3352 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

maximum amount provided for by 

Federal law; (2) assessed or enforced by 

an agency pursuant to Federal law; and 

(3) assessed or enforced pursuant to an 

administrative proceeding or a civil 

action in the Federal courts. 

The Inflation Adjustment Act, as 

amended, requires agencies to adjust 

civil monetary penalties by the inflation 

adjustment described in section 5 of the 

Inflation Adjustment Act. The Act also 

provides that any increase in a civil 

monetary penalty shall apply only to 

civil monetary penalties, including 

those whose associated violation 

predated such an increase, which are 

assessed after the date the increase takes 

effect. 

The Inflation Adjustment Act, as 

amended, provides that the inflation 

adjustment does not apply to civil 

monetary penalties under the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986 or the Tariff Act 

of 1930. 

Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act 

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau (TTB) administers the 

Federal Alcohol Administration Act 

(FAA Act) pursuant to section 1111(d) 

of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 

codified at 6 U.S.C. 531(d). In addition, 

the Secretary of the Treasury has 

delegated certain administrative and 

enforcement authorities to TTB through 

Treasury Order 120–01. 

The FAA Act contains the Alcoholic 

Beverage Labeling Act (ABLA) of 1988, 

Public Law 100–690, 27 U.S.C. 213– 

219a, which was enacted on November 

18, 1988. Section 204 of the ABLA, 

codified in 27 U.S.C. 215, requires that 

a health warning statement appear on 

the labels of all containers of alcoholic 

beverages manufactured, imported, or 

bottled for sale or distribution in the 

United States, as well as on containers 

of alcoholic beverages that are 

manufactured, imported, bottled, or 

labeled for sale, distribution, or 

shipment to members or units of the 

U.S. Armed Forces, including those 

located outside the United States. 

The health warning statement 

requirement applies to containers of 

alcoholic beverages manufactured, 

imported, or bottled for sale or 

distribution in the United States on or 

after November 18, 1989. The statement 

reads as follows: 

GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) According 

to the Surgeon General, women should not 

drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy 

because of the risk of birth defects. (2) 

Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs 

your ability to drive a car or operate 

machinery, and may cause health problems. 

Section 204 of the ABLA also 

specifies that the Secretary of the 

Treasury shall have the power to ensure 

the enforcement of the provisions of the 

ABLA and issue regulations to carry 

them out. In addition, section 207 of the 

ABLA, codified in 27 U.S.C. 218, 

provides that any person who violates 

the provisions of the ABLA is subject to 

a civil penalty of not more than $10,000, 

with each day constituting a separate 

offense. 

Most of the civil monetary penalties 

administered by TTB are imposed by 

the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and 

thus are not subject to the inflation 

adjustment mandated by the Inflation 

Adjustment Act. The only civil 

monetary penalty enforced by TTB that 

is subject to the inflation adjustment is 

the penalty imposed by the ABLA at 27 

U.S.C. 218. 

TTB Regulations 

The TTB regulations implementing 

the ABLA are found in 27 CFR part 16, 

and the regulations implementing the 

Inflation Adjustment Act with respect to 

the ABLA penalty are found in 27 CFR 

16.33. This section indicates that, in 

accordance with the ABLA, any person 

who violates the provisions of this part 

is subject to a civil penalty of not more 

than $10,000. Further, pursuant to the 

provisions of the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as 

amended, this civil penalty is subject to 

periodic cost-of-living adjustments. 

Accordingly, any person who violates 

the provisions of 27 CFR part 16 is 

subject to a civil penalty of not more 

than the amount listed at https://

www.ttb.gov/laws-regulations-andpublic-guidance/labeling-act-penalty. 

Each day constitutes a separate offense. 

To adjust the penalty, § 16.33(b) 

indicates that TTB will provide notice 

in the Federal Register and at the 

website mentioned above of cost-ofliving adjustments to the civil penalty 

for violations of 27 CFR part 16. 

Penalty Adjustment 

In this document, TTB is publishing 

its yearly adjustment to the maximum 

ABLA penalty, as required by the 

amended Inflation Adjustment Act. 

As mentioned earlier, the ABLA 

contains a maximum civil monetary 

penalty. For such penalties, section 5 of 

the Inflation Adjustment Act indicates 

that the inflation adjustment is 

determined by increasing the maximum 

penalty by the cost-of-living adjustment. 

The cost-of-living adjustment means the 

percentage increase (if any) between the 

Consumer Price Index for all-urban 

consumers (CPI–U) for the October 

preceding the date of the adjustment 

and the prior year’s October CPI–U. 

The CPI–U in October 2022 was 

298.012, and the CPI–U in October 2023 

was 307.671. The rate of inflation 

between October 2022 and October 2023 

was therefore 3.241 percent. When 

applied to the current ABLA penalty of 

$24,759, this rate of inflation yields a 

raw (unrounded) inflation adjustment of 

$802.4392. Rounded to the nearest 

dollar, the inflation adjustment is $802, 

meaning that the new maximum civil 

penalty for violations of the ABLA will 

be $25,561. 

The new maximum civil penalty will 

apply to all penalties that are assessed 

after January 18, 2024. TTB has also 

updated its web page at https://

www.ttb.gov/laws-regulations-andpublic-guidance/labeling-act-penalty to 

reflect the adjusted penalty. 

Dated: January 12, 2024. 

Amy R. Greenberg, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator, 

Headquarters Operations. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00887 Filed 1–17–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–31–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Fiscal Service 

31 CFR Part 380 

Collateral Acceptability and Valuation 

AGENCY: Fiscal Service, Department of 

the Treasury. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury is amending regulations that 

govern the acceptability and valuation 

of collateral pledged to secure deposits 

of public monies and other financial 

interests of the government under 

Treasury’s Fiscal Service collateral 

programs. This final rule is a nonsubstantive, technical amendment that 

updates a website and removes outdated 

contact information referenced in those 

regulations. 

DATES: Effective January 18, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: This final rule is available at 

https://regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lori 

Santamorena (Executive Director), 

Kevin Hawkins (Associate Director), or 

John Garrison (Associate Director), 

Government Securities Regulations 

Staff, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, 

Department of the Treasury, at (202) 

504–3632 or email us at govsecreg@

fiscal.treasury.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department of the Treasury (Treasury) is 

amending 31 CFR part 380, which 

governs the determination of the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 3353 

acceptable types of collateral and their 

assigned values that may be pledged to 

secure deposits of public monies and 

other financial interests of the 

government under Treasury’s Fiscal 

Service collateral programs. 

Treasury’s Fiscal Service collateral 

programs are described in, and governed 

by, the regulations at 31 CFR part 202 

(Depositaries and Financial Agents of 

the Federal Government), 31 CFR part 

203 (Payment of Federal Taxes and the 

Treasury Tax and Loan Program), and 

31 CFR part 225 (Acceptance of Bonds 

Secured by Government Obligations in 

Lieu of Bonds with Sureties). Treasury’s 

Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal 

Service) administers 31 CFR part 380, 

which governs the acceptability and 

valuation of the collateral in these 

programs. The Federal Reserve System, 

acting as the fiscal agent for Treasury, 

monitors collateral pledged to these 

programs. 

This rule amendment revises 31 CFR 

part 380 to reflect that information 

about the acceptability and valuation of 

collateral for Treasury’s 31 CFR part 202 

and 31 CFR part 225 programs has been 

moved and can now be accessed on the 

Fiscal Service’s website located at 

fiscal.treasury.gov instead of its 

previous address 

www.treasurydirect.gov. This 

amendment also removes outdated 

versions of the bureau’s postal mailing 

address and the Government Securities 

Regulations Staff’s (GSRS’s) email 

address. 

Procedural Requirements 

Executive Orders 12866 and 14094. 

This final rule is not a significant 

regulatory action pursuant to Executive 

Order 12866, as amended by Executive 

Order 14094. 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA). 

This final rule is being issued without 

prior notice and the opportunity for 

public comment and without the 30-day 

delayed effective date ordinarily 

prescribed by the APA 5 U.S.C. 553(b) 

and (d). Pursuant to section 553(b)(B) of 

the APA, general notice and the 

opportunity for public comment are not 

required with respect to a rulemaking 

when an ‘‘agency for good cause finds 

(and incorporates the finding and a brief 

statement of reasons therefor in the 

rules issued) that notice and public 

procedure thereon are impracticable, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public 

interest. APA prior notice procedures 

are unnecessary because this rule does 

not promulgate any substantive changes 

to the regulations being amended. 

Rather, this rule merely makes minor, 

technical changes, specifically, updating 

the website address and contact 

information listed in the regulations, 

that do not involve the exercise of 

agency discretion and which are 

unlikely to generate public comment. 

Accordingly, Treasury finds that good 

cause exists to dispense with notice and 

comment procedures for this rule, and 

to have the rule take immediate effect, 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 553(d)(3). 

Regulatory Flexibility Act. Because a 

notice of proposed rulemaking is not 

required for this rule under 5 U.S.C. 553 

or any other law, the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act does not apply to this 

rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act. We ask for 

no collections of information in this 

final rule. Therefore, the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., 

does not apply. 

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 380 

Government securities, Securities, 

Surety bonds. 

Text of Amendments 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, Fiscal Service amends 31 CFR 

part 380 as follows: 

PART 380—COLLATERAL 

ACCEPTABILITY AND VALUATION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 380 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 90, 265–266, 332, 391, 

1452(d), 1464(k), 1767, 1789a, 2013, 2122, 

3101–3102; 26 U.S.C. 6302; 31 U.S.C. 321, 

323, 3301–3304, 3336, 9301, 9303. 

■ 2. Revise § 380.2 to read as follows: 

§ 380.2 What collateral may I pledge if I am 

a depositary or a financial agent of the 

Government under 31 CFR part 202, and 

what value will you assign to it? 

Unless we specify otherwise, we will 

list the types and valuation of 

acceptable collateral in Treasury 

procedural instructions. We will also 

post updated information and guidance 

on Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal 

Service website at fiscal.treasury.gov. 

■ 3. Revise § 380.4 to read as follows: 

§ 380.4 What collateral may I pledge 

instead of a surety bond under 31 CFR part 

225, and what value will you assign to it? 

Unless we specify otherwise, we will 

list the types and valuation of 

acceptable collateral in Treasury 

procedural instructions. We will also 

post updated information and guidance 

on Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal 

Service website at fiscal.treasury.gov. 

Subpart C [Removed] 

■ 4. Remove Subpart C, consisting of 

§ 380.5. 

David A. Lebryk, 

Fiscal Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00927 Filed 1–17–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of Foreign Assets Control 

31 CFR Part 591 

Publication of Venezuela Sanctions 

Regulations Web General License 45A 

AGENCY: Office of Foreign Assets 

Control, Treasury. 

ACTION: Publication of Web General 

License. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets 

Control (OFAC) is publishing one 

general license (GL) issued pursuant to 

the Venezuela Sanctions Regulations: 

GL 45A, which was previously made 

available on OFAC’s website. 

DATES: GL 45A was issued on November 

16, 2023. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for additional relevant 

dates. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

OFAC: Assistant Director for Licensing, 

202–622–2480; Assistant Director for 

Regulatory Affairs, 202–622–4855; or 

Assistant Director for Compliance, 202– 

622–2490. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Availability 

This document and additional 

information concerning OFAC are 

available on OFAC’s website: https://

ofac.treasury.gov. 

Background 

On November 16, 2023, OFAC issued 

GL 45A to authorize certain transactions 

otherwise prohibited by the Venezuela 

Sanctions Regulations (VSR), 31 CFR 

part 591, or authorities incorporated 

therein. The GL was made available on 

OFAC’s website (https://

ofac.treasury.gov) when it was issued. 

GL 45A supersedes GL 45, which was 

issued on October 18, 2023. The text of 

GL 45A is provided below. 


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