61742 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 249 / Friday, December 29, 2017 / Notices 

1Agencies may also retrospectively decline to 

bring an enforcement action once a legal violation 

has already occurred. This recommendation, 

however, is confined to the agency practice of 

prospectively waiving or exempting regulated 

parties from legal requirements. 

2The terms ‘‘waiver’’ and ‘‘exemption’’ carry 

various meanings in agency practice. For the 

purposes of this recommendation, when Congress 

has expressly authorized an agency to excuse a 

regulated party from a legal requirement, the term 

‘‘waiver’’ is used. If an agency is implicitly 

authorized by Congress to excuse a regulated party 

from a legal requirement, ‘‘exemption’’ is used. 

These definitions stem from the report underlying 

this recommendation. See Aaron L. Nielson, 

Waivers, Exemptions, and Prosecutorial Discretion: 

An Examination of Agency Nonenforcement 

Practices (Nov. 1, 2017) (report to the Admin. Conf. 

of the U.S.), https://acus.gov/report/regulatorywaivers-and-exemptions-final-report. Some 

agencies may also derive authority to grant waivers 

or exemptions from presidential delegations under 

Article II of the Constitution. That category of 

waivers and exemptions is outside the scope of this 

recommendation. 

3See, for example, the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. 

5141, authorizing any federal agency charged with 

the administration of a federal assistance program 

in a presidentially declared major disaster to 

modify or waive administrative conditions for 

assistance if requested to do so by state or local 

authorities. 

4Of course, agencies cannot issue waivers or 

exemptions unless authorized by law, and even 

when authorized by law, agencies must not issue 

them in an arbitrary fashion. 

5See Admin. Conf. of the U.S., Recommendation 

2014–5, Retrospective Review of Agency Rules, ¶ 5, 

79 FR 75,114, 75,116 (Dec. 17, 2014) (identifying 

petitions from stakeholder groups and members of 

the public and poor compliance rates as factors to 

consider in identifying regulations that may benefit 

from amendment or rescission). 

and OMB’s implementing regulations 

(e.g., a streamlined comment period for 

collections associated with proposed 

rules) when permissible and 

appropriate. 

5. Agencies, as appropriate, should 

seek legal authority from Congress to 

take advantage of this recommendation. 

Administrative Conference 

Recommendation 2017–7 

Regulatory Waivers and Exemptions 

Adopted December 15, 2017 

Individuals and entities regulated by 

federal agencies must adhere to 

program-specific requirements 

prescribed by statute or regulation. 

Sometimes, however, agencies 

prospectively excuse individuals or 

entities from statutory or regulatory 

requirements through waivers or 

exemptions.1 The authority to waive or 

exempt regulated parties from specific 

legal requirements affords agencies 

much-needed flexibility to respond to 

situations in which generally applicable 

laws are a poor fit for a given situation.2

Emergencies or other unforeseen 

circumstances may also render 

compliance with statutory or regulatory 

requirements impossible or 

impracticable.3 In such instances, 

requiring strict adherence to legal 

requirements may not be desirable.4

This is particularly true when the 

recipient of a waiver or exemption 

demonstrates that it intends to engage in 

conduct that will otherwise further the 

agency’s legitimate goals. 

Yet, waiving or exempting a regulated 

party from a statutory or regulatory 

requirement also raises important 

questions about predictability, fairness, 

and protection of the public. For 

instance, when an agency decides to 

waive legal requirements for some but 

not all regulated parties, the decision to 

grant a waiver or exemption may create 

the appearance—or perhaps even 

reality—of irregularity, bias, or 

unfairness. Waiving or exempting a 

regulated party from a legal 

requirement, therefore, demands that 

agencies simultaneously consider 

regulatory flexibility, on the one hand, 

and consistent, non-arbitrary 

administration of the law, on the other. 

Agencies’ authority to waive or 

exempt regulated parties from legal 

requirements may also intersect with 

other principles of administrative law. 

When agencies frequently issue waivers 

or exemptions because a regulation is 

outdated or ineffective, for example, 

amending or rescinding the regulation 

may be more appropriate in some 

circumstances, despite the necessary 

resource costs.5 Such revisions can 

enhance efficiency and transparency. 

The requisite notice-and-comment 

procedures can also foster public 

participation and informed 

decisionmaking. 

The following recommendations offer 

best practices and factors for agencies to 

consider regarding their waiver and 

exemption practices and procedures. 

They are not intended to disturb or 

otherwise limit agencies’ broad 

discretion to elect how to best use their 

limited resources. 

Recommendation 

Scope of Waiver and Exemption 

Authority 

1. When permitted by law, agencies 

should consider creating mechanisms 

that would allow regulated parties to 

apply for waivers or exemptions by 

demonstrating conduct that will achieve 

the same purpose as full compliance 

with the relevant statutory or regulatory 

requirement. 

2. When consistent with the statutory 

scheme, agencies should endeavor to 

draft regulations so that waivers and 

exemptions will not be routinely 

necessary. When an agency has 

approved a large number of similar 

waivers or exemptions, the agency 

should consider revising the regulation 

accordingly. If eliminating the need for 

waivers or exemptions requires 

statutory reform, Congress should 

consider appropriate legislation. 

Exercising Waiver or Exemption 

Authority 

3. Agencies should endeavor, to the 

extent practicable, to establish standards 

and procedures for seeking and 

approving waivers and exemptions. 

4. Agencies should apply the same 

treatment to similarly situated parties 

when approving waivers and 

exemptions, absent extenuating 

circumstances. 

5. Agencies should clearly announce 

the duration, even if indefinite, over 

which a waiver or exemption extends. 

Transparency and Public Input in 

Seeking and Approving Waivers and 

Exemptions 

6. Agencies should consider soliciting 

public comments before establishing 

standards and procedures for seeking 

and approving waivers and exemptions. 

7. Agencies should endeavor, to the 

extent practicable, to make standards 

and procedures for seeking and 

approving waivers and exemptions 

available to the public. 

8. Agencies should consider soliciting 

public comments before approving 

waivers or exemptions. 

9. Agencies should provide written 

explanations for individual waiver or 

exemption decisions and make them 

publicly available to the extent 

practicable and consistent with legal or 

policy concerns, such as privacy. 

Further, agencies should consider 

providing written explanations of 

representative instances to help 

illustrate the types of activities likely to 

qualify for a waiver or exemption. 

[FR Doc. 2017–28124 Filed 12–28–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6110–01–P 

AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL 

DEVELOPMENT 

Notice of January 18, 2018 Advisory 

Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid 

Meeting 

AGENCY: United States Agency for 

International Development. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, notice is hereby given of 

a meeting of the Advisory Committee on 

Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA). 

Date: Thursday, January 18, 2018. 

Time: 2:00–4:00 p.m. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 249 / Friday, December 29, 2017 / Notices 61743 

Location: Horizon Ballroom, The 

Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington DC 

20004. 

Purpose 

The Advisory Committee on 

Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA) brings 

together USAID and private voluntary 

organization officials, representatives 

from universities, international 

nongovernment organizations, U.S. 

businesses, and government, 

multilateral, and private organizations 

to foster understanding, 

communication, and cooperation in the 

area of foreign aid. 

Agenda 

USAID leadership will make opening 

remarks, followed by a presentation and 

discussion on the principles, 

benchmarks, and programs that the 

Agency is considering to support 

countries along their development 

journey to self-reliance and long-term 

prosperity. The full meeting agenda will 

be forthcoming on the ACVFA website 

at http://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/ 

organization/advisory-committee. 

Stakeholders 

The meeting is free and open to the 

public. Persons wishing to attend 

should register online at http://

www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/ 

organization/advisory-committee. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessica Klein, acvfa@usaid.gov or 202– 

712–5856. 

Dated: December 18, 2017. 

Jessica Klein, 

Acting Executive Director, U.S. Agency for 

International Development. 

[FR Doc. 2017–28152 Filed 12–28–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Notice of Request for Extension or 

Renewal of a Currently Approved 

Information Collection 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the intention of the 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights (OASCR) to request a 

renewal of a currently approved 

information collection. OASCR will use 

the information collected to collect the 

race, ethnicity, and gender (REG) of all 

program applicants and participants by 

county and State. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by February 27, 2018 to be 

assured of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights/Office of 

Compliance, Policy, and Training 

invites interested persons to submit 

comments on this notice. Comments 

may be submitted by one of the 

following methods: 

b Federal eRulemaking Portal: This 

website provides the ability to type 

short comments directly into the 

comment field on this web page or 

attach a file for lengthier comments. Go 

to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the on-line instructions at that site for 

submitting comments. 

b Mail, including CD–ROMs, etc.: 

Send to Docket Clerk, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–3700, Mailstop 9401. 

b Hand- or courier-delivered 

submittals: Deliver to 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–3700, Mailstop 9401. 

Instructions: All items submitted by 

mail or electronic mail must include the 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights/Office of Compliance, 

Policy, and Training, Docket No. 0503– 

0022, Comments received in response to 

this docket will be made available for 

public inspection and posted without 

change, including any personal 

information, to http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to background 

documents or comments received, go to 

the Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights/Office of Compliance, 

Policy, and Training, Docket Room at 

1400 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20250–3700, Mailstop 

9401, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Contact Anna G. Stroman, Deputy 

Director, Office of Compliance, Policy, 

and Training, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250, (202) 205–5953 or 

Anna.Stroman@ascr.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: 7 CFR part 15 subpart D—Data 

Collection Requirement. 

OMB Number: OMB No. 0503–0022. 

Expiration Date of Approval: January 

31, 2018. 

Type of Request: Extension or renewal 

of the USDA 7 CFR part 15 subpart D— 

Data Collection Requirement Form. 

Abstract: Currently, Section 14006 of 

the 2008 Farm Bill requires the 

Secretary of Agriculture to annually 

compile for each county and State in the 

United States program application and 

participation rate data regarding socially 

disadvantaged farmers or ranchers for 

each program of USDA that serves 

agricultural producers or landowners. 

This requirement only applies to FSA, 

NRCS, RD, and RMA. These four 

agencies use the voluntary data 

collection form approved by OMB that 

is attached as a cover page to the 

application forms for programs that 

provide services to agriculture 

producers, farmers and ranchers. In 

addition, all remaining USDA agencies 

with conducted programs (Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service, and 

Foreign Agricultural Service) were 

required to develop a strategy for 

collecting voluntary REG data from 

individuals for their respective federally 

conducted programs by utilizing the 

same OMB approved form. Applicants 

and program participants of these 

programs and activities provide this 

data on a voluntary basis. These 

strategies will be reviewed and 

approved by OASCR, who will also 

provide oversight and monitoring of the 

collection of this data through its 

compliance activities. 

If the REG data is not collected on 

applicants and participants in USDA 

federally conducted programs, USDA 

will not be able to collect and report 

demographic data on its applicants and 

program participants. In addition, 

USDA would not be able to determine 

if programs and services are reaching 

and meeting the needs of the public, 

beneficiaries, partners, and other 

stakeholders based on demographic 

data. 

Failure to collect this information will 

also have a negative impact on USDA’s 

outreach and compliance activities. This 

could result in an inability to equitably 

deliver programs and services to 

applicants and producers, and 

ultimately an inability to hold the 

agencies accountable. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average one hour per 

response. 

Respondents: Producers, applicants, 

and USDA customers. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

1,190. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 68 hours. 

Comments are invited on: (1) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 


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