68152 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 31, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

1See 1992 Act, section 1376 (12 U.S.C. 4636).

have annual sales less than $500,000,

excluding receipts from any other

sources. Therefore, a majority of

handlers and a minority of producers

are classified as small entities.

This rule suspends § 925.215 of the

order’s rules and regulations, which

established an assessment rate of $0.01

per lug for fiscal period 1997 and

subsequent fiscal periods. This

suspension will be in effect for the 1998

fiscal period.

The Committee discussed alternatives

to this rule, including not suspending

the assessment rate, but concluded that

no assessment rate will be necessary as

there will be sufficient funds in the

reserve and interest income to meet the

1998 fiscal period’s expenses, and

expenses for the first several months of

fiscal year 1999. Also, the Committee

recommended that the major

expenditures for the 1998 fiscal period

should include $100,000 for research,

$25,000 for the sheriff’s patrol, and

$9,109 for the manager’s salary.

Budgeted expenses for these items in

1997 were $100,000 for research,

$25,000 for compliance purposes, and

$8,675 for the manager’s salary. Funds

in the reserve will be kept within the

maximum permitted by the order

(approximately one fiscal period’s

expenses).

Handler costs will be reduced during

the 1998 fiscal year, as assessments will

not be collected. The Committee’s

meeting was widely publicized

throughout the grape industry and all

interested persons were invited to

attend the meeting and participate in

Committee deliberations on all issues.

Like all Committee meetings, the

November 12, 1997, meeting was a

public meeting and all entities, both

large and small, were able to express

views on this issue. Finally, interested

persons are invited to submit

information on the regulatory and

informational impacts of this action on

small businesses.

This action will not impose any

additional reporting or recordkeeping

requirements on either small or large

grape handlers. As with all Federal

marketing order programs, reports and

forms are periodically reviewed to

reduce information requirements and

duplication by industry and public

sector agencies.

The Department has not identified

any relevant Federal rules that

duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this

rule.

After consideration of all relevant

matter presented, including the

information and recommendation

submitted by the Committee and other

available information, it is hereby found

that the continuing assessment rate on

handlers during the 1998 fiscal period

no longer tends to effectuate the

declared policy of the Act. The

suspension shall continue only through

December 31, 1998, at which time it

shall terminate and the suspended

assessment rate specified in section

925.215 will apply again beginning

January 1, 1999.

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also

found and determined upon good cause

that it is impracticable, unnecessary,

and contrary to the public interest to

give preliminary notice prior to putting

this rule into effect, and that good cause

exists for not postponing the effective

date of this rule until 30 days after

publication in the Federal Register

because: (1) This action relieves

restrictions on handlers by suspending

the assessment rate on handlers during

the 1998 fiscal period; (2) the 1998 fiscal

period begins on January 1, 1998, and

this action should be effective as soon

as possible to inform handlers that the

Secretary concurs with the Committee’s

recommendation; (3) handlers are aware

of this action which was unanimously

recommended by the Committee at a

public meeting; and (4) this interim

final rule provides a 60-day comment

period, and all comments timely

received will be considered prior to

finalization of this rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 925

Grapes, Marketing agreements,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR part 925 is amended as

follows:

PART 925—GRAPES GROWN IN A

DESIGNATED AREA OF

SOUTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR

part 925 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.

§ 925.215 [Suspended]

2. In Part 925, § 925.215 is suspended

in its entirety effective January 1, 1998,

through December 31, 1998.

Dated: December 23, 1997.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,

Acting Deputy Administrator, Fruit and

Vegetable Programs.

[FR Doc. 97–34094 Filed 12–30–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Office of Federal Housing Enterprise

Oversight

12 CFR Part 1780

RIN 2550–AA06

Civil Money Penalties

AGENCY: Office of Federal Housing

Enterprise Oversight, HUD.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: OFHEO is issuing this final

rule to adjust each civil money penalty

within its jurisdiction to account for

inflation. This action is necessary to

implement the Federal Civil Penalties

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as

amended by the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996.

DATES: This final rule is effective

December 31, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Danielle Arigoni, Research Assistant,

Office of Policy Analysis, or Marvin L.

Shaw, Senior Counsel, Office of General

Counsel, 1700 G Street, NW, 4th Floor,

Washington, DC 20552, telephone (202)

414–3800 (not a toll-free number). The

telephone number for the

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf

is (800) 877–8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Office of Federal Housing

Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) was

established by Title XIII of the Housing

and Community Development Act of

1992, Pub. L. 102–550, known as the

Federal Housing Enterprises Financial

Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (1992

Act). OFHEO is an independent office

within the U.S. Department of Housing

and Urban Development (HUD) with

responsibility for ensuring that the

Federal National Mortgage Association

(Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home

Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie

Mac) (collectively, the Enterprises) are

adequately capitalized and operating in

a safe and sound manner. The 1992 Act

authorizes OFHEO’s Director (Director)

to impose a civil money penalty for

violations by an Enterprise or its

executive officers or directors of any

statute or regulation under OFHEO’s

jurisdiction.1

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are

Government-sponsored enterprises that

provide liquidity to and stability in the

secondary market for residential
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 31, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 68153

2See 1992 Act, secitons 1331–38 (12 U.S.C. 4561–

67, 4562 note).

3Pub. L. 101–410, 28 U.S.C. 2461 note.

4Pub. L. 104–134, seciton 31001(s), 110 Stat.

1321–358 (codified as amended at 28 U.S.C. 2461

note).

5The statute’s rounding rules require that an

increase be rounded to the nearest multiple as

follows: $10 in the case of penalties less than or

equal to $100; $100 in the case of penalties greater

than $100 but less than or equal to $1,000; $1,000

in the case of penalties greater than $1,000 but less

than or equal to $10,000; $5,000 in the case of

penalties greater than $10,000 but less than or equal

to $100,000; $10,000 in the case of penalties greater

than $100,000 but less than or equal to $200,000;

and $25,000 in the case of penalties greater than

$200,000.

mortgages.2 The Enterprises also

increase the availability of mortgage

credit benefiting low- and moderateincome families and areas that are

underserved by lending institutions.

The Enterprises engage in two principal

businesses: investing in residential

mortgages and guaranteeing residential

mortgage securities.

II. Debt Collection Improvement Act of

1996

In order to preserve the remedial

impact of civil money penalties and

foster compliance with the law, the

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation

Adjustment Act of 1990,3 as amended

by the Debt Collection Improvement Act

of 1996 4 (the Debt Collection

Improvement Act), requires Federal

agencies to make an initial inflationary

adjustment for all applicable civil

money penalties and to make further

adjustments of these penalty amounts at

least once every 4 years. The Debt

Collection Improvement Act further

stipulates that any resulting increases in

a civil money penalty due to the

calculated inflation adjustments (i)

should apply only to violations that

occur after October 23, 1996—the Act’s

effective date—and (ii) should not

exceed 10 percent of the penalty

indicated.

Under the Debt Collection

Improvement Act, the inflation

adjustment for each applicable civil

money penalty is determined by

increasing the maximum civil money

penalty amount per violation by the

cost-of-living adjustment. The ‘‘cost-ofliving’’ adjustment is defined by the

statute as the amount by which the

Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the

month of June of the calendar year

preceding the adjustment exceeds the

CPI for the month of June of the year in

which the amount of such civil penalty

was last set or adjusted pursuant to law,

divided by the earlier CPI value. Any

calculated increase under this

adjustment is subject to a specific

rounding formula 5 set forth in the Debt

Collection Improvement Act.

III. OFHEO’S Civil Money Penalties

Affected by the Inflation Adjustment

The following example illustrates

how the methodology outlined in the

Debt Collection Improvement Act

applies to civil money penalties

assessed by OFHEO. Under section 1376

of the 1992 Act, OFHEO may impose a

daily penalty not to exceed $1,000,000

on either Enterprise or any executive

officer or director of an Enterprise for

certain violations. The first step in

determining the inflation adjustment is

to calculate and apply the percentage by

which the CPI for all Urban Consumers

(CPI-U) has changed over the period

beginning in the year in which the

existing civil money penalty amounts

were last statutorily defined (section

1376 was adopted in 1992, and no

adjustments have been made since) and

ending in the calendar year preceding

the adjustment. Given that the current

year is 1997, the end of the period is the

preceding year, 1996. The

corresponding CPI–U values for the

months of June in 1992 and 1996 are

419.9 and 469.5, respectively. Dividing

the difference between the two values

by the base year (1992) value yields a

percentage increase of 11.8, which is

multiplied by the existing civil money

penalty amount of $1,000,000 to yield

an increase of $118,000.

The second step is to apply the

rounding rules in the Debt Collection

Improvement Act which state that,

where the increase is greater than

$100,000 but less than or equal to

$200,000, the increase shall be rounded

to the nearest multiple of $10,000. As a

result, the increase is rounded up to

$120,000. When added to the original

civil money penalty, the adjustment

yields a new maximum civil money

penalty of $1,120,000.

Finally, the Debt Collection

Improvement Act provides that any

adjustment for inflation of a civil money

penalty shall not exceed 10 percent of

the existing amount. In this case, the

maximum penalty amount is $100,000.

As such, the final increase is adjusted to

meet the 10 percent increase limit, since

the $120,000 increase resulting from the

calculations exceeds the amount

allowed by the Debt Collection

Improvement Act. A final civil money

penalty amount is reached by adding

the equivalent of 10 percent of the

statutorily defined penalty ($100,000) to

the existing civil money penalty amount

($1,000,000), yielding a figure of

$1,100,000. This is the figure which is

associated with the violations

previously penalized by a maximum

$1,000,000 fine. This adjustment

process has been applied to all of

OFHEO’s statutory civil money penalty

limits to determine the maximum

amounts as listed in the 1992 Act.

Based on these considerations,

OFHEO has decided to amend chapter

XVII of Title 12 of the Code of Federal

Regulations by adding subpart E, titled

‘‘Civil Money Penalties,’’ to Part 1780 to

reflect the inflation adjustments

mandated by the Debt Collection

Improvement Act.

IV. Effective Date

OFHEO finds good cause to make this

rule effective upon publication of this

document in the Federal Register under

the Administrative Procedure Act

(APA). 5 U.S.C. 553(d). This final rule

does not impose any additional

responsibilities on any entity. Instead, it

simply adjusts the civil penalties as

directed by the Debt Collection

Improvement Act.

OFHEO also finds for good cause that

notice and an opportunity to comment

on this document are unnecessary under

the APA. 5 U.S.C. 553. This rulemaking

conforms with and is consistent with

the statutory authority set forth in the

Debt Collection Improvement Act, with

no issues of policy discretion.

Consequently, because the opportunity

for notice and comment is unnecessary,

OFHEO is issuing these requirements as

a final rule.

V. Regulatory Impact Statements

Executive Order 12612, Federalism

Executive Order 12612 requires that

Executive departments and agencies

identify regulatory actions that have

significant federalism implications. A

regulation has federalism implications if

it has substantial direct effects on the

States, on the relationship or

distribution of power between the

Federal Government and the States, or

on the distribution of power and

responsibilities among various levels of

government. OFHEO has determined

that this regulation has no federalism

implications that warrant the

preparation of a Federalism Assessment

in accordance with Executive Order

12612.

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory

Planning and Review

OFHEO’s Acting Director has

determined that this final rule does not

constitute a ‘‘significant regulatory

action’’ for the purposes of Executive

Order 12866.
68154 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 250 / Wednesday, December 31, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice

Reform

Executive Order 12988 sets forth

guidelines to promote the just and

efficient resolution of civil claims and to

reduce the risk of litigation to the

Federal Government.

The regulation meets the applicable

standards of sections 3(a) and 3(b) of

Executive Order 12988.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, requires that

regulations involving the collection of

information receive clearance from

OMB. The regulation contains no such

collection of information requiring OMB

approval under the Paperwork

Reduction Act. Consequently, no

information has been submitted to OMB

for review under the Paperwork

Reduction Act.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Regulatory Flexibility Act applies

only to rules for which an agency

publishes a general notice of proposed

rulemaking pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)

(see 5 U.S.C. 601(2)). Because this action

is limited to the adoption of statutory

language, without interpretation, notice

and comment on this final rule is

unnecessary pursuant to 5 U.S.C.

553(b)(B). Therefore, the Regulatory

Flexibility Act does not apply to this

final rule.

Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995

OFHEO has determined that this final

rule will not result in expenditures by

State, local, and tribal governments, or

by the private sector of $100 million or

more in any one year. Accordingly, this

rulemaking is not subject to the

Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 1780

Administrative practice and

procedure, Penalties.

Accordingly, for the reasons set forth

in the preamble, OFHEO amends

chapter XVII of Title 12 of the Code of

Federal Regulations by adding Part 1780

to read as follows:

PART 1780—UNIFORM RULES OF

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

Subpart A—[Reserved]

Subpart B—[Reserved]

Subpart C—[Reserved]

Subpart D—[Reserved]

Subpart E—Civil Money Penalty Inflation

Adjustments

Sec.

1780.70 Inflation adjustments.

1780.71 Applicability.

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4513, 4636; 28 U.S.C.

2461 note.

Subpart A—[Reserved]

Subpart B—[Reserved]

Subpart C—[Reserved]

Subpart D—[Reserved]

Subpart E—Civil Money Penalty

Inflation Adjustments

§ 1780.70 Inflation adjustments.

The maximum amount of each civil

money penalty within OFHEO’s

jurisdiction is adjusted in accordance

with the Debt Collection Improvement

Act of 1996 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note) as

follows:

U.S. Code citation Description Previous maximum penalty

New adjusted

maximum penalty

12 U.S.C. 4636(b)(1) .......... First Tier ................................................................................................................. $5,000 $5,500

12 U.S.C. 4636(b)(2) .......... Second Tier (Executive Officer or Director ............................................................ 10,000 11,000

12 U.S.C. 4636(b)(2) .......... Second Tier (Enterprise) ........................................................................................ 25,000 27,500

12 U.S.C. 4636(b)(3) .......... Third Tier (Executive Officer or Director) ............................................................... 100,000 110,000

12 U.S.C. 4636(b)(3) .......... Third Tier (Enterprise) ............................................................................................ 1,000,000 1,100,000

§ 1780.71 Applicability.

The inflation adjustments in § 1780.70

apply to civil money penalties assessed

in accordance with the provisions of 12

U.S.C. 4636 for violations occurring

after October 23, 1996.

Dated: December 22, 1997.

Mark A. Kinsey,

Acting Director, Office of Federal Housing

Enterprise Oversight.

[FR Doc. 97–33945 Filed 12–30–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4220–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 96–NM–174–AD; Amendment

39–10266; AD 98–01–02]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Fokker F28

Mark 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 Series

Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This amendment adopts a

new airworthiness directive (AD),

applicable to all Fokker Model F28

Mark 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 series

airplanes, that requires a one-time

visual inspection of the rear cargo door

and luggage auxiliary structure for

corrosion, repetitive borescope

inspections of the rear cargo door, and

removal and repair of any corrosion

found during the inspections. This

amendment also requires the drilling of

drain holes and application of a

corrosion preventive and sealing

compound inside the rear cargo door,

and modification of the rear cargo door

to aid in future routine borescope

inspections. This amendment is

prompted by reports of corrosion being

found in the affected areas on several of

the affected airplanes. The actions

specified by this AD are intended to

prevent such corrosion, which could

result in structural failure of the cargo

door and loss of the door during flight,

and consequent rapid decompression,

aerodynamic instability, and/or damage

to other fuselage structures.