Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 8553

family attendance at such gathering is a

condition of program participation and

failure to attend will be grounds for

possible termination of their continued

or future program participation; and

(4) Require that the organization’s

local counselor responsible for the au

pair placement contacts the host family

and au pair within forty-eight hours of

the au pair’s arrival and meets, in

person, with the host family and au pair

within two weeks of the au pair’s arrival

at the host family’ home.

(j) Stipend and hours. Sponsors shall

require that au pair participants:

(1) Are compensated at a rate of not

less than $115.00 per week;

(2) Do not provide more than a

reasonable number of hours of child

care on any given day;

(3) Receive a minimum of one and a

half days off per week in addition to one

complete weekend off each month; and

(4) Receive two weeks of paid

vacation.

(k) Educational component. Sponsors

shall require that during the period of

program participation, all au pair

participants are enrolled in an

accredited post-secondary institution for

not less than six hours of academic

credit or its equivalent. As a condition

of program participation, host family

participants must agree to facilitate the

enrollment and attendance of the au

pair and to pay the cost of such

academic course work in an amount not

to exceed $500.

(l) Monitoring. Sponsors shall fully

monitor all au pair exchanges, and at a

minimum shall:

(1) Require monthly personal contact

by the local counselor with each au pair

and host family for which the counselor

is responsible. Counselors shall

maintain a record of this contact;

(2) Require quarterly contact by the

regional counselor with each au pair

and host family for which the counselor

is responsible. Counselors shall

maintain a record of this contact;

(3) Require that all local and regional

counselors are appraised of their

obligation to report unusual or serious

situations or incidents involving either

the au pair or host family; and

(4) Promptly report to the Agency any

incidents involving or alleging a crime

of moral turpitude or violence.

(m) Reporting requirements. Along

with the annual report required by

regulations set forth at § 514.17,

sponsors shall file with the Agency the

following information:

(1) A summation of the results of an

annual survey of all host family and au

pair participants regarding satisfaction

with the program, its strengths and

weaknesses;

(2) A summation of all complaints

regarding host family or au pair

participation in the program, specifying

the nature of the complaint, its

resolution, and whether any unresolved

complaints are outstanding;

(3) A summation of all situations

which resulted in the placement of an

au pair participant with more than one

host family;

(4) A report by a certified public

accountant attesting to the sponsor’s

compliance with the procedures and

reporting requirements set forth in this

subpart;

(5) A report detailing the name of the

au pair, his or her host family

placement, location, and the names of

the local and regional organizational

representatives; and

(6) A complete set of all promotional

materials, brochures, or pamphlets

distributed to either host family or au

pair participants.

(n) Sanctions. In addition to the

sanctions provisions set forth at

§ 514.50, the Agency may undertake

immediate program revocation

procedures upon documented evidence

that a sponsor has failed to:

(1) Comply with the au pair

placement requirements set forth in

paragraph (e) of this section;

(2) Satisfy the selection requirements

for each individual au pair as set forth

in paragraph (d) of this section; and

(3) Enforce and monitor host family’s

compliance with the stipend and hours

requirements set forth in paragraph (j) of

this section.

[FR Doc. 95–3597 Filed 2–14–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary

25 CFR Chapter VI

RIN 1076–AD19

Tribal Self-Governance Program

Selection Criteria

AGENCY: Office of Self-Governance,

Office of the Secretary, Interior

ACTION: Interim rule.

SUMMARY: In this interim rule, the Office

of Self-Governance (OSG) announces

the criteria for tribes to be included in

an applicant pool and the establishment

of the selection process for tribes to

negotiate agreements pursuant to the

Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994.

DATES: Effective date of this interim rule

is February 15, 1995. Written comments

concerning this rule must be received

on or before April 17, 1995. The closing

date for submission of complete

application packages for consideration

for negotiations in 1996 is May 16, 1995.

No application package will be dated as

received before March 17, 1995.

Applications requesting to be

included in the applicant pool may be

submitted at any time. All tribes

wishing to be considered for

participation in FY 1996 must respond

to this announcement, except for those

which are (1) currently involved with

negotiations with the Department or (2)

one of the 29 tribes with signed

agreements in the Demonstration

Project.

ADDRESSES: Written comments

concerning this rulemaking should be

sent to Director, Office of SelfGovernance, U.S. Department of the

Interior, 1849 C Street NW., Mail Stop

2548, Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Verner V. Duus, U.S. Department of the

Interior, Office of Self-Governance, 1849

C Street NW., Mail Stop 2548,

Washington, DC 20240, 202–219–0240.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Justification for Interim Rule

Implementation of this rule is not

rulemaking subject to the provisions of

section 553 of the Administrative

Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551, et seq.)

(APA). Section 553(a)(2) excepts from

the scope of rulemaking rules ‘‘relating

to agency management or personnel or

to public property, loans, grants,

benefits, or contracts.’’

Even if this rule were considered

rulemaking subject to the provisions of

section 553 of the APA, good cause

exists to publish this interim rule

without prior opportunity for public

comment for the following reasons.

Section 553 outlines the following

rulemaking steps: (1) Publication of a

notice of proposed rulemaking, (2)

solicitation of public comment on the

proposed rule, (3) review of comments

received prior to developing the final

rule, and (4) publication of the final rule

30 days prior to the effective date. Using

this process at this time would not serve

the goal of the Tribal Self-Governance

Act of 1994, which is to expand tribal

participation in the Self-Governance

Program, because the process would

delay selection of new participating

tribes for FY 1996. Under the Tribal

Self-Governance Act of 1994, the

Secretary may select up to 20 additional

participating tribes for the Tribal SelfGovernance Program, and negotiate and

enter into an annual written funding

agreement with each participating tribe.

The Act mandates that the Secretary
8554 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

submit copies of the funding agreements

at least 90 days before the proposed

effective date to the appropriate

committees of the Congress and to each

tribe that is served by the BIA agency

that is serving the tribe that is a party

to the funding agreement. Initial

negotiations with a tribe located in an

area and/or agency which has not

previously been involved with selfgovernance negotiations, will take

approximately 3 months from start to

finish. Since agreements for tribes on an

October 1 to September 30 fiscal year

need to be signed and submitted by July

1, new participating tribes would need

to be selected by April 1 to allow

sufficient time for negotiations.

Publication of this interim rule without

prior opportunity for public comment is

necessary to complete the above

procedures in a timely fashion.

Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C.

553(b)(3)(B), good cause is found that

notice and public comment procedures

are impracticable, and pursuant to 5

U.S.C. 553(d), good cause exists to make

the rule effective immediately.

Background

The Tribal Self-Governance Program

is designed to promote self

determination by allowing tribes to

assume more control of programs

operated by the Department of the

Interior through negotiated agreements.

The new law allows for negotiations to

be conducted for programs operated by

the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and

for programs operated by other bureaus

and offices within the Department that

are available to Indians or where there

is an historical, cultural, or geographic

connection to an Indian tribe.

At the time of this announcement, 29

compacts have been signed under the

provisions of the Demonstration Project.

In addition to these 29 tribal entities,

the newly enacted Tribal SelfGovernance Act of 1994, Public Law

103-413, authorizes the Secretary to

negotiate with up to 20 new tribes per

year. Congress has also provided

guidance concerning the handling of

signatory tribes in Alaskan consortiums.

If they are eligible to negotiate on their

own and choose to do so, they should

not be counted as part of the 20 new

tribes.

Purpose of Rule

This interim rule identifies the

procedures and criteria that the Office of

Self-Governance will use in establishing

the priority listing of the additional

participating tribes under the Tribal

Self-Governance Act of 1994. While this

interim rule may be changed at a later

date by the rulemaking established

pursuant to the Act, the Act stipulates

that the lack of promulgated regulations

will not limit its effect. This rule will

take immediate effect to allow the

application and selection process for the

upcoming year to begin.

The Secretary’s decision on the actual

number of tribes that will enter

negotiations will be made at a later date.

Being on the list will not guarantee that

a tribe will actually be provided the

opportunity to negotiate in any given

year; however, it does mean that a tribe

will not be passed over for a tribe farther

down on the list or an unlisted tribe

with the exception of tribes that are

already in the negotiations process. For

example, if the Department determines

that 20 tribes will be afforded the

opportunity to negotiate self-governance

agreements in 1996, the first 20 tribes on

the list would be notified and

negotiations would be scheduled. The

tribe numbered 21 on the list would

become number one on the list for 1997

or might enter negotiations in 1996 if

one of the first 20 dropped out.

The Department is adopting this rule

before beginning the negotiated

rulemaking process as required by

Congress to establish definitive rules for

the total self-governance program. This

interim rule governing the selection

process and criteria will be subject to

negotiation and amendment by the

negotiated rulemaking committee. The

committee will use any comments

received following the publication of

this interim rule in negotiating the final

rule. Furthermore, the portion of the

rule governing selection will be subject

to additional comment once the

proposed regulations recommended by

the negotiated rulemaking committee

are published in the Federal Register.

The final published rule will supersede

this interim rule.

A. E.O. 12612

The Department has determined that

this interim rule does not have

significant federalism effects.

B. E.O. 12630

In accordance with Executive Order

12630, the Department had determined

that this rule does not have significant

takings implications.

C. E.O. 12778

The Department has certified to the

Office of Management and Budget that

this interim rule meets the applicable

standards provided in Sections 2(a) and

2(b)(2) of Executive Order 12778.

D. E.O. 12866

This interim rule is not a significant

regulatory action under Executive Order

12866, and therefore will not be

reviewed by the Office of Management

and Budget.

E. Regulatory Flexibility Act Statement

This interim rule will not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5

U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

F. NEPA Statement

The Department has determined that

this interim rule does not constitute a

major Federal action significantly

affecting the quality of the human

environment and that no detailed

statement is required pursuant to the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969.

G. Information Collection Statement

The information collection

requirements contained in this interim

rule are included in current collections

1076–0090, 0091, 0096, 1030 and OMB

circulars A–102, A–110, and SF–424.

H. Authorship Statement

The primary author of this document

is Verner V. Duus, Office of SelfGovernance.

List of Subjects in Part 1001

Indians, Native Americans.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, a new chapter VI consisting at

this time of part 1001 is added to Title

25 of the Code of Federal Regulations as

follows:

CHAPTER VI—OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT

SECRETARY—INDIAN AFFAIRS,

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

PART 1001—SELF-GOVERNANCE

PROGRAM

Sec.

1001.1 Purpose.

1001.2 Applicant eligibility.

1001.3 Priority ranking for negotiations.

1001.4 Application review and approval.

1001.5 Application review and selection

process for negotiations for funding

agreements.

1001.6 Submitting applications.

Authority: 25 U.S.C. 450 note, 458aa–

458gg.

§ 1001.1 Purpose.

The purpose of this rule is to establish

the process for tribes to apply for entry

into the Self-Governance program and to

establish the selection criteria by which

the Department will identify eligible

tribes and select tribes to begin the

negotiations process.

§ 1001.2 Applicant eligibility.

Any tribe or consortium of tribes

seeking inclusion in the applicant pool
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 15, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 8555

must meet the following eligibility

criteria:

(a) Be a federally recognized tribe or

a consortium of federally recognized

tribes as defined in Public Law 93–638.

(b) Document, with an official action

of the tribal governing body, a formal

request to enter negotiations with the

Department of Interior (Department)

under the Tribal Self-Governance Act

authority. In the case of a consortium of

tribes, the governing body of each

participating tribe must authorize

participation by an official action by the

tribal governing body.

(c) Demonstrate financial stability and

financial management capability by

furnishing organization-wide single

audit reports as prescribed by Public

Law 96–502, the Single Audit Act of

1984, for the previous three years. These

audits must not contain material audit

exceptions. In the case of tribal

consortiums, each signatory to the

agreement must meet this requirement.

Non-signatory tribes participating in the

consortium do not have to meet this

requirement.

(d) Successfully complete the

planning phase for self-governance. A

final planning report must be submitted

which demonstrates that the tribe has

conducted—

(1) legal and budgetary research; and

(2) internal tribal government and

organizational planning.

(e) To be included in the applicant

pool, tribes or tribal consortiums may

submit their applications at any time.

The application should state which year

the tribe desires to enter negotiations.

§ 1001.3 Priority ranking for negotiations.

In addition to the eligibility criteria

identified above, a tribe or consortium

of tribes seeking priority ranking for

negotiations must submit a description

of the efforts of the tribe or consortium

to seek to enter negotiations and/or

prepare for operations under the selfgovernance option. This narrative

should identify any activities that the

tribe has pursued, carefully identifying

and documenting the dates involved,

including, but not limited to, the

following:

(a) Prior planning activities related to

self-governance, noting the source of

funding for the planning activity and

whether or not it was sanctioned by the

Office of Self-Governance (OSG),

including documentation as applicable.

(b) Prior efforts to secure planning

and/or negotiation grants.

(c) Meetings with the OSG or other

Departmental offices in which the tribe

expressed an interest in participating in

the Self-Governance Project.

(d) Correspondence between the tribe

and the Department in which the tribe

has expressed an interest in

participating in the Self-Governance

Project.

(e) All actions of the tribal governing

body related to participating in the selfgovernance option.

§ 1001.4 Application review and approval.

Upon receipt of an application, the

OSG will review the package and

determine whether or not it is complete.

Upon determination that it is complete,

the name of the tribe or consortium will

be included in the official applicant

pool. Incomplete submissions will be

returned with the deficiencies

identified. Revised applications may be

resubmitted for consideration at any

time.

§ 1001.5 Application review and selection

process for negotiations for funding

agreements.

Upon acceptance into the applicant

pool, the OSG will assign to each tribe

or consortium a ranking relative to other

applicants based upon the date the OSG

receives the complete application

package. This ranking will constitute a

master list that will be maintained and

updated on a continuous basis from year

to year. When receipt dates are the same

for two or more applications, several

other factors will be considered in

determining the placement of the tribe

or consortium on the list. These factors

are identified in priority order as

follows:

(a) Designation by the Congress

through report language that a tribe

should be considered for participation.

These designations will be considered

based upon the actual language of the

report.

(b) Documentation of OSG

sanctioning of the tribe’s selfgovernance planning and subsequent

evidence of actual planning by the tribe.

(c) Submission of a completed

planning or negotiation grant

application in the previous year.

(d) A signed agreement pursuant to

the Indian Health Service (IHS) selfgovernance project.

(e) Receipt of a planning grant

awarded by the IHS.

§ 1001.6 Submitting Applications.

(a) Applications for inclusion in the

applicant pool will be accepted on an

on-going basis.

(b) Applications may be mailed or

hand-delivered.

(c) Applications for negotiations in

1996 that are mailed must be

postmarked no later than May 16, 1995.

(d) Applications must be sent to:

Director, Office of Self Governance,

Department of the Interior, 1849 C

Street, NW MIB RM/MS–2548,

Washington, DC 20240.

Dated: February 6, 1995.

Ada E. Deer,

Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs.

[FR Doc. 95–3445 Filed 2–14–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–02–M

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY

CORPORATION

29 CFR Parts 2619 and 2676

Valuation of Plan Benefits in SingleEmployer Plans; Valuation of Plan

Benefits and Plan Assets Following

Mass Withdrawal; Amendments

Adopting Additional PBGC Rates

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule amends the

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s

(‘‘PBGC’s’’) regulations on Valuation of

Plan Benefits in Single-Employer Plans

and Valuation of Plan Benefits and Plan

Assets Following Mass Withdrawal. The

former regulation contains the interest

assumptions that the PBGC uses to

value benefits under terminating singleemployer plans. The latter regulation

contains the interest assumptions for

valuations of multiemployer plans that

have undergone mass withdrawal. The

amendments set out in this final rule

adopt the interest assumptions

applicable to single-employer plans

with termination dates in March 1995,

and to multiemployer plans with

valuation dates in March 1995. The

effect of these amendments is to advise

the public of the adoption of these

assumptions.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 1, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Harold J. Ashner, Assistant General

Counsel, Office of the General Counsel,

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation,

1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC

20005, 202–326–4024 (202–326–4179

for TTY and TDD). (These are not tollfree numbers.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule

adopts the March 1995 interest

assumptions to be used under the

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s

(‘‘PBGC’s’’) regulations on Valuation of

Plan Benefits in Single-Employer Plans

(29 CFR part 2619, the ‘‘single-employer

regulation’’) and Valuation of Plan

Benefits and Plan Assets Following

Mass Withdrawal (29 CFR part 2676, the

‘‘multiemployer regulation’’).