Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 121 / Friday, June 21, 1996 / Proposed Rules 31879

appellant and each known interested

party by certified or registered mail,

return receipt requested. These receipts

will become a permanent part of the

record.

(e) If the Assistant Secretary—Indian

Affairs or the Commissioner of Indian

Affairs does not make a decision within

60 days after all time for pleadings

(including all extensions granted) has

expired, any party may move the Board

of Indian Appeals to assume jurisdiction

subject to 43 CFR 4.337(b). A motion for

Board decision under this section will

invest the Board with jurisdiction as of

the date the motion is received by the

Board.

(f) When the Board of Indian Appeals,

in accordance with 43 CFR 4.337(b),

refers an appeal containing one or more

discretionary issues to the Assistant

Secretary—Indian Affairs for further

consideration, the Assistant Secretary—

Indian Affairs will take action on the

appeal consistent with the procedures

in this section.

(g) The Assistant Secretary—Indian

Affairs will render a written decision in

an appeal from a decision of the

Director, Office of Indian Education

Programs within 60 days after all time

for pleadings (including extensions

granted) has expired. A copy of the

decision must be sent to the appellant

and each known interested party by

certified or registered mail, return

receipt requested. These receipts will

become a permanent part of the record.

The decision will be final for the

Department and effective immediately

unless the Assistant Secretary—Indian

Affairs provides otherwise in the

decision.

§ 2.21 What information may the reviewing

official consider?

(a) When a decision has been

appealed, any information available to

the reviewing official may be used in

reaching a decision whether part of the

record or not.

(b) When the official deciding an

appeal believes it appropriate to

consider documents or information not

contained in the record on appeal, the

official must notify all interested parties

of the information and give them not

less than 10 days to comment on the

information before the appeal is

decided. The deciding official will

include in the record copies of

documents or a description of the

information used in arriving at the

decision. Except where disclosure of the

actual documents used may be

prohibited by law, copies of the

information will be made available to

the parties upon request and at their

expense.

Dated: May 31, 1996.

Ada E Deer,

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs.

[FR Doc. 96–15501 Filed 6–20–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Fiscal Service

31 CFR Part 202

RIN 1510–AA42

Depositaries and Financial Agents of

the Federal Government

AGENCY: Financial Management Service,

Fiscal Service, Treasury.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This proposes to revise

regulations which govern the

designation of Depositaries and

Financial Agents of the Federal

Government (depositaries); their

authorization to accept deposits of

public money and to perform other

specific services; and the securing of

public money. The proposed revisions

update, clarify, and simplify current

requirements, but do not change them.

Outdated references to specific

acceptable insurers are deleted. Existing

language concerning the types and

valuation of acceptable collateral

securities and the authorization for

depositaries to perform services other

than acceptance of insured deposits is

clarified. In addition, various references

are updated.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before August 5, 1996.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning

these proposed regulations should be

addressed to the Cash Management

Policy and Planning Division, Financial

Management Service, 401 14th Street,

S.W., Room 420, Washington, DC 20227,

Attn. Donald E. Clark.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Donald E. Clark, (202) 874–7106

(Financial Program Specialist, Cash

Management Policy and Planning

Division) or Cynthia L. Johnson, (202)

874–6590 (Director, Cash Management

Policy and Planning Division).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Depositaries accepting deposits of

public money and providing other

financial agency services to the United

States are required to pledge adequate

acceptable securities as collateral, as

directed by the Secretary of the Treasury

(Secretary). The Secretary previously

promulgated regulations, codified at 31

CFR part 202, setting forth the general

requirements for designating

depositaries and the pledging of

collateral to secure public money held

by depositaries.

Since these regulations were last

amended, the Secretary has revised the

types and valuations of acceptable

collateral for securing public money

referenced in this part. In addition,

these regulations reference the Federal

Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation

(FSLIC) as an acceptable insurer of

deposits. FSLIC has been abolished.

Summary of Changes

1. Types and Valuation of Acceptable

Collateral Securities

The current rule provides that certain

identified securities are acceptable as

collateral at face value, unless otherwise

specified by the Secretary. The

Secretary has recognized that the use of

face value for managing the level of

pledged collateral is problematic

because the true value of a security is

rarely the face value, except on the day

of redemption. A common practice of

the Federal Reserve bank and United

States Department of the Treasury when

valuing collateral is to apply market

discounts, i.e., subtractions, to the value

of the collateral to account for market

volatility due to interest rate

fluctuations, the quality of the security

pledged, or the financial instability of

the pledging institution. Therefore,

since this Part was last amended, the

Secretary has ‘‘otherwise specified’’ that

certain securities, including certain of

those expressly referenced in the

current rule, are acceptable only at 90%

of face value, rather than at 100% of

face value.

Because the Secretary has otherwise

specified the types and valuations of

acceptable collateral securities, revision

of this part will eliminate any possible

confusion regarding acceptable

collateral security types and valuation

under this part. The proposed rule

provides that types and valuation of

acceptable collateral securities will be

specified in Treasury procedural

instructions. Treasury issued these

procedural instructions to Federal

Reserve banks, which disseminated

them to financial institutions pledging

collateral under this Part.

2. Financial Institution Insurers

The current rule provides that eligible

banks insured by the Federal Deposit

Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and

eligible institutions insured by FSLIC

are designated as depositaries. The

proposed rule deletes references to

FSLIC, which has been abolished, and
31880 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 121 / Friday, June 21, 1996 / Proposed Rules

provides that eligible financial

institutions insured by the FDIC are

designated as depositaries.

3. Authorities

The current rule includes as

authorities 12 U.S.C. 1709(a) and 12

U.S.C. 1725(d). The proposed rule

corrects a typographical error, replacing

12 U.S.C. 1709(a) with 12 U.S.C. 1789a,

and removes citations to 12 U.S.C.

1725(d), as that statute has been

repealed. In addition, the proposed rule

lists 12 U.S.C. 90 and 12 U.S.C. 391 as

additional applicable authorities. These

authorities pertain to national banking

associations and Federal Reserve banks,

respectively, as depositaries when so

designated by the Secretary.

4. Depositary Authorization to Perform

Services Other than Acceptance of

Insured Deposits

The current rule provides that upon

the request of a Federal agency, the

Secretary may authorize a depositary to

perform services (other than the

acceptance of Federal or state insured

deposits) specifically requested by the

agency, ‘‘including’’ various listed

services. The proposed rule deletes

references to ‘‘upon the request of’’ and

‘‘specifically requested by’’ a

Government agency, and revises the

term ‘‘including’’ to read ‘‘including,

but not limited to’’ in order to clarify

Treasury’s longstanding interpretation

of these provisions.

5. Disposition of Principal and Interest

Payments on Pledged Collateral after a

Depositary is Declared Insolvent

The current rule provides that in the

event of a depositary’s insolvency or

closure, or in the event of the

appointment of certain officers to

terminate its business, the depositary

agrees that all principal and interest

payments on any security pledged to

protect public monies due on or after

the date of insolvency or closure shall

be held separate and apart from any

other assets and be available to satisfy

any claim of the United States. The

proposed rule clarifies Treasury’s

longstanding interpretation that the

term ‘‘any claim of the United States’’

includes claims not arising out of the

depositary relationship for which the

collateral was pledged.

6. Additional Administrative Revisions

The proposed rule makes certain

administrative revisions necessary to

update existing regulatory language.

These administrative revisions include

(1) notification that financial

institutions may obtain forms from

Federal Reserve banks; (2) removal of

the word ‘‘every’’ from certain listed

classes of financial institutions

designated as depositaries, for

consistency reasons; (3) removal of

references to Treasury Tax and Loan

depositaries governed by 31 CFR part

203 receiving deposits representing

payments for certain United States

obligations, as such depositaries are no

longer authorized to perform these

functions; (4) revision of references to a

depositary’s entering into a ‘‘contract of

deposit’’ with Treasury to read

‘‘agreement of deposit,’’ in order to

reaffirm Treasury’s longstanding

interpretation that such agreements are

not procurements; (5) updating the

address for Treasury’s Financial

Management Service; and (6) updating

citations to applicable equal

employment opportunity statutes and

regulations.

Rulemaking Analysis

Executive Order 12866

It has been determined that this

regulation is not a significant regulatory

action as defined in Executive Order

12866. Therefore, a Regulatory

Assessment is not required.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

It is hereby certified pursuant to the

Regulatory Flexibility Act that this

revision will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small business entities. This

revision makes no change to current

procedures and only updates, clarifies,

and simplifies the current rule.

Accordingly, a Regulatory Flexibility

Act analysis is not required.

Notice and Comment

Public comment is solicited on all

aspects of this proposed regulation.

Treasury will consider all comments

made on the substance of this proposed

regulation, but does not intend to hold

hearings.

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 202

Banks, Banking.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 31 CFR part 202 is proposed

to be amended as follows.

PART 202—DEPOSITARIES AND

FINANCIAL AGENTS OF THE

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

1. The authority citation for part 202

is revised, and the authority citations at

the end of the sections are removed, to

read as follows:

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 90; 12 U.S.C. 265–

266; 12 U.S.C. 391; 12 U.S.C. 1464(k); 12

U.S.C. 1789a; 12 U.S.C. 3101–3102.

2. Section 202.1 is revised to read as

follows:

§ 202.1 Scope of regulations.

The regulations in this part govern the

designation of Depositaries and

Financial Agents of the Federal

Government (hereinafter referred to as

depositaries), and their authorization to

accept deposits of public money and to

perform other services as may be

required of them. Public money

includes, but is not limited to, revenue

and funds of the United States, and any

funds the deposit of which is subject to

the control or regulation of the United

States or any of its officers, agents, or

employees. The designation and

authorization of Treasury Tax and Loan

depositaries for the receipt of deposits

representing Federal taxes are governed

by the regulations in part 203 of this

chapter.

3. Section 202.2 is amended by

revising paragraph (a)(1), removing

paragraph (a)(2), by redesignating

paragraphs (a)(3) and (a)(4) as (a)(2) and

(a)(3), and by revising redesignated

paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(3) to read as

follows:

§ 202.2 Designations.

(a) * * *

(1) Financial institutions insured by

the Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation.

(2) Credit unions insured by the

Administrator of the National Credit

Union Administration.

(3) Banks, savings banks, savings and

loan, building and loan, and homestead

associations, credit unions created

under the laws of any State, the deposits

or accounts of which are insured by a

State or agency thereof or by a

corporation chartered by a State for the

sole purpose of insuring deposits or

accounts of such financial institutions,

United States branches of foreign

banking corporations authorized by the

State in which they are located to

transact commercial banking business,

and Federal branches of foreign banking

corporations, the establishment of

which has been approved by the

Comptroller of the Currency.

(b) * * *

4. Section 202.3 is amended by

revising paragraphs (a), (b)(1)

introductory text, (b)(2), introductory

text, and (b)(2)(i) to read as follows:

§ 202.3 Authorization.

(a) To accept deposits covered by the

appropriate Federal or State insurer.

Every depositary is authorized to accept

a deposit of public money in an official

account, other than an account in the

name of the United States Treasury, in
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 121 / Friday, June 21, 1996 / Proposed Rules 31881

which the maximum balance does not

exceed the ‘‘Recognized Insurance

Coverage.’’ ‘‘Recognized Insurance

Coverage’’ means the insurance

provided by the Federal Deposit

Insurance Corporation, the National

Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, and

by insurance organizations specifically

qualified by the Secretary of the

Treasury.

(b) To perform other services. (1) The

Secretary of the Treasury may authorize

a depositary to perform other services

including, but not limited to: * * *

(2) To obtain authorization to perform

services, a depositary must:

(i) File with the Secretary of the

Treasury an appropriate agreement and

resolution of its board of directors

authorizing the agreement (both on

forms prescribed by the Financial

Management Service and available from

Federal Reserve banks), and

* * * * *

5. Section 202.4 is amended by

revising introductory text and

paragraphs (c), (d), and (e) to read as

follows:

§ 202.4 Agreement of deposit.

A depositary which accepts a deposit

under this part enters into an agreement

of deposit with the Treasury

Department. The terms of this

agreement include:

* * * * *

(c) The provisions prescribed in

Executive Order 11246, entitled ‘‘Equal

Employment Opportunity,’’ as amended

by Executive Orders 11375 and 12086,

and regulations issued thereunder at 41

CFR Chapter 60, as amended.

(d) The requirements of section 503 of

the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as

amended, and the regulations issued

thereunder at 41 CFR part 60–741,

requiring Federal contractors to take

affirmative action to employ and

advance in employment qualified

individuals with disabilities.

(e) The requirements of section 503 of

the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment

Assistance Act of 1972, as amended, 38

U.S.C. 4212, Executive Order 11701,

and the regulations issued thereunder at

41 CFR parts 60–250 and 61–250,

requiring Federal contractors to take

affirmative action to employ and

advance in employment qualified

special disabled and Vietnam Era

veterans.

6. Section 202.6 is amended by

revising paragraphs (b) and (e)(1) to read

as follows:

§ 202.6 Collateral security.

* * * * *

(b) Acceptable security. Types and

valuations of acceptable collateral

security will be specified by the

Secretary of the Treasury in Treasury

procedural instructions.

* * * * *

(e) Disposition of principal and

interest payments of the pledged

securities after a depositary is declared

insolvent—(1) General. In the event of

the depositary’s insolvency or closure,

or in the event of the appointment of a

receiver, conservator, liquidator, or

other similar officer to terminate its

business, the depositary agrees that all

principal and interest payments on any

security pledged to protect public

monies due as of the date of the

insolvency or closure, or thereafter

becoming due, shall be held separate

and apart from any other assets and

shall constitute a part of the pledged

security available to satisfy any claim of

the United States, including those not

arising out of the depositary

relationship.

* * * * *

7. Section 202.7 is amended by

revising paragraph (a) to read as follows:

§ 202.7 Maintenance of balances within

authorizations.

(a) Government agencies shall contact

the Department of the Treasury,

Financial Management Service, before

making deposits with a financial

institution insured by a State or agency

thereof or by a corporation chartered by

a State for the sole purpose of insuring

deposits or accounts. The contact

should be directed to the Cash

Management Policy and Planning

Division, Federal Finance, Financial

Management Service, Department of the

Treasury, Washington, DC 20227.

* * * * *

Dated: June 14, 1996.

Russell D. Morris,

Commissioner.

[FR Doc. 96–15900 Filed 6–20–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810–35–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 117

[CGD01–95–171]

RIN 2115–AE47

Drawbridge Operation Regulations;

Passaic River, NJ

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is proposing

a change to the regulations governing

the Routes 1 & 9 (Lincoln Highway)

Bridge, mile 1.8, the Point-No-Point

Railroad Bridge, mile 2.6, both in

Newark, New Jersey, and the Route 7

(Rutgers Street) Bridge, mile 8.9, in

Belleville, New Jersey which cross the

Passaic River. The proposal would

provide openings on signal if at least

four hours notice is given. This change

was requested by the Consolidated Rail

Corporation (CONRAIL) and New Jersey

Department of Transportation (NJDOT)

because of the limited openings of these

bridges. This action should relieve the

bridge owners of the burden of having

personnel constantly available to open

the bridges and should provide for the

reasonable needs of navigation. Other

changes are proposed that would

remove redundant requirements that are

included in Part 117, general operating

regulations, provide maximum

allowable time delays for specific

railroad bridge openings, remove

unnecessary language, and reorder the

paragraphs for clarity and consistency.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before August 20, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to

Commander (obr), First Coast Guard

District, Building 135A, Governors

Island, New York, 10004–5073, or may

be hand-delivered to the same address

between 6:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday

through Friday, except federal holidays.

The telephone number is (212) 668–

7170. The comments will become part

of this docket and will be available for

inspection and copying by appointment

at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gary Kassof, Bridge Program Manager,

First Coast Guard District, (212) 668–

7069.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Request for Comments

The Coast Guard encourages

interested persons to participate in this

rulemaking by submitting written views,

comments, data, or arguments. Persons

submitting comments should include

their names and addresses, identify this

rulemaking (CGD01–95–171), the

specific section of this proposal to

which each comment applies, and give

reasons for each comment. The Coast

Guard requests that all comments and

attachments be submitted in an

unbound format no longer than 81⁄2′′ by

11′′, suitable for copying and electronic

filing. If that is not practical, a second

copy of any bound material is requested.

Persons desiring acknowledgment that

their comments have been received

should enclose a stamped, selfaddressed post card or envelope.

The Coast Guard will consider all

comments received during the comment