2132 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

1Under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, a penalty is a civil 

monetary penalty if (among other things) it is for 

a specific monetary amount or has a maximum 

amount specified by Federal law. Title IV also 

provides (in section 4007) for penalties for late 

payment of premiums, but those penalties are 

neither in a specified amount nor subject to a 

specified maximum amount. 

mathematical function that is a cubic 

spline in the interval from 10 years 

maturity through 30 years maturity 

made up of two polynomials with a 

smooth junction (as described in 

paragraph (d)(2)(ii)(A) of this section) at 

20 years maturity. The spline rises from 

0 at 10 years maturity to 1.0 at 20 years 

maturity, then falls back down to 0 at 30 

years maturity. The hump adjustment 

variable is 0 for maturities less than 10 

years and maturities greater than 30 

years. 

(iv) Weighting of bond data. The bond 

data are weighted in three steps. In the 

first step, equal weights are assigned to 

the commercial paper rates at the short 

end of the curve, and the par amounts 

outstanding of all the bonds are rescaled 

so that their sum equals the sum of the 

weights for commercial paper. In the 

second step, the squared price 

difference for each commercial paper 

rate is multiplied by the commercial 

paper weight, and the squared price 

difference for each bond is multiplied 

by the bond’s rescaled par amount 

outstanding. In the third step, 

applicable for bonds with duration 

greater than 1, the weighted squared 

price difference for each bond from the 

second step is divided by the bond’s 

duration. 

(3) Data used—(i) In general. Except 

as otherwise provided in this paragraph 

(d)(3), the bonds that are used to 

construct the daily corporate bond yield 

curve for a business day are bonds with 

maturities longer than 1⁄2 year, with at 

least two payment dates, and that: 

(A) Are designated as corporate; 

(B) Have high quality ratings (AAA, 

AA, or A) as of that business day from 

the nationally recognized statistical 

rating organizations; 

(C) Have at least $250 million in par 

amount outstanding on at least one day 

during the month; 

(D) Pay fixed nominal semiannual 

coupons and the principal amount at 

maturity; and 

(E) Mature not later than 30 years after 

that business day. 

(ii) Excluded bonds. The following 

types of bonds are not used to construct 

the daily corporate bond yield curve for 

a date: 

(A) Bonds not denominated in U.S. 

dollars; 

(B) Bonds not issued by U.S. 

corporations; 

(C) Bonds that are capital securities 

(sometimes referred to as hybrid 

preferred stock); 

(D) Bonds with variable coupon rates; 

(E) Convertible bonds; 

(F) Bonds issued by a governmentsponsored enterprise (such as the 

Federal National Mortgage Association); 

(G) Asset-backed bonds; 

(H) Callable bonds, unless the call 

feature is make-whole or the call feature 

is exercisable only during the last year 

before maturity; 

(I) Putable bonds; 

(J) Bonds with sinking funds; and 

(K) Bonds with an outstanding par 

amount below $250 million for the day 

for which the daily yield curve is 

constructed. 

(iii) Durations equal to or below 1⁄2

year. The data for durations equal to or 

below 1⁄2 year that is used to construct 

the daily corporate bond yield curve 

consists of AA financial and AA 

nonfinancial commercial paper rates, as 

reported by the Federal Reserve Board. 

* * * * * 

(h) Applicability date. This section 

applies for months that begin on or after 

February 1, 2024. For rules that apply 

for earlier periods, see 26 CFR 

1.430(h)(2)–1 revised as of April 1, 

2023. 

Douglas W. O’Donnell, 

Deputy Commissioner for Services and 

Enforcement. 

Approved: December 27, 2023. 

Lily Batchelder, 

Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (Tax 

Policy). 

[FR Doc. 2024–00552 Filed 1–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P 

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

29 CFR Parts 4071 and 4302 

RIN 1212–AB45 

Adjustment of Civil Penalties for 

Inflation 

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation is required to amend its 

regulations annually to adjust for 

inflation the maximum civil penalty for 

failure to provide certain notices or 

other material information and for 

failure to provide certain multiemployer 

plan notices. 

DATES:

Effective date: This rule is effective on 

January 12, 2024. 

Applicability date: The increases in 

the civil monetary penalties under 

sections 4071 and 4302 of the Employee 

Retirement Income Security Act 

provided for in this rule apply to such 

penalties assessed after January 12, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen Levin (levin.karen@pbgc.gov), 

Attorney, Regulatory Affairs Division, 

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 

445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 

20024–2101; 202–229–3559. If you are 

deaf or hard of hearing or have a speech 

disability, please dial 7–1–1 to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary 

Purpose of the Regulatory Action 

This rule is needed to carry out the 

requirements of the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of 

Management and Budget guidance M– 

24–07. The rule adjusts, as required for 

2024, the maximum civil penalties 

under 29 CFR parts 4071 and 4302 that 

the Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation (PBGC) may assess for 

failure to provide certain notices or 

other material information and certain 

multiemployer plan notices. 

PBGC’s legal authority for this action 

comes from the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 as 

amended by the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements 

Act of 2015 and from sections 

4002(b)(3), 4071, and 4302 of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (ERISA). 

Major Provisions of the Regulatory 

Action 

This rule adjusts as required by law 

the maximum civil penalties that PBGC 

may assess under sections 4071 and 

4302 of ERISA. The new maximum 

amounts are $2,670 for section 4071 

penalties and $356 for section 4302 

penalties. 

Background 

PBGC administers title IV of ERISA. 

Title IV has two provisions that 

authorize PBGC to assess civil monetary 

penalties.1 Section 4302, added to 

ERISA by the Multiemployer Pension 

Plan Amendments Act of 1980, 

authorizes PBGC to assess a civil 

penalty of up to $100 a day for failure 

to provide a notice under subtitle E of 

title IV of ERISA (dealing with 

multiemployer plans). Section 4071, 

added to ERISA by the Omnibus Budget 

Reconciliation Act of 1987, authorizes 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 2133 

2Sec. 701, Public Law 114–74, 129 Stat. 599–601 

(Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015). 

3See M–24–07, Implementation of Penalty 

Inflation Adjustments for 2024, Pursuant to the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015, https://

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ 

M-24-07-Implementation-of-Penalty-InflationAdjustments-for-2024.pdf. 

PBGC to assess a civil penalty of up to 

$1,000 a day for failure to provide a 

notice or other material information 

under subtitles A, B, and C of title IV 

and sections 303(k)(4) and 306(g)(4) of 

title I of ERISA. 

Adjustment of Civil Penalties 

The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015 2 requires agencies to adjust civil 

monetary penalties for inflation and to 

publish the adjustments in the Federal 

Register. An initial adjustment was 

required to be made by interim final 

rule published by July 1, 2016, and 

effective by August 1, 2016. Subsequent 

adjustments must be published by 

January 15 each year after 2016. 

On December 19, 2023, the Office of 

Management and Budget issued 

memorandum M–24–07 on 

implementation of the 2024 annual 

inflation adjustment.3 The 

memorandum provides agencies with 

the cost-of-living adjustment multiplier 

for 2024, which is based on the 

Consumer Price Index (CPI–U) for the 

month of October 2023, not seasonally 

adjusted. The multiplier for 2024 is 

1.03241. The adjusted maximum 

amounts are $2,670 for section 4071 

penalties and $356 for section 4302 

penalties. 

Compliance With Regulatory 

Requirements 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has determined that this rule is not a 

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under 

Executive Order 12866 and therefore not 

subject to its review. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

also has determined that notice and 

public comment on this final rule are 

unnecessary because the adjustment of 

civil penalties implemented in the rule 

is required by law. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 

Because no general notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required for this rule, the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 does 

not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 601(2). 

List of Subjects in 29 CFR Parts 4071 

and 4302 

Penalties. 

In consideration of the foregoing, 

PBGC amends 29 CFR parts 4071 and 

4302 as follows: 

PART 4071—PENALTIES FOR 

FAILURE TO PROVIDE CERTAIN 

NOTICES OR OTHER MATERIAL 

INFORMATION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 4071 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as 

amended by sec. 701, Pub. L. 114–74, 129 

Stat. 599–601; 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3), 1371. 

§ 4071.3 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 4071.3, remove the number 

‘‘$2,586’’ and add in its place the 

number ‘‘$2,670’’. 

PART 4302—PENALTIES FOR 

FAILURE TO PROVIDE CERTAIN 

MULTIEMPLOYER PLAN NOTICES 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 4302 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as 

amended by sec. 701, Pub. L. 114–74, 129 

Stat. 599–601; 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3), 1452. 

§ 4302.3 [Amended] 

■ 4. In § 4302.3, remove the number 

‘‘$345’’ and add in its place the number 

‘‘$356’’. 

Issued in Washington, DC. 

Gordon Hartogensis, 

Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00488 Filed 1–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7709–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement 

30 CFR Part 948 

[SATS No. WV–125–FOR; Docket ID: 

OSMRE–2017–0003 S1D1S SS08011000 

SX064A000 2340S180110; S2D2S 

SS08011000 SX064A000 23XS501520] 

West Virginia Regulatory Program 

AGENCY: Office of Surface Mining 

Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior. 

ACTION: Final rule; approval of 

amendment with deferral. 

SUMMARY: We, the Office of Surface 

Mining Reclamation and Enforcement 

(OSMRE), are approving, with one 

deferral, an amendment to the West 

Virginia statutory program under the 

Surface Mining Control and 

Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA or the 

Act). The amendment revises the West 

Virginia Surface Coal Mining and 

Reclamation Act (WVSCMRA) as 

contained in Senate Bill 687 of 2017. 

These revisions modify the WVSCMRA 

requirements related to the release of 

bonds and provisions related to the use 

of money from the Special Reclamation 

Water Trust Fund. We are deferring our 

decision on the removal of provisions 

pertaining to the long-range planning 

process for the selection and 

prioritization of sites to be reclaimed. 

DATE: This rule is effective February 12, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Michael Castle, Acting Field Office 

Director, Charleston Field Office, 

Telephone: (859) 260–3900. Email: osmchfo@osmre.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background on the West Virginia Program 

II. Submission of the Amendment 

III. OSMRE’s Findings 

IV. Summary and Disposition of Comments 

V. OSMRE’s Decision 

VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews 

I. Background on the West Virginia 

Program 

Subject to OSMRE’s oversight, 

SMCRA section 503(a) permits a State to 

assume primacy for the regulation of 

surface coal mining and reclamation 

operations on non-Federal and nonIndian lands within its borders by 

demonstrating that its program includes, 

among other things, State laws and 

regulations that govern surface coal 

mining and reclamation operations in 

accordance with the Act and consistent 

with the Federal regulations. See 30 

U.S.C. 1253(a)(1) and (7). On the basis 

of these criteria, the Secretary of the 

Interior conditionally approved the 

West Virginia program on January 21, 

1981. You can find background 

information on the West Virginia 

program, including the Secretary’s 

findings, the disposition of comments, 

and conditions of approval of the West 

Virginia program in the January 21, 

1981, Federal Register (46 FR 5915). 

You can also find later actions 

concerning the West Virginia program 

and program amendments at 30 CFR 

948.10, 948.12, 948.13, 948.15, and 

948.16. 

II. Submission of the Amendment 

By letter dated May 3, 2017 

(Administrative Record No. 1608), and 

received by us on May 15, 2017, the 

West Virginia Department of 

Environmental Protection (WVDEP) 

submitted an amendment to its program 

under SMCRA, docketed as WV–125– 

FOR. The proposed amendment consists 

of statutory revisions to WVSCMRA 

contained in Senate Bill 687 of 2017 

(S.B. 687) (approved April 26, 2017). 

See 2017 W.Va. Acts ch. 86. 

Through S.B. 687, West Virginia seeks 

to revise statutory provisions related to 

the release of bonds and the use of 


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