Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 15 / Friday, January 23, 1998 / Rules and Regulations 3453

c. Power Factor at Monthly Peak,

llll%—Rating:llll

d. Ratio of Individual Substation Peak kW

to kVA, llll—Rating:llll

12. Voltage Conditions

a. Voltage Surveys—Rating:llll

b. Substation Transformer Output Voltage

Spread—Rating:llll

13. Load Studies and Planning

a. Long Range Engineering Plan—

Rating:llll

b. Construction Work Plan—

Rating:llll

c. Sectionalizing Study—Rating:llll

d. Load Data for Engineering Studies—

Rating:llll

e. Load Forecasting Data—Rating:llll

PART IV—OPERATION AND

MAINTENANCE BUDGETS

For Previous 2 Years:

Normal Operation—Actual $llll

Normal Maintenance—Actual $llll

Total—Actual $llll

For Present Year:

Normal Operation—Budget $llll

Normal Maintenance—Budget $llll

Total—Budget $llll

For Future 3 Years:

Normal Operation—Budget $llll

Normal Maintenance—Budget $llll

Additional (Deferred) Maintenance—Budget

$llll

Total—Budget $llll

14. Budgeting:

Adequacy of Budgets For Needed Work—

Rating:llll

15. Date Discussed with Board of Directors

llll

Remarks: llll

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Item No. llll Comments llll

Rated by llll llll Title llll

Date llll

Reviewed by llll Manager llll Date

llll

Reviewed by llll RUS GFR llll

Date llll

Dated: January 14, 1998.

Jill Long Thompson,

Under Secretary, Rural Development.

[FR Doc. 98–1661 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–15–P

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD

12 CFR Parts 900, 932 and 933

[No. 97–83]

RIN 3069–AA66

Membership Eligibility

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance

Board.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance

Board (Finance Board) is amending the

definition of the term ‘‘State’’ in its

Membership Regulation to include the

U.S. Territory of American Samoa

(American Samoa) and the U.S.

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands (the Northern Mariana Islands).

Institutions organized under the laws of

American Samoa and the Northern

Mariana Islands, therefore, will be

eligible to apply for Federal Home Loan

Bank (Bank) membership. In accordance

with these changes, the Finance Board

also is clarifying in its regulations that

the Seattle Bank District includes

American Samoa and the Northern

Mariana Islands. In addition, the

Finance Board is designating Hawaii as

the State in which members with a

principal place of business in American

Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, or

Guam, shall be deemed to be located for

purposes of election of Bank directors.

DATES: The final rule is effective on

February 23, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sharon B. Like, Senior AttorneyAdviser, (202) 408–2930, Office of

General Counsel, Federal Housing

Finance Board, 1777 F Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Statutory and Regulatory Background

A. Membership Eligibility

Requirement—Definition of ‘‘State’’

Under the Federal Home Loan Bank

Act (Act), the Finance Board is

responsible for the supervision and

regulation of the 12 Banks, which

provide advances and other financial

services to their member institutions.

See 12 U.S.C. 1422a(a). Institutions may

become members of a Bank if they meet

certain membership eligibility and

minimum stock purchase criteria set

forth in the Act and the Finance Board’s

implementing Membership Regulation.

See id. sections 1424, 1426, 1430(e)(3);

12 CFR part 933.

Specifically, under the Act and the

Membership Regulation, applicants for

Bank membership must satisfy, among

other requirements, the requirement that

they are ‘‘duly organized under the laws

of any State or of the United States.’’ See

12 U.S.C. 1424(a)(1)(A); 12 CFR

933.6(a)(1), 933.7. Section 2(3) of the

Act defines the term ‘‘State’’ as follows:

The term ‘‘State’’ includes the District

of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and

the Virgin Islands of the United States.

See 12 U.S.C. 1422(3). Guam and the

U.S. Virgin Islands are U.S. Territories,

while Puerto Rico is a U.S.

Commonwealth.

Section 933.1(cc) of the Finance

Board’s Membership Regulation

implements the statutory definition by

defining the term ‘‘State’’ as follows:

State means a State, the District of

Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the

Virgin Islands of the United States.

See 12 CFR 933.1(cc). The regulatory

definition does not specifically include

any other U.S. Territories,

Commonwealths or Dependencies

within the meaning of ‘‘State.’’

Therefore, financial institutions

organized under the laws of such other

jurisdictions currently are not eligible

for Bank membership under the

regulation, unless other specific laws or

agreements executed by the United

States and these jurisdictions make the

Act applicable to such jurisdictions.

On September 24, 1997, the Finance

Board published a proposed rule to

amend the definition of the term ‘‘State’’

in § 933.1(c) of the Membership

Regulation to include American Samoa

and the Northern Mariana Islands. See

62 FR 49943 (Sept. 24, 1997). The

Finance Board received six comment

letters on the proposed rule.

Commenters included: one Bank; a

representative of a Guamanian housing

counseling/advocacy organization who

serves on the Bank’s Advisory Council;

the Congressional representative for

American Samoa; the Governor of

American Samoa; an American Samoan

commercial bank that is a member of the

Federal Reserve System with deposits

insured by the Federal Deposit

Insurance Corporation; and a Northern

Mariana Islands public housing

corporation.

In the proposed rule, the Finance

Board stated that it believes that the

term ‘‘State’’ under the Membership

Regulation should be defined

comprehensively to include all other

U.S. Territories, Commonwealths and

Dependencies that share a political

status similar to that of the specified

entities in the statute, i.e., Guam, the

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

addition, if any specific laws or

agreements executed by the United

States and particular jurisdictions make

the Act applicable to such jurisdictions,

then the regulatory definition of the

term ‘‘State’’ should be amended to

include those jurisdictions, consistent

with the laws or agreements.

Accordingly, as described in the

proposed rule, the Finance Board

undertook a broad analysis of existing

and former U.S. Territories,

Commonwealths and Dependencies to

determine whether any of the

jurisdictions satisfy the above

requirements. The research revealed

that only American Samoa and the

Northern Mariana Islands meet the

requirements, as further discussed

below. In order to ensure that all eligible

jurisdictions were included in the
3454 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 15 / Friday, January 23, 1998 / Rules and Regulations

1There do not appear to be any laws or

contractual provisions in the cession agreements

executed by the United States and American Samoa

making the Act applicable to American Samoa.

revised definition of ‘‘State’’ for

membership purposes, the Finance

Board requested commenters to identify

any other jurisdictions not included in

proposed § 933.1(cc) that have U.S.

Territory, Commonwealth, or

Dependency status, or that have laws or

agreements with the United States that

make the Act applicable to such

jurisdictions. No other jurisdictions

were identified by the commenters as

meeting any of these criteria.

B. Designation of Member’s State

Location for Purposes of Election of

Bank Directors

The Act sets forth specific procedures

for the election of directors by the

members to the boards of the Banks. See

12 U.S.C. 1427; 12 CFR 932. Each

elective directorship is designated by

the Finance Board as representing the

members located in a particular State.

See 12 U.S.C. 1427(b). If the principal

place of business of a member is located

in a ‘‘State’’ as defined in section 7(e) of

the Act, the Finance Board must

designate such State as the State in

which the member is located for

director election purposes. See id.

section 1427(c). Section 7(e) defines

‘‘State,’’ for purposes of section 7, as

‘‘the States of the Union, the District of

Columbia, and the Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico.’’ See id. section 1427(e).

For members whose principal place of

business is not located in a ‘‘State’’ as

defined in section 7(e), the Finance

Board is required to designate a State in

which such members shall be deemed to

be located for director election

purposes. See id. section 1427(c).

American Samoa and the Northern

Mariana Islands are not included in the

section 7(e) definition of ‘‘State.’’

Accordingly, the Finance Board is

required to designate a ‘‘State’’ where

members with a principal place of

business located in American Samoa or

the Northern Mariana Islands shall be

deemed to be located. The proposed

rule amended § 932.11(b) of the Finance

Board’s regulations to designate Hawaii

as that State.

II. Analysis of the Final Rule

A. American Samoa—Section 933.1(cc)

American Samoa is a Territory of the

United States that is administered by

the U.S. Department of Interior, and

which has enacted its own banking

laws. See 48 U.S.C. 1661; Executive

Order No. 10264, 16 FR 6419 (June 29,

1951); Title 28, American Samoa Code

Ann. (Book 1988). As a U.S. Territory,

American Samoa has a political status

similar to that of the U.S. Territories of

Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands,

which are included as ‘‘States’’ under

the Act and the current Membership

Regulation. See 12 U.S.C. 1422(3); 12

CFR 933.1(cc).1

Five commenters specifically

supported the proposed amendment of

the term ‘‘State’’ in § 933.1(c) to include

American Samoa. One commenter noted

that the condition of much of the private

housing in American Samoa is

deplorable, household incomes are

extremely low, and very little new

construction or rehabilitation of housing

is occurring. The commenter stated that

there is a need for home loans at

affordable interest rates in this remote,

rural area, and that the Bank System

was intended to address such problems.

Another commenter stated that by

becoming a member of the Seattle Bank,

the commenter would gain access to a

wide array of competitively priced

wholesale funding, as well as

community lending programs designed

to help meet the low- and moderateincome housing and economic

development needs of American Samoa.

For the reasons discussed above, the

final rule adopts the proposed

amendment without change.

B. The Northern Mariana Islands—

Section 933.1(cc)

The Northern Mariana Islands is a

former U.S.-administered Trust

Territory that is now a Commonwealth

of the United States. As a U.S.

Commonwealth, the Northern Mariana

Islands has a political status similar to

that of the Commonwealth of Puerto

Rico, which is included as a ‘‘State’’

under the Act and the current

Membership Regulation. See id.

Moreover, specific provisions of the

Covenant Agreement executed by the

United States and the Northern Mariana

Islands make the Act applicable to the

Northern Mariana Islands. See

‘‘Covenant To Establish A

Commonwealth Of The Northern

Mariana Islands In Political Union With

The United States Of America,’’ sections

502(a)(1), 502(a)(2) (1986); ‘‘The Second

Interim Report of the Northern Mariana

Islands Commission on Federal Laws to

the Congress of the United States,’’ at

278–79 (Aug. 1985); Presidential

Proclamation No. 5207, 49 FR 24365

(June 7, 1984) (set forth at 48 U.S.C.

1681 note).

Four commenters specifically

supported the proposed amendment of

the term ‘‘State’’ in § 933.1(cc) to

include the Northern Mariana Islands.

One commenter noted that the Northern

Mariana Islands Government and

financial institutions operating in the

Northern Mariana Islands have limited

financial resources available for

affordable housing and community

development projects. The commenter

stated that the proposed amendment

would expand opportunities for access

to funding assistance for such projects

in the Northern Mariana Islands.

For the reasons discussed above, the

final rule adopts the proposed

amendment without change.

C. Other Pacific Islands

As discussed in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of the proposed

rule, the Federated States of Micronesia,

the Republic of the Marshall Islands,

and the Republic of Palau were once

U.S.-administered Trust Territories in

the Pacific, but now have the status of

independent, self-governing foreign

nations. Nor do there appear to be any

laws or contractual provisions in the

Compacts of Free Association executed

by the United States and these nations,

respectively, that make the Act

applicable to these nations. Other

existing U.S. Pacific Island Territories

generally are either uninhabited or

contain tiny, nonpermanent military

populations closed to the public. No

other jurisdictions were identified by

the commenters as having U.S.

Territory, Commonwealth, or

Dependency status, or having laws or

agreements with the United States

making the Act applicable to such

jurisdictions. Accordingly, the Act

would not be applicable to the nations

and Territories discussed above, and

these jurisdictions are not included in

§ 933.1(cc) of the final rule.

D. Inclusion of American Samoa and

the Northern Mariana Islands in the

Seattle Bank District—Appendix to

Subpart A of Part 900

The Appendix to Subpart A of Part

900 of the Finance Board’s regulations

lists the States which comprise each of

the 12 Bank Districts, with a reference

to ‘‘Pacific Islands’’ included under

Federal Home Loan Bank District 12

(the Seattle Bank District). See

Appendix to Subpart A of Part 900—

Federal Home Loan Banks. Consistent

with the amendments discussed above,

the final rule amends the Appendix by

replacing the reference to the ‘‘Pacific

Islands’’ under the Seattle Bank District

with specific references to American

Samoa and the Northern Mariana

Islands.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 15 / Friday, January 23, 1998 / Rules and Regulations 3455

E. Designation of State Location for

Members With Principal Place of

Business in American Samoa, the

Northern Mariana Islands, or Guam—

Section 932.11(b)

For the reasons discussed above, the

proposed amendment of § 932.11(b)

provided that members with a principal

place of business located in American

Samoa or the Northern Mariana Islands

shall be deemed to be located in Hawaii

for purposes of election of Bank

directors. One commenter specifically

supported this designation. The final

rule adopts the proposed amendment

without change. The final rule also

adopts, without change, the proposed

amendment codifying the Finance

Board’s existing designation of Hawaii

as the State where members with a

principal place of business in Guam are

deemed to be located for director

election purposes.

III. Regulatory Flexibility Act

The final rule implements statutory

requirements binding on all Banks and

on all applicants for Bank membership,

regardless of their size. The Finance

Board is not at liberty to make

adjustments to those requirements to

accommodate small entities. The final

rule does not impose any additional

regulatory requirements that will have a

disproportionate impact on small

entities. Therefore, in accordance with

section 605(b) of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, see 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the

Finance Board hereby certifies that this

final rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities.

IV. Paperwork Reduction Act

The final rule does not contain any

collections of information pursuant to

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

See 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Consequently,

the Finance Board has not submitted

any information to the Office of

Management and Budget for review.

List of Subjects

12 CFR Part 900

Organizations and functions

(Government agencies).

12 CFR Part 932

Conflicts of interest, Federal home

loan banks.

12 CFR Part 933

Credit, Federal home loan banks,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

Accordingly, the Finance Board

hereby amends title 12, chapter IX, parts

900, 932 and 933, Code of Federal

Regulations, as follows:

PART 900—DESCRIPTION OF

ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS

1. The authority citation for part 900

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552; 12 U.S.C.

1422b(a), 1423.

2. The appendix to subpart A of part

900 is designated as appendix A to

subpart A of part 900, the appendix

heading is revised, and the parenthetical

under Federal Home Loan Bank District

12 is revised to read as follows:

Appendix A to Subpart A of Part 900—

Federal Home Loan Banks

* * * * *

FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK DISTRICT 12

(Alaska, American Samoa, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana,

Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming)

* * * * *

PART 932—ORGANIZATION OF THE

BANKS

3. The authority citation for part 932

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1422, 1422a, 1422b,

1423, 1426, 1427, 1432; 42 U.S.C. 8101 et

seq.

4. Section 932.11 is amended by

revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:

§ 932.11 Location of member.

* * * * *

(b) For purposes of this part, members

with a principal place of business

located in the Virgin Islands of the

United States shall be deemed to be

located in Puerto Rico, and members

with a principal place of business

located in American Samoa, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, or Guam, shall be deemed to be

located in Hawaii.

PART 933—MEMBERS OF THE BANKS

5. The authority citation for part 933

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1422, 1422a, 1422b,

1423, 1424, 1426, 1430, 1442.

6. Section 933.1 is amended by

revising paragraph (cc) to read as

follows:

§ 933.1 Definitions.

* * * * *

(cc) State includes a State of the

United States, American Samoa, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam,

Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the

United States.

* * * * *

By the Board of Directors of the Federal

Housing Finance Board.

Dated: December 17, 1997.

Bruce A. Morrison,

Chairman.

[FR Doc. 98–1639 Filed 1–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6725–01–U

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 97–CE–150–AD; Amendment

39–10287; AD 98–01–01]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Cessna

Aircraft Company Models 172R and

182S Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: This document publishes in

the Federal Register an amendment

adopting Airworthiness Directive (AD)

98–01–01, which was sent previously to

all known U.S. owners and operators of

certain Cessna Aircraft Company

(Cessna) Models 172R and 182S

airplanes. This AD requires fabricating

and installing placards to prohibit

operation in instrument flight rules

(IFR) conditions and use of the alternate

static air source; inspecting the alternate

static air source valve to assure that the

alternate static air source port is not

restricted by the identification placard

and to assure that the valve body does

not separate from the valve flange; and

reworking or replacing as necessary.

The AD was the result of reports of

improper installation of the

identification placard on the alternate

static air source. The actions specified

by this AD are intended to prevent

erroneous indications from the

altimeter, airspeed, and vertical speed

indicators, which could cause the pilot

to react to incorrect flight information

and possibly result in loss of control of

the airplane.

DATES: Effective February 2, 1998, to all

persons except those to whom it was

made immediately effective by priority

letter AD 98–01–01, issued December

22, 1997, which contained the

requirements of this amendment.

The incorporation by reference of

certain publications listed in the

regulations is approved by the Director