicability dates. The requirements 

of the interim final amendment apply to 

group health plans and health insurance 

issuers offering health insurance 

coverage in connection with a group 

health plan beginning December 31, 

2006. The MHPA interim final 

amendment extends the sunset date 

from December 31, 2006 to December 

31, 2007. Pursuant to the extended 

sunset date, MHPA requirements apply 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 38 / Tuesday, February 27, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 8629 

1Part 7 of Subtitle B of Title I of ERISA, Chapter 

100 of Subtitle K of the Code, and Title XXVII of 

the PHS Act were added by the Health Insurance 

Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), 

Pub. L. 104–191. 

2The parity requirements under MHPA, the 

interim regulations, and the amendment to the 

interim regulations do not apply to any group 

health plan (or health insurance coverage offered in 

connection with a group health plan) for any plan 

Continued 

to benefits for services furnished before 

December 31, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth 

Gelman, Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor, at 

(202) 693–8335. 

Customer Service Information: 

Individuals interested in obtaining 

additional information on the Mental 

Health Parity Act and other health care 

laws may request copies of Department 

of Labor publications concerning 

changes in health care law by calling the 

EBSA Toll-Free Hotline at 1–866–444–

EBSA (3272), or access the publications 

on-line at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa, the 

Department of Labor’s Web site. 

Information on the Mental Health Parity 

Act and other health care laws is also 

available on the Department of Labor’s 

interactive Web pages, Health Elaws 

(http://www.dol.gov/elaws/ebsa/health). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

The Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 

(MHPA) was enacted on September 26, 

1996 (Pub. L. 104–204, 110 Stat. 2944). 

MHPA amended the Employee 

Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 

(ERISA) and the Public Health Service 

Act (PHS Act) to provide for parity in 

the application of annual and lifetime 

dollar limits on mental health benefits 

with dollar limits on medical/surgical 

benefits. Provisions implementing 

MHPA were later added to the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986 (Code) under the 

Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 

105–34, 111 Stat. 1080). 

The provisions of MHPA, as originally 

enacted, are set forth in Part 7 of 

Subtitle B of Title I of ERISA, Chapter 

100 of Subtitle K of the Code, and Title 

XXVII of the PHS Act.1 The MHPA 

provisions in ERISA generally apply to 

all group health plans other than 

governmental plans, church plans, and 

certain other plans. These provisions 

also apply to health insurance issuers 

that offer health insurance coverage in 

connection with such group health 

plans. Generally, the Secretary of Labor 

enforces the MHPA provisions in 

ERISA, except that no enforcement 

action may be taken by the Secretary 

against issuers. However, individuals 

may generally pursue actions against 

issuers under ERISA and, in some 

circumstances, under state law. 

B. Overview of MHPA 

The MHPA provisions set forth in 

section 712 of ERISA apply to a group 

health plan (or health insurance 

coverage offered by issuers in 

connection with a group health plan) 

that provides both medical/surgical 

benefits and mental health benefits. 

MHPA’s original text included a sunset 

provision specifying that MHPA’s 

provisions applied to benefits for 

services furnished before September 30, 

2001. On December 22, 1997, the 

Departments of Labor, the Treasury, and 

Health and Human Services issued 

interim final regulations under MHPA 

in the Federal Register (62 FR 66931). 

The interim final regulations included 

this statutory sunset date. 

On January 10, 2002, President Bush 

signed H.R. 3061 (Pub. L. 107–116, 115 

Stat. 2177), the 2002 Appropriations Act 

for the Departments of Labor, Health 

and Human Services, and Education. 

This legislation extended MHPA’s 

original sunset date under ERISA, the 

Code, and the PHS Act, so that MHPA’s 

provisions would apply to benefits for 

services furnished before December 31, 

2002. 

On March 9, 2002, President Bush 

signed H.R. 3090, the Job Creation and 

Worker Assistance Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 

107–147, 116 Stat. 21), that included an 

amendment to section 9812 of the Code 

(the mental health parity provisions). 

This legislation further extended 

MHPA’s original sunset date under the 

Code to December 31, 2003. 

On September 27, 2002, the 

Department of Labor issued an interim 

final amendment for mental health 

parity in the Federal Register (67 FR 

60859). The interim final amendment 

included the new statutory sunset date 

under H.R. 3061, so that MHPA’s 

provisions would apply to benefits for 

services furnished before December 31, 

2002. The Department made the 

effective date of this interim final 

amendment to the regulations 

September 30, 2001. 

On December 2, 2002, President Bush 

signed H.R. 5716, the Mental Health 

Parity Reauthorization Act of 2002 (Pub. 

L. 107–313, 116 Stat. 2457), an 

amendment to section 712 of ERISA and 

Section 2705 of the PHS Act. This 

legislation further extended MHPA’s 

original sunset date under ERISA and 

the PHS Act to December 31, 2003. On 

April 14, 2003, the Department of Labor 

issued an interim final amendment for 

mental health parity in the Federal 

Register (68 FR 18048). The interim 

final amendment included the new 

statutory sunset date under H.R. 5716, 

so that MHPA’s provisions would apply 

to benefits for services furnished before 

December 31, 2003. 

On December 19, 2003, President 

Bush signed S. 1929, the Mental Health 

Parity Reauthorization Act of 2003 (Pub. 

L. 108–197, 117 Stat. 2998), an 

amendment to section 712 of ERISA and 

Section 2705 of the PHS Act. This 

legislation further extended MHPA’s 

original sunset date under ERISA and 

the PHS Act to December 31, 2004. On 

January 26, 2004, the Department of 

Labor issued an interim final 

amendment for mental health parity in 

the Federal Register (69 FR 3815). The 

final rule included the new statutory 

sunset date under S. 1929, so that 

MHPA’s provisions would apply to 

benefits for services furnished before 

December 31, 2004. 

On October 4, 2004, President Bush 

signed H.R. 1308, the Working Families 

Tax Relief Act of 2004 (Pub. L. 108–311, 

118 Stat. 1166), an amendment to 

section 712 of ERISA, Section 9812 of 

the Code, and Section 2705 of the PHS 

Act which extended MHPA’s original 

sunset date under ERISA, the Code, and 

the PHS Act to December 31, 2005. On 

December 17, 2004, the Department of 

Labor issued an interim final 

amendment for mental health parity in 

the Federal Register (69 FR 75798). The 

interim final amendment included the 

new statutory sunset date under H.R. 

1308, so that MHPA’s provisions would 

apply to benefits for services furnished 

before December 31, 2005. 

On December 30, 2005, President 

Bush signed H.R. 4579, the Employee 

Retirement Preservation Act (Pub. L. 

109–151, 119 Stat. 2886) which amends 

ERISA, the Code, and the PHS Act to 

further extend MHPA’s original sunset 

date to December 31, 2006. On March 

20, 2006, the Department of Labor 

issued an interim final amendment for 

mental health parity in the Federal 

Register (71 FR 13937). The interim 

final amendment included the new 

statutory sunset date under H.R. 4579, 

so that MHPA’s provisions would apply 

to benefits for services furnished before 

December 31, 2006. 

On December 20, 2006, President 

Bush signed H.R. 6111, the Tax Relief 

and Health Care Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 

109–432, 120 Stat. 2922) which amends 

ERISA, the Code, and the PHS Act to 

further extend MHPA’s original sunset 

date to December 31, 2007. Like MHPA, 

this amendment to MHPA applies to a 

group health plan (or health insurance 

coverage offered by issuers in 

connection with a group health plan) 

that provides both medical/surgical 

benefits and mental health benefits.2 As 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with RULES
8630 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 38 / Tuesday, February 27, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

year of a small employer. The term ‘‘small 

employer’’ is defined as an employer who 

employed an average of at least 2 but not more than 

50 employees on business days during the 

preceding calendar year and who employs at least 

2 employees on the first day of the plan year. 

a result of this statutory amendment, 

and to assist employers, plan sponsors, 

health insurance issuers, and workers, 

the Department of Labor has developed 

this amendment of the interim final 

regulations, in consultation with the 

Departments of the Treasury and Health 

and Human Services, conforming the 

regulatory sunset date to the new 

statutory sunset date. The Department is 

also making conforming changes 

extending the duration of the increased 

cost exemption to be consistent with the 

new sunset date. 

Since the extension of this sunset date 

is not discretionary, this amendment to 

the MHPA regulations is promulgated 

on an interim final basis pursuant to 

Section 734 of ERISA. This interim final 

amendment is also promulgated 

pursuant to Section 553(d)(3) of the 

Administrative Procedure Act, allowing 

for regulations to become effective 

immediately for good cause. 

C. Executive Order 12866 

Under Executive Order 12866, the 

Department must determine whether a 

regulatory action is ‘‘significant’’ and 

therefore subject to the requirements of 

the Executive Order and subject to 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB). Under section 3(f), the 

order defines a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ as an action that is likely to 

result in a rule: (1) Having an annual 

effect on the economy of $100 million 

or more, or adversely and materially 

affecting a sector of the economy, 

productivity, competition, jobs, the 

environment, public health or safety, or 

state, local or tribal governments or 

communities (also referred to as 

‘‘economically significant’’); (2) creating 

serious inconsistency or otherwise 

interfering with an action taken or 

planned by another agency; (3) 

materially altering the budgetary 

impacts of entitlement grants, user fees, 

or loan programs or the rights and 

obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) 

raising novel legal or policy issues 

arising out of legal mandates, the 

President’s priorities, or the principles 

set forth in the Executive Order. 

Pursuant to the terms of the Executive 

Order, it has been determined that this 

action is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ within the meaning of the 

Executive Order. This action is an 

amendment to the interim final 

regulations and merely extends the 

regulatory sunset date to conform to the 

new statutory sunset date added by H.R. 

6111. 

D. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This action does not impose any new 

or revised information collection 

requirements for purposes of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 

U.S.C. 3501–30. Therefore, no 

submission for OMB approval is being 

made in connection with this interim 

final amendment. 

E. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) (RFA) imposes 

certain requirements with respect to 

federal rules that are subject to the 

notice and comment requirements of 

section 553(b) of the Administrative 

Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551 et seq.). 

Because this amendment to the interim 

final regulations is being published on 

an interim final basis, without prior 

notice and a period for comment, the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act does not 

apply. 

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

For purposes of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 

104–4) (UMRA), as well as Executive 

Order 12875, this interim final 

amendment does not include any 

federal mandate that may result in 

expenditures by state, local, or tribal 

governments, and does not include 

mandates that may impose an annual 

expenditure of $100 million or more on 

the private sector. 

G. Congressional Review Act 

This interim final amendment is 

subject to the Congressional Review Act 

provisions of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) (SBREFA), 

and has been transmitted to Congress 

and the Comptroller General for review. 

This amendment to the interim final 

regulations is not a major rule, as that 

term is defined by 5 U.S.C. 804. 

H. Federalism Statement 

Executive Order 13132 (August 4, 

1999) outlines fundamental principles 

of federalism and requires the 

adherence to specific criteria by federal 

agencies in the process of their 

formulation and implementation of 

policies that have substantial direct 

effects on the states, the relationship 

between the states, the relationship 

between the national government and 

the states, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities among the 

various levels of government. This 

interim final amendment does not have 

federalism implications as it only 

conforms the regulatory sunset date to 

the new statutory sunset date added by 

H.R. 6111. 

List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 2590 

Continuation coverage, Disclosure, 

Employee benefit plans, Group health 

plans, Health care, Health insurance, 

Medical child support, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

■ 29 CFR part 2590 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 2590—RULES AND 

REGULATIONS FOR GROUP HEALTH 

PLANS 

■ 1. The authority for part 2590 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 29 U.S.C. 1027, 1059, 1135, 

1161–1168, 1169, 1181–1183, 1181 note, 

1185, 1185a, 1185b, 1191, 1191a, 1191b, and 

1191c, sec. 101(g), Pub. L. 104–191, 101 Stat. 

1936; sec. 401(b), Pub. L. 105–200, 112 Stat. 

645 (42 U.S.C. 651 note); Secretary of Labor’s 

Order 1–2003, 68 FR 5374 (Feb. 3, 2003). 

§ 2590.712 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend § 2590.712 (f)(1), (g)(2), and 

(i) by removing the date ‘‘December 31, 

2006’’ and add in its place the date 

‘‘December 31, 2007’’ wherever it 

appears in these paragraphs. 

Signed at Washington, DC this 21st day of 

February, 2007. 

Bradford P. Campbell, 

Acting Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits 

Security Administration. 

[FR Doc. E7–3278 Filed 2–26–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 63 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2004–0357; FRL–8281–9] 

RIN 2060–AO03 

National Emission Standards for 

Hazardous Air Pollutants: Shipbuilding 

and Ship Repair (Surface Coating) 

Operations 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Withdrawal of direct final rule; 

notice of reopening of public comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: Because EPA received 

adverse comments, we are withdrawing 

the direct final rule for the National 

Emission Standards for Hazardous Air 

Pollutants for Shipbuilding and Ship 

Repair (Surface Coating) Operations 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with RULES