This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

60583

Vol. 65, No. 198

Thursday, October 12, 2000

1The 1996 adjustment was based on the June

1995 CPI. In calculating the new adjustments, the

FCPIA Act requires us to use the 3-year period from

June 1996 to June 1999 for those penalties that were

adjusted in 1996.

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Part 263

[Docket No. R–1083]

Rules of Practice for Hearings

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the

Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the

Federal Reserve System (the Board) is

amending its rules of practice and

procedure to adjust the maximum

amount, as set by statute, of each civil

money penalty (CMP) within its

jurisdiction to account for inflation.

This action is required under the

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation

Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by

the Debt Collection Improvement Act of

1996.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 12, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Katherine H. Wheatley, Assistant

General Counsel (202/452–3779), Legal

Division, Board of Governors of the

Federal Reserve System, 20th and C

Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20551. For

users of Telecommunication Device for

the Deaf (TDD) only, please contact

Janice Simms (202/452–4984).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation

Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by

the Debt Collection Improvement Act of

1996, 28 U.S.C. 2461 note (FCPIA Act),

requires each Federal agency to adjust

each CMP within its jurisdiction by a

prescribed cost-of-living adjustment at

least once every four years. This cost-ofliving adjustment is based on the

formula described in section 5(b) of the

FCPIA Act. The Board made its last

adjustment in October 1996 (see 61 FR

56407).

The required cost-of-living adjustment

formula is based on the difference

between the Consumer Price Index (CPI)

for June of the year preceding the

adjustment (in this case, June 1999) and

the CPI for June of the year when the

CMP was last set or adjusted (generally,

June 1996).1 To calculate the

adjustment, the Board used the

Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor

Statistics—All Urban Consumers tables,

in which the period 1982–84 was equal

to 100, to get the CPI values. In this case,

the CPI was 156.7 for June 1996 and was

166.2 for June 1999, resulting in an

increase of 6.1 percent.

Section 5 of the FCPIA Act provides

that the adjustment amount must be

rounded before adding it to the existing

penalty amount. The rounding

provision depends on the size of the

penalty being adjusted. For example, if

the penalty is greater than $100 but less

than or equal to $1000, the increase is

rounded to the nearest $100; if it is

greater than $1000 but less than or equal

to $10,000, the increase is rounded to

the nearest $1000. Because of this

rounding rule, several penalty amounts

are not changing at this time. For

example, because the Tier I penalty

under 12 U.S.C. 1818(i)(2) is currently

$5,500, the 6.1 percent adjustment

would be $336. Rounding that increase

to the nearest $1000 results in an

increase of $0. The penalties that are not

adjusted at this time because of this

rounding formula will be adjusted at the

next adjustment cycle to take account of

the entire period between the time of

their last adjustment (generally, 1996)

and the next adjustment date. These

unadjusted penalties are identified in

the amended regulation at

subparagraphs 263.65(b)(1)(ii), (b)(2)(i)

and (ii), (b)(3), (b)(4), (b)(5)(ii), (b)(6),

(b)(7), (b)(8)(i), and (b)(9)(i).

When the regulation was adopted in

1996, several statutory penalty

provisions that should have been

identified for adjustment were

inadvertently omitted. Those

provisions, which have maximum

statutory penalties that are identical to

provisions that were adjusted, are 12

U.S.C. 334, 374a, 3110(a), and 3110(c).

In order to comply with the statutory

intent and to provide for uniformity in

penalty amounts for similar violations,

the Board is treating those provisions as

though they had been previously

adjusted in accordance with the FCPIA

Act, and adjusting them for the second

time in this cycle if such adjustment is

warranted under the calculation called

for by the FCPIA.

In addition, when the regulation was

adopted in 1996, several penalty

amounts did not change from their

original statutory values because of the

effect of the rounding rules in the FCPIA

Act. Specifically, the penalty for

inadvertently late or misleading reports

under 12 U.S.C. 324, and the Tier I

penalties under 12 U.S.C. 1847(d) and

3110(c), all of which were set by

Congress in 1989 at $2000, were

unchanged in the initial FCPIA

adjustment. Accordingly, these

penalties must be adjusted in this cycle

in a manner that captures inflation from

1989 to the present. The CPI increase

between June 1989 and June 1999 was

33.9 percent, which when applied to the

$2000 penalty amount and rounded in

accordance with the applicable

rounding rule would result in an

increase of $1000. Because such an

increase would exceed the 10 percent

limit imposed by the statute for the

initial increase in any penalty, these

penalties were increased to $2,200. The

per-violation penalty under 42 U.S.C.

4012a(f)(5) was enacted in 1994 and was

also not adjusted in 1996 due to the

application of the rounding rule. The

CPI increase of 12.3 percent from June

1994 to June 1999 was used to calculate

the increase for this penalty; due to the

rounding rules, the penalty was not

adjusted in this cycle either, and

remains $350 for each violation.

In accordance with section 6 of the

FCPIA Act, the increased penalties set

forth in this amendment apply only to

violations that occur after the date the

increase takes effect.

Public Comment Not Required

This rule is not subject to the

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553 requiring

notice, public participation, and

deferred effective date. The FCPIA Act

provides Federal agencies with no

discretion in the adjustment of CMPs to

the rate of inflation, and it also requires

that adjustments be made at least every

four years. Moreover, this regulation is

ministerial and technical. For these

reasons, the Board finds good cause to

determine that public notice and

comment for this new regulation is

60584 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 198 / Thursday, October 12, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

unnecessary, impractical, and contrary

to the public interest, pursuant to the

Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5

U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B). These same reasons

also provide the Board with good cause

to adopt an effective date for this

regulation that is less than 30 days after

the date of publication in the Federal

Register, pursuant to the APA, 5 U.S.C.

553(d).

Regulatory Flexibility Act: No

significant impact.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Ch.

3506; 5 CFR Part 1320 Appendix A.1),

the Board reviewed the proposed rule

under the authority delegated to the

Board by the Office of Management and

Budget. No collections of information

pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction

Act are contained in the final rule.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 263

Administrative practice and

procedure, Claims, Crime, Equal Access

to Justice, Federal Reserve System,

Lawyers, Penalties.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, the Board of Governors

amends 12 CFR part 263 to read as

follows:

PART 263—RULES OF PRACTICE FOR

HEARINGS

1. The authority citation for part 263

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 504; 12 U.S.C. 248,

324, 504, 505, 1817(j), 1818, 1828(c), 1831o,

1831p–1, 1847(b), 1847(d), 1884(b),

1972(2)(F), 3105, 3107, 3108, 3907, 3909; 15

U.S.C. 21, 78o–4, 78o–5, 78u–2; and 28

U.S.C. 2461 note.

2. Section 263.65 is revised to read as

follows:

§ 263.65 Civil penalty inflation adjustments

(a) Inflation adjustments. In

accordance with the Federal Civil

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of

1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note), the Board

has set forth in paragraph (b) of this

section adjusted maximum penalty

amounts for each civil money penalty

provided by law within its jurisdiction.

The adjusted civil penalty amounts

provided in paragraph (b) of this section

replace only the amounts published in

the statutes authorizing the assessment

of penalties and the previously-adjusted

amounts adopted as of October 24, 1996.

The authorizing statutes contain the

complete provisions under which the

Board may seek a civil money penalty.

The increased penalty amounts apply

only to violations occurring after the

effective date of this rule.

(b) Maximum civil money penalties.

The maximum civil money penalties as

set forth in the referenced statutory

sections are adjusted as follows:

(1) 12 U.S.C. 324:

(i) Inadvertently late or misleading

reports, inter alia—$2200.

(ii) Other late or misleading reports,

inter alia—$22,000.

(iii) Knowingly or recklessly false or

misleading reports, inter alia—

$1,175,000.

(2) 12 U.S.C. 504, 505, 1817(j)(16),

1818(i)(2) and 1972(F):

(i) First tier—$5,500.

(ii) Second tier—$27,500.

(iii) Third tier—$1,175,000.

(3) 12 U.S.C. 1832(c)—$1,100.

(4) 12 U.S.C. 1847(b), 3110(a)—

$27,500.

(5) 12 U.S.C. 1847(d), 3110(c):

(i) First tier—$2,200.

(ii) Second tier—$22,000.

(iii) Third tier—$1,175,000.

(6) 12 U.S.C. 334, 374a, 1884—$110.

(7) 12 U.S.C. 3909(d)—$1,100.

(8) 15 U.S.C. 78u–2:

(i) 15 U.S.C. 78u–2(b)(1)—$5,500 for a

natural person and $60,000 for any

other person.

(ii) 15 U.S.C. 78u–2(b)(2)—$60,000 for

a natural person and $300,000 for any

other person.

(iii) 15 U.S.C. 78u–2(b)(3)—$120,000

for a natural person and $575,000 for

any other person.

(9) 42 U.S.C. 4012a(f)(5):

(i) For each violation—$350.

(ii) For the total amount of penalties

assessed under 42 U.S.C. 4012a(f)(5)

against an institution or enterprise

during any calendar year—$115,000.

By order of the Board of Governors of the

Federal Reserve System, October 5, 2000.

Robert deV. Frierson,

Associate Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 00–26080 Filed 10–11–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–P

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

20 CFR Parts 404 and 416

[Regulations Nos. 4 and 16]

Revised Medical Criteria for Evaluating

Mental Disorders and Traumatic Brain

Injury; Correction

AGENCY: Social Security Administration.

ACTION: Final rules; correction.

SUMMARY: We published in the Federal

Register of August 21, 2000, a document

concerning revising our regulations for

evaluating mental impairments.

Inadvertently §§ 404.1520a and

416.920a each contains a word from the

prior rules that we had revised in the

final rules. This document corrects that

oversight.

DATES: Effective on September 20, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Deborah Barnes, Social Insurance

Specialist, Social Security

Administration, 6401 Security

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235–6401,

deborah.barnes@ssa.gov, (410) 965–4171

or TTY (410) 966–5609 for information

about these rules. For information on

eligibility or filing for benefits, call our

national toll-free number, 1–800–772–

1213 or TTY 1–800–325–0778, or visit

our Internet web site, SSA Online, at

www.ssa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We

published a document in the Federal

Register of July 18, 1991 (56 FR 33130),

proposing revisions to §§ 404.1520a and

416.920a. In the final rules we

published in the Federal Register of

August 21, 2000 (65 FR 50746), we

inadvertently used the word ‘‘slight’’

from the prior rules for the second point

of the five-point scale in

§§ 404.1520a(c)(4) and 416.920a(c)(4).

We intended to use the word ‘‘mild,’’ as

we had proposed. This correction makes

§§ 404.1520a(c)(4) and 416.920a(c)(4)

consistent with the remainder of the

final rules.

In the Federal Register of August 21,

2000, make the following corrections.

On page 50775, in the first column, in

§ 404.1520a(c)(4), the first sentence,

correct ‘‘slight’’ to read ‘‘mild.’’ On page

50783, in the first column, in

§ 416.920a(c)(4), the first sentence,

correct ‘‘slight’’ to read ‘‘mild.’’

§ 404.1520a Evaluation of Mental

Impairments.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(4) When we rate the degree of

limitation in the first three functional

areas (activities of daily living; social

functioning; and concentration,

persistence, or pace), we will use the

following five-point scale: None, mild,

moderate, marked, and extreme. * * *

* * * * *

§ 416.920a Evaluation of Mental

Impairments.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(4) When we rate the degree of

limitation in the first three functional

areas (activities of daily living; social

functioning; and concentration,

persistence, or pace), we will use the

following five-point scale: None, mild,

moderate, marked, and extreme. * * *

* * * * *