This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

42943

Vol. 62, No. 154

Monday, August 11, 1997

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 213

RIN 3206–AH91

Fellowship and Similar Appointments

in the Excepted Service

AGENCY: Office of Personnel

Management.

ACTION: Proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel

Management (OPM) proposes to

consolidate single-agency excepted

service authorities for filling positions

associated with fellowships,

internships, residencies, studentstipend, and similar programs by

establishing two Governmentwide

authorities in their place. This will

reduce the number of appointing

authorities. One authority would cover

fellowship-type programs, while the

other would apply to student employees

who are paid stipends under special

statutory provisions.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before September 10, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver written

comments to Mary Lou Lindholm,

Associate Director for Employment,

Office of Personnel Management, Room

6F08, 1900 E Street NW., Washington,

DC 20415.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sylvia Cole on (202) 606–0830, TDD

(202) 606–0023, or FAX (202) 606–2329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In OPM’s

continuing efforts to simplify the

Federal appointment system, we are

reducing the overall number of excepted

service authorities. As part of this

initiative we are reviewing all

appointing authorities that were

established to meet specific agency

needs, to determine if exception is still

appropriate. Where it is, we hope to

identify the situations where individual

agency authorities share enough of a

common basis that they could be

consolidated into a single

Governmentwide appointing authority

that would apply to all agencies.

Fellowship and Similar Programs

Over the years OPM has granted

numerous excepted authorities to

individual agencies to cover a variety of

fellowship, internship and similar

programs. These regulations propose a

consolidated Schedule A authority for

these types of programs. Positions are

placed in Schedule A when it is

impracticable to examine for them.

The term ‘‘fellowship’’ covers a

variety of non-permanent employment

situations, usually associated with

specific programs. They can be in the

form of internship or training programs

that provide developmental work

opportunities and learning experiences

to individuals who have completed

their education, for instance in the area

of science and engineering. Many are at

the postgraduate or postdoctoral level,

though they can occur at any level.

Other programs are designed to increase

the pool of candidates in a particular

specialty for all employers, not just the

Federal Government, such as in health

care, or to bring highly specialized

private sector expertise to an agency.

They can also be in the form of

industry exchange programs that are

intended to foster mutual understanding

and cooperation between an agency and

its customer group, or a particular

profession, such as public accounting.

They are designed to give program

participants a better understanding of

how Federal policies are formulated,

while they, in turn, bring new ideas and

perspectives from outside government

to the agency. Some programs provide

scholarships or other educational

assistance to individuals and, in turn,

require a period of obligated service

with the Federal Government.

All these programs operate under

specific parameters set by the

employing agency or a non-Federal

entity, such as a professional

association. Most fellowship-type

appointments last from one to three

years and are not usually intended to

recruit candidates for permanent

Federal employment. We are proposing

a 4-year employment limit to cover the

occasional program that has unique

requirements and any unforeseen

agency needs.

None of the above employment

situations is covered under an existing

Governmentwide excepted authority.

While agencies have available to them

appointing authorities for students, they

do not cover individuals who have

completed their education. The existing

Presidential Management Intern

Program, established by Executive

order, is also very narrow in scope and

not compatible with the multitude of

fellowship-type situations that exist in

agencies.

OPM finds that it is impracticable to

examine for fellowship and similar

programs because they represent nontraditional employment situations.

There is no open competition because

only applicants from targeted academic

or professional disciplines are

considered for the positions, and they

must meet previously agreed upon

qualification criteria. Often they are

ranked and recommended by a third

party, such as a non-Federal

organization. Other times selections are

based solely on a candidate’s interest in

the agency’s programs.

The proposed appointing authority

will cover a small but important

employment need of agencies that have

unique fellowship and similar

programs. It is designed to encompass

existing programs that currently operate

under individual agency appointing

authorities.

Student-Stipend Programs

Under 5 U.S.C. 5351–5356, agencies

may pay stipends and provide certain

services to student-employees assigned

or attached to Government hospitals,

clinics or medical or dental laboratories.

These positions are excluded from the

provisions of law relating to

classification and General Schedule pay.

We propose to establish a separate

Schedule A authority for these positions

because of their unique compensation

and classification aspects.

As with the fellowship positions,

numerous single-agency authorities

have been established for studentstipend programs. The positions

typically covered by these programs

include student practical nurses,

student dental assistants, medical

interns, and student pharmacists, which

are located in agencies operating

hospitals, clinics, medical centers or

laboratories. The programs usually

provide training opportunities or

clinical experiences to students from an

academic institution, or to residents

from a non-Federal hospital.
42944 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 154 / Monday, August 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules

It is impracticable to examine for

positions associated with studentstipend programs because position

incumbents are selected by the school

where they are enrolled. When a nonFederal organization controls the

selection process, there is no

examination by a Federal agency.

Conforming Amendment

In 5 CFR 213.104, positions filled

under single-agency authorities for

fellowship and related programs are

exempt from the service limits for

making temporary appointments and

the refilling of these positions by

temporary appointment. We are adding

the new appointing authorities to the

list of exceptions cited in 5 CFR

213.104(b)(3)(ii).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify that these regulations will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities

(including small businesses, small

organizational units, and small

governmental jurisdictions) because the

regulations apply only to appointment

procedures used to appoint certain

employees in Federal agencies.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 213

Government employees, Reporting

and recordkeeping requirements.

James B. King,

Director, Office of Personnel Management.

Accordingly, OPM proposes to amend

5 CFR part 213 as follows:

PART 213—EXCEPTED SERVICE

1. The authority citation for part 213

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 3301 and 3302, E.O.

10577, 3 CFR 1954–1958 Comp., p. 218;

§ 213.101 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 2103;

§ 213.3102 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 3301,

3302, 3307, 8337(h) and 8456; E.O. 12364, 47

FR 22931, 3 CFR 1982 Comp., p. 185; and 38

U.S.C. 4301 et seq.

2. In § 213.104 paragraph (b)(3)(ii) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 213.104 Special provisions for

temporary, intermittent, or seasonal

appointments in Schedule A, B, or C.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(3) * * *

(ii) Positions are filled under an

authority established for the purpose of

enabling the appointees to continue or

enhance their education, or to meet

academic or professional qualification

requirements. These include the

authorities set out in paragraphs (r) and

(s) of § 213.3102 and paragraph (c) of

§ 213.3202, and authorities granted to

individual agencies for use in

connection with internship, fellowship,

residency, or student programs.

* * * * *

3. In § 213.3102, paragraphs (r) and (s)

are added to read as follows:

§ 213.3102 Entire executive civil service.

* * * * *

(r) Positions established in support of

fellowship and similar programs that are

filled from limited applicant pools and

operate under specific criteria

developed by the employing agency

and/or a non-Federal organization.

These programs may include: internship

or fellowship programs that provide

developmental or professional

experiences to individuals who have

completed their formal education;

training and associateship programs

designed to increase the pool of

qualified candidates in a particular

occupational specialty; professional/

industry exchange programs that

provide for a cross-fertilization between

the agency and the private sector to

foster mutual understanding, an

exchange of ideas, or to bring

experienced practitioners to the agency;

residency programs through which

participants gain experience in a

Federal clinical environment; and

programs that require a period of

Government service in exchange for

educational, financial or other

assistance. Appointments under this

authority may not exceed 4 years.

(s) Positions with compensation fixed

under 5 U.S.C. 5351–5356 when filled

by student-employees assigned or

attached to Government hospitals,

clinics or medical or dental laboratories.

Employment under this authority may

not exceed 4 years.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 97–21048 Filed 8–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6325–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 56

[Docket No. PY–97–003]

Voluntary Shell Egg Regulations

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing

Service (AMS) proposes to amend the

regulations governing the voluntary

shell egg grading program. The

proposed revisions would require

electronic digital-display scales be

provided to the grader; provide an

alternative grademark for shell eggs;

provide for the use of a ‘‘Produced

From’’ grademark to officially identify

products that originate from officially

graded shell eggs; and remove the

requirement for continuous overflow of

water during the egg washing process.

From time to time, sections in the

regulations are affected by changes in

egg processing technology. This rule

updates the regulations to reflect these

changes.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before October 10, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to

Douglas C. Bailey, Chief,

Standardization Branch, Poultry

Division, Agricultural Marketing

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Stop 0259, 1400 Independence Avenue,

SW, Washington, D.C. 20250–0259.

Comments received may be inspected at

this location between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30

p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through

Friday, except holidays. State that your

comments refer to Docket No. PY–97–

003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rex

A. Barnes, Chief, Grading Branch, 202–

720–3271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

proposed rule has been determined to

be not significant for purposes of

Executive Order 12866 and has not been

reviewed by the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB).

This proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, Civil

Justice Reform. This action is not

intended to have retroactive effect. This

rule will not preempt any State or local

laws, regulations, or policies, unless

they present an irreconcilable conflict

with this rule. There are no

administrative procedures which must

be exhausted prior to any judicial

challenge to the provisions of this rule.

Pursuant to the requirements set forth

in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA),

AMS has considered the economic

impact of this action on small entities as

defined in the RFA (5 U.S.C. 601). There

are almost 200 plants using the

Agency’s shell egg grading services and

many of them are small entities.

The proposal to require electronic

digital-display scales will affect some

processors by requiring the purchase of

one or more scales that cost from $150

to $1,000 each. This equipment will

improve the accuracy of egg weight

determinations, allowing processors to

avoid the expense incurred when

product is unnecessarily retained and

re-processed.

One proposal to establish an

alternative form of the USDA grademark