Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 183 / Friday, September 24, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 52955 

State and local officials. (See 2 CFR 

chapter IV.) 

Executive Order 12988 

This final rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts 

all State and local laws and regulations 

that are in conflict with this rule; (2) has 

no retroactive effect; and (3) does not 

require administrative proceedings 

before parties may file suit in court 

challenging this rule. 

Congressional Review Act 

Pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs 

designated this rule as not a major rule, 

as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This final rule contains no new 

information collection or recordkeeping 

requirements under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.) and will reduce those currently 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget under control number 0579– 

0065. 

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 149 

Animal diseases, Laboratories, Meat 

and meat products, Meat inspection, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Swine. 

PART 149—[REMOVED] 

■ Accordingly, for the reasons stated in 

the preamble, and under the authority of 

7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq., the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service is 

amending 9 CFR chapter I by removing 

part 149. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 10th day of 

September 2021. 

Jack Shere, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–20634 Filed 9–23–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

13 CFR Parts 107, 120, 142, and 146 

RIN 3245–AH57 

Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation 

Adjustments 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Small Business 

Administration (SBA) is amending its 

regulations to adjust for inflation the 

amount of certain civil monetary 

penalties that are within the jurisdiction 

of the agency. These adjustments 

comply with the requirement in the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by 

the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015, to make annual adjustments to the 

penalties. 

DATES: This rule is effective September 

24, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Arlene Embrey, 202–567–1164 or at 

arlene.embrey@sba.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On November 2, 2015, the Federal 

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 

Improvements Act of 2015 (the 2015 

Inflation Adjustment Act), Public Law 

114–74, 129 Stat. 584, was enacted. This 

act amended the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, Public 

Law 101–410, 104 Stat. 890 (the 1990 

Inflation Adjustment Act), to improve 

the effectiveness of civil monetary 

penalties and to maintain their deterrent 

effect. The 2015 Inflation Adjustment 

Act required agencies to issue a final 

rule by August 1, 2016, to adjust the 

level of civil monetary penalties with an 

initial ‘‘catch-up’’ adjustment and to 

annually adjust these monetary 

penalties for inflation by January 15 of 

each subsequent year. 

Based on the definition of a ‘‘civil 

monetary penalty’’ in the 1990 Inflation 

Adjustment Act, agencies are to make 

adjustments only to the civil penalties 

that (i) are for a specific monetary 

amount as provided by Federal law or 

have a maximum amount provided for 

by Federal law; (ii) are assessed or 

enforced by an agency; and (iii) are 

enforced or assessed in an 

administrative proceeding or a civil 

action in the Federal courts. Therefore, 

penalties that are stated as a percentage 

of an indeterminate amount or as a 

function of a violation (penalties that 

encompass actual damages incurred) are 

not to be adjusted. 

SBA published in the Federal 

Register an interim final rule with its 

initial adjustments to the civil monetary 

penalties, including an initial ‘‘catchup’’ adjustment, on May 19, 2016, (81 

FR 31489) with an effective date of 

August 1, 2016. SBA published its first 

annual adjustments to the monetary 

penalties on February 9, 2017 (82 FR 

9967), with an immediate effective date. 

SBA published its subsequent annual 

adjustments for 2018 on February 21, 

2018 (83 FR 7361), for 2019 on April 1, 

2019 (84 FR 12059), and for 2020 on 

March 10, 2020 (85 FR 13725), all with 

immediate effective dates. This rule will 

establish the adjusted penalty amounts 

for 2021 with an immediate effective 

date upon publication. 

On December 23, 2020, the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

published its annual guidance 

memorandum for 2021 civil monetary 

penalties inflation adjustments (M–21– 

10, Implementation of Penalty Inflation 

Adjustments for 2021, Pursuant to the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015). The memorandum provides the 

formula for calculating the annual 

adjustments based on the Consumer 

Price Index for all Urban Consumers 

(CPI–U) for the month of October 

preceding the adjustment, and 

specifically on the change between the 

October CPI–U preceding the date of 

adjustment and the prior year’s CPI–U. 

Based on this methodology, the 2021 

civil monetary penalty inflation 

adjustment factor is 1.01182 (October 

2020 CPI–U (260.388)/October 2019 

CPI–U (257.346). The annual adjustment 

amounts identified in this rule were 

obtained by applying this multiplier of 

1.01182 to those penalty amounts that 

were published in SBA’s 2020 

adjustments to civil monetary penalties 

at 85 FR 13725 (March 10, 2020) and to 

the civil monetary penalty found at 13 

CFR 120.1500(b)(2), first published 

March 16, 2020, at 85 FR 14783. 

II. Civil Money Penalties Adjusted by 

This Rule 

This rule adjusts civil monetary 

penalties authorized by the Small 

Business Act, the Small Business 

Investment Act of 1958 (SBIAct), the 

Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act, and 

the Byrd Amendment to the Federal 

Regulation of Lobbying Act. These 

penalties and the implementing 

regulations are discussed below. 

1. 13 CFR 107.665—Civil Penalties. 

SBA licenses, regulates, and provides 

financial assistance to financial entities 

called small business investment 

companies (SBICs). Pursuant to section 

315 of the SBIAct, 15 U.S.C. 687g, SBA 

may impose a penalty on any SBIC for 

each day that it fails to comply with 

SBA’s regulations or directives 

governing the filing of regular or special 

reports. The penalty for non-compliance 

is incorporated in § 107.665 of the SBIC 

program regulations. 

This rule amends § 107.665 to adjust 

the current civil penalty from $271 to 

$274 per day of failure to file. The 

current civil penalty of $271 was 

multiplied by the multiplier of 1.01182 

to reach a product of $274, rounded to 

the nearest dollar. 

52956 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 183 / Friday, September 24, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

2. 13 CFR 120.465—Civil penalty for 

late submission of required reports. 

According to the regulations at 

§ 120.465, any SBA Supervised Lender, 

as defined in 13 CFR 120.10, that 

violates a regulation or written directive 

issued by the SBA Administrator 

regarding the filing of any regular or 

special report is subject to the civil 

penalty amount stated in § 120.465(b) 

for each day the company fails to file 

the report, unless the SBA Supervised 

Lender can show that there is 

reasonable cause for its failure to file. 

This penalty is authorized by section 

23(j)(1) of the Small Business Act, 15 

U.S.C. 650(j)(1). 

This rule amends § 120.465(b) to 

adjust the current civil penalty from 

$6,740 to $6,820 per day of failure to 

file. The current civil penalty of $6,740 

was multiplied by the multiplier of 

1.01182 to reach a product of $6,820, 

rounded to the nearest dollar. 

3. 13 CFR 120.1500—Types of Formal 

Enforcement Actions—SBA Lenders. 

According to the regulations at 

§ 120.1500(b), SBA may assess a civil 

monetary penalty against a 7(a) Lender. 

In determining whether to assess a civil 

monetary penalty and, if so, in what 

amount, SBA may consider: the gravity 

(e.g., severity and frequency) of the 

violation; the history of previous 

violations; the financial resources and 

good faith of the 7(a) Lender; and any 

other matters as justice may require. 

This penalty is authorized by the Small 

Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 657t(e)(2)(B). 

This rule amends § 120.1500(b)(2) to 

adjust the current civil penalty from 

$250,000 to $252,955. The current civil 

penalty of $250,000 was multiplied by 

the multiplier of 1.01182 to reach a 

product of $252,955. 

4. 13 CFR 142.1—Overview of 

Regulations. 

SBA has promulgated regulations at 

13 CFR part 142 to implement the civil 

penalties authorized by the Program 

Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986 

(PFCRA), 31 U.S.C. 3801–3812. Under 

the current regulation at 13 CFR 

142.1(b), a person who submits, or 

causes to be submitted, a false claim or 

a false statement to SBA is subject to a 

civil penalty of not more than $11,665, 

for each statement or claim. 

This rule amends § 142.1(b) to adjust 

the current civil penalty from $11,665 to 

$11,803. The adjusted civil penalty 

amount was calculated by multiplying 

the current civil penalty of $11,665 by 

the multiplier of 1.01182 to reach a 

product of $11,803, rounded to the 

nearest dollar. 

5. 13 CFR 146.400—Penalties. 

SBA’s regulations at 13 CFR part 146 

govern lobbying activities by recipients 

of federal financial assistance. These 

regulations implement the authority in 

31 U.S.C. 1352 and impose penalties on 

any recipient that fails to comply with 

certain requirements in the part. 

Specifically, under § 146.400(a) and (b), 

penalties may be imposed on those who 

make prohibited expenditures or fail to 

file the required disclosure forms or to 

amend such forms, if necessary. 

This rule amends § 146.400(a) and (b) 

to adjust the current civil penalty 

amounts to ‘‘not less than $20,731 and 

not more than $207,314.’’ The current 

civil penalty amounts of $20,489 and 

$204,892 were multiplied by the 

multiplier of 1.01182 to reach a product 

of $20,731 and $207,314, respectively, 

rounded to the nearest dollar. 

This rule also amends § 146.400(e) to 

adjust the civil penalty that may be 

imposed for a first-time violation of 

§ 146.400(a) and (b) to $20,731 and to 

adjust the civil penalty that may be 

imposed for second and subsequent 

offenses to ‘‘not less than $20,731 and 

not more than $207,314.’’ The current 

civil penalty amounts of $20,489 and 

$204,892 were multiplied by the 

multiplier of 1.01182 to reach a product 

of $20,731 and $207,314 respectively, 

rounded to the nearest dollar. 

Compliance With Executive Orders 

12866, 12988, 13132, and the 

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 

553), the Congressional Review Act (5 

U.S.C. 801–808), the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Ch. 35) and 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 

601–612). 

Executive Order 12866 

The Office of Management and Budget 

determined that this final rule is not a 

significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866. 

Executive Order 12988 

This action meets applicable 

standards set forth in sections 3(a) and 

3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform, to minimize litigation, 

eliminate ambiguity, and reduce 

burden. The action does not have 

retroactive or preemptive effect. 

Executive Order 13132 

For the purpose of Executive Order 

13132, SBA determined that the rule 

will not have substantial direct effects 

on the States, on the relationship 

between the National Government and 

the States, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities among the 

various levels of government. Therefore, 

this final rule has no federalism 

implications warranting preparation of a 

federalism assessment. 

The Administrative Procedure Act 

(APA) 

The APA requires agencies generally 

to provide notice and an opportunity for 

public comment before adopting a rule 

unless the agency for good cause finds 

that notice and comment are 

impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary 

to the public interest. 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 

The APA also requires agencies to allow 

at least 30-days after publication for a 

final rule to become effective ‘‘except as 

otherwise provided by the agency for 

good cause found and published with 

the rule.’’ (5 U.S.C. 553(d). For the 

following reasons prior public notice, an 

opportunity for public comment, and a 

delayed effective date are not required 

for this rule. The 2015 Inflation 

Adjustment Act directs agencies to 

adjust their civil penalties annually 

notwithstanding section 553 of the APA. 

28 U.S.C. 2461 note, sec. 4(b)(2). This 

exemption from the notice and 

comment, and delayed effective date 

requirements of the APA, in effect 

provides SBA with the good cause 

justification to promulgate this as a final 

rule that will become effective 

immediately on the date it is published 

in the Federal Register. Additionally, 

the 2015 Inflation Adjustment Act 

provides a non-discretionary cost-ofliving formula for making the annual 

adjustment to the civil monetary 

penalties; SBA merely performs the 

ministerial task of calculating the 

amount of the adjustments. Therefore, 

even without the statutory exemption 

from the APA, notice and comment 

would be unnecessary. 

The Congressional Review Act (CRA) 

The Office of Management and Budget 

determined that this rule is not a major 

rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

SBA has determined that this rule 

does not impose additional reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

requires agencies to consider the effect 

of their regulatory actions on small 

entities, including small non-profit 

businesses, and small local 

governments. Pursuant to the RFA, 

when an agency issues a rule, the 

agency must prepare an analysis that 

describes whether the impact of the rule 

will have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of such small 

entities. However, the RFA requires 

such analysis only where notice and 

comment rulemaking are required. As 

stated above, SBA has express statutory 

authority to issue this rule without 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 183 / Friday, September 24, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 52957 

regard to the notice and comment 

requirement of the APA. Since notice 

and comment is not required before this 

rule is issued, SBA is not required to 

prepare a regulatory analysis. 

List of Subjects 

13 CFR Part 107 

Investment companies, Loan 

programs-business, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Small 

businesses. 

13 CFR Part 120 

Loan programs-business, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, Small 

businesses. 

13 CFR Part 142 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Claims, Fraud, Penalties. 

13 CFR Part 146 

Government contracts, Grant 

programs, Loan programs, Lobbying, 

Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, SBA amends 13 CFR parts 

107, 120, 142, and 146 as follows: 

PART 107—SMALL BUSINESS 

INVESTMENT COMPANIES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 107 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 681, 683, 687(c), 

687b, 687d, 687g, 687m. 

§ 107.665 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 107.665, remove ‘‘$271’’ and 

add in its place ‘‘$274’’. 

PART 120—BUSINESS LOANS 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 120 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 634(b)(6), (b)(7), 

(b)(14), (h), and note, 636(a), (h), and (m), 

636m, 650, 687(f), 696(3), 697, 697a, and 

697e; Public Law 111–5, 123 Stat. 115; Public 

Law 111–240, 124 Stat. 2504; Public Law 

116–260, 134 Stat. 1182. 

§ 120.465 [Amended] 

■ 4. In § 120.465, amend paragraph (b) 

by removing ‘‘$6,740’’ and adding in its 

place ‘‘$6,820’’. 

§ 120.1500 [Amended] 

■ 5. In § 120.1500, amend paragraph 

(b)(2) by removing ‘‘$250,000’’ and 

adding in its place ‘‘$252,955’’. 

PART 142—PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL 

REMEDIES ACT REGULATIONS 

■ 6. The authority citation for part 142 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 634(b); 31 U.S.C. 

3803(g)(2). 

§ 142.1 [Amended] 

■ 7. In § 142.1, amend paragraph (b) by 

removing ‘‘$11,665’’ and adding in its 

place ‘‘$11,803’’. 

PART 146—NEW RESTRICTIONS ON 

LOBBYING 

■ 8. The authority citation for part 146 

is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 31 U.S.C. 1352 and 15 U.S.C. 

634(b)(6). 

§ 146.400 [Amended] 

■ 9. Amend § 146.400 by removing 

‘‘$20,489’’ wherever it appears and 

adding in its place ‘‘$20,731’’ and by 

removing ‘‘$204,892’’ wherever it 

appears and adding in its place 

‘‘$207,314’’. 

Isabella Casillas Guzman, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2021–20602 Filed 9–23–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8026–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Economic Development Administration 

13 CFR Part 300 

[Docket No.: 210916–0191] 

RIN 0610–AA82 

Permitting Additional Eligible Tribal 

Entities 

AGENCY: Economic Development 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: Through this final rule, the 

Economic Development Administration 

(EDA), U.S. Department of Commerce, 

expands the definition of Tribal entities 

eligible to receive grants under the 

Public Works and Economic 

Development Act of 1965 (PWEDA) to 

include for-profit Tribal corporations so 

long as they are wholly owned by, and 

established exclusively for the benefit 

of, a Tribe. 

DATES: This rule is effective September 

24, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mara Quintero Campbell, Senior 

Advisor, email: MCampbell@eda.gov, 

telephone: (202) 603–9960, or Jeffrey 

Roberson, Chief Counsel, email: 

JRoberson@eda.gov, telephone: (202) 

482–1315, Economic Development 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW, Suite 72023, Washington, DC 

20230. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

History of EDA’s Definition of Eligible 

Tribal Entities 

When Congress created EDA in 1965, 

it recognized the unique economic 

needs of American Indian Nations (AINs 

or Tribes) and carved out a special 

provision within PWEDA that 

authorized Indian Tribes to be eligible 

for a 100% grant rate, across all of 

EDA’s PWEDA programs. 42 U.S.C. 

3144(c)(1). No other category of eligible 

entity is provided such broad flexibility 

with regard to grant rate under PWEDA. 

PWEDA defines ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ as any 

Indian tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or 

other organized group or community, 

including any Alaska Native village or 

Regional Corporation (as defined in or 

established under the Alaska Native 

Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 

et seq.)), that is recognized as eligible for 

the special programs and services 

provided by the United States to Indians 

because of their status as Indians. 42 

U.S.C. 3122(7). 

EDA has long recognized that AINs 

have diverse organizational, governance, 

and operating structures. In deference to 

the special government-to-government 

relationship that exists between the U.S. 

Government and AINs and recognizing 

their sovereign interest in determining 

their own organizational arrangements, 

EDA has historically interpreted the 

term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ broadly to include 

a range of Tribally controlled entities in 

addition to the AIN’s primary governing 

body. EDA’s regulations, codified at 13 

CFR 300.3, therefore provide that the 

term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ includes the 

governing body of an Indian Tribe, nonprofit Indian corporation (restricted to 

Indians), Indian authority, or other nonprofit Indian tribal organization or 

entity; provided that the Indian tribal 

organization or entity is wholly owned 

by, and established for the benefit of, 

the Indian Tribe or Alaska Native 

Village. 

For over 45 years, EDA’s regulations 

have limited the types of organizations 

included within the term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

to non-profit Tribal organizations. The 

word non-profit first appeared in EDA’s 

regulations in 1973 to condition the 

term ‘‘corporation.’’ In 1999, EDA 

further modified the definition and 

added a second use of ‘‘non-profit’’ to