Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 158 / Wednesday, August 15, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 40451 

(l) Parts Installation Limitations 

(1) As of the effective date of this AD, no 

person may install, on any airplane, an HSTA 

attachment pin, unless the pin has a serial 

number. 

(2) As of the effective date of this AD, no 

person may install, on any Bombardier, Inc., 

Model CL–600–2B16 (604 Variant) airplane 

with serial number 5301 and subsequent, an 

HSTA trunnion, unless the HSTA trunnion 

has a serial number. 

(m) Other FAA AD Provisions 

The following provisions also apply to this 

AD: 

(1) Alternative Methods of Compliance 

(AMOCs): The Manager, New York ACO 

Branch, FAA, has the authority to approve 

AMOCs for this AD, if requested using the 

procedures found in 14 CFR 39.19. In 

accordance with 14 CFR 39.19, send your 

request to your principal inspector or local 

Flight Standards District Office, as 

appropriate. If sending information directly 

to the manager of the certification office, 

send it to ATTN: Program Manager, 

Continuing Operational Safety, FAA, New 

York ACO Branch, 1600 Stewart Avenue, 

Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; telephone 

516–228–7300; fax 516–794–5531. Before 

using any approved AMOC, notify your 

appropriate principal inspector, or lacking a 

principal inspector, the manager of the local 

flight standards district office/certificate 

holding district office. 

(2) Contacting the Manufacturer: For any 

requirement in this AD to obtain corrective 

actions from a manufacturer, the action must 

be accomplished using a method approved 

by the Manager, New York ACO Branch, 

FAA; or TCCA; or Bombardier, Inc.’s TCCA 

DAO. If approved by the DAO, the approval 

must include the DAO-authorized signature. 

(n) Related Information 

(1) Refer to Mandatory Continuing 

Airworthiness Information (MCAI) Canadian 

AD CF–2017–24, dated July 12, 2017, for 

related information. This MCAI may be 

found in the AD docket on the internet at 

http://www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2018–0028. 

(2) For more information about this AD, 

contact Aziz Ahmed, Aerospace Engineer, 

Airframe and Mechanical Systems Section, 

FAA, New York ACO Branch, 1600 Stewart 

Avenue, Suite 410, Westbury, NY 11590; 

telephone 516–228–7239; fax 516–794–5531; 

email 9-avs-nyaco-cos@faa.gov. 

(3) Service information identified in this 

AD that is not incorporated by reference is 

available at the addresses specified in 

paragraphs (o)(3) and (o)(4) of this AD. 

(o) Material Incorporated by Reference 

(1) The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

(IBR) of the service information listed in this 

paragraph under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR 

part 51. 

(2) You must use this service information 

as applicable to do the actions required by 

this AD, unless this AD specifies otherwise. 

(i) Bombardier Repair Engineering Order 

(REO) 600–27–42–002, ‘‘General Repair— 

HSTA Upper and Lower Pins,’’ dated 

December 15, 2016. 

(ii) Bombardier Repair Engineering Order 

(REO) 604–27–42–011, ‘‘General Repair— 

HSTA Trunnion P/N 601R92386–1/–3,’’ 

dated December 15, 2016. 

(iii) Bombardier Repair Engineering Order 

(REO) 604–27–42–012, ‘‘General Repair— 

HSTA Upper and Lower Pins,’’ dated 

December 15, 2016. 

(iv) Bombardier Service Bulletin 600–0760, 

Revision 01, dated April 21, 2017. 

(v) Bombardier Service Bulletin 601–0626, 

Revision 01, dated April 21, 2017. 

(vi) Bombardier Service Bulletin 604–27– 

034, Revision 01, dated April 21, 2017. 

(vii) Bombardier Service Bulletin 605–27– 

005, Revision 01, dated April 21, 2017. 

(viii) Section 5–10–10, ‘‘Time Limits 

(Structural),’’ of Section 5–10–00, 

‘‘Airworthiness Limitations,’’ of Bombardier 

Challenger 600 Time Limits/Maintenance 

Checks, Publication No. PSP 605, Revision 

39, dated January 8, 2018. 

(ix) Section 5–10–00, ‘‘Airworthiness 

Limitations,’’ of Bombardier Challenger 601 

Time Limits/Maintenance Checks, 

Publication No. PSP 601–5, Revision 46, 

dated January 8, 2018. 

(A) Section 5–10–10, ‘‘Time Limits 

(Structural)—Pre SB 601–0280.’’ 

(B) Section 5–10–11, ‘‘Time Limits 

(Structural)—Post SB 601–0280.’’ 

(C) Section 5–10–12, ‘‘Time Limits 

(Structural)—Post SB 601–0360.’’ 

(x) Section 5–10–00, ‘‘Airworthiness 

Limitations,’’ of Bombardier Challenger 601 

Time Limits/Maintenance Checks, 

Publication No. PSP 601A–5, Revision 42, 

dated January 8, 2018. 

(A) Section 5–10–10, ‘‘Time Limits 

(Structural).’’ 

(B) Section 5–10–11, ‘‘Time Limits 

(Structural).’’ 

(C) Section 5–10–12, ‘‘Time Limits 

(Structural).’’ 

(xi) Section 5–10–10, ‘‘Life Limits 

(Structures),’’ of Bombardier Challenger 604 

CL–604 Time Limits/Maintenance Checks, 

Part 2 Airworthiness Limitations, Revision 

30, dated December 4, 2017. 

(xii) Section 5–10–10, ‘‘Life Limits 

(Structures),’’ of Bombardier Challenger 605 

CL–605 Time Limits/Maintenance Checks, 

Part 2 Airworthiness Limitations, Revision 

18, dated December 4, 2017. 

(xiii) Section 5–10–10, ‘‘Life Limits 

(Structures),’’ of Bombardier Challenger 650 

CL–650 Time Limits/Maintenance Checks, 

Part 2 Airworthiness Limitations, Revision 5, 

dated December 4, 2017. 

(3) For service information identified in 

this AD, contact Bombardier, Inc., 400 CoˆteVertu Road West, Dorval, Que ́bec H4S 1Y9, 

Canada; Widebody Customer Response 

Center North America toll-free telephone 1– 

866–538–1247 or direct-dial telephone 1– 

514–855–2999; fax 514–855–7401; email 

ac.yul@aero.bombardier.com; internet http:// 

www.bombardier.com. 

(4) You may view this service information 

at the FAA, Transport Standards Branch, 

2200 South 216th St., Des Moines, WA. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call 206–231–3195. 

(5) You may view this service information 

that is incorporated by reference at the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). For information on 

the availability of this material at NARA, call 

202–741–6030, or go to: http://

www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibrlocations.html. 

Issued in Des Moines, Washington, on 

August 5, 2018. 

Michael Kaszycki, 

Acting Director, System Oversight Division, 

Aircraft Certification Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–17483 Filed 8–14–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

20 CFR Parts 404 and 416 

[Docket No. SSA–2018–0033] 

RIN 0960–AI23 

Making Permanent the Attorney 

Advisor Program 

AGENCY: Social Security Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are making permanent the 

attorney advisor program, which has 

proved to be an integral tool in 

providing timely decisions to the public 

while maximizing the use of our 

administrative law judges (ALJs). The 

attorney advisor initiative permits some 

attorney advisors to develop claims, 

including holding prehearing 

conferences, and, in cases in which the 

documentary record clearly establishes 

that a fully favorable decision is 

warranted, issue fully favorable 

decisions before a hearing is conducted. 

We expect that by making the attorney 

advisor program permanent, we will be 

able to continue to reduce the number 

of pending claims at the hearing level of 

our administrative review process and 

provide more timely service to 

claimants. 

DATES: This final rule is effective August 

15, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan Swansiger, Office of Hearings 

Operations, Social Security 

Administration, 5107 Leesburg Pike, 

Falls Church, VA 22041, (703) 605– 

8500. For information on eligibility or 

filing for benefits, call our national tollfree number, 800–772–1213 or TTY 

800–325–0778, or visit our internet site, 

Social Security Online, at http://

www.socialsecurity.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background of the Attorney Advisor 

Program 

Under the attorney advisor program, 

certain attorney advisors may develop 

claims and, in appropriate cases, issue 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES
40452 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 158 / Wednesday, August 15, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

1 60 FR 34126 (June 30, 1995). 

2 62 FR 35073 (extending expiration date to June 

30, 1998); 63 FR 35515 (extending expiration date 

to April 1, 1999); 64 FR 13677 (extending expiration 

date to April 1, 2000), 64 FR 51892 (extending 

expiration date to April 2, 2001). 

3 72 FR 44763. 

4 73 FR 11349. 

5 74 FR 33327 (extending the expiration date to 

August 10, 2011); 76 FR 18383 (extending the 

expiration date to August 9, 2013); 78 FR 45459 

(extending the expiration date to August 7, 2015); 

80 FR 31990 (extending the expiration date to 

August 4, 2017); 82 FR 34400 (extending the 

expiration date to February 5, 2018); and 83 FR 711 

(extending the expiration date to August 3, 2018). 

6 83 FR 28992 (extending the expiration date to 

August 2, 2019). 

7Our budget estimates indicate that we expect to 

receive approximately 582,000 hearing requests in 

fiscal year 2018 and 578,000 in fiscal year 2019 

(available at: https://www.ssa.gov/budget/ 

FY19Files/2019CJ.pdf). 

fully favorable decisions before a 

hearing. 

We first created the attorney advisor 

program in 1995 through notice and 

comment rulemaking for a limited 

period of two years.1 The program’s 

success prompted us to renew it several 

times until it expired in April 2001.2 On 

August 9, 2007, we published an 

interim final rule that reinstituted the 

attorney advisor program in order to 

provide more timely service to the 

increasing number of applicants for 

Social Security disability benefits and 

Supplemental Security Income 

payments based on disability.3 We 

considered the public comments we 

received on the interim final rule, and 

on March 3, 2008, we issued a final rule 

without change.4

As before, we intended the attorney 

advisor program to be a temporary 

modification to our procedures, but 

with the potential to become a 

permanent program. Therefore, we 

included in sections 404.942(g) and 

416.1442(g) of the interim final rule a 

provision that the program would end 

on August 10, 2009, unless we decided 

to either terminate the rule earlier or 

extend it beyond that date by 

publication of a final rule in the Federal 

Register. Since that time, we have 

periodically extended the sunset date.5

The current sunset date for the program 

is August 2, 2019.6

We explained in the 2008 final rule 

that the number of requests for hearings 

had increased significantly in recent 

years. From 2008 to the present, the 

number of pending hearing requests has 

continued to remain high, and we 

anticipate that we will receive several 

hundred thousand hearing requests in 

fiscal year 2018 and in fiscal year 2019.7

To preserve the maximum degree of 

flexibility and manage our hearingslevel workloads effectively, we have 

decided to make the attorney advisor 

rule permanent. 

Time Savings and Other Benefits of 

Making the Program Permanent 

Under the attorney advisor program, 

attorney advisors conduct certain 

prehearing proceedings and, when the 

record clearly establishes that a fully 

favorable decision is warranted, may 

issue a fully favorable decision before 

an ALJ holds a hearing. Thus, the 

attorney advisor program allows us to 

issue fully favorable decisions more 

quickly in appropriate cases, which, in 

turn, allows claimants to receive 

disability benefits under title II or 

disability payments under title XVI 

months, or perhaps even a year, earlier 

than if they had to wait for a hearing 

before an ALJ. As well, since attorney 

advisors may issue fully favorable 

decisions in cases that would otherwise 

require an ALJ to hold a hearing and 

issue a decision, the program allows 

ALJs to spend their time adjudicating 

more complex cases. 

As an added benefit of the program, 

even if an attorney advisor cannot issue 

a fully favorable decision after 

conducting prehearing proceedings, the 

summary the attorney advisor drafts 

during his or her review can be valuable 

to the ALJ, helping to expedite the 

hearing process. Moreover, prehearing 

proceedings by an attorney advisor do 

not delay the scheduling of a hearing 

unless a fully favorable decision is in 

process. Thus, if the attorney advisor is 

unable to issue a fully favorable 

decision after conducting prehearing 

proceedings, the case returns to its 

original place in line and continues 

under our standard hearing process, 

with no delays caused by the attorney 

advisor’s review. For these reasons, 

making the attorney advisor program 

permanent benefits claimants by giving 

them a chance to receive a fully 

favorable decision more quickly and by 

expediting the overall hearings process, 

and it benefits ALJs and their support 

staff by allowing them to receive helpful 

case summaries from attorney advisors 

who assist with developing the record 

in cases that are selected for prehearing 

proceedings but that still require a 

hearing before an ALJ. 

Regulatory Procedures 

Justification for Issuing a Final Rule 

Without Notice and Comment 

We follow the Administrative 

Procedure Act (APA) rulemaking 

procedures specified in 5 U.S.C. 553 

when we develop regulations. 

Generally, the APA requires that an 

agency provide prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment before 

issuing a final rule. The APA provides 

exceptions to its notice and public 

comment procedures when an agency 

finds there is good cause for dispensing 

with such procedures because they are 

impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 

to the public interest. 

We find that there is good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to issue this 

regulatory change as a final rule without 

prior public comment. We find that 

prior public comment is unnecessary 

because this final rule merely removes 

the sunset provision of 20 CFR 404.942 

and 416.1442 and does not make any 

substantive changes to the attorney 

advisor program. Importantly, we 

developed the attorney advisor program 

through notice and comment 

rulemaking in 1995, and we requested 

public comments again when we 

reinstituted the program, without 

change, in 2007. We received only three 

public comments in response to our 

2007 interim final rule, and two of them 

supported the rule. The current rules 

expressly provide that we may extend 

the program beyond the current 

expiration date by notice of a final rule 

in the Federal Register. Accordingly, in 

light of the technical nature of the rule, 

and because we requested and 

addressed public comments on the 

attorney advisor program on two prior 

occasions, we find there is good cause 

to issue this final rule without prior 

public comment. 

In addition, because we are not 

making any substantive changes to the 

attorney advisor program, we find that 

there is good cause for dispensing with 

the 30-day delay in the effective date of 

a substantive rule provided by 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). To ensure that we have 

uninterrupted authority to use attorney 

advisors to address the number of 

pending cases at the hearing level, we 

find that it is in the public interest to 

make this final rule effective on the date 

of publication. 

Executive Order 12866 as 

Supplemented by Executive Order 

13563 

We consulted with the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

determined that this final rule meets the 

requirements for a significant regulatory 

action under Executive Order (E.O.) 

12866, as supplemented by E.O. 13563. 

Therefore, OMB has reviewed this final 

rule. 

Executive Order 13771 

This rule is not subject to the 

requirements of Executive Order 13771 

because it is administrative in nature 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 158 / Wednesday, August 15, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 40453 

1Appendix B to PBGC’s regulation on Allocation 

of Assets in Single-Employer Plans (29 CFR part 

4044) prescribes interest assumptions for valuing 

benefits under terminating covered single-employer 

plans for purposes of allocation of assets under 

ERISA section 4044. Those assumptions are 

updated quarterly. 

and results in no more than de minimis 

costs. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

We certify that this final rule will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

because it affects individuals only. 

Therefore, the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, as amended, does not require us to 

prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

These rules do not create any new or 

affect any existing collections and, 

therefore, do not require Office of 

Management and Budget approval 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act. 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 96.001, Social Security— 

Disability Insurance; 96.002, Social 

Security—Retirement Insurance; 96.004, 

Social Security—Survivors Insurance; 

96.006, Supplemental Security Income.) 

List of Subjects 

20 CFR Part 404 

Administrative practice and 

procedure; Blind; Disability benefits; 

Old-age, Survivors and Disability 

Insurance; Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements; Social security. 

20 CFR Part 416 

Administrative practice and 

procedure; Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements; Supplemental Security 

Income (SSI). 

Nancy A. Berryhill, 

Acting Commissioner of Social Security. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, we are amending subpart J of 

part 404 and subpart N of part 416 of 

Chapter III of title 20 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations as set forth below: 

PART 404—FEDERAL OLD–AGE, 

SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY 

INSURANCE 

(1950– ) 

Subpart J—[Amended] 

■ 1. The authority citation for subpart J 

of part 404 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 201(j), 204(f), 205(a)–(b), 

(d)–(h), and (j), 221, 223(i), 225, and 702(a)(5) 

of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401(j), 

404(f), 405(a)–(b), (d)–(h), and (j), 421, 423(i), 

425, and 902(a)(5)); sec. 5, Pub. L. 97–455, 96 

Stat. 2500 (42 U.S.C. 405 note); secs. 5, 6(c)– 

(e), and 15, Pub. L. 98–460, 98 Stat. 1802 (42 

U.S.C. 421 note); sec. 202, Pub. L. 108–203, 

118 Stat. 509 (42 U.S.C. 902 note). 

§ 404.942 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 404.942, remove paragraph (g). 

PART 416—SUPPLEMENTAL 

SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, 

BLIND, AND DISABLED 

Subpart N—[Amended] 

■ 3. The authority citation for subpart N 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 702(a)(5), 1631, and 1633 

of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

902(a)(5), 1383, and 1383b); sec. 202, Pub. L. 

108–203, 118 Stat. 509 (42 U.S.C. 902 note). 

§ 416.1442 [Amended] 

■ 4. In § 416.1442, remove paragraph 

(g). 

[FR Doc. 2018–17547 Filed 8–14–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

29 CFR Part 4022 

Benefits Payable in Terminated SingleEmployer Plans; Interest Assumptions 

for Paying Benefits 

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule amends the 

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s 

regulation on Benefits Payable in 

Terminated Single-Employer Plans to 

prescribe interest assumptions under 

the regulation for valuation dates in 

September 2018. The interest 

assumptions are used for paying 

benefits under terminating singleemployer plans covered by the pension 

insurance system administered by 

PBGC. 

DATES: Effective September 1, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Hilary Duke (duke.hilary@pbgc.gov), 

Assistant General Counsel for 

Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit 

Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street 

NW, Washington, DC 20005, 202–326– 

4400 ext. 3839. (TTY users may call the 

Federal relay service toll-free at 1–800– 

877–8339 and ask to be connected to 

202–326–4400, ext. 3839.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PBGC’s 

regulation on Benefits Payable in 

Terminated Single-Employer Plans (29 

CFR part 4022) prescribes actuarial 

assumptions—including interest 

assumptions—for paying plan benefits 

under terminated single-employer plans 

covered by title IV of the Employee 

Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. 

The interest assumptions in the 

regulation are also published on PBGC’s 

website (http://www.pbgc.gov). 

PBGC uses the interest assumptions in 

appendix B to part 4022 to determine 

whether a benefit is payable as a lump 

sum and to determine the amount to 

pay. Appendix C to part 4022 contains 

interest assumptions for private-sector 

pension practitioners to refer to if they 

wish to use lump-sum interest rates 

determined using PBGC’s historical 

methodology. Currently, the rates in 

appendices B and C of the benefit 

payment regulation are the same. 

The interest assumptions are intended 

to reflect current conditions in the 

financial and annuity markets. 

Assumptions under the benefit 

payments regulation are updated 

monthly. This final rule updates the 

benefit payments interest assumptions 

for September 2018.1

The September 2018 interest 

assumptions under the benefit payments 

regulation will be 1.25 percent for the 

period during which a benefit is in pay 

status and 4.00 percent during any years 

preceding the benefit’s placement in pay 

status. In comparison with the interest 

assumptions in effect for August 2018, 

these assumptions represent no change 

in the immediate rate and are otherwise 

unchanged. 

PBGC has determined that notice and 

public comment on this amendment are 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. This finding is based on the 

need to determine and issue new 

interest assumptions promptly so that 

the assumptions can reflect current 

market conditions as accurately as 

possible. 

Because of the need to provide 

immediate guidance for the payment of 

benefits under plans with valuation 

dates during September 2018, PBGC 

finds that good cause exists for making 

the assumptions set forth in this 

amendment effective less than 30 days 

after publication. 

PBGC has determined that this action 

is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’ 

under the criteria set forth in Executive 

Order 12866. 

Because no general notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required for this 

amendment, the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act of 1980 does not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 

601(2). 

List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 4022 

Employee benefit plans, Pension 

insurance, Pensions, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 


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