Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 2147 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Office of the Secretary 

43 CFR Part 2 

[DOI–2023–0008;234D0104IG, DG10100000, 

DIG000000.000000] 

RIN 1090–AB27 

Privacy Act Regulations; Exemption 

for Investigative Records 

AGENCY: Office of Inspector General, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Interior (DOI) is issuing a final rule to 

amend its regulations to exempt certain 

records in the INTERIOR/OIG–02, 

Investigative Records, system of records 

from one or more provisions of the 

Privacy Act of 1974 because of criminal, 

civil, and administrative law 

enforcement requirements. 

DATES: The final rule is effective January 

12, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Teri 

Barnett, Departmental Privacy Officer, 

U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C 

Street NW, Room 7112, Washington, DC 

20240, DOI_Privacy@ios.doi.gov or (202) 

208–1605. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

DOI published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal 

Register at 88 FR 44748 (July 13, 2023) 

proposing to exempt portions of the 

INTERIOR/OIG–02, Investigative 

Records, system of records from certain 

provisions of the Privacy Act pursuant 

to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1), (k)(3), and (k)(5) 

because this system of records contains 

material that support activities related 

to investigations. The revised 

INTERIOR/OIG–02, Investigative 

Records, system of records notice 

(SORN) was published in the Federal 

Register at 88 FR 44827 (July 13, 2023). 

Comments were invited on both the 

INTERIOR/OIG–02 SORN and NPRM. 

DOI received no comments on the 

SORN and two general comments on the 

NPRM, which are posted on 

Regulations.gov for public viewing. The 

comments are not substantive, therefore, 

the NPRM will be implemented as 

proposed. 

Procedural Requirements 

1. Regulatory Planning and Review 

(Executive Orders 12866, 14094 and 

13563) 

Executive Order 14094 reaffirms the 

principles of E.O. 12866 and E.O. 13563 

and states that regulatory analysis 

should facilitate agency efforts to 

develop regulations that serve the 

public interest, advance statutory 

objectives, and are consistent with E.O. 

12866, E.O. 13563, and the Presidential 

Memorandum of January 20, 2021 

(Modernizing Regulatory Review). 

Regulatory analysis, as practicable and 

appropriate, shall recognize distributive 

impacts and equity, to the extent 

permitted by law. E.O. 13563 

emphasizes further that regulations 

must be based on the best available 

science and that the rulemaking process 

must allow for public participation and 

an open exchange of ideas. We have 

developed this final rule in a manner 

consistent with these requirements. 

E.O. 12866, as reaffirmed by E.O. 

13563 and E.O. 14094, provides that the 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) will 

review all significant rules. OIRA has 

determined that this rule is not 

significant. 

2. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Department of the Interior 

certifies that this document will not 

have a significant economic effect on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601, et seq., as amended by the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104–121)). 

This rule does not impose a requirement 

for small businesses to report or keep 

records on any of the requirements 

contained in this rule. The exemptions 

to the Privacy Act apply to individuals, 

and individuals are not covered entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. 

This rule is not a major rule under 5 

U.S.C. 804(2). This rule: 

(a) Does not have an annual effect on 

the economy of $100 million or more. 

(b) Will not cause a major increase in 

costs or prices for consumers, 

individual industries, Federal, State, or 

local government agencies, or 

geographic regions. 

(c) Does not have significant adverse 

effects on competition, employment, 

investment, productivity, innovation, or 

the ability of United States-based 

enterprises to compete with foreignbased enterprises. 

3. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

This rule does not impose an 

unfunded mandate on State, local, or 

Tribal governments in the aggregate, or 

on the private sector, of more than $100 

million per year. The rule does not have 

a significant or unique effect on State, 

local, or Tribal governments or the 

private sector. This rule makes only 

minor changes to 43 CFR part 2. A 

statement containing the information 

required by the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) is not 

required. 

4. Takings (E.O. 12630) 

In accordance with Executive Order 

12630, this rule will not have significant 

takings implications. This rule makes 

only minor changes to 43 CFR part 2. A 

takings implication assessment is not 

required. 

5. Federalism (E.O. 13132) 

In accordance with Executive Order 

13132, this rule does not have any 

federalism implications to warrant the 

preparation of a Federalism Assessment. 

The rule is not associated with, nor will 

it have substantial direct effects on the 

States, on the relationship between the 

national government and the States, or 

on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. A Federalism 

Assessment is not required. 

6. Civil Justice Reform (E.O. 12988) 

This rule complies with the 

requirements of Executive Order 12988. 

Specifically, this rule: 

(a) Does not unduly burden the 

Federal judicial system. 

(b) Meets the criteria of section 3(a) 

requiring that all regulations be 

reviewed to eliminate errors and 

ambiguity and be written to minimize 

litigation; and 

(c) Meets the criteria of section 3(b)(2) 

requiring that all regulations be written 

in clear language and contain clear legal 

standards. 

7. Consultation With Indian Tribes (E.O. 

13175) 

In accordance with Executive Order 

13175, the Department of the Interior 

has evaluated this rule and determined 

that it would have no substantial effects 

on Federally Recognized Indian Tribes. 

8. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This rule does not require an 

information collection from 10 or more 

parties and a submission under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

3501, et seq.) is not required. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
2148 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

9. National Environmental Policy Act 

This rule does not constitute a major 

Federal Action significantly affecting 

the quality for the human environment. 

A detailed statement under the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq., is not 

required because the rule is covered by 

a categorical exclusion. We have 

determined the rule is categorically 

excluded under 43 CFR 46.210(i) 

because it is administrative, legal, and 

technical in nature. We also have 

determined the rule does not involve 

any of the extraordinary circumstances 

listed in 43 CFR 46.215 that would 

require further analysis under NEPA. 

10. Effects on Energy Supply (E.O. 

13211) 

This rule is not a significant energy 

action under the definition in Executive 

Order 13211. A Statement of Energy 

Effects is not required. 

11. Clarity of This Regulation 

We are required by Executive Order 

12866 and 12988, the Plain Writing Act 

of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–274), and the 

Presidential Memorandum of June 1, 

1998, to write all rules in plain 

language. This means each rule we 

publish must: 

—Be logically organized; 

—Use the active voice to address 

readers directly; 

—Use clear language rather than jargon; 

—Be divided into short sections and 

sentences; and 

—Use lists and table wherever possible. 

List of Subjects in 43 CFR Part 2 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Confidential information, 

Courts, Freedom of Information Act, 

Privacy Act. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Department of the Interior 

proposes to amend 43 CFR part 2 as 

follows: 

PART 2—FREEDOM OF INFORMATION 

ACT; RECORDS AND TESTIMONY 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 2 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 552, 552a, 553; 

31 U.S.C. 3717; 43 U.S.C. 1460, 1461, the 

Social Security Number Fraud Prevention 

Act of 2017, Pub. L. 115–59, September 15, 

2017. 

■ 2. Amend § 2.254 by adding 

paragraphs (b)(3), (d)(3), (e)(8) to read as 

follows: 

§ 2.254 Exemptions. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(3) INTERIOR/OIG–02, Investigative 

Records. 

(d) * * * 

(3) INTERIOR/OIG–02, Investigative 

Records. 

(e) * * * 

(8) INTERIOR/OIG–02, Investigative 

Records. 

* * * * * 

Teri Barnett, 

Departmental Privacy Officer, Department of 

the Interior. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00588 Filed 1–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4334–63–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 1 

[DA 23–1198; FR ID 196408] 

Annual Adjustment of Civil Monetary 

Penalties To Reflect Inflation 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements 

Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act) 

requires the Federal Communications 

Commission to amend its forfeiture 

penalty rules to reflect annual 

adjustments for inflation in order to 

improve their effectiveness and 

maintain their deterrent effect. The 

Inflation Adjustment Act provides that 

the new penalty levels shall apply to 

penalties assessed after the effective 

date of the increase, including when the 

penalties whose associated violation 

predate the increase. 

DATES: 

Effective date: The rule is effective 

January 12, 2024. 

Applicability date: The civil monetary 

penalties are applicable beginning 

January 15, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Peter S. Hyun, Chief of Staff and Deputy 

Bureau Chief, Enforcement Bureau, at 

Peter.Hyun@fcc.gov or 202–418–2019. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Order, 

DA 23–1198, adopted and released on 

December 22, 2023. The complete text 

of this document is available for 

download at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/ 

attachments/DA-23-1198A1.pdf. To 

request this document in accessible 

formats for people with disabilities (e.g., 

Braille, large print, electronic files, 

audio format, etc.) or to request 

reasonable accommodations (e.g., 

accessible format documents, sign 

language interpreters, CART, etc.), send 

an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the 

FCC’s Consumer and Governmental 

Affairs Bureau at (202) 418–0530 

(voice). 

Synopsis 

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 

included, as section 701 thereto, the 

Inflation Adjustment Act, which 

amended the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. 

L. 101–410), to improve the 

effectiveness of civil monetary penalties 

and maintain their deterrent effect. 

Under the Inflation Adjustment Act, 

agencies are required to make annual 

inflationary adjustments by January 15 

each year, beginning in 2017. The 

adjustments are calculated pursuant to 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) guidance. OMB issued guidance 

on December 19, 2023, and this Order 

follows that guidance. The Commission 

therefore updates the civil monetary 

penalties for 2024, to reflect an annual 

inflation adjustment based on the 

percent change between each published 

October’s CPI–U; in this case, October 

2023 CPI–U (307.671)/October 2022 

CPI–U (298.012) = 1.03241. The 

Commission multiplies 1.03241 by the 

most recent penalty amount and then 

rounds the result to the nearest dollar. 

For 2024, the adjusted penalty or 

penalty range for each applicable 

penalty is calculated by multiplying the 

most recent penalty amount by the 2024 

annual adjustment (1.03241), then 

rounding the result to the nearest dollar. 

The adjustments in civil monetary 

penalties that we adopt in this Order 

apply only to such penalties assessed on 

and after January 15, 2024. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This document does not contain new 

or modified information collection 

requirements subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public 

Law 104–13. It does not contain any 

new or modified information collection 

burden for small business concerns with 

fewer than 25 employees, pursuant to 

the Small Business Paperwork Relief 

Act of 2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 

U.S.C. 3506(c)(4). 

Congressional Review Act 

The Commission has determined, and 

the Administrator of the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 

concurs that this rule is non-major 

under the Congressional Review Act, 5 

U.S.C. 804(2). The Commission will 

send a copy of this Order to Congress 

and the Government Accountability 

Office pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). 


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