101466 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 241 / Monday, December 16, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

Clarion, PA, AXQ, Takeoff Minimums and 

Obstacle DP, Amdt 1 

Corry, PA, 8G2, Takeoff Minimums and 

Obstacle DP, Orig-B 

Georgetown, SC, GGE, Takeoff Minimums 

and Obstacle DP, Amdt 1A 

Coleman, TX, COM, Takeoff Minimums and 

Obstacle DP, Orig-A 

Dallas, TX, ADS, ILS OR LOC RWY 16, Amdt 

11D 

Dallas, TX, ADS, RNAV (GPS) RWY 16, 

Amdt 1D 

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, DFW, Takeoff 

Minimums and Obstacle DP, Amdt 8 

Shelton, WA, SHN, RNAV (GPS) RWY 5, 

Orig-B 

[FR Doc. 2024–29522 Filed 12–13–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Minority Business Development 

Agency 

15 CFR Part 1400 

[Docket No. 241121–0298] 

RIN 0640–AA02 

Removal of Racial and Ethnic 

Presumptions in Response to Court 

Ruling 

AGENCY: Minority Business 

Development Agency, Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Minority Business 

Development Agency (MBDA) amends 

their regulations to remove the list of 

racial and ethnic presumptions in order 

to comply with the Court’s decision in 

Nuziard et al v. Minority Business 

Development Agency et al., which 

struck down those racial and ethnic 

presumptions. 

DATES: This rule is effective January 15, 

2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Donald Smith, Chief Operating Officer, 

MBDA, dsmith5@mbda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Department of Commerce’s 

Minority Business Development Agency 

(MBDA) derives authority from the 

Minority Business Development Act of 

2021 (‘‘the Act’’), 15 U.S.C. 9501, et seq., 

to appoint an Under Secretary of 

Commerce for Minority Business 

Development to carry out the Act’s 

activities and initiatives. MBDA’s 

mission is to promote the growth and 

global competitiveness of minority 

business enterprises (MBEs) in order to 

unlock the country’s full economic 

potential. One of the ways MBDA 

accomplishes this mission is through 

the funding of a network of Business 

Centers, Specialty Centers, and other 

technical assistance programs to provide 

MBEs with business assistance services 

and resources. 

For a business to access MBDA 

technical assistance programs that serve 

MBEs, the individual seeking services 

must certify that their business is ‘‘a 

business enterprise (i) that is not less 

than 51 percent-owned by 1 or more 

socially or economically disadvantaged 

individuals; and (ii) the management 

and daily business operations of which 

are controlled by 1 or more socially or 

economically disadvantaged 

individuals.’’ 15 U.S.C. 9501(9). 

‘‘Socially or economically 

disadvantaged individual’’ is defined in 

the Act as ‘‘an individual who has been 

subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or 

cultural bias (or the ability of whom to 

compete in the free enterprise system 

has been impaired due to diminished 

capital and credit opportunities, as 

compared to others in the same line of 

business and competitive market area) 

because of the identity of the individual 

as a member of a group, without regard 

to any individual quality of the 

individual that is unrelated to that 

identity.’’ 15 U.S.C. 9501(15)(A). 

Additionally, the Act contains a 

presumption in which ‘‘the Under 

Secretary shall presume that the term 

‘‘socially or economically disadvantaged 

individual’’ includes any individual 

who is— (i) Black or African American; 

(ii) Hispanic or Latino; (iii) American 

Indian or Alaska Native; (iv) Asian; (v) 

Native Hawaiian or other Pacific 

Islander; or (vi) a member of a group 

that the Agency determines under part 

1400 of title 15, Code of Federal 

Regulations, as in effect on November 

23, 1984, is a socially disadvantaged 

group eligible to receive assistance.’’ 15 

U.S.C. 9501(15)(B). This presumption 

was also found in MBDA’s regulations 

at 15 CFR 1400.1(b) and (c), and 

members of these racial groups are 

presumed to be eligible for MBDA 

assistance. 

Court Decision in Nuziard 

The racial presumptions found in the 

Minority Business Development Act of 

2021 and 15 CFR part 1400 were 

challenged in Nuziard, et. al. v. Minority 

Business Development Agency, et. al., in 

which the Court found any ‘‘provision 

of the MBDA Statute that is contingent 

on the presumption in 15 U.S.C. 

9501(15)(B)’’ unconstitutional and 

prohibited MBDA from ‘‘imposing the 

racial and ethnic classifications defined 

in 15 U.S.C. 9501 and implemented in 

15 U.S.C. 9511, 9512, 9522, 9523, 9524, 

and 15 CFR 1400.1 .–.–. ’’ No. 4:23–cv– 

00278–P (N.D. Tex. March 5, 2024). The 

court’s injunction applies to the sections 

of the Minority Business Development 

Act and related regulations that require 

the Under Secretary of Commerce for 

Minority Business Development to 

presume that a ‘‘socially or 

economically disadvantaged 

individual’’ ‘‘includes any individual 

who is—(i) Black or African American; 

(ii) Hispanic or Latino; (iii) American 

Indian or Alaska Native; (iv) Asian; (v) 

Native Hawaiian or other Pacific 

Islander.’’ 15 U.S.C. 9501(15)(B). 

Similarly, the Court enjoined the 

application of 15 CFR 1400.1(b) to the 

extent that it imposes racial and ethnic 

classifications, and designates ‘‘Blacks, 

Puerto-Ricans, Spanish-speaking 

Americans, American Indians, Eskimos, 

and Aleuts’’ as individuals who are 

socially or economically disadvantaged. 

Finally, the Court also enjoined 15 CFR 

1400.1(c), which designates ‘‘Hasidic 

Jews, Asian-Pacific Americans, and 

Asian Indians’’ as socially or 

economically disadvantaged. 

Updating Regulations 

As a result of the Court’s decision, 

MBDA is updating their regulations at 

15 CFR 1400.1(b) and (c) to remove the 

sections that contain the racial 

presumptions described in the decision 

above. MBDA also proposes to make a 

correction to 15 CFR 1400.2(a) 

pertaining to the definition of minority 

business enterprise and where it is 

defined in the Act. The last change 

pertains to striking out outdated 

language referring to Executive Order 

11625 in 15 CFR 1400.3 because MBDA 

draws statutory authority directly from 

the Act and not from the Executive 

Order. See 15 U.S.C. 9597. These 

changes will clarify the eligibility 

requirements to qualify for MBDA 

technical assistance programs that serve 

MBEs. 

Classification 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2), the 

provisions of the Administrative 

Procedure Act requiring notice of 

proposed rulemaking and the 

opportunity for public participation are 

inapplicable to this final rule because 

this rule relates to ‘‘public property, 

loans, grants, benefits, or contracts.’’ In 

addition, 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) exempts 

rulemakings from prior notice and 

public comment procedures when an 

agency finds for good cause that such 

procedures ‘‘are impractical, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public 

interest.’’ Here, MBDA has determined 

that there is good cause and that 

providing prior notice and opportunity 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 241 / Monday, December 16, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 101467 

1 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A). 

2 5 U.S.C. 553(d). 

3 5 U.S.C. 804(3)(C) (the term ‘‘rule’’ does not 

include ‘‘any rule of agency organization, 

procedure, or practice that does not substantially 

affect the rights or obligations of non-agency 

parties’’). 

4 5 U.S.C. 601(2) (provisions only applicable 

when notice and comment required by the APA). 

5 5 CFR 1320.3. 

6 15 U.S.C. 78w(a)(2). 

for public comment is impractical 

because MBDA is required to amend the 

CFR to implement the holding in 

Nuziard. The court order requires 

MBDA to amend the CFR in a specific 

manner, and there are no alternative 

ways to make the change other than as 

implemented in this final rule. 

Therefore, this final rule is being issued 

without notice and comment. 

This rule has been determined to be 

not significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

Because a notice of proposed 

rulemaking and an opportunity for 

public comment are not required to be 

given for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or 

by another law, the analytical 

requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., are 

not applicable. Accordingly, no 

regulatory flexibility analysis is required 

and none has been prepared. 

This rule does not have any collection 

of information requirements under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. 

List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 1400 

Federal financial assistance, technical 

assistance, administrative practice and 

procedure. 

Dated: December 5, 2024. 

Eric J. Morrissette, 

Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for 

Minority Business Development, Performing 

the delegated duties of the Under Secretary, 

Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. 

Department of Commerce. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, MBDA amends 15 CFR part 

1400 as follows: 

PART 1400—DETERMINATION OF 

GROUP ELIGIBILITY FOR MBDA 

ASSISTANCE 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1400 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1512, E.O. 11625, 3 

CFR 616 (1971–75), 36 FR 19967 (1971); and 

E.O. 12432, 3 CFR 198 (1983), 48 FR 32551 

(1983). 

■ 2. Revise and republish § 1400.1 to 

read as follows: 

§ 1400.1 Purpose and scope. 

(a) The purpose of this part is to set 

forth regulations for determination of 

group eligibility for MBDA assistance. 

(b) In order to be eligible to receive 

assistance from MBDA funded 

organizations, a concern must be a 

minority business enterprise as defined 

in 15 U.S.C. 9501(9). The purpose of 

this regulation is to provide guidance to 

groups not previously designated as 

eligible for assistance who believe they 

are entitled to formal designation as 

‘‘socially or economically 

disadvantaged.’’ Upon adequate 

showing by representatives of the group 

that the group is, as a whole, socially or 

economically disadvantaged, the group 

will be so designated and its members 

will be eligible for MBDA assistance. 

Designation under this regulation will 

not establish eligibility for any other 

Federal or Federally funded program. 

■ 3. In § 1400.2, revise paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 1400.2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

(a) Minority business enterprise is 

defined in 15 U.S.C. 9501(9). 

* * * * * 

§ 1400.3 [Amended] 

■ 4. In § 1400.3: 

■ a. Remove ‘‘Executive Order 11625’’ 

and add in its place ‘‘this part’’ in the 

introductory text; and 

■ b. Designate the parenthetical 

following paragraph (d) as note 1 to 

paragraph (d) and remove the 

parentheses. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29059 Filed 12–13–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–21–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

17 CFR Part 200 

[Release No. 33–11337; 34–101867] 

Commission’s Organization and 

Program Management Regulations 

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule; technical 

amendments. 

SUMMARY: The Securities and Exchange 

Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’) 

is adopting technical amendments to 

update information relating to its 

regional offices listed in the 

Commission’s Organization and 

Program Management regulations. 

DATES: Effective December 16, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tiffany Moseley, Senior Special 

Counsel, (202) 551–5100, Office of the 

General Counsel, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, 

Washington, DC 20549–9150. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Commission is amending the 

information in its Organization and 

Program Management regulations at 17 

CFR 200.11 (Head Quarters Office— 

Regional Office Relationships) to reflect 

the closure of the Salt Lake Regional 

Office on October 26, 2024 and to 

update the addresses of regional offices 

that have moved. 

II. Administrative Law Matters 

The Commission finds, in accordance 

with the Administrative Procedure Act 

(‘‘APA’’), that the amendments to its 

rules to update the information for its 

regional offices relate solely to the 

agency’s organization, procedure, or 

practice. Accordingly, the APA’s 

provisions regarding notice of 

rulemaking and opportunity for public 

comment do not apply.1 The 

Commission also finds that because 

these amendments do not substantially 

affect the rights or obligations of nonagency parties there is good cause not to 

provide advance publication of the 

amendments under the APA and 

therefore the amendments are effective 

on December 16, 2024.2

For the same reasons, the provisions 

of the Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act 3 and the 

provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act 4 do not apply. These amendments 

also do not contain any collection of 

information requirements as defined by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.5

Further, because the amendments 

impose no new burdens on private 

parties, the Commission does not 

believe that the amendments will have 

any impact on competition for purposes 

of section 23(a)(2) of the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Exchange 

Act’’).6

III. Statutory Authority 

These technical amendments are 

adopted pursuant to statutory authority 

granted to the Commission under 

section 19(a) of the Securities Act of 

1933 and section 23(a) of the Exchange 

Act. 

List of Subjects in 17 CFR Part 200 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Authority delegations 

(Government agencies). 

Text of Amendments 

For the reasons set out above, the 

Commission is amending title 17, 

chapter II, of the Code of Federal 


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