Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 1555 

1Under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, a penalty is a civil 

monetary penalty if (among other things) it is for 

a specific monetary amount or has a maximum 

amount specified by Federal law. Title IV also 

provides (in section 4007) for penalties for late 

payment of premiums, but those penalties are 

neither in a specified amount nor subject to a 

specified maximum amount. 

2Sec. 701, Public Law 114–74, 129 Stat. 599–601 

(Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015). 

3The Office of Management and Budget issued 

memorandum M–16–06 on implementation of the 

2015 act, including multipliers to use in the initial 

adjustment. 

4The Office of Management and Budget issued 

memorandum M–17–11 on December 16, 2016, on 

implementation of the 2015 act, including the costof-living adjustment multiplier for 2017. 

5https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/ 

uploads/2017/11/M-18-03.pdf 

Issued in Washington, DC. 

Daniel S. Liebman, 

Acting Assistant General Counsel for 

Regulatory Affairs, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00348 Filed 1–11–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7709–02–P 

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY 

CORPORATION 

29 CFR Parts 4071 and 4302 

RIN 1212–AB45 

Adjustment of Civil Penalties for 

Inflation 

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation is required to amend its 

regulations annually to adjust for 

inflation the maximum civil penalty for 

failure to provide certain notices or 

other material information and for 

failure to provide certain multiemployer 

plan notices. 

DATES: Effective date: This rule is 

effective on January 12, 2018. 

Applicability date: The increases in 

the civil monetary penalties under 

sections 4071 and 4302 provided for in 

this rule apply to such penalties 

assessed after January 12, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stephanie Cibinic, Deputy Assistant 

General Counsel for Regulatory Affairs 

(cibinic.stephanie@pbgc.gov), Office of 

the General Counsel, Pension Benefit 

Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street 

NW, Washington, DC 20005–4026; 202– 

326–4400 extension 6352. (TTY and 

TDD users may call the Federal relay 

service toll-free at 800–877–8339 and 

ask to be connected to 202–326–4400 

extension 6352.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Summary 

Purpose of the Regulatory Action 

This rule is needed to carry out the 

requirements of the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of 

Management and Budget guidance M– 

18–03. The rule adjusts, as required for 

2018, the maximum civil penalties 

under 29 CFR part 4071 and 29 CFR part 

4302 that PBGC may assess for failure to 

provide certain notices or other material 

information and certain multiemployer 

plan notices. 

PBGC’s legal authority for this action 

comes from the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 as 

amended by the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements 

Act of 2015 and from sections 

4002(b)(3), 4071, and 4302 of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974 (ERISA). 

Major Provisions of the Regulatory 

Action 

This rule adjusts as required by law 

the maximum civil penalties that PBGC 

may assess under sections 4071 and 

4302 of ERISA. The new maximum 

amounts are $2,140 for section 4071 

penalties and $285 for section 4302 

penalties. 

Background 

The Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation (PBGC) administers title IV 

of the Employee Retirement Income 

Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Title IV 

has two provisions that authorize PBGC 

to assess civil monetary penalties.1

Section 4302, added to ERISA by the 

Multiemployer Pension Plan 

Amendments Act of 1980, authorizes 

PBGC to assess a civil penalty of up to 

$100 a day for failure to provide a notice 

under subtitle E of title IV of ERISA 

(dealing with multiemployer plans). 

Section 4071, added to ERISA by the 

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 

1987, authorizes PBGC to assess a civil 

penalty of up to $1,000 a day for failure 

to provide a notice or other material 

information under subtitles A, B, and C 

of title IV and sections 303(k)(4) and 

306(g)(4) of title I of ERISA. 

Adjustment of Civil Penalties 

On November 2, 2015, the President 

signed into law the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015,2 which 

requires agencies to adjust civil 

monetary penalties for inflation and to 

publish the adjustments in the Federal 

Register. An initial adjustment was 

required to be made by interim final 

rule published by July 1, 2016, and 

effective by August 1, 2016. Subsequent 

adjustments must be promulgated in 

January each year after 2016. In an 

interim final rule published on May 13, 

2016 (at 81 FR 29765), PBGC adjusted 

the maximum penalty under section 

4071 to $2,063 and adjusted the 

maximum penalty under section 4302 to 

$275.3 In a final rule published on 

January 31, 2017 (at 82 FR 8813), PBGC 

finalized its interim final rule and 

adjusted the maximum penalty under 

section 4071 to $2,097 and the 

maximum penalty under section 4302 to 

$279.4

On December 15, 2017, the Office of 

Management and Budget issued 

memorandum M–18–03 on 

implementation of the 2018 annual 

inflation adjustment pursuant to the 

2015 act.5 The memorandum provides 

agencies with the cost-of-living 

adjustment multiplier for 2018, which is 

based on the Consumer Price Index 

(CPI–U) for the month of October 2017, 

not seasonally adjusted. The multiplier 

for 2018 is 1.02041. The adjusted 

maximum amounts are $2,140 for 

section 4071 penalties and $285 for 

section 4302 penalties. 

Compliance With Regulatory 

Requirements 

The Office of Management and Budget 

has determined that this rule is not a 

‘‘significant regulatory action’’ under 

Executive Order 12866 and therefore not 

subject to their review. As this is not a 

significant regulatory action under E.O. 

12866, it is not considered an E.O. 

13771 regulatory action. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

also has determined that notice and 

public comment on this final rule are 

unnecessary because the adjustment of 

civil penalties implemented in the rule 

is required by law. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 

Because no general notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required for this rule, the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 does 

not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 601(2). 

List of Subjects 

29 CFR Part 4071 

Penalties. 

29 CFR Part 4302 

Penalties. 

In consideration of the foregoing, 

PBGC amends 29 CFR parts 4071 and 

4302 as follows: 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with RULES
1556 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 9 / Friday, January 12, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

PART 4071—PENALTIES FOR 

FAILURE TO PROVIDE CERTAIN 

NOTICES OR OTHER MATERIAL 

INFORMATION 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 4071 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as 

amended by sec. 701, Pub. L. 114–74, 129 

Stat. 599–601; 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3), 1371. 

§ 4071.3 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 4071.3, the figures ‘‘$2,097’’ are 

removed and the figures ‘‘$2,140’’ are 

added in their place. 

PART 4302—PENALTIES FOR 

FAILURE TO PROVIDE CERTAIN 

MULTIEMPLOYER PLAN NOTICES 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 4302 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as 

amended by sec. 701, Pub. L. 114–74, 129 

Stat. 599–601; 29 U.S.C. 1302(b)(3), 1452. 

§ 4302.3 [Amended] 

■ 4. In § 4302.3, the figures ‘‘$279’’ are 

removed and the figures ‘‘$285’’ are 

added in their place. 

Issued in Washington, DC. 

W. Thomas Reeder, 

Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00406 Filed 1–11–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7709–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

32 CFR Part 205 

[Docket ID: DOD–2017–OS–0004] 

RIN 0790–AJ05 

End Use Certificates (EUCs) 

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary of 

Defense for Acquisition, Technology, 

and Logistics, DoD. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule removes DoD’s 

regulation concerning the signing of 

EUCs required by foreign governments 

for foreign defense items purchased by 

the United States. DoD has determined 

that this part does not place a burden on 

the public as it deals with matters 

internal to DoD. DoD signs end use 

certificates (following internal 

coordination and approval) at the behest 

of a foreign country, when DoD is 

buying products from that country. 

Therefore, this part is unnecessary and 

can be removed from the CFR. 

DATES: This rule is effective on January 

12, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen Kay at 703–693–0909. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: It has been 

determined that publication of this CFR 

part removal for public comment is 

impracticable, unnecessary, and 

contrary to public interest since it is 

based on removing DoD internal 

policies and procedures that are 

publically available on the Department’s 

issuance website. Once signed, a copy of 

DoD’s internal guidance contained in 

DoD Directive 2040.03 will be made 

available at http://www.esd.whs.mil/ 

Directives/issuances/dodd/. 

This rule is being removed from the 

CFR because it does not place a burden 

on the public as it deals with matters 

internal to DoD. As a direct result of 

there being no burden on the public, 

there was never was a cost to the public 

to execute this rule, therefore, removing 

it does not provide a cost savings to the 

public. 

List of Subjects in 32 CFR Part 205 

Government procurement. 

PART 205—[REMOVED] 

■ Accordingly, under the authority of 5 

U.S.C. 301, 32 CFR part 205 is removed. 

Dated: January 9, 2018. 

Aaron Siegel, 

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison 

Officer, Department of Defense. 

[FR Doc. 2018–00473 Filed 1–11–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

34 CFR Parts 350, 356, 359, 364, 365, 

and 366 

RIN 1820–AB75; 1820–AB76 

National Institute on Disability and 

Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) and 

Independent Living Programs, 

Outdated, Superseded Regulations 

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services, Department of 

Education. 

ACTION: Final regulations. 

SUMMARY: The Secretary removes 

outdated, superseded regulations for 

five programs no longer administered by 

the Department: The Disability and 

Rehabilitation Research Projects and 

Centers Program, the Research 

Fellowships program, the Special 

Projects and Demonstrations for Spinal 

Cord Injuries program, the State 

Independent Living Services program, 

and the Centers for Independent Living 

program. In 2014, the Workforce 

Innovation and Opportunity Act 

transferred these programs to the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services, which has adopted regulations 

for them. 

DATES: These regulations are effective 

January 12, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kate 

Friday, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 5104 

PCP, Washington, DC 20202–2500. 

Telephone: (202) 245–7605 or email: 

Kate.Friday@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 

telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS), toll free at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

February 24, 2017, President Trump 

signed Executive Order 13777, 

‘‘Enforcing the Regulatory Reform 

Agenda,’’ which established a Federal 

policy ‘‘to alleviate unnecessary 

regulatory burdens’’ on the American 

people. Section 3(a) of the Executive 

Order directed each Federal agency to 

establish a regulatory reform task force, 

the duty of which is to evaluate existing 

regulations and ‘‘make 

recommendations to the agency head 

regarding their repeal, replacement, or 

modification.’’ Accordingly, the 

Secretary removes 34 CFR parts 350, 

356, 359, 364, 365, and 366 because 

they have been superseded. 

In 2014, the Workforce Innovation 

and Opportunity Act (WIOA) (Pub. L. 

113–128) made significant changes to 

many programs administered by the 

Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). WIOA 

transferred the National Institute for 

Disability and Rehabilitation Research 

(NIDRR), its functions, and its programs 

from OSERS to the Administration for 

Community Living (ACL) within the 

Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS). In the process, WIOA 

renamed NIDRR the National Institute 

for Disability, Independent Living, and 

Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). 

(See, WIOA sections 433, 435, 491(n).) 

The programs transferred were the 

Disability and Rehabilitation Research 

Projects and Centers program, the 

Research Fellowships program, and the 

Special Projects and Demonstrations for 

Spinal Cord Injuries program. 

WIOA also created within ACL the 

Independent Living Administration and 

transferred to it two programs from the 

Rehabilitation Services Administration 

(RSA) within OSERS, namely the State 

Independent Living Services program 

and the Centers for Independent Living 


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