This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

2329 

Vol. 83, No. 11 

Wednesday, January 17, 2018 

1OGE has previously determined, after 

consultation with the Department of Justice, that 

the $200 late filing fee for public financial 

disclosure reports that are more than 30 days 

overdue (see section 104(d) of the Ethics Act, 5 

U.S.C. appendix, 104(d), and 5 CFR 2634.704 of 

OGE’s regulations thereunder) is not a CMP as 

defined under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act, as amended. Therefore, that fee is 

not being adjusted in this rulemaking (nor was it 

adjusted by OGE in previous CMP rulemakings), 

and will remain at its current amount of $200. 

OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS 

5 CFR Parts 2634 and 2636 

RIN 3209–AA38 

Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation 

Adjustments for Ethics in Government 

Act Violations 

AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015, the U.S. Office of Government 

Ethics (OGE) is issuing this final rule to 

make the 2018 annual adjustments to 

the Ethics in Government Act civil 

monetary penalties. 

DATES: Effective date: This final rule is 

effective January 17, 2018. Applicability 

date: This final rule is applicable 

January 15, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kimberly L. Sikora Panza, Associate 

Counsel, General Counsel and Legal 

Policy Division, Office of Government 

Ethics, Telephone: 202–482–9300; TTY: 

800–877–8339; FAX: 202–482–9237. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

In November 2015, Congress passed 

the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015 (Sec. 701 of Pub. L. 114–74) (the 

2015 Act), which further amended the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101– 

410). The 2015 Act required Federal 

agencies to make inflationary 

adjustments to the civil monetary 

penalties (CMPs) within their 

jurisdiction with an initial ‘‘catch-up’’ 

adjustment through an interim final rule 

effective no later than August 1, 2016, 

and further mandates that Federal 

agencies make subsequent annual 

inflationary adjustments of their CMPs, 

to be effective no later than January 15 

of each year. 

The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

as amended, 5 U.S.C. appendix (the 

Ethics Act) provides for five CMPs.1

Specifically, the Ethics Act provides for 

penalties that can be assessed by an 

appropriate United States district court, 

based upon a civil action brought by the 

Department of Justice, for the following 

five types of violations: 

(1) Knowing and willful failure to file, 

report required information on, or 

falsification of a public financial 

disclosure report, 5 U.S.C. appendix 

104(a), 5 CFR 2634.701(b); 

(2) knowing and willful breach of a 

qualified trust by trustees and interested 

parties, 5 U.S.C. appendix 

102(f)(6)(C)(i), 5 CFR 2634.702(a); 

(3) negligent breach of a qualified 

trust by trustees and interested parties, 

5 U.S.C. appendix 102(f)(6)(C)(ii), 5 CFR 

2634.702(b); 

(4) misuse of a public report, 5 U.S.C. 

appendix 105(c)(2), 5 CFR 2634.703; 

and 

(5) violation of outside employment/ 

activities provisions, 5 U.S.C. appendix 

504(a), 5 CFR 2636.104(a). 

In compliance with the 2015 Act and 

guidance issued by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB), on 

June 28, 2016, the U.S. Office of 

Government Ethics (OGE) published in 

the Federal Register an interim final 

rule, 81 FR 41787 (June 28, 2016), that 

made the ‘‘catch up’’ inflationary 

adjustments to the five Ethics Act CMPs. 

On January 24, 2017, OGE published in 

the Federal Register a rule adopting as 

final that interim regulation, and also 

making the 2017 annual inflationary 

adjustments to the Ethics Act CMPs. See 

82 FR 8131 (Jan. 24, 2017). 

This rulemaking effectuates the 2018 

annual inflationary adjustments to the 

Ethics Act CMPs. In accordance with 

the 2015 Act, these adjustments are 

based on the percent change between 

the Consumer Price Index for all Urban 

Consumers (CPI–U) for the month of 

October preceding the date of the 

adjustment, and the prior year’s October 

CPI–U. Pursuant to OMB guidance, the 

cost-of-living adjustment multiplier for 

2018, based on the CPI–U for October 

2017, not seasonally adjusted, is 

1.02041. To calculate the 2018 annual 

adjustment, agencies must multiply the 

most recent penalty by the 1.02041 

multiplier, and round to the nearest 

dollar. 

Applying the formula established by 

the 2015 Act and OMB guidance, OGE 

is amending the Ethics Act CMPs 

through this rulemaking to: 

(1) Increase the three penalties 

reflected in 5 CFR 2634.702(a), 5 CFR 

2634.703, and 5 CFR 2636.104(a)— 

which were previously adjusted to a 

maximum of $19,246—to a maximum of 

$19,639; 

(2) Increase the penalty reflected in 5 

CFR 2634.702(b)—which was 

previously adjusted to a maximum of 

$9,623—to a maximum of $9,819; and 

(3) Increase the penalty reflected in 5 

CFR 2634.701(b)—which was 

previously adjusted to a maximum of 

$57,847—to a maximum of $59,028. 

These adjusted penalty amounts will 

apply to penalties assessed after January 

15, 2018 (the applicability date of this 

final rule) whose associated violations 

occurred after November 2, 2015. 

OGE will continue to make future 

annual inflationary adjustments to the 

Ethics Act CMPs in accordance with the 

statutory formula set forth in the 2015 

Act and OMB guidance. 

II. Matters of Regulatory Procedure 

Administrative Procedure Act 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b), as Acting 

Director of the Office of Government 

Ethics, I find that good cause exists for 

waiving the general notice of proposed 

rulemaking and public comment 

procedures as to these technical 

amendments. The notice and comment 

procedures are being waived because 

these amendments, which concern 

matters of agency organization, 

procedure and practice, are being 

adopted in accordance with statutorily 

mandated inflation adjustment 

procedures of the 2015 Act, which 

specifies that agencies shall adjust civil 

monetary penalties notwithstanding 

Section 553 of the Administrative 

Procedure Act. It is also in the public 

interest that the adjusted rates for civil 

monetary penalties under the Ethics in 

Government Act become effective as 


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2330 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 17, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

soon as possible in order to maintain 

their deterrent effect. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

As the Acting Director of the Office of 

Government Ethics, I certify under the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 

chapter 6) that this final rule would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

because it primarily affects current 

Federal executive branch employees. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. chapter 35) does not apply 

because this regulation does not contain 

information collection requirements that 

require approval of the Office of 

Management and Budget. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

For purposes of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

chapter 5, subchapter II), this rule 

would not significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments and will not 

result in increased expenditures by 

State, local, and tribal governments, in 

the aggregate, or by the private sector, of 

$100 million or more (as adjusted for 

inflation) in any one year. 

Executive Order 13563 and Executive 

Order 12866 

Executive Orders 13563 and 12866 

direct agencies to assess all costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select the regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including economic, environmental, 

public health and safety effects, 

distributive impacts, and equity). 

Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the 

importance of quantifying both costs 

and benefits, of reducing costs, of 

harmonizing rules, and of promoting 

flexibility. The Office of Management 

and Budget has determined that 

rulemakings such as this implementing 

annual inflationary adjustments under 

the 2015 Act are not significant 

regulatory actions under Executive 

Order 12866. 

Executive Order 12988 

As Acting Director of the Office of 

Government Ethics, I have reviewed this 

rule in light of section 3 of Executive 

Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, and 

certify that it meets the applicable 

standards provided therein. 

List of Subjects 

5 CFR Part 2634 

Certificates of divestiture, Conflict of 

interests, Government employees, 

Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Trusts and trustees. 

5 CFR Part 2636 

Conflict of interests, Government 

employees, Penalties. 

Dated: January 11, 2018. 

David J. Apol, 

Acting Director, U.S. Office of Government 

Ethics. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the U.S. Office of Government 

Ethics is amending 5 CFR parts 2634 

and 2636 as follows: 

PART 2634—EXECUTIVE BRANCH 

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE, QUALIFIED 

TRUSTS, AND CERTIFICATES OF 

DIVESTITURE 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 2634 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. App. (Ethics in 

Government Act of 1978); 26 U.S.C. 1043; 

Pub. L. 101–410, 104 Stat. 890, 28 U.S.C. 

2461 note (Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990), as amended by Sec. 

31001, Pub. L. 104–134, 110 Stat. 1321 (Debt 

Collection Improvement Act of 1996) and 

Sec. 701, Pub. L. 114–74 (Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015); E.O. 12674, 54 

FR 15159, 3 CFR, 1989 Comp., p. 215, as 

modified by E.O. 12731, 55 FR 42547, 3 CFR, 

1990 Comp., p. 306. 

■ 2. Section 2634.701 is amended by 

revising paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 2634.701 Failure to file or falsifying 

reports. 

* * * * * 

(b) Civil action. The Attorney General 

may bring a civil action in any 

appropriate United States district court 

against any individual who knowingly 

and willfully falsifies or who knowingly 

and willfully fails to file or report any 

information required by filers of public 

reports under subpart B of this part. The 

court in which the action is brought 

may assess against the individual a civil 

monetary penalty in any amount, not to 

exceed the amounts set forth below, as 

provided by section 104(a) of the Act, as 

amended, and as adjusted in accordance 

with the inflation adjustment 

procedures prescribed in the Federal 

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

of 1990, as amended: 

Date of violation Penalty 

Violation occurring between 

Sept. 14, 2007 and Nov. 2, 

2015 .................................. $50,000 

Violation occurring after Nov. 

2, 2015 .............................. 59,028 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Section 2634.702 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 2634.702 Breaches by trust fiduciaries 

and interested parties. 

(a) The Attorney General may bring a 

civil action in any appropriate United 

States district court against any 

individual who knowingly and willfully 

violates the provisions of 

§ 2634.408(d)(1) or (e)(1). The court in 

which the action is brought may assess 

against the individual a civil monetary 

penalty in any amount, not to exceed 

the amounts set forth below, as 

provided by section 102(f)(6)(C)(i) of the 

Act and as adjusted in accordance with 

the inflation adjustment procedures 

prescribed in the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as 

amended: 

Date of violation Penalty 

Violation occurring between 

Sept. 29, 1999 and Nov. 2, 

2015 .................................. $11,000 

Violation occurring after Nov. 

2, 2015 .............................. 19,639 

(b) The Attorney General may bring a 

civil action in any appropriate United 

States district court against any 

individual who negligently violates the 

provisions of § 2634.408(d)(1) or (e)(1). 

The court in which the action is brought 

may assess against the individual a civil 

monetary penalty in any amount, not to 

exceed the amounts set forth below, as 

provided by section 102(f)(6)(C)(ii) of 

the Act and as adjusted in accordance 

with the inflation adjustment 

procedures of the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as 

amended: 

Date of violation Penalty 

Violation occurring between 

Sept. 29, 1999 and Nov. 2, 

2015 .................................. $5,500 

Violation occurring after Nov. 

2, 2015 .............................. 9,819 

■ 4. Section 2634.703 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 2634.703 Misuse of public reports. 

(a) The Attorney General may bring a 

civil action against any person who 

obtains or uses a report filed under this 

part for any purpose prohibited by 

section 105(c)(1) of the Act, as 

incorporated in § 2634.603(f). The court 

in which the action is brought may 

assess against the person a civil 

monetary penalty in any amount, not to 

exceed the amounts set forth below, as 

provided by section 105(c)(2) of the Act 

and as adjusted in accordance with the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 11 / Wednesday, January 17, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 2331 

inflation adjustment procedures 

prescribed in the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as 

amended: 

Date of violation Penalty 

Violation occurring between 

Sept. 29, 1999 and Nov. 2, 

2015 .................................. $11,000 

Violation occurring after Nov. 

2, 2015 .............................. 19,639 

(b) This remedy shall be in addition 

to any other remedy available under 

statutory or common law. 

PART 2636—LIMITATIONS ON 

OUTSIDE EARNED INCOME, 

EMPLOYMENT AND AFFILIATIONS 

FOR CERTAIN NONCAREER 

EMPLOYEES 

■ 5. The authority citation for part 2636 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. App. (Ethics in 

Government Act of 1978); Pub. L. 101–410, 

104 Stat. 890, 28 U.S.C. 2461 note (Federal 

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 

1990), as amended by Sec. 31001, Pub. L. 

104–134, 110 Stat. 1321 (Debt Collection 

Improvement Act of 1996) and Sec. 701, Pub. 

L. 114–74 (Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015); 

E.O. 12674, 54 FR 15159, 3 CFR, 1989 Comp., 

p. 215, as modified by E.O. 12731, 55 FR 

42547, 3 CFR, 1990 Comp., p. 306. 

■ 6. Section 2636.104 is amended by 

revising paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 2636.104 Civil, disciplinary and other 

action. 

(a) Civil action. Except when the 

employee engages in conduct in good 

faith reliance upon an advisory opinion 

issued under § 2636.103, an employee 

who engages in any conduct in violation 

of the prohibitions, limitations and 

restrictions contained in this part may 

be subject to civil action under 5 U.S.C. 

app. 504(a) and a civil monetary penalty 

of not more than the amounts set forth 

below, as adjusted in accordance with 

the inflation adjustment procedures 

prescribed in the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as 

amended, or the amount of the 

compensation the individual received 

for the prohibited conduct, whichever is 

greater. 

Date of violation Penalty 

Violation occurring between 

Sept. 29, 1999 and Nov. 2, 

2015 .................................. $11,000 

Violation occurring after Nov. 

2, 2015 .............................. 19,639 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2018–00688 Filed 1–16–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6345–03–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 50 

[NRC–2012–0059] 

RIN 3150–AJ13 

Approval of American Society of 

Mechanical Engineers’ Code Cases 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is amending its 

regulations to incorporate by reference 

(IBR) the latest revisions of three 

regulatory guides (RGs) approving new, 

revised, and reaffirmed Code Cases 

published by the American Society of 

Mechanical Engineers (ASME). This 

action allows nuclear power plant 

licensees and applicants for 

construction permits, operating licenses, 

combined licenses, standard design 

certifications, standard design approvals 

and manufacturing licenses to 

voluntarily use the Code Cases listed in 

these RGs as alternatives to engineering 

standards for the construction, inservice 

inspection (ISI), and inservice testing 

(IST) of nuclear power plant 

components. These engineering 

standards are set forth in the ASME’s 

Boiler and Pressure Vessel (BPV) Codes 

and ASME Operation and Maintenance 

(OM) Codes, which are currently 

incorporated by reference into the 

NRC’s regulations. This final rule 

announces the availability of the final 

versions of the three RGs that are being 

incorporated by reference. Further, the 

final rule announces the availability of 

a related RG, not incorporated by 

reference into the NRC’s regulations that 

lists Code Cases that the NRC has not 

approved for use. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

February 16, 2018. The incorporation by 

reference of certain publications listed 

in the regulation is approved by the 

Director of the Federal Register as of 

February 16, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2012–0059 when contacting the 

NRC about the availability of 

information for this action. You may 

obtain publicly-available information 

related to this action by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2012–0059. Address 

questions about NRC dockets to Carol 

Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463; 

email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For 

technical questions contact the 

individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

document. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the 

ADAMS Public Documents collection at 

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 

adams.html. To begin the search, select 

‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then 

select ‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS 

Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS, 

please contact the NRC’s Public 

Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 

1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by 

email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. For the 

convenience of the reader, instructions 

about obtaining materials referenced in 

this document are provided in the 

‘‘Availability of Documents’’ section. 

• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and 

purchase copies of public documents at 

the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One 

White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 

Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Tobin, Office of Nuclear 

Reactor Regulation, telephone: 301– 

415–2328, email: Jennifer.Tobin@

nrc.gov; or Giovanni Facco, Office of 

Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 

301–415–6337; email: Giovanni.Facco@

nrc.gov. Both are staff of the U.S. 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 

Washington, DC 20555–0001. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary 

The purpose of this regulatory action 

is to incorporate by reference into the 

NRC’s regulations the latest revisions of 

three RGs. The three RGs identify new, 

revised, and reaffirmed Code Cases 

published by the ASME, which the NRC 

has determined are acceptable for use as 

alternatives to certain provisions of the 

ASME BPV Codes and ASME OM 

Codes, currently incorporated by 

reference into the NRC’s regulations. 

The three RGs that the NRC is 

incorporating by reference are RG 1.84, 

‘‘Design, Fabrication, and Materials 

Code Case Acceptability, ASME Section 

III,’’ Revision 37; RG 1.147, ‘‘Inservice 

Inspection Code Case Acceptability, 

ASME Section XI, Division 1,’’ Revision 

18; and RG 1.192, ‘‘Operation and 

Maintenance Code Case Acceptability, 

ASME OM Code,’’ Revision 2. This 

regulatory action allows nuclear power 

plant licensees and applicants for 

construction permits, operating licenses, 

combined licenses, standard design 

certifications, standard design 

approvals, and manufacturing licenses 

to voluntarily use the Code Cases, newly 

listed in these revised RGs, as 


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