8430 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 31 / Tuesday, February 15, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

(e) Legal proceedings to which the 

United States is a party. 

§ 1167.3 Definitions. 

The following definitions apply to 

this part: 

Agency or NEH means the National 

Endowment for the Humanities. 

Demand means a subpoena, order, or 

other demand of a court or other 

competent authority, issued in a legal 

proceeding, for the production of 

official records and information or for 

the testimony of an NEH employee. 

General Counsel means the General 

Counsel of the agency, or any person to 

whom the General Counsel has 

delegated authority under this part. 

Legal proceeding means any 

proceeding before a court of law, 

administrative board or commission, 

hearing officer, or other body 

conducting a legal or administrative 

proceeding. 

NEH employee or employee means 

any present or former officer or 

employee of NEH; any other individual 

hired through contractual agreement by 

or on behalf of NEH, or who has 

performed or is performing services 

under such an agreement for NEH; and 

any individual who served or is serving 

on an NEH advisory committee. 

Official records and information 

means all documents and material in 

the custody and control of NEH; relating 

to information in the custody and 

control of NEH; or acquired by an NEH 

employee in the performance of his or 

her official duties or because of his or 

her official status, while the individual 

was employed by or on behalf of the 

NEH. 

Request means any request in 

connection with an ongoing or 

threatened legal proceeding, by 

whatever method, for the production of 

official records and information or for 

testimony, other than a demand. 

Testimony means any written or oral 

statement by a witness, and includes 

depositions, answers to interrogatories, 

affidavits, declarations, and statements 

at a hearing or trial. 

§ 1167.4 Testimony and production of 

official records and information. 

(a) No employee may produce official 

records and information or provide any 

testimony in response to a demand or 

request unless authorized to do so by 

the General Counsel in accordance with 

this part. 

(b) The General Counsel, in his or her 

discretion, may grant an employee 

permission to testify or produce official 

records and information in response to 

a demand or request. In making this 

decision, the General Counsel shall 

consider whether: 

(1) Allowing such testimony or 

production of records would be 

consistent with the purposes of this 

part; 

(2) Allowing such testimony or 

production of records would be 

necessary to prevent a miscarriage of 

justice; 

(3) Allowing such testimony or 

production of records would be in the 

best interest of NEH and the United 

States; or 

(4) NEH has an interest in the 

outcome of the legal proceeding. 

(c) If authorized to testify pursuant to 

this part, an employee may testify as to 

facts within his or her personal 

knowledge or produce official records 

and information, but, unless specifically 

authorized to do so by the General 

Counsel, shall not: 

(1) Disclose confidential or privileged 

information; 

(2) Testify as to matters regarding 

which the General Counsel determines 

that testimony would not be in the best 

interest of NEH or the United States; 

(3) Produce official records and 

information regarding which the 

General Counsel determines that 

production would not be in the best 

interest of NEH or the United States; or 

(4) Testify as an expert or opinion 

witness with regard to any matter 

arising out of the employee’s official 

duties or the functions of NEH. (See also 

5 CFR 2635.805.) 

§ 1167.5 Procedure when demand is made. 

(a) Whenever an employee is served 

with a demand to testify in his or her 

official capacity, or to produce official 

records and information, the employee 

shall notify the General Counsel 

immediately. 

(b) The General Counsel shall review 

the demand and, in accordance with the 

provisions of § 1167.4, shall determine 

whether, or on what conditions, to 

authorize the employee to testify and/or 

produce official records and 

information. 

(c) If a demand requires a response 

before the General Counsel has made 

the determination referred to in 

paragraph (b) of this section, the General 

Counsel shall provide the court or other 

competent authority with a copy of this 

part, inform the court or other 

competent authority that the demand is 

being reviewed, and seek a stay of the 

demand pending a final determination. 

(d) If a court or other competent 

authority orders that an NEH employee 

comply with a demand notwithstanding 

a final decision by the General Counsel 

to the contrary, or at any other stage in 

the process, the General Counsel shall 

advise the employee on how to respond 

to such order and may arrange for legal 

representation of the employee. 

§ 1167.6 Office of Inspector General 

employees. 

Notwithstanding the requirements set 

forth in §§ 1167.1 through 1167.5, when 

an employee of the agency’s Office of 

the Inspector General receives a demand 

or request to provide testimony or 

produce official records and 

information, the Inspector General or 

his or her designee shall be responsible 

for performing the functions assigned to 

the General Counsel under this part 

with respect to such demand or request. 

Dated: February 9, 2022. 

Samuel Roth, 

Attorney-Advisor, National Endowment for 

the Humanities. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03060 Filed 2–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7536–01–P 

NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE 

ARTS AND HUMANITIES 

National Endowment for the 

Humanities 

45 CFR Part 1173 

RIN 3136–AA45 

Indemnification of Employees 

AGENCY: National Endowment for the 

Humanities, National Foundation on the 

Arts and the Humanities. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The National Endowment for 

the Humanities (NEH) is adopting as 

final its proposed policy that permits 

indemnification of NEH employees in 

appropriate circumstances, as 

determined by the Chairperson of NEH 

or the Chairperson’s designee, for claims 

made against NEH employees as a result 

of actions taken by them in the scope of 

their employment. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

February 15, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elizabeth Voyatzis, Deputy General 

Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, 

National Endowment for the 

Humanities, 400 7th Street SW, Room 

4060, Washington, DC 20506; (202) 606– 

8322; gencounsel@neh.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On December 20, 2021, NEH 

published in the Federal Register a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (86 FR 

71863), requesting public comment on a 

proposed rule regarding indemnification 

of NEH employees. The agency received 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 31 / Tuesday, February 15, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 8431 

no comments. Accordingly, NEH is 

adopting the rule as proposed. 

This policy permits, but does not 

require, NEH to indemnify an employee 

who suffers an adverse verdict, 

judgment, or other monetary award, 

provided that the act or omission giving 

rise to the award occurred within the 

scope of the employee’s employment, 

and that such indemnification is in the 

interest of NEH, as determined by the 

Chairperson or the Chairperson’s 

designee. The policy also permits, but 

does not require, NEH to settle a claim 

brought against an employee in his or 

her individual capacity, upon a similar 

determination by the Chairperson or the 

Chairperson’s designee. This policy 

applies to actions pending against NEH 

employees as of the effective date and 

to actions commenced after that date. 

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory 

Planning and Review, and Executive 

Order 13563, Improving Regulation and 

Regulatory Review 

This action is not a significant 

regulatory action and was therefore not 

submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget for review. 

Executive Order 13132, Federalism 

This rulemaking does not have 

federalism implications. It will not 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. 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform 

This rulemaking meets the applicable 

standards set forth in section 3(a) and 

3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988. 

Specifically, this rulemaking is written 

in clear language designed to help 

reduce litigation. 

Executive Order 13175, Indian Tribal 

Governments 

Under the criteria in Executive Order 

13175, NEH evaluated this rulemaking 

and determined that it will not have any 

potential effects on Federally recognized 

Indian Tribes. 

Executive Order 12630, Takings 

Under the criteria in Executive Order 

12630, this rulemaking does not have 

significant takings implications. 

Therefore, a takings implication 

assessment is not required. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 

This rulemaking will not have a 

significant adverse impact on a 

substantial number of small entities, 

including small businesses, small 

governmental jurisdictions, or certain 

small not-for-profit organizations. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

This rulemaking does not impose an 

information collection burden under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. This action 

contains no provisions constituting a 

collection of information pursuant to 

the Paperwork Reduction Act. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This rulemaking does not contain a 

Federal mandate that will result in the 

expenditure by State, local, and Tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector of $100 million or more 

in any one year. 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 

This rulemaking will not have a 

significant effect on the human 

environment. 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 

This rulemaking will not be a major 

rule as defined in section 804 of the 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996. This rulemaking 

will not result in an annual effect on the 

economy of $100 million or more, a 

major increase in costs or prices, 

significant adverse effects on 

competition, employment, investment, 

productivity, innovation, or the ability 

of United States-based companies to 

compete with foreign-based companies 

in domestic and export markets. 

E-Government Act of 2002 

All information about NEH required 

to be published in the Federal Register 

may be accessed at www.neh.gov. The 

website www.regulations.gov contains 

electronic dockets for NEH’s 

rulemakings under the Administrative 

Procedure Act of 1946. 

Plain Writing Act of 2010 

To ensure this proposed rule speaks 

in plain and clear language so that the 

public can use and understand it, NEH 

modeled the language of the proposed 

rule on the Federal Plain Language 

Guidelines. 

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 1173 

Administrative practice and 

procedure. 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the National Endowment for 

the Humanities amends 45 CFR chapter 

XI subchapter D by adding part 1173 to 

read as follows: 

PART 1173—INDEMNIFICATION OF 

EMPLOYEES 

Sec. 

1173.1 Policy on employee indemnification 

1173.2 [Reserved] 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301. 

§ 1173.1 Policy on employee 

indemnification. 

(a) This part explains when the 

National Endowment for the Humanities 

(NEH) will indemnify you, an employee 

or a former employee of NEH, against a 

verdict, judgment, or other monetary 

award that a court or other competent 

authority renders against you. When 

NEH indemnifies you against a verdict, 

judgment, or other monetary award, it 

means that NEH will pay the amounts 

that the court orders you to pay. 

(b) This part also explains when NEH 

will settle a claim (also referred to as 

compromising a claim) that someone 

brings or threatens to bring against you 

in court or before another competent 

authority. It is only in exceptional 

circumstances that NEH will agree to 

settle a claim before a court or other 

competent authority has entered a 

verdict, judgment, or monetary award 

against you. 

(c) In order for NEH to indemnify you 

or settle a claim: 

(1) The verdict, judgment, or 

monetary award to be paid or the claim 

to be settled must relate to something 

that you did (or failed to do) within the 

scope of your employment with NEH; 

and 

(2) The Chairperson of NEH or 

someone the Chairperson designates 

(the Agency Official) must determine, as 

a matter of discretion, that indemnifying 

you or settling the claim would be in the 

interest of NEH. 

(d) If you become aware that someone 

has made or may make a claim against 

you personally as a result of something 

that you did (or failed to do) within the 

scope of your employment, you must 

immediately notify the Office of the 

General Counsel. 

(e) To request that NEH indemnify 

you or settle a claim against you, you 

must submit a written request to the 

Office of the General Counsel. You must 

include a copy of the verdict, judgment, 

monetary award, or settlement proposal, 

as appropriate. The Office of the General 

Counsel may consult about the matter 

with your supervisor, other agency 

employees, and the Department of 

Justice. 

(f) The Agency Official may waive the 

requirements of paragraphs (d) and (e) 

of this section if it would be in the 

interest of NEH to do so. 

(g) If the Agency Official determines 

that NEH will indemnify you or settle a 


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8432 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 31 / Tuesday, February 15, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

claim on your behalf, NEH’s 

commitment will be subject to the 

availability of appropriated funds. The 

Agency Official may impose other 

conditions or limitations on the 

determination at his or her discretion. 

(h) If the Chairperson requests 

indemnification or settlement of a 

claim, the General Counsel will perform 

the functions assigned to the 

Chairperson under this section with 

respect to that request. 

§ 1173.2 [Reserved] 

Dated: February 9, 2022. 

Samuel Roth, 

Attorney-Advisor, National Endowment for 

the Humanities. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03058 Filed 2–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7536–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 180117042–8884–02; RTID 

0648–XB796] 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure of the 

General category January through March 

fishery for 2022. 

SUMMARY: NMFS closes the General 

category fishery for large medium and 

giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 cm) 

curved fork length or greater) Atlantic 

bluefin tuna (BFT) for the January 

through March subquota time period. 

This action applies to Atlantic Tunas 

General category (commercial) 

permitted vessels and HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permitted vessels with a 

commercial sale endorsement when 

fishing commercially for BFT. 

DATES: Effective 11:30 p.m., local time, 

February 11, 2022, through May 31, 

2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Larry Redd, Jr., larry.redd@noaa.gov, 

301–427–8503, Nicholas Velseboer, 

nicholas.velsboer@noaa.gov, 978–281– 

9260, or Thomas Warren, 

thomas.warren@noaa.gov, 978–281– 

9347. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic 

HMS fisheries, including BFT fisheries, 

are managed under the authority of the 

Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA; 

16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.) and the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801 

et seq.). The 2006 Consolidated Atlantic 

HMS Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 

and its amendments are implemented 

by regulations at 50 CFR part 635. 

Section 635.27 divides the U.S. BFT 

quota recommended by the 

International Commission for the 

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) 

and as implemented by the United 

States among the various domestic 

fishing categories, per the allocations 

established in the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and its amendments. NMFS 

is required under the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act to provide U.S. fishing vessels with 

a reasonable opportunity to harvest 

quotas under relevant international 

fishery agreements such as the ICCAT 

Convention, which is implemented 

domestically pursuant to ATCA. 

Under § 635.28(a)(1), NMFS files a 

closure notice with the Office of the 

Federal Register for publication when a 

BFT quota (or subquota) is reached or is 

projected to be reached. Retaining, 

possessing, or landing BFT under that 

quota category is prohibited on and after 

the effective date and time of a closure 

notice for that category, for the 

remainder of the fishing year, until the 

opening of the subsequent quota period 

or until such date as specified. 

The 2022 baseline quota for the 

General category is 555.7 mt. The 

General category baseline subquota for 

the January through March time period 

is 29.5 mt. As a result of two 

adjustments, the adjusted subquota for 

the January through March time period 

is 75 mt (86 FR 72857, December 23, 

2021; 87 FR 5737, February 2, 2022). 

Closure of the January Through March 

2022 General Category Fishery 

As of February 10, 2022, reported 

landings for the General category 

January through March subquota time 

period total approximately 63.1 mt. 

Based on these landings data, as well as 

average catch rates and anticipated 

fishing conditions, NMFS projects the 

adjusted January through March 2022 

subquota of 75 mt will be reached 

shortly. Therefore, retaining, possessing, 

or landing large medium or giant (i.e., 

measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved 

fork length or greater) BFT by persons 

aboard vessels permitted in the Atlantic 

Tunas General category and HMS 

Charter/Headboat permitted vessels 

(while fishing commercially) must cease 

at 11:30 p.m. local time on February 11, 

2022. The General category will 

automatically reopen June 1, 2022, for 

the June through August 2022 subquota 

time period. This action applies to 

Atlantic Tunas General category 

(commercial) permitted vessels and 

HMS Charter/Headboat permitted 

vessels with a commercial sale 

endorsement when fishing 

commercially for BFT and is taken 

consistent with the regulations at 

§ 635.28(a)(1). The intent of this closure 

is to prevent overharvest of the available 

January through March subquota. 

Fishermen aboard General category 

permitted vessels and HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permitted vessels may catchand-release and tag and release BFT of 

all sizes, subject to the requirements of 

the catch-and-release and tag-andrelease programs at § 635.26. All BFT 

that are released must be handled in a 

manner that will maximize their 

survival, and without removing the fish 

from the water, consistent with 

requirements at § 635.21(a)(1). For 

additional information on safe handling, 

see the ‘‘Careful Catch and Release’’ 

brochure available at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/ 

outreach-and-education/careful-catchand-release-brochure/. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

NMFS will continue to monitor the 

BFT fisheries closely. Dealers are 

required to submit landing reports 

within 24 hours of a dealer receiving 

BFT. Late reporting by dealers 

compromises NMFS’ ability to timely 

implement actions such as quota and 

retention limit adjustment, as well as 

closures, and may result in enforcement 

actions. Additionally, and separate from 

the dealer reporting requirement, 

General and HMS Charter/Headboat 

category vessel owners are required to 

report the catch of all BFT retained or 

discarded dead within 24 hours of the 

landing(s) or end of each trip, by 

accessing hmspermits.noaa.gov, using 

the HMS Catch Reporting app, or calling 

(888) 872–8862 (Monday through Friday 

from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.). 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act and regulations at 50 CFR part 635 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

NMFS finds that it is impracticable and 

contrary to the public interest to provide 

prior notice of, and an opportunity for 

public comment on, this action for the 

following reasons: 

The regulations implementing the 

2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and its 

amendments provide for inseason 

adjustments and fishery closures to 


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