This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

21361

Vol. 61, No. 92

Friday, May 10, 1996

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing and Comunity

Development Service

Rural Business and Cooperative

Development Service

Rural Utilities Service

Farm Service Agency

7 CFR Parts 1841, 1843, 1845, 1903,

1945, 1980, and 2054

RIN 0560–AE72

Deletion of Obsolete CFR Sections

Pertaining to Farm Service Agency

(Formerly Farmers Home

Administration) Programs

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule removes, as

unnecessary, regulations pertaining to:

the Emergency Livestock and Economic

Emergency loan programs; the

Agricultural Resource Conservation

Demonstration Program (ARCDP); the

employment, pay, and functions of

Farmers Home Administration (FmHA)

county or area committees; and

voluntary debt adjustment. This action

is being taken as part of the National

Performance Review program to

eliminate excess regulations and to

improve the quality of those that remain

in effect.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 3, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven R. Bazzell, Senior Loan Officer,

Farm Service Agency, United States

Department of Agriculture, Farm Credit

Programs Loan Making Division, Ag Box

Code 0522, Room 5438–S, 14th &

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20250–0522;

Telephone: 202–720–3889; or Facsimile:

202–690–1117; E-mail:

sbazzell@WDC.FSA.USDA.GOV.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

The Office of Management and Budget

did not review this rule because it was

determined to be ‘‘not significant’’ for

the purposes of Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Regulatory Flexibility Act is not

applicable to this rule since the Farm

Service Agency (FSA) is not required by

5 U.S.C. 553, or any other provision of

law, to publish a notice of proposed

rulemaking to effect these

administrative changes.

Environmental Evaluation

This action will not have a significant

impact on the quality of the

environment. Therefore, neither an

Environmental Assessment nor an

Environmental Impact Statement is

required.

Executive Order 12778

This rule was reviewed in accordance

with Executive Order 12778. The

provisions of the rule do not preempt

State laws, are not retroactive, and do

not involve administrative appeals.

Executive Order 12372

For reasons set forth in the Notice to

7 CFR, part 3015, subpart V (48 FR

29115, June 24, 1983), the programs and

activities within in this rule are

excluded from the scope of Executive

Order 12372, which requires

intergovernmental consultation with

State and local officials.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This final rule does not impose any

new information or recordkeeping

requirements on the public. The Agency

will update the data documenting the

burden on the public at its regularly

scheduled paperwork burden

submissions to OMB.

Background

This final rule removes obsolete

regulations concerning former Farmers

Home Administration (FmHA) Farmer

Programs loans. Under the Department

of Agriculture Reorganization Act of

1994 (Pub.L. 103–354) (1944 Act),

FmHA programs were transferred to

other USDA agencies. FmHA Farmer

Programs now are being administered as

Farm Credit Programs by the Farm

Service Agency (FSA). The Emergency

Livestock (EL) program regulations

under CFR parts 1841, 1843, 1845 and

1980, subpart C are removed because

the Emergency Livestock Credit Act of

1974 (Pub.L. 93–357), as amended,

expired on September 30, 1979. The

Economic Emergency (EE) program

regulations at 7 CFR part 1945, subpart

C and part 1980, subpart F are removed

because the Emergency Agricultural

Credit Adjustment Act of 1978 (Pub.L.

95–334), was repealed by section 1851

of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation

and Trade Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101–

624). FSA also is deleting the

regulations for administering the

Agricultural Resource Conservation

Demonstration Program (ARCDP), 7 CFR

part 1980 subpart J, because the

Department of Agriculture

Reorganization Act of 1994 transferred

the responsibility for administering the

ARCDP from the former FmHA to the

Natural Resources Conservation Service,

USDA. Regulations concerning the

employment, pay, and functions of

former FmHA county committees at 7

CFR part 2054, subpart W also will be

eliminated because § 227 of the 1994

Act abolished FmHA county

committees. FSA is examining the role

that the county or area county

committees of the former Agricultural

Stabilization and Conservation Service,

now part of FSA, can play in the

agricultural credit area and may

promulgate regulations concerning this.

Finally, regulations concerning

voluntary debt adjustment at 7 CFR part

1903, subpart A, are removed because

they are duplicative of comprehensive

loan servicing regulations under 7 CFR

part 1951.
21362 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 92 / Friday, May 10, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 1841

Agricultural Credit, Loan Guarantees,

Loan Liquidation, Loan Servicing,

Transfers and Assumptions.

7 CFR Part 1843

Agricultural Credit, Loan Liquidation,

Loan Making, Loan Servicing.

7 CFR Part 1845

Agricultural Credit, Emergency

Assistance, Guaranteed Loans,

Livestock.

7 CFR Part 1903

Agricultural Credit, Debt Adjustment,

Loan Servicing.

7 CFR Part 1945

Agricultural Credit, Economic

Emergency, Emergency Assistance.

7 CFR Part 1980

Agricultural Credit, Agricultural

Resource Conservation Demonstration

Program.

7 CFR Part 2054

County Committee Function,

Elections, Employment.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, CFR Chapter XVIII is

amended as follows:

PARTS 1841, 1843, 1845, 1903, AND

2054—[REMOVED]

1. Parts 1841, 1843, 1845, 1903, and

2054 are removed.

PART 1945—[AMENDED]

2. Part 1945 is amended by removing

subpart C (§§ 1945.101–1945.150).

PART 1980—[AMENDED]

3. Part 1980 is amended by removing

subpart C (§§ 1980.201–1980.294 and

Appendix A), subpart F (§§ 1980.501–

1980.600 and Appendices A and B), and

subpart J (§§ 1980.901 through

1980.1000 and Appendices A through

D).

Signed at Washington, D.C. on April 24,

1996.

Eugene Moos,

Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign

Agricultural Services.

[FR Doc. 96–11467 Filed 5–9–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the

Currency

12 CFR Part 25

[Docket No. 96–08]

RIN 1557–AB51

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Part 228

[Regulation BB; Docket No. R–0822]

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE

CORPORATION

12 CFR Part 345

RIN 3064–AB27

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of Thrift Supervision

12 CFR Part 563e

[Docket No. 96–32]

RIN 1550–AA96

Community Reinvestment Act

Regulations

AGENCIES: Office of the Comptroller of

the Currency, Treasury (OCC); Board of

Governors of the Federal Reserve

System (Board); Federal Deposit

Insurance Corporation (FDIC); Office of

Thrift Supervision, Treasury (OTS).

ACTION: Joint final rule; correcting

amendment.

SUMMARY: The OCC, Board, FDIC, and

OTS (collectively, the agencies) are

correcting their joint final rule

concerning the Community

Reinvestment Act (CRA), which was

published on May 4, 1995, and

amended by a subsequent joint final

rule published on December 20, 1995.

This document corrects a crossreference to Small Business

Administration regulations, which were

recently amended. This correcting

amendment makes no substantive

change in the requirements of the

current regulations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 10, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

OCC: Bert A. Otto, Acting Deputy

Comptroller for Compliance, (202) 874–

5216; or Matthew Roberts, Director,

Community and Consumer Law

Division, (202) 874–5750, Office of the

Comptroller of the Currency, 250 E

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20219.

BOARD: Glenn E. Loney, Associate

Director, Division of Consumer and

Community Affairs, (202) 452–3585;

Robert deV. Frierson, Assistant General

Counsel, Legal Division, (202) 452–

3711; or Leonard N. Chanin, Managing

Counsel, Division of Consumer and

Community Affairs, (202) 452–3667,

Board of Governors of the Federal

Reserve System, 20th Street and

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,

DC 20551.

FDIC: Bobbie Jean Norris, Chief, Fair

Lending Section, Division of

Compliance and Consumer Affairs,

(202) 942–3090; Robert W. Mooney, Fair

Lending Specialist, Division of

Compliance and Consumer Affairs,

(202) 942–3092; or Ann Hume Loikow,

Counsel, Regulation and Legislation

Section, Legal Division, (202) 898–3796,

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,

550 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC

20429.

OTS: Timothy R. Burniston, Director,

Compliance Policy, (202) 906–5629;

Theresa A. Stark, Project Manager,

Compliance Policy, (202) 906–7054; or

John Flannery, Attorney, Regulations

and Legislation Division, Chief

Counsel’s Office, (202) 906–7293, Office

of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20552.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Introduction

The agencies jointly are amending

their regulations implementing the CRA

(12 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.). This joint final

rule makes a technical correction to the

agencies’ joint CRA regulations, 12 CFR

parts 25, 228, 345, and 563e. Those

regulations establish the framework and

criteria by which the agencies assess an

institution’s record of helping to meet

the credit needs of its community,

including low- and moderate-income

neighborhoods, consistent with safe and

sound operations, and provide that the

agencies will take those assessments

into account in reviewing certain

applications.

Background

Last year, the agencies revised their

CRA regulations. They adopted a joint

final rule, which was published on May

4, 1995 (60 FR 22156). The agencies

published a correction and clarification

to the joint final rule on December 20,

1995 (60 FR 66048).

Need for Correction to the Final Rule

The agencies’ joint final rule, as

amended, defines ‘‘community

development’’ to mean activities that

promote economic development by

financing businesses or farms that meet

the size eligibility standards of 13 CFR

121.802(a) (2) and (3). These size

eligibility standards refer to the Small

Business Administration’s size