103662 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–29061 Filed 12–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

41 CFR Part 105–70 

[FPMR Case 2025–01; Docket No. GSA– 

FPMR–2025–0021; Sequence No. 1] 

RIN 3090–AK89 

Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment 

AGENCY: The Office of the General 

Counsel, General Services 

Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by 

the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 

1996, and further amended by the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 

2015, this final rule applies the inflation 

adjustments for GSA’s civil monetary 

penalties. 

DATES: Effective 30 days after the date of 

publication. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Aaron Pound, Assistant General 

Counsel, General Law Division (LG), 

General Services Administration, 1800 F 

Street NW, Washington DC 20405. 

Telephone Number 202–501–1460. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. The Debt Collection Improvement Act 

of 1996 

To maintain the remedial impact of 

civil monetary penalties (CMPs) and to 

promote compliance with the law, the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101– 

410) was amended by the Debt 

Collection Improvement Act of 1996 

(Pub. L. 104–134) and the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvement Act of 2015 (Sec. 701 of 

Pub. L. 114–74) to require Federal 

agencies to regularly adjust certain 

CMPs for inflation. As amended, the law 

requires each agency to make an initial 

inflationary adjustment for all 

applicable CMPs, and to make further 

adjustments at least once every year 

thereafter for these penalty amounts. 

The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 

1996 further stipulates that any 

resulting increases in a CMP due to the 

calculated inflation adjustments shall 

apply only to violations which occur 

after the date the increase takes effect 30 

days after the date of publication in the 

Federal Register. Pursuant to the 2015 

Act, agencies are required to adjust the 

level of the CMP with an initial ‘‘fix‘‘, 

and make subsequent annual 

adjustments for inflation. Catch up 

adjustments are based on the percent 

change between the Consumer Price 

Index for Urban Consumers (CPI–U) for 

the month of October for the year of the 

previous adjustment, and the October 

2015 CPI–U. Annual inflation 

adjustments will be based on the 

percent change between the October 

CPI–U preceding the date of adjustment 

and the prior year’s October CPI–U. 

II. The Program Fraud Civil Remedies 

Act of 1986 

Sections 6103 and 6104 of the 

Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 

1986 (Pub. L. 99–509) set forth the 

Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 

1986 (PFCRA). Specifically, this statute 

imposes a CMP and an assessment 

against any person who, with 

knowledge or reason to know, makes, 

submits, or presents a false, fictitious, or 

fraudulent claim or statement to the 

Government. The General Services 

Administration’s regulations, published 

in the Federal Register (61 FR 246, 

December 20, 1996) and codified at 41 

CFR part 105–70, currently set forth a 

CMP of up to $13,400 for each false 

claim or statement made to the agency. 

Based on the penalty amount inflation 

factor calculation, derived from 

originally dividing the October 2023 CPI 

by the October 2024 CPI and making the 

CPI-based annual adjustment thereafter, 

after rounding, we are adjusting the 

maximum penalty amount for this CMP 

to $13,700 for each false claim or 

statement made to the agency. 

III. Subsequent Annual Adjustments 

The 2015 Act also requires agencies to 

make annual adjustments to civil 

penalty amounts no later than January 

15 of each year following the initial 

adjustment described above. For 

subsequent adjustments made in 

accordance with the 2015 Act, the 

amount of the adjustment is based on 

the percent increase between the CPI–U 

for the month of October preceding the 

date of the adjustment and the CPI–U 

for the October one year prior to the 

October immediately preceding the date 

of the adjustment. If there is no increase, 

there is no adjustment of civil penalties. 

Therefore, if GSA adjusts penalties in 

January 2026, the adjustment will be 

calculated based on the percent change 

between the CPI–U for October 2026 

(the October immediately preceding the 

date of adjustment) and October 2025 

(the October one year prior to October 

2026). GSA will publish the amount of 

these annual inflation adjustments in 

the Federal Register no later than 

January 15 of each year, starting in 2026. 

IV. Public Participation 

The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 

2015 expressly exempts this final rule 

from the notice and comment 

requirements of the Administrative 

Procedure Act by directing agencies to 

adjust civil monetary penalties for 

inflation ‘‘notwithstanding section 553 

of title 5, United States Code’’ (Pub. L. 

114–74, 129 Stat. 599; 28 U.S.C. 2461 

note). As such, this final rule is being 

issued without prior public notice or 

opportunity for public comment, with 

an effective date 30 days after the date 

of publication in the Federal Register. 

V. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and 

13563 direct agencies to assess all costs 

and benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). E.O. 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 (OMB) has reviewed this 

final rule in accordance with the 

provisions of E.O. 12866 and has 

determined that it does not meet the 

criteria for a significant regulatory 

action and thus was not subject to 

review under Section 6(b) of E.O. 12866. 

As indicated above, the provisions 

contained in this final rulemaking set 

forth the inflation adjustments in 

compliance with the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 

1990, as amended, for specific 

applicable CMPs. The great majority of 

individuals, organizations and entities 

addressed through these regulations do 

not engage in such prohibited conduct, 

and as a result, we believe that any 

aggregate economic impact of these 

revised regulations will be minimal, 

affecting only those limited few who 

may engage in prohibited conduct in 

violation of the statute. As such, this 

final rule and the inflation adjustment 

contained therein should have no effect 

on Federal or State expenditures. 

VI. Congressional Review Act 

The agency and the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

OMB have determined that this rule is 

not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

Subtitle E of the Small Business 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 103663 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 (codified at 5 U.S.C. 801–808), also 

known as the Congressional Review Act 

or CRA, generally provides that before a 

rule may take effect, the agency 

promulgating the rule must submit a 

rule report, which includes a copy of 

the rule, to each House of the Congress 

and to the Comptroller General of the 

United States. GSA will submit a report 

containing this rule and other required 

information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. 

House of Representatives, and the 

Comptroller General of the United 

States. 

VII. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

requires an agency to prepare a 

regulatory flexibility analysis for rules 

unless the agency certifies that the rule 

will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The RFA applies only to rules 

for which an agency is required to first 

publish a proposed rule. See 5 U.S.C. 

603(a) and 604(a). As explained above, 

GSA is not required to first publish a 

proposed rule here. Thus, the RFA does 

not apply to this final rule. 

VIII. Paperwork Reduction Act 

This final rule imposes no new 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

necessitating clearance by OMB. 

List of Subjects in 41 CFR Part 105–70 

Administrative hearing, Claims, 

Program fraud. 

Robin Carnahan, 

Administrator. 

Accordingly, 41 CFR part 105–70 is 

amended as set forth below: 

PART 105–70—IMPLEMENTATION OF 

THE PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL 

REMEDIES ACT OF 1986 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 105– 

70 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 31 U.S.C. 

3809. 

■ 2. Amend § 105–70.003 by— 

■ a. Removing from paragraph (a)(1)(iv) 

the amount ‘‘13,400’’ and adding 

‘‘13,700’’ in its place; 

■ b. Removing from paragraph (b)(1)(ii) 

the amount ‘‘13,400’’ and adding 

‘‘13,700’’ in its place; and 

■ c. Adding paragraphs (f) and (g). 

The additions read as follows: 

§ 105–70.003 Basis for civil penalties and 

assessments. 

* * * * * 

(f) For violations occurring on or after 

January 1, 2025, the maximum penalty, 

which may be assessed under 

paragraphs (a)(1)(iv) or (b)(1)(ii) of this 

section, is the larger of: 

(1) The amount for the previous 

calendar year, or 

(2) An amount adjusted for inflation, 

calculated by multiplying the amount 

for the previous calendar year by the 

percentage by which the CPI–U for the 

month of October preceding the current 

calendar year exceeds the CPI–U for the 

month of October of the calendar year 

two years prior to the current calendar 

year, adding that amount to the amount 

for the previous calendar year, and 

rounding the total to the nearest 

hundred dollar increment. 

(g) Notice of the maximum penalty 

which may be assessed under 

paragraphs (a)(1)(iv) and (b)(1)(ii) of this 

section for calendar year 2026 and 

thereafter will be published by GSA in 

the Federal Register on an annual basis 

on or before January 15 of each calendar 

year. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30242 Filed 12–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

43 CFR Part 8360 

[PO #4820000251] 

Final Supplementary Rule for Public 

Lands in the Colorado River Valley, 

Grand Junction and Kremmling Field 

Offices, and the Dominguez-Escalante 

National Conservation Area, CO 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Final supplementary rule. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) is finalizing a 

supplementary rule to protect natural 

resources and public health and safety. 

The final supplementary rule applies to 

public lands and BLM facilities 

managed by the Colorado River Valley, 

Grand Junction, and Kremmling Field 

Offices, and the Dominguez-Escalante 

National Conservation Area (NCA) in 

Colorado managed by the Grand 

Junction and Uncompahgre Field 

Offices. 

DATES: This final supplementary rule is 

effective January 18, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Inquiries may be directed to 

the Colorado River Valley Field Office at 

(970) 876–9000 or 2300 River Frontage 

Road, Silt, CO 81652; the Grand 

Junction Field Office at (970) 244–3000 

or 2815 H Road, Grand Junction, CO 

81506; or the Kremmling Field Office at 

(970) 724–3000 or 2103 E. Park Avenue, 

Kremmling, CO 81459. 

The final rule and accompanying 

documentation are available for 

inspection on the ePlanning website at: 

https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/90071/510. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin 

Jones, Upper Colorado River District 

Associate District Manager, 2815 H 

Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506; 

telephone (970) 244–3008; email: 

erjones@blm.gov. Individuals in the 

United States who are deaf, deafblind, 

hard of hearing, or have a speech 

disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 

TeleBraille) to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The BLM is establishing this 

supplementary rule under the authority 

of 43 CFR 8365.1–6, which authorizes 

BLM State Directors to establish 

supplementary rules for the protection 

of persons, property, and public lands 

and resources. 

The BLM approved resource 

management plans (RMPs) for the 

Colorado River Valley, Grand Junction, 

and Kremmling Field Offices in 2015, 

and for the Dominguez-Escalante NCA 

in 2017. The RMPs identify 

management actions that restrict certain 

activities and define allowable uses to 

protect natural resources and public 

health and safety. This final 

supplementary rule is necessary to 

implement those management decisions 

and make them enforceable. 

The field offices completed their RMP 

processes and issued Records of 

Decision (RODs) after inviting the 

public to comment during scoping and 

public-comment periods. The field 

offices reviewed each public comment 

received during each step of the process 

and responded to all comments received 

during the public comment periods. 

(See the individual RMPs for responses 

to public comments.) 

II. Discussion of Public Comments 

The BLM published a proposed 

supplementary rule on January 25, 2024 

(89 FR 4872). The BLM received 432 

comment letters during the 60-day 

public comment period, 344 of which 

were identical form letters and 88 of 

which were unique comments. Of those 

88 unique comment letters, 17 

contained substantive comments. Many 

comment letters expressed support for 

the proposed supplementary rule, but 


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