This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

6665 

Vol. 80, No. 25 

Friday, February 6, 2015 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Parts 318 and 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0082] 

RIN 0579–AD71 

Establishing a Performance Standard 

for Authorizing the Importation and 

Interstate Movement of Fruits and 

Vegetables 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: We are reopening the 

comment period for our proposed rule 

that would amend our regulations 

governing the importation and interstate 

movement of fruits and vegetables by 

broadening our existing performance 

standard to provide for approval of all 

new fruits and vegetables for 

importation or interstate movement into 

or within the United States using a 

notice-based process. This action will 

allow interested persons additional time 

to prepare and submit comments. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

proposed rule published on September 

9, 2014 (79 FR 53346–53352) is 

reopened. We will consider all 

comments that we receive on or before 

March 10, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0082. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2010–0082, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http://

www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0082 or 

in our reading room, which is located in 

Room 1141 of the USDA South 

Building, 14th Street and Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC. Normal 

reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 799–7039 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Nicole L. Russo, Assistant Director, 

Regulatory Coordination and 

Compliance, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1231; (301) 851–2159. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

September 9, 2014, we published in the 

Federal Register (79 FR 53346–53352) a 

proposal to amend our regulations 

governing the importations of fruits and 

vegetables by broadening our existing 

performance standard to provide for 

approval of all new fruits and vegetables 

for importation into the United States 

using a notice-based process. We also 

proposed to remove the region- or 

commodity-specific phytosanitary 

requirements currently found in these 

regulations. Likewise, we proposed an 

equivalent revision of the performance 

standard in our regulations governing 

the interstate movement of fruits and 

vegetables from Hawaii and the U.S. 

territories (Guam, Northern Mariana 

Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands) and the removal of commodityspecific phytosanitary requirements 

from those regulations. This proposal 

would allow for the approval of requests 

to authorize the importation or 

interstate movement of new fruits and 

vegetables in a manner that enables a 

more flexible and responsive regulatory 

approach to evolving pest situations in 

both the United States and exporting 

countries. It would not however, alter 

the science-based process in which the 

risk associated with importation or 

interstate movement of a given fruit or 

vegetable is evaluated or the manner in 

which risks associated with the 

importation or interstate movement of a 

fruit or vegetable are mitigated. 

Comments on the proposed rule were 

required to be received on or before 

November 10, 2014. On December 4, 

2014, we published in the Federal 

Register (79 FR 71973) a notice of 

reopening of the comment period for an 

additional 60 days. Comments were 

required to be received on or before 

January 9, 2015. 

We are reopening the comment period 

on Docket No. APHIS–2010–0082 for an 

additional 60 days. We will also accept 

all comments received between January 

10, 2015 (the day after the close of the 

initial extended comment period) and 

the date of this notice. This action will 

allow interested persons additional time 

to prepare and submit comments. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701–7772, and 

7781–7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 

2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of 

February 2015. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02404 Filed 2–5–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

COMMISSION 

19 CFR Parts 201, 206, 208, and 213, 

and Chapter II 

Rules of General Application; 

Investigations Relating to Global and 

Bilateral Safeguard Actions, Market 

Disruption, Trade Diversion, and 

Review of Relief Actions; 

Investigations With Respect to 

Commercial Availability of Textile 

Fabric and Yarn in Sub-Saharan 

African Countries; Trade Remedy 

Assistance 

AGENCY: International Trade 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; 

retrospective analysis of rules. 

SUMMARY: The United States 

International Trade Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) proposes to amend 

provisions of its Rules of Practice and 

Procedure concerning the Freedom of 

Information Act, the Privacy Act, the 

Government in the Sunshine Act, 

certain investigations, and trade remedy 

assistance. The proposed amendments 

are part of the agency’s retrospective 

analysis of its Rules that attempts to 

determine whether rules should be 

modified, streamlined, expanded, or 

repealed so as to make the agency’s 

regulatory program more effective or 

less burdensome in achieving regulatory 

objectives. The Commission requests 

public comment both on the proposed 

amendments and on its rules in general. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
6666 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

DATES: To be assured of consideration, 

written comments must be received by 

5:15 p.m. on April 7, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number MISC–038, 

by any of the following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Agency Web site: https://

edis.usitc.gov. Follow the instructions 

for submitting comments on the Web 

site. 

Mail: For paper submission. U.S. 

International Trade Commission, 500 E 

Street SW., Room 112A, Washington, 

DC 20436. 

Hand Delivery/Courier: U.S. 

International Trade Commission, 500 E 

Street SW., Room 112A, Washington, 

DC 20436. During the hours of 8:45 a.m. 

to 5:15 p.m. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

docket number (MISC–038), along with 

a cover letter stating the nature of the 

commenter’s interest in the proposed 

rulemaking. All comments received will 

be posted without change to https://

edis.usitc.gov, including any personal 

information provided. For paper copies, 

a signed original and 8 copies of each 

set of comments should be submitted to 

Lisa R. Barton, Secretary, U.S. 

International Trade Commission, 500 E 

Street SW., Room 112A, Washington, 

DC 20436. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to https://

edis.usitc.gov and/or the U.S. 

International Trade Commission, 500 E 

Street SW., Room 112A, Washington, 

DC 20436. 

A person seeking to submit a 

comment that includes confidential 

business information should follow the 

procedures set out in 19 CFR 201.6. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa 

R. Barton, Secretary, telephone (202) 

205–2000, or Paul R. Bardos, Office of 

the General Counsel, telephone (202) 

205–3061, United States International 

Trade Commission. Hearing-impaired 

individuals are advised that information 

on this matter can be obtained by 

contacting the Commission’s TDD 

terminal at (202) 205–1810. General 

information concerning the Commission 

may also be obtained by accessing its 

Internet server at http://www.usitc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

preamble below is designed to assist 

readers in understanding these 

proposed amendments to the 

Commission’s Rules. This preamble 

provides background information, a 

section-by-section explanation of the 

proposed amendments, and a regulatory 

analysis of the proposed amendments. 

The Commission encourages members 

of the public to comment on the 

proposed amendments as well as on 

whether the language of the proposed 

amendments is sufficiently clear for 

users to understand. 

Background 

Section 335 of the Tariff Act of 1930 

(19 U.S.C. 1335) authorizes the 

Commission to adopt such reasonable 

procedures, rules, and regulations as it 

deems necessary to carry out its 

functions and duties. This rulemaking 

seeks to improve provisions of the 

Commission’s existing Rules of Practice 

and Procedure. The Commission invites 

the public to comment on all of these 

proposed rules amendments. In any 

comments, please consider addressing 

whether the language of the proposed 

amendments is sufficiently clear for 

users to understand. In addition please 

consider addressing how the proposed 

rules amendments could be improved, 

and/or offer specific constructive 

alternatives where appropriate. 

Consistent with its ordinary practice, 

the Commission is issuing these 

proposed amendments in accordance 

with provisions of section 553 of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (‘‘APA’’) 

(5 U.S.C. 553), although such provisions 

are not mandatory with respect to this 

rulemaking. The APA procedure entails 

the following steps: (1) Publication of a 

notice of proposed rulemaking; (2) 

solicitation of public comments on the 

proposed amendments; (3) Commission 

review of public comments on the 

proposed amendments; and (4) 

publication of final amendments at least 

thirty days prior to their effective date. 

This notice of proposed rulemaking is 

a result of the Commission’s Plan for 

Retrospective Analysis of Existing 

Rules, which was published on 

February 14, 2012, at 77 FR 8114. The 

plan was issued in response to 

Executive Order 13579 of July 11, 2011, 

and established a process under which 

the Commission will periodically 

review its significant rules to determine 

whether any such rules should be 

modified, streamlined, expanded, or 

repealed so as to make the agency’s 

regulatory program more effective or 

less burdensome in achieving regulatory 

objectives. On August 9, 2012, at 77 FR 

47572, the Commission published a 

notice seeking public comment on its 

existing Rules as part of the 

retrospective review. Several comments 

were received, and are being taken into 

account as the Commission continues to 

review its Rules. 

The Commission has in the past two 

years issued a number of notices of 

rulemaking designed to improve the 

Commission’s existing Rules. With 

respect to proceedings conducted under 

section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

U.S.C. 1337), the Commission most 

recently published a notice of final 

rulemaking on May 21, 2013 (78 FR 

29618). Concerning proceedings 

conducted under title VII of the Tariff 

Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.), the 

agency published a notice of final 

rulemaking on June 25, 2014 (79 FR 

35920). In addition, the Commission 

updated its Rules concerning national 

security information by notice 

published on August 8, 2014 (79 FR 

46350). 

The Commission’s Plan calls for the 

agency to seek public input on its Rules 

every two years. As a result, the 

Commission is seeking input by this 

notice to assist it in determining 

whether, in addition to the proposed 

amendments set out below, any of the 

agency’s Rules should be modified, 

streamlined, expanded, or repealed so 

as to make the agency’s regulatory 

program more effective or less 

burdensome in achieving regulatory 

objectives. The public is invited to 

comment both on the proposed 

amendments and any other of the 

Commission’s Rules. 

As discussed more fully below, the 

Commission proposes to revise 

provisions of its Rules concerning the 

Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy 

Act, the Government in the Sunshine 

Act, certain investigations, and trade 

remedy assistance. 

Section-by-Section Analysis 

The Commission proposes to amend 

the authority citation for part 201 to 

conform to the recommendation of the 

Office of the Federal Register with 

respect to statutory citation. 

Section 201.17(a)(5) directs members 

of the public to make inquiries of the 

Publications Office in the Office of the 

Secretary when writing or calling for 

copies of documents. The Commission 

proposes to revise this provision to 

reflect the fact that there is no longer a 

Publications Office in the Secretary’s 

Office and that many documents are 

available online. 

Section 201.19(f) currently states that, 

in general, the Commission has ten (10) 

working days in which to respond to a 

Freedom of Information Act request. 

The Commission proposes to revise this 

paragraph to remove it in conformity 

with the applicable statutory provision 

(5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(A)(i)), which gives 

agencies twenty (20) working days to 

respond to requests. In addition, the 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2015 / Proposed Rules 6667 

paragraph would be revised to increase 

flexibility by replacing a specific 

deadline for filing objections to 

disclosure of information with a 

provision for the Secretary to set the 

deadline. 

Section 201.20(j)(8) defines the term 

‘‘representative of the news media.’’ The 

Commission proposes to replace the 

existing definition with the statutory 

one set out at 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)(ii). 

Section 201.23(e) states that the 

Privacy Act Officer for the Commission 

is the Director of the Office of 

Administration. The Commission 

proposes to amend this provision to 

reflect the fact that this responsibility 

has been transferred to the Secretary to 

the Commission. 

Section 201.34(a)(3) states that 

conference telephone calls among 

Commissioners generally are considered 

meetings under the Government in the 

Sunshine Act. The Commission 

proposes to more closely accord this 

statement with the statute by clarifying 

that this is only the case where the 

deliberations of the Commissioners 

‘‘determine or result in the joint conduct 

or disposition of official [Commission] 

business.’’ See 5 U.S.C. 552b(a)(2). 

Section 206.2 sets out how a petition 

or request for a safeguard investigation 

should be identified. The Commission 

proposes to amend the provision to add 

procedures for filing such documents. 

The Commission proposes to remove 

part 208 of its Rules, which governs 

investigations with respect to 

commercial availability of textile fabric 

and yarn in sub-Saharan African 

countries. Such investigations were 

provided for under section 112(c) of the 

African Growth and Opportunity Act 

(19 U.S.C. 3721(c)), which was repealed 

by Section 3(a)(2) of the Andean Trade 

Preference Act, Public Law 110–436. 

Part 213 implements 19 U.S.C. 1339 

by establishing a Trade Remedy 

Assistance Office (TRAO) and assigning 

duties to that office. The Commission 

proposes to move part 213 to a new 

subchapter D. This move would clarify 

that part 213 applies to proceedings 

under several trade statutes. Currently 

part 213 is located in subchapter C, 

which is intended to cover only unfair 

practices in import trade. 

The Commission proposes to amend 

the authority citation for part 213 to 

conform to the recommendation of the 

Office of the Federal Register with 

respect to statutory citation. 

The Commission proposes to amend 

section 213.2 to update and simplify the 

definition of the term ‘‘SBA size 

standards.’’ A reference to frivolous 

petitions and complaints would be 

removed as unnecessary because, 

although TRAO has the statutory 

authority to determine that a petition or 

application is frivolous, the office has 

not received such documents. In 

addition, the Commission proposes to 

clarify that technical assistance is 

provided under 19 U.S.C. 1339(b), so 

that persons seeking information and 

assistance under 19 U.S.C. 1339(a) need 

not file the formal application required 

by section 213.3; a conforming change 

would be made to section 213.3. Also, 

a typographical error would be 

corrected. 

The Commission proposes to amend 

sections 213.3 and 213.6 to inform the 

public that the agency provides 

information relating to trade remedy 

assistance on its Web site. 

Regulatory Analysis of Proposed 

Amendments to the Commission’s Rules 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is inapplicable to this 

rulemaking because it is not one for 

which a notice of final rulemaking is 

required under 5 U.S.C. 553(b) or any 

other statute. Although the Commission 

has chosen to publish a notice of 

proposed rulemaking, these proposed 

regulations are ‘‘agency rules of 

procedure and practice,’’ and thus are 

exempt from the notice requirement 

imposed by 5 U.S.C. 553(b). Moreover, 

the proposed rules are certified as not 

having a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The proposed rules do not impose an 

information collection burden under the 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

No actions are necessary under title II 

of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995, Public Law 104–4 (2 U.S.C. 

1531–1538) because these amended 

rules will not result in the expenditure 

by State, local, and tribal governments, 

in the aggregate, or by the private sector, 

of $100,000,000 or more in any one 

year, and will not significantly or 

uniquely affect small governments. 

The Commission has determined that 

these amended rules do not constitute a 

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under 

section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866 

(58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993). 

The proposed rules do not have 

Federalism implications warranting the 

preparation of a federalism summary 

impact statement under Executive Order 

13132 (64 FR 43255, August 4, 1999). 

The proposed amendments are not 

‘‘major rules’’ as defined by section 251 

of the Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (5 

U.S.C. 801 et. seq.). Moreover, they are 

exempt from the reporting requirements 

of the Act because they concern rules of 

agency organization, procedure, or 

practice that do not substantially affect 

the rights or obligations of non-agency 

parties. 

List of Subjects in 19 CFR Parts 201, 

206, 208, and 213 

Administrative practice and 

procedure; imports; foreign trade. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, under the authority of 19 

U.S.C. 1335, the United States 

International Trade Commission 

proposes to amend 19 CFR parts 201, 

206, 208, and 213 as follows: 

PART 201—RULES OF GENERAL 

APPLICATION 

■ 1. Revise the authority citation for part 

201 to read as follows: 

Authority: 19 U.S.C. 1335; 19 U.S.C. 2482, 

unless otherwise noted. 

■ 2. Revise paragraph (a)(5) of § 201.17 

to read as follows: 

§ 201.17 Procedures for requesting access 

to records. 

(a) * * * 

(5) Copies of public Commission 

reports and other publications are 

available online at http://www.usitc.gov, 

or can be requested by calling or writing 

the Office of the Secretary. Certain 

Commission publications are sold by 

the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. 

Government Printing Office, and are 

available from that agency at the price 

set by that agency. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Revise paragraph (f) of § 201.19 to 

read as follows: 

§ 201.19 Notification regarding requests 

for confidential business information. 

* * * * * 

(f) Opportunity to object to disclosure. 

Through the notice described in 

paragraph (c) of this section, the 

Commission will afford a submitter an 

opportunity, within the period afforded 

to the Commission to make its decision 

in response to the FOIA request, to 

provide the Commission with a detailed 

written statement of any objection to 

disclosure. Such statement shall be filed 

by a deadline set by the Secretary, and 

it shall specify all grounds for 

withholding any of the information 

under any exemption of FOIA. In the 

case of FOIA Exemptions 3 or 4, it shall 

demonstrate why the information 

should continue to be considered 

confidential business information 

within the meaning of § 201.6 of this 

part and should not be disclosed. The 

submitter’s claim of continued 

confidentiality should be supported by 

a certification by an officer or 

authorized representative of the 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
6668 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

submitter. Information provided by a 

submitter pursuant to this paragraph 

may itself be subject to disclosure under 

FOIA. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Revise paragraph (j)(8) of § 201.20 

to read as follows: 

§ 201.20 Fees. 

* * * * * 

(j) * * * 

(8) The term representative of the 

news media refers to any person or 

entity that gathers information of 

potential interest to a segment of the 

public, uses its editorial skills to turn 

the raw materials into a distinct work, 

and distributes that work to an 

audience. The term ‘news’ means 

information that is about current events 

or that would be of current interest to 

the public. Examples of news-media 

entities are television or radio stations 

broadcasting to the public at large and 

publishers of periodicals (but only if 

such entities qualify as disseminators of 

‘news’) who make their products 

available for purchase by or 

subscription by or free distribution to 

the general public. These examples are 

not all-inclusive. Moreover, as methods 

of news delivery evolve (for example, 

the adoption of the electronic 

dissemination of newspapers through 

telecommunications services), such 

alternative media shall be considered to 

be news-media entities. A freelance 

journalist shall be regarded as working 

for a news-media entity if the journalist 

can demonstrate a solid basis for 

expecting publication through that 

entity, whether or not the journalist is 

actually employed by the entity. A 

publication contract would present a 

solid basis for such an expectation; the 

Government may also consider the past 

publication record of the requester in 

making such a determination. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Revise paragraph (e) of § 201.23 to 

read as follows: 

§ 201.23 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

(e) The term Privacy Act Officer refers 

to the Secretary, United States 

International Trade Commission, 500 E 

Street SW., Washington, DC 20436, or 

his or her designee. 

■ 6. Revise paragraph (a)(3) of § 201.34 

to read as follows: 

§ 201.34 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(3) Conference telephone calls among 

the Commissioners are considered 

meetings as defined by paragraph (a)(1) 

of this section if they involve the 

number of Commissioners requisite for 

Commission action, and where the 

deliberations of the Commissioners 

determine or result in the joint conduct 

or disposition of official Commission 

business. 

* * * * * 

PART 206—INVESTIGATIONS 

RELATING TO GLOBAL AND 

BILATERAL SAFEGUARD ACTIONS, 

MARKET DISRUPTION, TRADE 

DIVERSION, AND REVIEW OF RELIEF 

ACTIONS 

■ 7. The authority citation for part 206 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 19 U.S.C. 1335, 2112 note, 

2251–2254, 2436, 2451–2451a, 3351–3382, 

3805 note, 4051–4065, and 4101. 

■ 8. Revise § 206.2 to read as follows: 

§ 206.2 Identification of type of petition or 

request. 

An investigation under this part may 

be commenced on the basis of a 

petition, request, resolution, or motion 

as provided for in the statutory 

provisions listed in §§ 206.1 and 206.31. 

Each petition or request, as the case 

maybe, filed by an entity representative 

of a domestic industry under this part 

shall state clearly on the first page 

thereof ‘‘This is a [petition or request] 

under section [citing the statutory 

provision] and Subpart [B, C, D, E, F, or 

G] of part 206 of the rules of practice 

and procedure of the United States 

International Trade Commission.’’ A 

paper original and eight (8) true paper 

copies of a petition, request, resolution, 

or motion shall be filed. One copy of 

any exhibits, appendices, and 

attachments to the document shall be 

filed in electronic form on CD–ROM, 

DVD, or other portable electronic format 

approved by the Secretary. 

PART 208—[REMOVED AND 

RESERVED] 

■ 9. Remove and reserve part 208. 

Subchapter D—Special Provisions 

■ 10. Under the authority of 19 U.S.C. 

1335, add subchapter D with the 

heading set forth above, and transfer 

part 213, consisting of §§ 213.1 through 

213.6, into new subchapter D. 

PART 213—TRADE REMEDY 

ASSISTANCE 

■ 11. Revise the authority citation for 

part 213 to read as follows: 

Authority: 19 U.S.C. 1335, 1339. 

■ 12. Revise paragraphs (d), (e), (f), and 

(g) of § 213.2 to read as follows: 

§ 213.2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

(d) Technical Assistance. Technical 

assistance is informal advice and 

assistance, including informal legal 

advice, provided under 19 U.S.C. 

1339(b) and intended to enable eligible 

small businesses to determine the 

appropriateness of pursuing particular 

trade remedies, to prepare petitions and 

complaints and to seek to obtain the 

remedies and benefits available under 

the trade laws identified in § 213.2(b). 

Technical assistance is available to 

eligible small businesses at any time 

until the completion of administrative 

review or of an appeal to the 

administering agency regarding 

proceedings under the trade laws listed 

in § 213.2(b). Technical assistance does 

not include legal representation of an 

eligible small business or advocacy on 

its behalf and receipt of technical 

assistance does not ensure that the 

recipient will prevail in any trade 

remedy proceeding. The Office provides 

such technical assistance independently 

of other Commission staff but may 

consult with other staff as appropriate. 

(e) Applicant. An applicant is an 

individual, partnership, corporation, 

joint venture, trade or other association, 

cooperative, group of workers, or 

certified or recognized union, or other 

entity that applies for technical 

assistance under this part. 

(f) Eligible small business. An eligible 

small business is an applicant that the 

Office has determined to be entitled to 

technical assistance under 19 U.S.C. 

1339(b) in accordance with the SBA size 

standards and the procedures set forth 

in this part. 

(g) SBA size standards. The Office has 

adopted for its use SBA size standards, 

which are the small business size 

standards of the Small Business 

Administration set forth in 13 CFR part 

121. 

■ 13. Revise paragraph (a) of § 213.3 to 

read as follows: 

§ 213.3 Determination of small business 

eligibility. 

(a) Application for technical 

assistance from small businesses. An 

applicant for technical assistance under 

19 U.S.C. 1339(b) must certify that it 

qualifies as a small business under the 

appropriate size standard(s) and that it 

is an independently owned and 

operated company. An application for 

technical assistance is available from 

the Office and on the Commission’s 

Web site. The application must be 

signed under oath by an officer or 

principal of the applicant. The 

completed application should be 

submitted to the Office at the address 

set forth in § 213.2(a). 

* * * * * 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2015 / Proposed Rules 6669 

■ 14. Revise § 213.6 to read as follows: 

§ 213.6 Information concerning 

assistance. 

Any person may contact the Office 

with questions regarding eligibility for 

technical assistance. Summaries of the 

trade laws and the SBA size standards 

can be obtained by writing to the Trade 

Remedy Assistance Office, U.S. 

International Trade Commission, 500 E 

Street SW., Washington, DC 20436. 

Information is also provided on the 

Commission’s Web site at http://

www.usitc.gov. 

By order of the Commission. 

Issued: February 2, 2015. 

Lisa R. Barton, 

Secretary to the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02388 Filed 2–5–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7020–02–P 

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 

COMMISSION 

29 CFR Part 1614 

RIN 3046–AB00 

Federal Sector Equal Employment 

Opportunity 

AGENCY: Equal Employment 

Opportunity Commission. 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Equal Employment 

Opportunity Commission (‘‘EEOC’’ or 

‘‘Commission’’) is issuing an Advance 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 

(‘‘ANPRM’’) inviting the public to 

submit comments regarding the Federal 

sector EEO complaint process. The 

Commission primarily is interested in 

suggestions that will make the process 

more efficient and user-friendly, and 

more effective in identifying and 

redressing prohibited employment 

discrimination. 

DATES: Comments and suggestions in 

response to the Advance Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking must be received 

on or before April 7, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN Number, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: (202) 663–4114. (There is no 

toll free FAX number). Only comments 

of six or fewer pages will be accepted 

via FAX transmittal, in order to assure 

access to the equipment. Receipt of FAX 

transmittals will not be acknowledged, 

except that the sender may request 

confirmation of receipt by calling the 

Executive Secretariat staff at (202) 663– 

4070 (voice) or (202) 663–4074 (TTY). 

(These are not toll free numbers). 

• Mail: Bernadette Wilson, Acting 

Executive Officer, Executive Secretariat, 

Equal Employment Opportunity 

Commission, U.S. Equal Employment 

Opportunity Commission, 131 M Street 

NE., Washington, DC 20507. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Bernadette 

Wilson, Acting Executive Officer, 

Executive Secretariat, Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission, 

131 M Street NE., Washington, DC 

20507. 

Instructions: The Commission invites 

comments from all interested parties. 

All comment submissions must include 

the agency name and the Regulatory 

Information Number (RIN) for this 

ANPRM. Comments need be submitted 

in only one of the above-listed methods. 

All comments received will be posted 

without change to http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information you provide. 

Comments: For access to the 

comments received, go to http://

www.regulations.gov. Copies of the 

received comments also will be 

available for review by pre-arranged 

appointment at the Commission’s 

library, 131 M Street NE., Suite 

4NW08R, Washington, DC 20507, 

between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 5 

p.m., from April 7, 2015 until the 

Commission publishes a Notice of 

Proposed Rulemaking (‘‘NPRM’’) 

addressing the Federal sector EEO 

complaint process. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas J. Schlageter, Assistant Legal 

Counsel, (202) 663–4668, or Gary John 

Hozempa, Senior Staff Attorney, (202) 

663–4666, or (202) 663–7026 (TTY), 

Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission. 

(These are not toll free numbers). 

Requests for this advance notice in an 

alternative format should be made to the 

Office of Communications and 

Legislative Affairs at (202) 663–4191 

(voice) or (202) 663–4494 (TTY). (These 

are not toll free numbers). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As 

discussed more fully below, Federal 

sector EEO complaint processing 

procedures did not originate with EEOC 

in 1979, when EEOC was given 

oversight authority over the Federal 

sector EEO process. Rather, formal, 

regulatory procedures first were 

promulgated by the Civil Service 

Commission (‘‘CSC’’) in 1966, codified 

at 5 CFR part 713, and the basic 

framework contained in those 

procedures was adopted by EEOC in 

1979. Although EEOC has revised the 

procedures a number of times, the 

original structure inherited from the 

CSC—counseling, complaint, 

investigation, hearing, final agency 

action, and appeal—remains. 

The CSC’s complaint processing 

scheme was not created in a vacuum. 

Rather, the CSC developed its 

procedures based on those established 

in a series of Executive Orders issued by 

Presidents Roosevelt through Nixon. 

The first administrative system for 

resolving Federal sector EEO complaints 

was created in Executive Order (‘‘E.O.’’) 

8802 (June 25, 1941). Among other 

things, U.S. agencies involved in 

‘‘defense production’’ were ordered to 

administer their programs ‘‘without 

discrimination because of race, creed, 

color, or national origin.’’ The Order, as 

amended by E.O. 9346 (May 27, 1943), 

established a Committee on Fair 

Employment Practice whose function 

was to formulate policy, promulgate 

rules and regulations, investigate EEO 

complaints and make findings of fact, 

conduct hearings, and provide relief 

when appropriate. As can be seen, many 

of the element’s in today’s Federal 

sector EEO complaint process were 

created more than 70 years ago. 

E.O. 9980 (July 26, 1948) expanded 

the reach of the Federal Government’s 

EEO policy to include ‘‘all departments 

and agencies of the executive branch 

. . .’’ The Order created within each 

agency the position of ‘‘Fair 

Employment Officer’’ (‘‘FEO’’), the 

precursor to today’s Director of Equal 

Employment Opportunity (‘‘EEO 

Director’’). The E.O. also introduced an 

appeal stage, wherein a complainant 

could appeal the decision of the agency 

head to the Fair Employment Board 

(‘‘Board’’) of the CSC. The Board was 

empowered to ‘‘make 

recommendations’’ to the agency head. 

The Board also was given the authority 

to promulgate ‘‘necessary’’ rules and 

regulations and coordinate EEO policies 

and procedures among the agencies. 

Over the next 20 years, the CSC’s 

authority over the Federal sector EEO 

process was modified by subsequent 

Presidents. E.O. 10590 (January 18, 

1955), as amended, explicitly 

superseded E.O. 9980, abolished the 

CSC’s Board, and replaced it with a 

‘‘President’s Committee.’’ The position 

of FEO was replaced with an 

‘‘Employment Policy Officer,’’ who, like 

a current EEO Director, is ‘‘outside of 

the division handling the personnel 

matters of the . . . agency’’ and ‘‘under 

the immediate supervision of the head 

of his department or agency.’’ A 

complainant could appeal an agency 

final decision to the President’s 

Committee, which could issue an 


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