40946 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 147 / Friday, July 31, 1998 / Notices

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[File No. 500–1]

Mountain Energy, Inc.; Order of

Suspension of Trading

July 29, 1998.

It appears to the Securities and

Exchange Commission that questions

have been raised about the adequacy

and accuracy of publicly disseminated

information concerning Mountain

Energy, Inc., concerning among other

things, Mountain Energy’s ownership of

certain properties and the valuation of

the mineral assets on those properties.

The Commission is of the opinion that

the public interest and the protection of

investors require a suspension of trading

in the securities of the above-listed

company.

Therefore, it is ordered, pursuant to

Section 12(k) of the Securities Exchange

Act of 1934, that trading in the

securities of the above-listed company is

suspended for the period from 9:30 a.m.

EDT on July 29, 1998, through 11:59

p.m. EDT on August 11, 1998.

By the Commission.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–20626 Filed 7–29–98; 12:37 pm]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

Testing Modifications to the Disability

Determination Procedures; Federal

Processing Center Testing

AGENCY: Social Security Administration

(SSA).

ACTION: Notice of the continuation of

testing involving modifications to the

disability determination procedures.

SUMMARY: SSA is announcing the

continuation of testing that it has been

conducting under the current rules at 20

CFR 404.906, 404.943, 404.966,

416.1406, 416.1443, and 416.1466.

Those rules authorize the testing of

several modifications to the disability

determination procedures that we

normally follow in adjudicating claims

for disability insurance benefits under

title II of the Social Security Act (the

Act) and claims for supplemental

security income (SSI) payments based

on disability under title XVI of the Act.

This notice announces the continuation

of testing in a federal processing center.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Harry Pippin, Disability Models Team

Leader, Office of Disability, Disability

Process Redesign Staff, Social Security

Administration, 6401 Security

Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235,

410–965–9203.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Current

regulations at 20 CFR 404.906, 404.943,

404.966, 416.1406, 416.1443, and

416.1466 authorize us to test different

modifications to the disability

determination procedures. We have

described the use of four features of the

testing modifications to the disability

determination procedures as the full

process model. Those modifications are:

the use of a single decisionmaker who

may make the disability determination

without requiring the signature of a

medical consultant; the conducting of a

predecisional interview in which a

claimant, for whom SSA does not have

sufficient information to make a fully

favorable determination or for whom the

evidence would require an initial

determination denying the claim, can

present additional information to the

decisionmaker before an initial

determination is made; the elimination

of the reconsideration step in the

administrative review process; and the

use of an adjudication officer who will

conduct prehearing procedures and, if

appropriate, will issue a decision

wholly favorable to the claimant. We

incorporated an additional modification

to the integrated model on September

23, 1997 (62 CFR 49598). This fifth

modification is the elimination of the

step in the appeals process that permits

a claimant to request review by the

Appeals Council of an administrative

law judge decision.

On April 4, 1997, we published in the

Federal Register a notice that testing of

the full process model would take place

at the Social Security Administration’s

Western Program Service Center in

Richmond, California. Selection of cases

for that testing was to begin on or about

April 28, 1997, and was to continue for

approximately one year with cases

processed for an additional six months.

We stated that we might choose to

extend the duration of the test to obtain

additional data, and that we would

publish another notice in the Federal

Register if we decided to extend the

duration.

We are now announcing that testing

in the Western Program Service Center,

2121 Nevin Avenue, Richmond,

California, 94802 will be extended for

one additional year to obtain further

data. As we announced on April 4,

1997, the test in Richmond involves

claims by individuals who wish to file

by telephone. These cases will be

referred to the Western Program Service

Center by teleservice centers that service

residents of Arizona. We will continue

to select cases for approximately one

year, and may continue to have cases

processed for an additional six months.

We may add other Federal sites later. If

we add other Federal Register

identifying the added sites.

This test will combine the five

process modifications mentioned above,

plus two features designed to maximize

the resources of a Federal processing

center: having a two-person team

complete the application interview by

telephone; and effectuating, in the

processing center, the payment of

benefits to claimants who are found

disabled. The adjudication officers

under this model will process cases as

they are doing in those states in which

that feature is being tested separately.

(Refer to 20 CFR 404.943 and 416.1443.)

The single decisionmakers will process

cases as single decisionmakers are doing

in those States in which that feature is

being tested separately (see 20 CFR

404.906(b)(2) and 416.1406(b)(2)),

except that the single decisionmakers in

this model also will assist in the claims

interview and will offer a predecisional

interview to a claimant for whom a fully

favorable determination cannot be made

based on the initial information

obtained. If a claimant is dissatisfied

with the initial determination, he or she

may appeal directly to an administrative

law judge. The adjudication officer will

be the claimant’s primary point of

contact before a hearing is held with an

administrative law judge. Claims

authorizers will participate in the

telephone claims interview and will

effectuate payment to claimants who are

found disabled.

Dated: July 13, 1998.

Susan M. Daniels,

Deputy Commissioner for Disability and

Income Security Programs.

[FR Doc. 98–20428 Filed 7–30–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4190–29–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

Reports, Forms and Recordkeeping

Requirements Agency Information

Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, DOT

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act 1995 (44 USC

Chapter 35), this notice announces that

the Information Collection Request (ICR)

abstracted below has been forwarded to

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for review and comment. The

ICR describes the nature of the