This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

23197

Vol. 66, No. 89

Tuesday, May 8, 2001

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 600

RIN 1991–AB57

Grants and Agreements With For-Profit

Organizations

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of inquiry and

opportunity for public comment.

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy

(the ‘‘Department’’ or ‘‘DOE’’) is seeking

comments on whether to initiate a

rulemaking that prescribes

administrative requirements for

financial assistance awards tailored

specifically to for-profit organizations.

DOE is also requesting comments on the

specific changes proposed in the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

Comments received in response to this

document should contain no proprietary

or confidential business information.

DATES: Written comments must be

received by July 9, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments (3 copies) should

be addressed to: Trudy Wood, U.S.

Department of Energy, Office of

Procurement and Assistance

Management, MA–51, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20585.

If possible a copy should also be Emailed to fanotice@pr.doe.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Trudy Wood, Office of Procurement and

Assistance Policy, Department of

Energy, at (202) 586–5625.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Currently, DOE is engaged in the

Government-wide effort to streamline

and simplify the application,

administrative, and reporting

procedures for Federal financial

assistance programs pursuant to Public

Law 106–107, the Federal Financial

Assistance Management Improvement

Act of 1999 (henceforth ‘‘the Act’’). As

part of its initiative to consult with nonFederal entities, the Department

solicited comments and suggestions

from the grant community. In response,

DOE received comments from for-profit

organizations relating to issues that

were unique to DOE and that were not

being addressed in the Governmentwide effort to implement the Act.

Therefore, DOE is considering creating a

new subpart to 10 CFR part 600 that

contains administrative requirements

for grants and cooperative agreements

that are tailored to for-profit

organizations with the goal of

eliminating barriers which prevent these

organizations from participating in the

Department’s financial assistance

programs.

II. Current Regulations

The DOE assistance regulations are

contained in 10 CFR part 600. As a

matter of discretion, these regulations

provide that the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) administrative

requirements for grants and cooperative

agreements with institutions of higher

education, hospitals, and other nonprofit organizations also apply to forprofit organizations.

III. Rulemaking Under Consideration

DOE is considering initiating a

rulemaking that provides administrative

requirements for grants and cooperative

agreements that are specifically tailored

to for-profit organizations. The changes

under consideration would: (1)

eliminate unnecessary requirements;

and (2) maximize the effectiveness with

which the Department’s financial

assistance programs support the

accomplishment of their purposes,

consistent with good stewardship of

public funds and statutory

requirements.

IV. Proposed Changes

DOE is considering the following

major changes to 10 CFR part 600:

1. Create a new subpart that provides

administrative requirements for grants

and cooperative agreements that are

specifically tailored to for-profit

organizations, similar to the Department

of Defense Grant and Agreement

Regulations, 32 CFR part 34,

Administrative Requirements for Grants

and Agreements with For-Profit

Organizations. Among other things, the

new subpart would allow DOE to apply

less restrictive requirements to small

awards and to awards made pursuant to

the Small Business Innovation Research

or Small Business Technology Transfer

Research programs.

2. Eliminate the requirement for

incorporation of the following

intellectual property clauses in awards

with for-profit organizations:

a. FAR 52.227–1 Authorization and

Consent

b. FAR 52.227.2 Notice and Assistance

Regarding Patent and Copyright Infringement

c. FAR 52.227–3 Patent Indemnity

d. FAR 52.227–23 Rights in Proposal Data

3. Revise the Rights in Data and

Patent Rights Provisions for financial

assistance awards with large for-profit

organizations. The new provisions

would incorporate the following

changes:

a. Eliminate DOE’s routine use of

clauses that grant to DOE the right to

require recipients, under certain

circumstances, to license background

data and patents to third parties, to

assure commercialization (see DEAR

952.227–13(k) and 952.227–14). DOE

would require such third party licensing

rights only when it is necessary to

satisfy the needs of the program; and

b. Eliminate the requirement that the

recipient obtain the Contracting

Officer’s approval prior to copyrighting

computer software developed under the

assistance award.

4. Simplify the advanced patent

waiver petition process by making

advanced waiver approval automatic if

the awardee agrees to the conditions

specified in the solicitation. This

simplified process would eliminate the

detailed 20 question waiver petition.

The conditions specified in the

solicitation would include:

a. Providing a one paragraph

summary of a business plan for

commercializing the technology;

b. Non-Federal cost sharing of at least

20 percent to establish a corporate

commitment to commercializing the

technology;

c. Agreement to statutory

requirements attaching to the subject

inventions, such as subject invention

disclosure to DOE, Government purpose

license rights, march-in rights, and a

preference for United States industries;

and

d. A U.S. competitiveness

requirement dealing with substantial

manufacturing in the U.S.

5. Simplify the financial and program

management requirements by:

a. Encouraging recipients to use

existing financial management systems

23198 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 8, 2001 / Proposed Rules

1 12 U.S.C. 1815(d).

2 12 CFR 543.14 (2000).

3See 12 CFR 552.13(l) (2000).

established for conducting business in

the commercial marketplace to the

extent that the systems comply with

Generally Accepted Accounting

Practices (GAAP) and certain minimum

standards (i.e., effective control of

funds, accurate records that document

the source and application of the

Federal funds and the recipient’s

required cost share, and a system to

support charges to Federal awards for

salaries and wages);

b. Establishing a preference for the

reimbursement method of payment; and

c. Requiring recipients that expend

$300,000 or more in a year under

Federal awards to have an audit for that

year by an independent auditor. The

audit generally would be made a part of

the regularly scheduled, annual audit of

the recipient’s financial statements.

6. Clarify and simplify the property

standards. The revised property

standards would encourage recipients to

use existing property management

systems to the extent that the systems

meet certain minimum requirements.

7. Significantly reduce requirements

imposed on recipient procurement

activities in favor of best commercial

practices. DOE is considering

establishing minimum procurement

requirements, such as:

a. Requiring recipients’ procurement

procedures to use effective competition

techniques or other means that ensure

reasonable cost for procured goods and

services;

b. Requiring pre-award review of

procurements only when the contracting

officer judges that there is a compelling

need to do so and then only if a

provision in the award states the

requirement; and

c. Encourage the use of best

commercial practices in the

procurement of commercial items.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on April 30,

2001.

Richard H. Hopf,

Acting Director, Office of Management and

Administration, U.S. Department of Energy.

[FR Doc. 01–11519 Filed 5–7–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Thrift Supervision

12 CFR Part 552

[No. 2001–35]

RIN 1550–AB46

Conversion From Stock Form

Depository Institution to Federal Stock

Association

AGENCY: Office of Thrift Supervision,

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Office of Thrift

Supervision (OTS) is proposing to

amend its regulation on conversions

from stock form depository institutions

to federal stock savings associations.

This proposed rule would clarify that

the resulting federal stock savings

association in such transactions

succeeds to all the rights, property, and

obligations of the converting institution.

This amendment merely codifies OTS’s

interpretation of its existing regulation.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before June 7, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Mail: Send comments to

Regulation Comments, Chief Counsel’s

Office, Office of Thrift Supervision,

1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC

20552, Attention Docket No. 2001–35.

Delivery: Hand deliver comments to

the Guard’s Desk, East Lobby Entrance,

1700 G Street, NW., from 9:00 a.m. to

4:00 p.m. on business days, Attention

Regulation Comments, Chief Counsel’s

Office, Docket No. 2001–35.

Facsimiles: Send facsimile

transmissions to FAX Number (202)

906–6518, Attention Docket No. 2001–

35.

E–Mail: Send e-mails to

regs.comments@ots.treas.gov, Attention

Docket No. 2001–35, and include your

name and telephone number.

Public Inspection: Comments and the

related index will be posted on the OTS

Internet Site at www.ots.treas.gov. In

addition, you may inspect comments at

the Public Reading Room, 1700 G St.

N.W., by appointment. To make an

appointment for access, call (202) 906–

5922, send an e-mail to

public.info@ots.treas.gov, or send a

facsimile transmission to (202) 906–

7755. (Prior notice identifying the

materials you will be requesting will

assist us in serving you.) Appointments

will be scheduled on business days

between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. In

most cases, appointments will be

available the next business day

following the date a request is received.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Aaron B. Kahn, (202) 906–6263, Special

Counsel, or Kevin A. Corcoran, (202)

906–6962, Assistant Chief Counsel,

Business Transactions Division, Chief

Counsel’s Office, Office of Thrift

Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW,

Washington DC 20552.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

OTS regulations at 12 CFR 552.2–6

provides that, with OTS approval, any

stock depository institution that is, or is

eligible to become, a member of a

Federal Home Loan Bank may convert

to a federal stock savings association if

the converting institution has deposits

insured by the Federal Deposit

Insurance Corporation (FDIC) at the

time of conversion, and complies with

all applicable statutes and regulations,

including section 5(d) of the Federal

Deposit Insurance Act.1 This regulation

does not explicitly address the

succession of the federal association

resulting from such a conversion to the

rights, obligations and property of the

converting institution. However, as a

matter of practice OTS treats federal

stock associations that have resulted

from direct conversions pursuant to 12

CFR 552.2–6 as the corporate successors

of the converting institutions.

OTS regulations addressing similar

transactions explicitly provide that the

resulting federal association succeeds to

the rights, obligations, and property of

a converted or disappearing entity. This

is true, for example, for conversions of

mutual depository institutions to federal

mutual savings associations 2 and the

merger or consolidation of stock

institutions that result in a federal stock

association.3

To clarify the legal consequences of

direct conversions under 12 CFR 552.2–

6, OTS is proposing to amend that

regulation to provide explicitly that a

converted federal stock association

succeeds to all the rights, obligations

and property of its corporate

predecessor.

This action will not change the

existing treatment accorded federal

stock associations that have converted

from a stock depository institution.

Rather, the amendment merely codifies

the agency’s existing interpretation of its

regulation. The text of the amendment

has been derived from a comparable

provision pertaining to the merger and

consolidation of federal stock

associations that appears at 12 CFR

552.13(l).