32624 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 135 / Friday, July 13, 2018 / Notices 

C. Termination and Disqualification 

NIFA reserves the authority to cancel, 

suspend, and/or modify the 

Competition, or any part of it, if any 

fraud, technical failures, or any other 

factor beyond NIFA’s reasonable control 

impairs the integrity or proper 

functioning of the Competition, as 

determined by NIFA in its sole 

discretion. 

NIFA reserves the right to disqualify 

any Team it believes to be tampering 

with the entry process or the operation 

of the Competition or to be acting in 

violation of any applicable rule or 

condition. 

Any attempt by any person to 

undermine the legitimate operation of 

the Competition may be a violation of 

criminal and civil law, and, should such 

an attempt be made, NIFA reserves the 

authority to seek damages from any 

such person to the fullest extent 

permitted by law. 

D. Verification of Potential Winner(s) 

All potential Competition winners are 

subject to verification by NIFA whose 

decisions are final and binding in all 

matters related to the Competition. 

Potential winner(s) must continue to 

comply with all terms and conditions of 

the Competition rules, and winning is 

contingent upon fulfilling all 

requirements. The potential winner(s) 

will be notified by email and/or 

telephone. If a potential winner cannot 

be contacted, or if the notification is 

returned as undeliverable, the potential 

winner forfeits. In the event that a 

potential winner, or an announced 

winner, is found to be ineligible or is 

disqualified for any reason, NIFA may 

make award, instead, to the next runner 

up, as previously determined by the 

Judging Panel. 

Prior to awarding the Prize Purse, 

NIFA will verify that the potential 

winner(s) is/are not suspended, 

debarred, or otherwise excluded from 

doing business with the U.S. Federal 

Government. Suspended, debarred, or 

otherwise excluded parties are not 

eligible to win the Competition. 

E. Intellectual Property 

By entering the Competition, each 

Team certifies that it is the author and/ 

or authorized owner of its entry, and 

that the entry is wholly original with the 

Team (or is an improved version of an 

existing project plan the Team is legally 

authorized to enter into the 

Competition), and that the submitted 

entry does not infringe on any 

copyright, patent, or any other rights of 

any third party. Each Team agrees to 

hold the Released Parties harmless for 

any infringement of copyright, 

trademark, patent, and/or other real or 

intellectual property right that may be 

caused, directly or indirectly, in whole 

or in part, from that Team’s 

participation in the Competition. 

All legal rights in any materials 

produced or submitted in entering the 

Competition are retained by the Team 

and/or the legal holder of those rights. 

Entry into the Competition constitutes 

express authorization for NIFA, NSF, 

and the Judging Panel to review and 

analyze any and all aspects of submitted 

entries, including any trade secret or 

proprietary information contained in or 

evident from review of the submitted 

entries. 

F. Privacy & Disclosure Under Freedom 

of Information Act (FOIA) 

Personal and contact information is 

not collected for commercial or 

marketing purposes. Information 

submitted throughout the Competition 

will be used only to communicate with 

Teams regarding entries and/or the 

Competition. 

Teams’ entries to the Competition 

may be subject to disclosure under the 

FOIA. If a Team believes that all or part 

of its Competition entry is protected 

from release under FOIA (e.g., if the 

information falls under FOIA exemption 

#4 for ‘‘trade secrets and commercial or 

financial information obtained from a 

person [that is] privileged or 

confidential’’) the Team will be 

responsible for clearly marking the 

page(s)/section(s) of information it 

believes are protected. 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3719. 

Done at Washington, DC, on July 3, 2018. 

Kim L. Hicks, 

Branch Chief, Grants and Agreements 

Management Branch USDA, Agricultural 

Research Service, Financial Management and 

Agreements Division. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14996 Filed 7–12–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Housing Service 

Notice To Implement a Guarantee 

Systems User Fee for Lender Use of 

the Single Family Housing Section 502 

Guaranteed Loan Program Automated 

Systems 

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Housing Opportunity 

Through Modernization Act of 2016 was 

signed into law on July 29, 2016. It 

created Section 502(i) in the Housing 

Act of 1949, later amended by Section 

758 of the Consolidated Appropriations 

Act, 2018, which permits the Secretary 

to assess and collect a guarantee 

underwriting user fee (also known as a 

technology fee) from lenders for their 

use of the Rural Housing Service’s 

(Agency’s) automated guaranteed loan 

systems. The collection of the fee will 

enable the Agency to fund future 

information technology enhancements 

needed to improve program delivery 

and reduce burden to the public. The 

fee amount will be published in the 

Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan 

Program (SFHGLP) Handbook HB–1– 

3555, available at https://

www.rd.usda.gov/publications/ 

regulations-guidelines/handbooks. 

The fee will not exceed $50 per loan, 

and constitutes a reasonable and 

customary cost that is an authorized 

loan purpose in accordance with the 

Guaranteed Rural Housing Program. The 

primary method of collecting the fee 

will be through the Agency’s Lender 

Loan Closing (LLC) system when a loan 

goes to closing. 

DATES: Written or email comments on 

the proposed rule must be received on 

or before September 11, 2018 to be 

assured for consideration. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this proposed rule by any one of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments 

electronically. 

• Mail: Submit written comments via 

the U.S. Postal Service to the Branch 

Chief, Regulations and Paperwork 

Management Branch, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, STOP 0742, 1400 

Independence Ave. SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–0742. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Submit 

written comments via Federal Express 

mail, or other courier service requiring 

a street address to the Branch Chief, 

Regulations and Paperwork 

Management Branch, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave. 

SW, Washington, DC 20250–0742. 

All written comments will be 

available for public inspection during 

regular work hours at 1400 

Independence Ave. SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–0742. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate 

Jensen, Finance and Loan Analyst, 

Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan 

Division, STOP 0784, Room 2250, 

USDA Rural Development, South 

Agriculture Building, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–0784, telephone: (503) 894– 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 135 / Friday, July 13, 2018 / Notices 32625 

2382, email is kate.jensen@

wdc.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

estimated time required for 

technological development and user 

acceptance testing is one year from the 

start of development. The Agency does 

not plan to collect a technology fee 

during the first year of the project, and 

technology fee collections are not 

expected prior to the first quarter of 

fiscal year 2019. Presently the estimated 

amount of the guarantee loan systems 

user fee is $25 with an expected 

implementation date of January 2, 2019. 

The Agency will advise lenders in 

advance of the implementation date of 

the actual amount of the guarantee loan 

systems user fee, along with all 

pertinent development and operational 

details. 

The use of the LLC is currently 

voluntary and lenders submit more than 

98 percent of loan closings through that 

channel. In order to effectively serve the 

public and keep pace with modern 

lending practices, the Agency must have 

ready access to funding for the 

maintenance and enhancement of 

automated systems required for the 

secure and efficient delivery of the 

single family housing loan programs. 

The system improvement will also 

enhance the Agency’s ability to 

effectively monitor the processing, 

underwriting, and closing of all 

guaranteed loans and protect the 

investment of the public. 

Non-Discrimination Statement 

In accordance with Federal civil 

rights law and U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) civil rights 

regulations and policies, the USDA, its 

Agencies, offices, and employees, and 

institutions participating in or 

administering USDA programs are 

prohibited from discriminating based on 

race, color, national origin, religion, sex, 

gender identity (including gender 

expression), sexual orientation, 

disability, age, marital status, family/ 

parental status, income derived from a 

public assistance program, political 

beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior 

civil rights activity, in any program or 

activity conducted or funded by USDA 

(not all bases apply to all programs). 

Remedies and complaint filing 

deadlines vary by program or incident. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means of communication for 

program information (e.g., Braille, large 

print, audiotape, American Sign 

Language, etc.) should contact the 

responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET 

Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and 

TTY) or contact USDA through the 

Federal Relay Service at (800) 877–8339. 

Additionally, program information may 

be made available in languages other 

than English. 

To file a program discrimination 

complaint, complete the USDA Program 

Discrimination Complaint Form, AD– 

3027, found online at http://

www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_

cust.html and at any USDA office or 

write a letter addressed to USDA and 

provide in the letter all of the 

information requested in the form. To 

request a copy of the complaint form, 

call (866) 632–9992. Submit your 

completed form or letter to USDA by: 

(1) Mail: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–9410; 

(2) Fax: (202) 690–7442; or 

(3) Email: program.intake@usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer, and lender. 

Dated: July 9, 2018. 

Joel C. Baxley, 

Administrator, Rural Housing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14995 Filed 7–12–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Agenda and Notice of Public Meeting 

of the Colorado Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Commission on Civil Rights. 

ACTION: Announcement of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, 

pursuant to the provisions of the rules 

and regulations of the U.S. Commission 

on Civil Rights (Commission), and the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA) that a planning meeting of the 

Colorado Advisory Committee to the 

Commission will convene at 12:00 p.m. 

(MDT) on Wednesday, August 1, 2018, 

in the Board Room, Independence 

Institute, 727 East 16th Avenue, Denver, 

CO 80203. The purpose of the meeting 

is to review potential civil rights topics 

for future study in the state. 

DATES: Wednesday, August 1, 2018, at 

12:00 p.m. (MDT). 

ADDRESSES: Mt. Evans Room, Byron 

Rogers Federal Office Building, 1961 

Stout Street, Denver, CO 80294. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Evelyn Bohor at ebohor@usccr.gov, or 

303–866–1040. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Persons 

who plan to attend the meeting and who 

require other accommodations, please 

contact Evelyn Bohor at ebohor@

usccr.gov at the Rocky Mountain 

Regional Office at least ten (10) working 

days before the scheduled date of the 

meeting. 

Members of the public are invited to 

submit written comments; the 

comments must be received in the 

regional office by Tuesday, September 4, 

2018. Written comments may be mailed 

to the Rocky Mountain Regional Office, 

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1961 

Stout Street, Suite 13–201, Denver, CO 

80294, faxed to (303) 866–1050, or 

emailed to Evelyn Bohor at ebohor@

usccr.gov. Persons who desire 

additional information may contact the 

Rocky Mountain Regional Office at (303) 

866–1040. 

The activities of this advisory 

committee, including records and 

documents discussed during the 

meeting, will be available for public 

viewing, as they become available at: 

https://facadatabase.gov/committee/ 

meetings.aspx?cid=238. Records 

generated from this meeting may also be 

inspected and reproduced at the Rocky 

Mountain Regional Office, as they 

become available, both before and after 

the meeting. Persons interested in the 

work of this advisory committee are 

advised to go to the Commission’s 

website, www.usccr.gov, or to contact 

the Rocky Mountain Regional Office at 

the above phone number, email or street 

address. 

Agenda 

—Introductions 

—Discussion of Potential Civil Rights 

topics and Topics of Study 

—Open Comment 

—Adjourn 

Dated: July 9, 2018. 

David Mussatt, 

Supervisory Chief, Regional Programs Unit. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14965 Filed 7–12–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Agenda and Notice of Public Meeting 

of the Connecticut Advisory 

Committee 

AGENCY: Commission on Civil Rights. 

ACTION: Announcement of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, 

pursuant to the provisions of the rules 

and regulations of the U.S. Commission 

on Civil Rights (Commission), and the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA), that a roundtable meeting of 

the Connecticut Advisory Committee to 

the Commission will convene at 10:00 

a.m. (EDT) on Thursday, August 9, 

2018, in the Legislative Office Building 

of the Capitol Building, 210 Capitol 

Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106. The 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES