4818 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

these approaches are relevant, feasible, 

and consistent with regulatory 

objectives. E.O. 13563 further 

emphasizes 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. However, BOEM is 

using neither science nor public 

participation in this rulemaking. 

Congress directed agencies to adjust the 

maximum daily civil penalty amounts 

using a particular equation without 

public participation. BOEM does not 

have discretion to use any other factor 

in the adjustment. BOEM has developed 

this rule in a manner consistent with the 

requirements in E.O. 13563 to the extent 

relevant and feasible given the limited 

discretion provided agencies under the 

Improvements Act. 

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

This rule complies with the 

requirements of E.O. 12988. 

Specifically, this rule: 

(a) 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 

(b) meets the criteria of section 3(b)(2) 

requiring that all regulations be written 

in clear language and contain clear legal 

standards. 

4. Federalism (E.O. 13132) 

Under the criteria in section 1 of E.O. 

13132, this rule does not have sufficient 

federalism implications to warrant the 

preparation of a federalism summary 

impact statement. This rule merely 

adjusts the dollar amount of civil 

monetary penalties that BOEM may 

impose on oil and gas lessees, grant 

holders, and operators on the Outer 

Continental Shelf and has no effects on 

any action of State or local governments. 

Therefore, a federalism summary impact 

statement is not required. 

5. Consultation and Coordination With 

Indian Tribal Governments (E.O. 13175) 

The Department of the Interior and 

BOEM strive to strengthen their 

government-to-government 

relationships with Indian Tribes 

through a commitment to consultation 

with Indian Tribes and recognition of 

the Tribes’ right to self-governance and 

Tribal sovereignty. BOEM evaluated this 

rule under the Department of the 

Interior’s consultation policy, 

Departmental Manual part 512 chapters 

4 and 5, and E.O. 13175. BOEM 

determined that this rule has no 

substantial direct effects on federally 

recognized Indian Tribes or Alaska 

Native Claims Settlement Act 

Corporations and that consultation 

under existing Department and BOEM 

policies is not required. 

6. Actions Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use (E.O. 13211) 

This rule is not a ‘‘significant energy 

action’’ under the definition of that term 

found in E.O. 13211. Therefore, a 

statement of energy effects is not 

required. 

List of Subjects 

30 CFR Part 550 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Continental shelf, 

Environmental impact statements, 

Environmental protection, Federal 

lands, Government contracts, 

Investigations, Mineral resources, Oil 

and gas exploration, Outer continental 

shelf, Penalties, Pipelines, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, Rightsof-way, Sulfur. 

30 CFR Part 553 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Continental shelf, Financial 

responsibility, Liability, Limit of 

liability, Oil and gas exploration, Oil 

pollution, Outer continental shelf, 

Penalties, Pipelines, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Rights-ofway, Surety bonds, Treasury securities. 

This action by the Deputy Assistant 

Secretary is taken pursuant to an 

existing delegation of authority. 

Steven H. Feldgus, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land 

and Minerals Management. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, BOEM amends 30 CFR parts 

550 and 553 as follows: 

PART 550—OIL AND GAS AND 

SULPHUR OPERATIONS IN THE 

OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 550 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 1751; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 

43 U.S.C. 1334. 

■ 2. Revise § 550.1403 to read as 

follows: 

§ 550.1403 What is the maximum civil 

penalty? 

The maximum civil penalty is 

$54,352 per day per violation. 

PART 553—OIL SPILL FINANCIAL 

RESPONSIBILITY FOR OFFSHORE 

FACILITIES 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 553 

is amended to read as follows: 

Authority: 33 U.S.C. 2704, 2716; 2716a; 

E.O. 12777, as amended. 

■ 4. Revise § 553.51(a) to read as 

follows: 

§ 553.51 What are the penalties for not 

complying with this part? 

(a) If you fail to comply with the 

financial responsibility requirements of 

OPA at 33 U.S.C. 2716 or with the 

requirements of this part, then you may 

be liable for a civil penalty of up to 

$57,617 per COF per day of violation 

(that is, each day a COF is operated 

without acceptable evidence of OSFR). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–01412 Filed 1–24–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4340–98–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of the Secretary of the Treasury 

31 CFR Parts 16, 27, and 50 

Inflation Adjustment of Civil Monetary 

Penalties 

AGENCY: Departmental Offices Treasury. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury (‘‘Department’’ or ‘‘Treasury’’) 

publishes this final rule to adjust its 

civil monetary penalties (‘‘CMPs’’) for 

inflation as mandated by the Federal 

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

of 1990, as amended by the Federal 

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015 (collectively 

referred to herein as ‘‘the Act’’). 

DATES: Effective January 25, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information regarding the Terrorism 

Risk Insurance Program’s CMPs, contact 

Richard Ifft, Lead Management and 

Senior Insurance Policy Analyst, 

Terrorism Risk Insurance Program, 

Federal Insurance Office, Room 1410 

MT, Department of the Treasury, 1500 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20220, at (202) 622–2922 (not a tollfree number), or Sherry Rowlett, 

Program Analyst, Federal Insurance 

Office, at (202) 622–1890 (not a toll free 

number). Persons who have difficulty 

hearing or speaking may access these 

numbers via TTY by calling the toll-free 

Federal Relay Service at (800) 877–8339. 

For information regarding the 

Treasury-wide CMPs, contact Richard 

Dodson, Senior Counsel, General Law, 

Ethics, and Regulation, 202–622–9949. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

In order to improve the effectiveness 

of CMPs and to maintain their deterrent 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 4819 

1However, the increased CMPs apply only with 

respect to underlying violations occurring after the 

date of enactment of the 2015 Act, i.e., after 

November 2, 2015. 

effect, the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, 28 

U.S.C. 2461 note (‘‘the Inflation 

Adjustment Act’’), as amended by the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015 (Pub. L. 114–74) (‘‘the 2015 Act’’), 

requires Federal agencies to adjust each 

CMP provided by law within the 

jurisdiction of the agency. The 2015 Act 

requires agencies to adjust the level of 

CMPs with an initial ‘‘catch-up’’ 

adjustment through an interim final 

rulemaking and to make subsequent 

annual adjustments for inflation, 

without needing to provide notice and 

the opportunity for public comment 

required by 5 U.S.C. 553. This rule 

constitutes the Department’s 2024 

annual adjustment. The 2015 Act 

provides that any increase in a CMP 

shall apply to CMPs that are assessed 

after the date the increase takes effect, 

regardless of whether the underlying 

violation predated such increase.1

II. Method of Calculation 

The method of calculating CMP 

adjustments applied in this final rule is 

required by the 2015 Act. Under the 

2015 Act and the Office of Management 

and Budget guidance required by the 

2015 Act, annual inflation adjustments 

subsequent to the initial catch-up 

adjustment are to be based on the 

percent change 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. As set forth in 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Memorandum M–24–07 of 

December 19, 2023, the adjustment 

multiplier for 2024 is 1.03241. Under 

the 2015 Act, any increase in CMP must 

be rounded to the nearest multiple of 

$1. 

With regard to the CMPs assessed 

under 31 U.S.C. 3802(a), the penalty 

amount for 2023 ($9,399) is multiplied 

by 1.03241, resulting in a maximum 

penalty amount of $9,704 for 2024. 

With regard to the CMPs assessed 

under 31 U.S.C. 333(c), the first penalty 

under this section was adjusted to 

$9,399 in 2023. This amount is 

multiplied by 1.03241, resulting in a 

penalty of $9,704 for 2024. The second 

penalty under this section was adjusted 

to $46,989 in 2023. Multiplying this 

amount by 1.03241, results in a penalty 

of $48,512 for 2024. 

Finally, with regard to the CMP 

assessed under Section 104 of Title I, 

Public Law 107–297, as amended, the 

penalty amount for 2023 ($1,643,738) is 

multiplied by 1.03241 resulting in a 

penalty of $1,697,012 for 2024. 

Procedural Matters 

1. Administrative Procedure Act 

The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015 (Section 701(b)) requires agencies 

to make annual adjustments for inflation 

to CMPs, without needing to provide 

notice and the opportunity for public 

comment and a delayed effective date 

required by 5 U.S.C. 553. Additionally, 

the methodology used for adjusting 

CMPs for inflation is provided by 

statute, with no discretion provided to 

agencies regarding the substance of the 

adjustments for inflation to CMPs. The 

Department is charged only with 

performing ministerial computations to 

determine the dollar amount of 

adjustments for inflation to CMPs. 

Accordingly, prior public notice, an 

opportunity for public comment, and a 

delayed effective date are not required 

for this rule. 

2. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Because no notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required, the provisions 

of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do not apply. 

3. Executive Order 12866 

This rule is not a significant 

regulatory action as defined in section 

3.f of Executive Order 12866, as 

amended. 

4. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104– 

13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, and its 

implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 

1320, do not apply to this rule because 

there are no new or revised 

recordkeeping or reporting 

requirements. 

List of Subjects 

31 CFR Part 16 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Claims, Fraud, Penalties. 

31 CFR Part 27 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Penalties. 

31 CFR Part 50 

Insurance, Terrorism. 

Authority and Issuance 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, parts 16, 27, and 50 of title 31 

of the Code of Federal Regulations are 

amended as follows: 

PART 16—REGULATIONS 

IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAM 

FRAUD CIVIL REMEDIES ACT OF 1986 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 16 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 31 U.S.C. 3801–3812. 

■ 2. Amend § 16.3 by revising 

paragraphs (a)(1)(iv) and (b)(1)(ii) to 

read as follows: 

§ 16.3 Basis for civil penalties and 

assessments. 

(a) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iv) Is for payment for the provision 

of property or services which the person 

has not provided as claimed, shall be 

subject, in addition to any other remedy 

that may be prescribed by law, to a civil 

penalty of not more than $9,704 (2024) 

for each such claim. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(ii) Includes or is accompanied by an 

express certification or affirmation of 

the truthfulness and accuracy of the 

content of the statement, shall be 

subject, in addition to any other remedy 

that may be prescribed by law, to a civil 

penalty of not more than $9,704 (2024) 

for each such statement. 

* * * * * 

PART 27—CIVIL PENALTY 

ASSESSMENT FOR MISUSE OF 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

NAMES, SYMBOLS, ETC. 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 27 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 31 U.S.C. 321, 333. 

■ 4. Amend § 27.3 by revising paragraph 

(c) to read as follows: 

§ 27.3 Assessment of civil penalties. 

* * * * * 

(c) Civil penalty. An assessing official 

may impose a civil penalty on any 

person who violates the provisions of 

paragraph (a) of this section. The 

amount of a civil monetary penalty shall 

not exceed $9,704 (2024) for each and 

every use of any material in violation of 

paragraph (a), except that such penalty 

shall not exceed $48,512 for each and 

every use if such use is in a broadcast 

or telecast. 

* * * * * 

PART 50—TERRORISM RISK 

INSURANCE PROGRAM 

■ 5. The authority citation for part 50 is 

revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 31 U.S.C. 321; 

Title I, Pub. L. 107–297, 116 Stat. 2322, as 


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4820 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 17 / Thursday, January 25, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

1Public Law 101–410, as amended in 2015 by 

section 701 of Public Law 114–74 and codified as 

a note to 28 U.S.C. 2461. 

2Act, sec. 4(a). 

3Act, sec. 4(b)(2) (adjustments are to be made 

‘‘notwithstanding’’ the rulemaking requirements of 

5 U.S.C. 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act). 

4The increased CMPs, however, apply only with 

respect to underlying violations occurring after 

November 2, 2015, the date of enactment of the 

most recent amendment to the Act. Act, sec. 6. 

5Act, sec. 5; OMB Mem. M–24–07 (Dec. 19, 

2023). 

6Act, sec. 5(a). FinCEN previously applied a 

catch-up adjustment for each penalty subject to the 

Act in 2016 based on the year and corresponding 

amount(s) for which the maximum penalty or range 

of minimum and maximum penalties was 

established or last adjusted, whichever is later. See 

Civil Monetary Penalty Adjustment and Table, 81 

FR 42503, 42504 (June 30, 2016). Because the year 

of establishment or last adjustment is different for 

different penalties, penalties that were of the same 

size when each was promulgated can have different 

values today if promulgated at different times. 

7The CTA is Title LXIV of the William M. (Mac) 

Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for 

Fiscal Year 2021, Public Law 116–283 (Jan. 1, 

2021). The CTA is codified at 31 U.S.C. 5336. 

8The CTA’s BOI reporting requirements are 

implemented by regulations effective January 1, 

2024, and the CTA’s requirements regarding BOI 

access and safeguards are implemented by 

regulations effective February 20, 2024. See 

FinCEN, Beneficial Ownership Information 

Reporting Requirements, 87 FR 59498 (Sept. 30, 

2022); FinCEN, Beneficial Ownership Information 

Access and Safeguards, 88 FR 88732 (Dec. 22, 

2023). 

9Under section 5(b)(2)(B) of the Act, the 

adjustment is to ‘‘be applied to the amount of the 

civil monetary penalty as it was most recently 

established or adjusted under a provision of law 

other than [the Act].’’ This amount is the penalty 

‘‘established (i.e., as originally enacted by 

Congress), or last adjusted (i.e., by Congress in 

statute, or by the agency through regulation), 

whichever is later, other than pursuant to [Act].’’ 

OMB Mem. M–16–06 (Feb. 24, 2016). Because the 

CTA-associated CMPs were established by Congress 

in 2021 and have not since been adjusted by statute 

or regulation, they were subject to the 2022 and 

2023 adjustments required by the Act, as well as the 

2024 adjustment. FinCEN applied an adjustment 

multiplier of 1.06222 in 2022 and of 1.07745 in 

2023 to CMPs. FinCEN, Inflation Adjustment of 

Civil Monetary Penalties, 87 FR 3433, 3434 (Jan. 24, 

2022); FinCEN, Inflation Adjustment of Civil 

Monetary Penalties, 88 FR 3311, 3312 (Jan. 19, 

2023). 

amended by Pub. L. 109–144, 119 Stat. 2660, 

Pub. L. 110–160, 121 Stat. 1839, Pub. L. 114– 

1, 129 Stat. 3, and Pub. L. 116–94, 133 Stat. 

2534 (15 U.S.C. 6701 note); Pub. L. 114–74, 

129 Stat. 601, Title VII (28 U.S.C. 2461 note). 

■ 6. Amend § 50.83 by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 50.83 Adjustment of civil monetary 

penalty amount. 

(a) Inflation adjustment. Any penalty 

under the Act and these regulations may 

not exceed the greater of $1,697,012 

and, in the case of any failure to pay, 

charge, collect or remit amounts in 

accordance with the Act or these 

regulations such amount in dispute. 

* * * * * 

Kayla Arslanian, 

Executive Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01409 Filed 1–24–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AK–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 

31 CFR Part 1010 

Financial Crimes Enforcement 

Network; Inflation Adjustment of Civil 

Monetary Penalties 

AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement 

Network (FinCEN), Treasury. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: FinCEN is publishing this 

final rule to reflect inflation adjustments 

to its civil monetary penalties as 

mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as 

amended. This rule adjusts certain 

maximum civil monetary penalties 

within the jurisdiction of FinCEN to the 

amounts required by that Act. 

DATES: Effective January 25, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The 

FinCEN Regulatory Support Section at 

1–800–767–2825 or electronically at 

frc@fincen.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

To improve the effectiveness of civil 

monetary penalties (CMPs) and to 

maintain their deterrent effect, the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990 (the Act) 1

requires Federal agencies to adjust for 

inflation each CMP provided by law 

within the jurisdiction of the agency. 

Under the Act, agencies are required to 

adjust CMPs annually and publish these 

adjustments in the Federal Register.2

Agencies are to make the adjustments 

without engaging in notice-andcomment rulemaking, and these 

adjustments may be immediately 

effective upon publication.3 The Act 

provides that any increase in a CMP 

shall apply to CMPs that are assessed 

after the date the increase takes effect, 

regardless of whether the underlying 

violation predated such increase.4

FinCEN publishes CMP inflation 

adjustments in its regulations at 31 CFR 

1010.821. 

II. Method of Calculation 

The method of calculating CMP 

adjustments applied in this final rule is 

determined by the Act. Under the Act 

and Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) guidance, annual inflation 

adjustments are to be based on the 

percent change 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.5 As set forth in 

OMB Memorandum M–24–07 of 

December 19, 2023, the adjustment 

multiplier for 2024 is 1.03241. To 

complete the 2024 annual adjustment, 

each current FinCEN CMP is multiplied 

by the 2024 adjustment multiplier. 

Under the Act, any increase in CMP 

must be rounded to the nearest multiple 

of $1.6

This final rule lists adjusted CMPs 

associated with violations of the 

Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) 7 for 

the first time: specifically, the CMPs for 

beneficial ownership information (BOI) 

reporting violations (31 U.S.C. 

5336(h)(3)(A)(i)) and for the 

unauthorized disclosure or use of BOI 

(31 U.S.C. 5336(h)(3)(B)(i)). These CMPs 

were established when the CTA became 

law in 2021, but were not published 

with prior adjustments because 

FinCEN’s regulations implementing the 

CTA were then not yet effective.8

Because these CTA-associated CMPs 

will be effective in 2024, they are listed 

in this adjustment. As these CMPs were 

established in 2021, they were also 

subject to the CMP adjustments imposed 

in 2022 and 2023, even though they 

were not published with those 

adjustments; accordingly, this rule 

applies the 2022, 2023, and 2024 

adjustment multipliers to the CMPs 

established by the CTA.9

Procedural Matters 

1. Administrative Procedure Act 

Section 4(b) of the Act requires 

agencies, beginning in 2017, to make 

annual adjustments for inflation to 

CMPs notwithstanding the rulemaking 

requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553. 

Additionally, the methodology used for 

adjusting CMPs for inflation is provided 

by statute, with no discretion provided 

to agencies regarding the substance of 

the adjustments for inflation to CMPs. 

Accordingly, prior public notice and an 

opportunity for public comment and a 

delayed effective date are not required 

for this rule. 

2. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Because no notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required, the provisions 

of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do not apply. 

3. Executive Order 12866 

This rule is not a significant 

regulatory action as defined in section 


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