102696 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

CFR part 315, 359, or 752. Where 

conduct covered by this part may also 

form the basis for an action under 5 CFR 

part 315, 359, or 752, an agency may 

take the action under 5 CFR part 315, 

359, or 752, as appropriate, instead of 

under this part. An agency must notify 

OPM to the extent required in 

§ 731.103(f) if it wants to take, or has 

taken, action under these authorities. 

OPM reserves the right to also take an 

action under this part. 

(h) An agency does not need approval 

from OPM before taking an unfavorable 

suitability action. However, it is 

required to report to the Central 

Verification System or its successor, 

each unfavorable suitability action taken 

under this part within 30 days after it 

takes the action. Also, each suitability 

determination based on an investigation 

must be reported to the Central 

Verification System or its successor as 

soon as possible and in no event later 

than 90 days after receipt of the final 

report of investigation. 

§ 731.204 Debarment by OPM in cases 

involving the competitive service and 

career Senior Executive Service. 

(a) When OPM finds an individual 

unsuitable for any reason listed in 

§ 731.202, OPM, in its discretion, may, 

for a period of not more than 3 calendar 

years from the date of the unfavorable 

suitability determination, deny that 

individual examination for, and 

appointment to, the competitive service 

and career appointment in the Senior 

Executive Service. 

(b) OPM may impose an additional 

period of debarment following the 

expiration of a period of OPM or agency 

debarment or when new conduct arises 

while under debarment, but only after 

the individual again becomes an 

applicant, appointee, or employee 

subject to OPM’s suitability jurisdiction, 

and the individual’s suitability is 

determined in accordance with the 

procedures of this part. An additional 

debarment period may be based in 

whole or in part on the same conduct on 

which the previous suitability action 

was based, when warranted, or new 

conduct. 

(c) OPM, in its sole discretion, 

determines the duration of any period of 

debarment imposed under this section. 

§ 731.205 Debarment by agencies in cases 

involving the competitive service and 

career Senior Executive Service. 

(a) Subject to the provisions of 

§ 731.103, when an agency finds an 

applicant or appointee unsuitable based 

upon reasons listed in § 731.202, the 

agency may, for a period of not more 

than 3 years from the date of the 

unfavorable suitability determination, 

deny that individual examination for, 

and appointment to, either all, or 

specific competitive service positions 

and career appointment to all, or 

specific Senior Executive Service 

positions within that agency. 

(b) The agency may impose an 

additional period of debarment 

following the expiration of a period of 

OPM or agency debarment, but only 

after the individual again becomes an 

applicant or appointee subject to the 

agency’s suitability jurisdiction, and his 

or her suitability is determined in 

accordance with the procedures of this 

part. An additional debarment period 

may be based in whole or in part on the 

same conduct on which the previous 

suitability action was based, when 

warranted, or new conduct. 

(c) The agency, in its sole discretion, 

determines the duration of any period of 

debarment imposed under this section. 

(d) The agency is responsible for 

enforcing the period of debarment and 

taking appropriate action if an 

individual applies for a position at that 

agency during the debarment period or 

is examined for or appointed to a 

position at that agency during the 

debarment period. This responsibility 

does not limit OPM’s authority to 

exercise jurisdiction itself and take any 

action OPM deems appropriate. 

§ 731.206 Reporting requirements for 

investigations and suitability and fitness 

determinations. 

An agency must report to the Central 

Verification System or its successor the 

level or nature, result, and completion 

date of each background investigation, 

reinvestigation, or enrollment in 

Continuous Vetting; each agency 

decision based on such investigation, 

reinvestigation, or Continuous Vetting; 

and any personnel action taken based 

on such investigation or reinvestigation, 

as required in supplemental guidance. 

■ 9. Revise the heading of subpart C to 

read as follows: 

Subpart C—OPM Suitability Action 

Procedures for the Competitive 

Service or Senior Executive Service 

■ 10. Amend § 731.302 by revising 

paragraph (c) to read as follows: 

§ 731.302 Notice of proposed action. 

* * * * * 

(c) OPM will serve the notice of 

proposed action upon the respondent by 

mail, secure email, or hand delivery no 

less than 30 days prior to the effective 

date of the proposed action to the 

respondent’s last known residence or 

duty station. 

* * * * * 

■ 11. Revise the heading of subpart D to 

read as follows: 

Subpart D—Agency Suitability Action 

Procedures for the Competitive 

Service or Career Senior Executive 

Service 

■ 12. Amend § 731.402 by revising 

paragraph (c) to read as follows: 

§ 731.402 Notice of proposed action. 

* * * * * 

(c) The agency must serve the notice 

of proposed action upon the respondent 

by mail, secure email, or hand delivery 

no less than 30 days prior to the 

effective date of the proposed action to 

the respondent’s last known residence 

or duty station. 

* * * * * 

■ 13. Revise the heading of subpart E to 

read as follows: 

Subpart E—Appeal to the Merit 

Systems Protection Board of 

Suitability actions in cases involving 

the Competitive Service or Career 

Senior Executive Service 

Subpart F—[Removed] 

■ 14. Remove subpart F, consisting of 

§ 731.601. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29799 Filed 12–17–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–66–P 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

5 CFR Part 950 

Combined Federal Campaign: 

Authorization of Short-Term 

Regulatory Variation 

AGENCY: Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Notification. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) is providing notice 

that the Acting Director is authorizing a 

variation from the regulatory public 

accountability standards to relieve 

practical difficulties and unnecessary 

hardships in complying with the strict 

letter of the regulation. The Acting 

Director has found that such a variation 

is within the spirit of the regulations 

and will ensure the achievement of 

campaign objectives. Specifically, for an 

18-month period, OPM is modifying 

certain revenue thresholds for the 

various public accountability standards 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 102697 

for charities participating in the 

Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). 

DATES: The authorization of short-term 

regulatory variation standards are 

effective on December 18, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Keith Willingham, Director, Office of 

the CFC, keith.willingham@opm.gov, 

202–606–2564. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CFC 

is the world’s largest and most 

successful annual workplace charity 

campaign, with 35 CFC campaign zones 

throughout the country and overseas 

and raising millions of dollars each 

year. Pledges made by Federal civilian, 

retiree, postal, and military donors 

during the campaign season support 

non-profit organizations that meet CFC 

regulations and provide health and 

human welfare benefits throughout the 

world. 

To provide public accountability, 

OPM generally requires participating 

charities to undergo a third-party audit 

of their finances. In a 1995 rulemaking, 

OPM exempted local charities from the 

audit requirement if they had annual 

revenue of less than $100,000. In 2014, 

OPM eliminated the distinction between 

‘‘local’’ and ‘‘national’’ charities and 

expanded the exemption to all charities 

with revenue of less than $100,000. See 

5 CFR 950.203(a)(2)(i). In that 

rulemaking, OPM also added a second 

tier, allowing charities with revenue of 

$100,000 to under $250,000 to 

participate without an audit but with a 

review by an independent certified 

public accountant instead. See 5 CFR 

950.203(a)(2)(ii). 

Participation by charities in the CFC 

dropped precipitously over the last 

decade, however. Charities have 

explained that the audit requirement 

serves as a barrier to participation. 

Revenue reported by charities has 

increased, and more than 75 percent of 

charities now exceed the current audit 

threshold of $250,000 in reported 

revenue. At the same time, costs of 

audits have risen dramatically and now 

often exceed the value of donations 

collected through the CFC. Audit 

services can now range from $15,000– 

$30,000. Accordingly, a charity cannot 

justify the expense of the audit, which 

yield a net loss to the charity. 

The mission of the CFC is to promote 

and support philanthropy through a 

program that is employee-focused, costefficient, and effective in providing all 

Federal employees the opportunity to 

donate. The CFC provides employees 

with an easy way to contribute to their 

charities of choice; so, when employees 

no longer find their favorite charity on 

the CFC list, they may not give as much 

or as often. Therefore, to attract more 

donors to the CFC and to retain and 

attract a more diverse group of charities, 

OPM is adjusting the audit requirements 

in an 18-month pilot program. 

OPM’s CFC regulations authorize the 

Director of OPM to ‘‘waive any of these 

[public accountability] standards and 

certifications upon a showing of 

extenuating circumstances.’’ 5 CFR 

950.203(e). In addition, the Director may 

‘‘exercise general supervision over all 

operations of the CFC and take all 

necessary steps to ensure the 

achievement of campaign objectives.’’ 5 

CFR 950.102(c). Recognizing that the 

financial thresholds have not been 

adjusted in over ten years (and that the 

$100,000 threshold is almost 20 years 

old), OPM finds that immediate steps 

are warranted to facilitate participation 

by charities in the CFC. 

Based on the feedback OPM has 

received from charities, the Acting 

Director has found that the current 

financial thresholds present extenuating 

circumstances that impair the 

achievement of campaign objectives as 

the thresholds have not been adjusted 

for inflation in over 10 years. 

Furthermore, the thresholds are 

inconsistent with the standards applied 

by other areas of the government. For 

example, the Office of Management and 

Budget currently requires audits for 

organizations that expend $750,000 or 

more in Federal funds. See 2 CFR part 

200, subpart F. Similarly, many similar 

state programs have raised their audit 

thresholds to $1,000,000. Because the 

existing regulatory thresholds are 

having a negative impact on the 

effectiveness of the CFC and revised 

thresholds would provide some 

necessary financial relief, the Acting 

Director finds that a limited waiver is 

appropriate. Specifically, waiving the 

audit requirement for charities with 

annual revenue of $1 million or less, 

and waiving the requirement for an 

independent review of financial 

statements for charities with annual 

revenue above $1 million but that 

receive less than $750,000 in CFC 

pledges will help address the 

extenuating circumstances of the 

increased revenues received by charities 

combined with the increased costs of 

financial auditing and review services 

without commensurate inflationary 

adjustments to the regulatory 

thresholds. 

Accordingly, OPM provides notice 

that, for the 18-month period after 

December 18, 2024, OPM will waive the 

regulatory thresholds for audits and/or 

reviews of financial statements for 

organizations with annual reported 

revenue of $1,000,000 or less on its IRS 

Form 990 or pro forma IRS Form 990 

and will waive the regulatory thresholds 

for audits of financial statements for 

organizations with annual reported 

revenue above $1,000,000 and with less 

than $750,000 coming from CFC. Details 

are available at https://

cfccharities.opm.gov/app/#!/home. 

All other organizations (e.g., an 

organization with annual reported 

revenue above $1,000,000 and with 

$750,000 or more coming from CFC) 

continue to be required to undergo an 

annual financial statement audit for CFC 

purposes. The organization must 

account for its funds based on generally 

accepted accounting principles. A copy 

of the audited financial statements and 

auditors report must be included with 

the application. See 5 CFR 

950.203(a)(2)). 

Next Steps 

OPM plans to update its regulations 

governing the CFC (RIN 3206–AO66). 

OPM will assess the effectiveness of this 

waiver in terms of encouraging charity 

participation in CFC and whether there 

is a resultant increase in employee 

participation. OPM will also assess the 

extent to which these pilot programs 

affect the number of charities 

participating in CFC and which 

charities meet these proposed 

thresholds. OPM charity application 

reviewers at the local national, and 

international levels will study the audits 

and financial reviews submitted with 

applications to ensure that these 

thresholds are providing appropriate 

levels of accountability. 

Office of Personnel Management. 

Kayyonne Marston, 

Federal Register Liaison. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29992 Filed 12–17–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–58–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

13 CFR Part 120 

RIN 3245–AI21 

ALP Express Pilot to Permanent Status 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business 

Administration (‘‘SBA’’ or Agency) is 

making permanent the increased 

delegated authorities made available 

under the ALP Express Pilot for 

Certified Development Companies 

(‘‘CDCs’’) approved for the Accredited 

Lenders Program (‘‘ALP’’). These 

increased delegated authorities for 504 


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