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

49943

Vol. 62, No. 185

Wednesday, September 24, 1997

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD

12 CFR Parts 900, 932 and 933

[No. 97–61]

RIN 3069–AA41

Membership Eligibility

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance

Board.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance

Board (Finance Board) is proposing to

amend the definition of the term ‘‘State’’

in its Membership Regulation to include

the U.S. Territory of American Samoa

(American Samoa) and the U.S.

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands (the Northern Mariana Islands).

Institutions organized under the laws of

American Samoa and the Northern

Mariana Islands, therefore, will be

eligible to apply for Federal Home Loan

Bank (Bank) membership. In accordance

with these changes, the Finance Board

also is proposing to clarify in its

regulations that the Seattle Bank District

includes American Samoa and the

Northern Mariana Islands. In addition,

the Finance Board is proposing to

designate Hawaii as the State in which

members with a principal place of

business in American Samoa, the

Northern Mariana Islands, or Guam,

shall be deemed to be located for

purposes of election of Bank directors.

DATES: Comments on this proposed rule

must be received in writing on or before

October 24, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be

mailed to: Elaine L. Baker, Secretary to

the Board, Federal Housing Finance

Board, 1777 F Street NW., Washington,

DC 20006. Comments will be available

for public inspection at this address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sharon B. Like, Senior AttorneyAdviser, (202) 408–2930, Office of

General Counsel, Federal Housing

Finance Board, 1777 F Street NW.,

Washington, DC 20006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Statutory and Regulatory Background

A. Membership Eligibility

Requirement—Definition of State

Under the Federal Home Loan Bank

Act (Act), the Finance Board is

responsible for the supervision and

regulation of the 12 Banks, which

provide advances and other financial

services to their member institutions.

See 12 U.S.C. 1422a(a). Institutions may

become members of a Bank if they meet

certain membership eligibility and

minimum stock purchase criteria set

forth in the Act and the Finance Board’s

implementing Membership Regulation.

See id. §§ 1424, 1426, 1430(e)(3); 12

CFR part 933.

Specifically, under the Act and the

Membership Regulation, applicants for

Bank membership must satisfy, among

other requirements, the requirement that

they are ‘‘duly organized under the laws

of any State or of the United States.’’ See

12 U.S.C. 1424(a)(1)(A); 12 CFR

933.6(a)(1), 933.7. Section 2(3) of the

Act defines the term ‘‘State’’ as follows:

The term State includes the District of

Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the

Virgin Islands of the United States.

See 12 U.S.C. 1422(3). Guam and the

U.S. Virgin Islands are U.S. Territories,

while Puerto Rico is a U.S.

Commonwealth.

Section 933.1(cc) of the Finance

Board’s Membership Regulation

implements the statutory definition by

defining the term State as follows:

State means a State, the District of

Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the

Virgin Islands of the United States.

See 12 CFR 933.1(cc). The regulatory

definition does not specifically include

any other U.S. Territories,

Commonwealths or Dependencies

within the meaning of State. Therefore,

financial institutions organized under

the laws of such other jurisdictions

currently are not eligible for Bank

membership, unless other specific laws

or agreements executed by the United

States and these jurisdictions make the

Act applicable to such jurisdictions.

The Finance Board believes that the

term State under the Membership

Regulation should be defined

comprehensively to include all other

U.S. Territories, Commonwealths and

Dependencies that share a political

status similar to that of the specified

entities in the statute, i.e., Guam, the

U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. In

addition, if any specific laws or

agreements executed by the United

States and particular jurisdictions make

the Act applicable to such jurisdictions,

then the regulatory definition of the

term State should be amended to

include those jurisdictions, consistent

with the laws or agreements.

Accordingly, the Finance Board

undertook a broad analysis of existing

and former U.S. Territories,

Commonwealths and Dependencies to

determine whether any of the

jurisdictions satisfy the above

requirements. The research revealed

that only American Samoa and the

Northern Mariana Islands meet the

requirements, as further discussed

below. Therefore, the Finance Board is

proposing to amend § 933.1(cc) of the

Membership Regulation to include

American Samoa and the Northern

Mariana Islands in the definition of

State. In order to ensure that all eligible

jurisdictions are included in the revised

definition of State for membership

purposes, the Finance Board requests

commenters to identify any other

jurisdictions not included in proposed

§ 933.1(cc) that have U.S. Territory,

Commonwealth, or Dependency status,

or that have laws or agreements with the

United States that make the Act

applicable to such jurisdictions.

B. Designation of Member’s State

Location for Purposes of Election of

Bank Directors

The Act sets forth specific procedures

for the election of directors by the

members to the boards of the Banks. See

12 U.S.C. 1427; 12 CFR 932. Each

elective directorship is designated by

the Finance Board as representing the

members located in a particular State.

See 12 U.S.C. 1427(b). If the principal

place of business of a member is located

in a State as defined in section 7(e) of

the Act, the Finance Board must

designate such State as the State in

which the member is located for

director election purposes. See id.

§ 1427(c). Section 7(e) defines State, for

purposes of section 7, as ‘‘the States of

the Union, the District of Columbia, and

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.’’ See

id. § 1427(e). For members whose

principal place of business is not

located in a State as defined in section

7(e), the Finance Board is required to

designate a State in which such
49944 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 185 / Wednesday, September 24, 1997 / Proposed Rules

1There do not appear to be any laws or

contractual provisions in the cession agreements

executed by the United States and American Samoa

making the Act applicable to American Samoa.

members shall be deemed to be located

for director election purposes. See id.

§ 1427(c).

American Samoa and the Northern

Mariana Islands are not included in the

section 7(e) definition of State.

Accordingly, the Finance Board is

required to designate a State where

members with a principal place of

business located in American Samoa or

the Northern Mariana Islands shall be

deemed to be located. The Finance

Board is proposing to amend § 932.11(b)

of its regulations to designate Hawaii as

that State.

II. Analysis of Proposed Rule

A. American Samoa—§ 933.1(cc)

American Samoa is a Territory of the

United States that is administered by

the U.S. Department of Interior, and

which has enacted its own banking

laws. See 48 U.S.C. 1661; Executive

Order No. 10264, 16 FR 6419 (June 29,

1951); Title 28, American Samoa Code

Ann. (Book 1988). As a U.S. Territory,

American Samoa has a political status

similar to that of the U.S. Territories of

Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands,

which are included as States under the

Act and the current Membership

Regulation. See 12 U.S.C. 1422(3); 12

CFR 933.1(cc).1 Moreover, the Finance

Board recently has been urged by a

number of parties to expand the

definition of State in the Membership

Regulation to include American Samoa,

so that financial institutions organized

under the laws of American Samoa

would be eligible for Bank membership.

In particular, an American Samoan

bank, whose deposits are insured by the

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,

has expressed interest in becoming a

member of the Seattle Bank. In addition,

bills currently are being considered in

Congress that would achieve this same

result legislatively. Accordingly, the

Finance Board is proposing to amend

§ 933.1(cc) of the Membership

Regulation to include American Samoa

in the definition of State.

B. The Northern Mariana Islands—

§ 933.1(cc)

The Northern Mariana Islands is a

former U.S.-administered Trust

Territory that is now a Commonwealth

of the United States. As a U.S.

Commonwealth, the Northern Mariana

Islands has a political status similar to

that of the Commonwealth of Puerto

Rico, which is included as a State under

the Act and the current Membership

Regulation. See id. Moreover, specific

provisions of the Covenant Agreement

executed by the United States and the

Northern Mariana Islands already make

the Act applicable to the Northern

Mariana Islands. See ‘‘Covenant To

Establish A Commonwealth Of The

Northern Mariana Islands In Political

Union With The United States Of

America,’’ §§ 502(a)(1), 502(a)(2) (1986);

‘‘The Second Interim Report of the

Northern Mariana Islands Commission

on Federal Laws to the Congress of the

United States,’’ at 278–79 (Aug. 1985);

Presidential Proclamation No. 5207, 49

FR 24365 (June 7, 1984) (set forth at 48

U.S.C. 1681 note). Accordingly, the

Finance Board is proposing to amend

§ 933.1(cc) of the Membership

Regulation to include the Northern

Mariana Islands in the definition of

State.

C. Other Pacific Islands

The Federated States of Micronesia,

the Republic of the Marshall Islands,

and the Republic of Palau were once

U.S.-administered Trust Territories in

the Pacific, but now have the status of

independent, self-governing foreign

nations. Nor do there appear to be any

laws or contractual provisions in the

Compacts of Free Association executed

by the United States and these nations,

respectively, that make the Act

applicable to these nations.

Accordingly, these nations are not

included in proposed § 933.1(cc).

Other existing U.S. Pacific Island

Territories generally are either

uninhabited or contain tiny,

nonpermanent military populations

closed to the public. Thus, the Act

would not be applicable to such

Territories.

D. Inclusion of American Samoa and

the Northern Mariana Islands in the

Seattle Bank District—Appendix to

Subpart A of Part 900

The Appendix to Subpart A of Part

900 of the Finance Board’s regulations

lists the States which comprise each of

the 12 Bank Districts, with a reference

to ‘‘Pacific Islands’’ included under

Federal Home Loan Bank District 12

(the Seattle Bank District). See

Appendix to Subpart A of Part 900—

Federal Home Loan Banks. Consistent

with the proposed amendments

discussed above, the Finance Board is

proposing to amend the Appendix by

replacing the reference to the ‘‘Pacific

Islands’’ under the Seattle Bank District

with specific references to American

Samoa and the Northern Mariana

Islands.

E. Designation of State Location for

Members With Principal Place of

Business in American Samoa, the

Northern Mariana Islands, or Guam—

§ 932.11(b)

For the reasons discussed above, the

Finance Board is proposing to amend

§ 932.11(b) of its regulations to provide

that members with a principal place of

business located in American Samoa or

the Northern Mariana Islands shall be

deemed to be located in Hawaii for

purposes of election of Bank directors.

The proposed rule also codifies the

Finance Board’s existing designation of

Hawaii as the State where members

with a principal place of business in

Guam are deemed to be located for

director election purposes.

III. Regulatory Flexibility Act

The proposed rule implements

statutory requirements binding on all

Banks and on all applicants for Bank

membership, regardless of their size.

The Finance Board is not at liberty to

make adjustments to those requirements

to accommodate small entities. The

proposed rule does not impose any

additional regulatory requirements that

will have a disproportionate impact on

small entities. Therefore, in accordance

with section 605(b) of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, see 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the

Finance Board hereby certifies that this

proposed rule, if promulgated as a final

rule, will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities.

IV. Paperwork Reduction Act

The proposed rule does not contain

any collections of information pursuant

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

See 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Consequently,

the Finance Board has not submitted

any information to the Office of

Management and Budget for review.

List of Subjects

12 CFR Part 900

Organizations and functions

(Government agencies).

12 CFR Part 932

Conflict of interests, Federal home

loan banks.

12 CFR Part 933

Credit, Federal home loan banks,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Accordingly, the Finance Board

hereby proposes to amend title 12,

chapter IX, parts 900, 932 and 933, Code

of Federal Regulations, as follows:
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 185 / Wednesday, September 24, 1997 / Proposed Rules 49945

PART 900—DESCRIPTION OF

ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS

1. The authority citation for part 900

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552; 12 U.S.C.

1422b(a), 1423.

2. The appendix to subpart A of part

900 is designated as appendix A to

subpart A of part 900, the appendix

heading is revised, and the parenthetical

under FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK

DISTRICT 12 is revised to read as

follows:

Appendix A to Subpart A of Part 900—

Federal Home Loan Banks

* * * * *

Federal Home Loan Bank District 12

(Alaska, American Samoa, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana,

Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming)

* * * * *

PART 932—ORGANIZATION OF THE

BANKS

3. The authority citation for part 932

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1422, 1422a, 1422b,

1423, 1426, 1427, 1432; 42 U.S.C. 8101 et

seq.

4. Section 932.11 is amended by

revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:

§ 932.11 Location of member.

* * * * *

(b) For purposes of this part, members

with a principal place of business

located in the Virgin Islands of the

United States shall be deemed to be

located in Puerto Rico, and members

with a principal place of business

located in American Samoa, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, or Guam, shall be deemed to be

located in Hawaii.

PART 933—MEMBERS OF THE BANKS

5. The authority citation for part 933

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1422, 1422a, 1422b,

1423, 1424, 1426, 1430, 1442.

6. Section 933.1 is amended by

revising paragraph (cc) to read as

follows:

§ 933.1 Definitions.

* * * * *

(cc) State includes a State of the

United States, American Samoa, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam,

Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the

United States.

Dated: September 15, 1997.

* * * * *

By the Board of Directors of the Federal

Housing Finance Board.

Bruce A. Morrison,

Chairman.

[FR Doc. 97–25304 Filed 9–23–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6725–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 97–ANE–28–AD]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; General

Electric Company (GE) GE90–76B

Model Turbofan Engines

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking

(NPRM).

SUMMARY: This document proposes the

adoption of a new airworthiness

directive (AD) that is applicable to

General Electric Company (GE) GE90–

76B model turbofan engines. This

proposed AD would require reduced life

limits for certain rotating components

installed in GE90–76B engines. This

proposal is prompted by the results of

a refined life analysis performed by the

manufacturer which revealed minimum

calculated low cycle fatigue lives lower

than the published low cycle fatigue

retirement lives for certain rotating

components installed in the GE90–76B

engines. If not corrected, this condition

could result in a low cycle fatigue

failure of a rotating component and

possibly an uncontained engine failure.

DATES: Comments must be received by

November 24, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in

triplicate to the Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), New England

Region, Office of the Assistant Chief

Counsel, Attention: Rules Docket No.

97–ANE–28–AD, 12 New England

Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803–

5299. Comments also may be submitted

to the Rules Docket by using the

following Internet address: ‘‘9-adengineprop@faa.dot.gov’’. All comments

must contain the Docket No. in the

subject line of the comment. Comments

may be inspected at this location

between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, except Federal

holidays.

The service information referenced in

the proposed rule may be obtained from

General Electric Company Technical

Services, Attention: Leader for

distribution/microfilm, 10525 Chester

Road, Cincinnati, OH 45215, telephone

(513) 672–8400 Ext. 114, Fax (513) 672–

8422. This information may be

examined at the FAA, New England

Region, Office of the Assistant Chief

Counsel, 12 New England Executive

Park, Burlington, MA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

Golinski, Aerospace Engineer, Engine

Certification Office, FAA, Engine &

Propeller Directorate, 12 New England

Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803–

5299; Telephone (617) 238–7135, Fax

(617) 238–7199.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

Interested persons are invited to

participate in the making of the

proposed rule by submitting such

written data, views, or arguments as

they may desire. Communications

should identify the rules docket number

and be submitted in triplicate to the

address specified above. All

communications received on or before

the closing date for comments, specified

above, will be considered before taking

action on the proposed rule. The

proposals contained in this notice may

be changed in light of the comments

received.

Comments are specifically invited on

the overall regulatory, economic,

environmental, and energy aspects of

the proposed rule. All comments

submitted will be available, both before

and after the closing date for comments,

in the Rules Docket for examination by

interested persons. A report

summarizing each FAA-public contact

concerned with the substance of this

proposal will be filed in the rules

docket.

Commenters wishing the FAA to

acknowledge receipt of their comments

submitted in response to this notice

must submit a self-addressed, stamped

postcard on which the following

statement is made: ‘‘Comments to

Docket Number 97–ANE–28–AD.’’ The

postcard will be date stamped and

returned to the commenter.

Availability of NPRMs

Any person may obtain a copy of this

NPRM by submitting a request to the

FAA, New England Region, Office of the

Assistant Chief Counsel, Attention:

Rules Docket No. 97–ANE–28–AD, 12

New England Executive Park,

Burlington, MA 01803–5299.

Discussion

As part of the substantiation for the

Federal Aviation Administration’s

(FAA) certification of the GE90–92B

engine, GE submitted an analysis to the