32728 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 25, 1996 / Proposed Rules

PART 575—MUTUAL SAVINGS AND

LOAN HOLDING COMPANIES

29. The authority citation for part 575

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1462, 1462a, 1463,

1464, 1467a, 1828, 2901.

ALTERNATIVE ONE

30. Section 575.9(a)(1) is revised to

read as follows:

§ 575.9 Charters and bylaws for mutual

holding companies and their savings

association subsidiaries.

(a) * * * (1) Charter. The Federal

mutual holding company charter may be

found in the Application Processing

Regulatory Handbook, available from

any Regional Office of OTS. (See

§ 516.1(b) of this chapter). Each Federal

mutual holding company’s charter,

including any amendments thereto,

constitutes conditions imposed in

writing by the agency in connection

with the granting of an application and

a written agreement entered into with

the agency within the meaning of 12

U.S.C. 1818(b).

* * * * *

ALTERNATIVE TWO

30a. Section 575.9 is amended by:

a. Removing, in Section 1 of the

Charter in paragraph (a)(1), the phrase

‘‘hereby chartered’’;

b. Removing, in Section 5 of the

Charter in paragraph (a)(1), the sixth,

seventh, and eighth sentences in the last

paragraph;

c. Removing, in Section 6 of the

Charter in paragraph (a)(1), the word

‘‘OTS’’ in the second sentence, and by

adding in lieu thereof the phrase ‘‘the

Director of the Office or his or her

delegate’’, and by removing the third,

fourth and fifth sentences;

d. Revising Section 8 of the Charter in

paragraph (a)(1);

e. Removing in paragraph (a)(2) the

phrase ‘‘references to ‘association’ in the

text of the mutual capital certificate

charter provision in § 544.2(b)(4) shall

be replaced with references to the

‘Mutual Company’,’’ and

f. Removing the number ‘‘545.131’’ in

paragraph (a)(5), and by adding in lieu

thereof the number ‘‘544.8’’.

The revisions read as follows:

§ 575.9 Charters and bylaws for mutual

holding companies and their savings

association subsidiaries.

(a) Charters and bylaws for mutual

holding companies—(1) Charters. * * *

CHARTER

* * * * *

Section 8. Amendment. Adoption of any

preapproved charter amendment shall be

effective after such preapproved amendment

has been approved by the members at a legal

meeting. Any other amendment, addition,

change, or repeal of this charter must be

approved by the Office prior to approval by

the members at a legal meeting. Any

amendment, addition, alteration, change, or

repeal so acted upon and approved shall be

effective upon filing with the Office in

accordance with regulatory procedures.

Attest: lllllllllllllllll

Secretary of the Association

By: lllllllllllllllllll

President or Chief Executive Officer of the

Association

Attest: lllllllllllllllll

Secretary of the Office of Thrift Supervision

By: lllllllllllllllllll

Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision

Effective Date: llllllllllllll

* * * * *

Dated: May 31, 1996.

By the Office of Thrift Supervision.

Jonathan L. Fiechter,

Acting Director.

[FR Doc. 96–14441 Filed 6–24–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6720–01–P

Internal Revenue Service

26 CFR Part 1

[FI–59–94]

RIN 1545–AT08

Modifications of Bad Debts and Dealer

Assignments of Notional Principal

Contracts

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking

by cross-reference to temporary

regulations.

SUMMARY: In the Rules and Regulations

section of this issue of the Federal

Register, the IRS is issuing temporary

regulations relating to the allowance of

a deduction for a partially worthless

debt when the terms of a debt

instrument have been modified. The

temporary regulations provide relief to

certain taxpayers that are required to

recognize gain as the result of modifying

a debt instrument, when a portion of the

gain is in part caused by a reduction of

the debt’s basis attributable to a bad

debt deduction claimed in a prior

taxable year. The temporary regulations

provide guidance to taxpayers that

modify the terms of a debt instrument

after deducting an amount for partial

worthlessness.

In the Rules and Regulations section

of this issue of the Federal Register, the

IRS is also issuing temporary

regulations relating to certain

assignments of notional principal

contracts by dealers in those contracts.

The temporary regulations provide

guidance to taxpayers relating to

consequences of these assignments.

The text of those temporary

regulations also serves as the text of

these proposed regulations.

DATES: Written comments and requests

for a public hearing must be received by

September 23, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Send submissions to:

CC:DOM:CORP:R (FI–59–94), room

5228, Internal Revenue Service, POB

7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington,

DC 20044. In the alternative,

submissions may be hand delivered

between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

to: CC:DOM:CORP:R (FI–59–94),

Courier’s Desk, Internal Revenue

Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW.,

Washington, D.C.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Craig R. Wojay, Office of Assistant Chief

Counsel, Financial Institutions and

Products, (202) 622–3920 (not a toll-free

number) concerning the modifications

of bad debts, and Thomas J. Kelly,

Office of Assistant Chief Counsel,

Financial Institutions and Products,

(202) 622–3940 (not a toll-free number)

concerning dealer assignments of

notional principal contracts.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Temporary regulations in the Rules

and Regulations section of this issue of

the Federal Register amend the Income

Tax Regulations (26 CFR part 1) relating

to section 166. The temporary

regulations contain rules relating to the

requirement that a debt be charged off

before a deduction on account of partial

worthlessness is allowed. The rules

apply to certain taxpayers who are

required to recognize gain as the result

of a significant modification of a debt

instrument.

Temporary regulations in the Rules

and Regulations section of this issue of

the Federal Register amend the Income

Tax Regulations (26 CFR part 1) relating

to section 1001. The temporary

regulations contain rules relating to

certain assignments of notional

principal contracts by dealers in those

contracts.

The text of those temporary

regulations also serves as the text of

these proposed regulations. The

preamble to the temporary regulations

explains the temporary regulations.

Special Analyses

It has been determined that this notice

of proposed rulemaking is not a

significant regulatory action as defined

in EO 12866. Therefore, a regulatory

assessment is not required. It also has
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 25, 1996 / Proposed Rules 32729

been determined that section 553(b) of

the Administrative Procedure Act (5

U.S.C. chapter 5) and the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 6) do

not apply to these regulations, and,

therefore, a Regulatory Flexibility

Analysis is not required. Pursuant to

section 7805(f) of the Internal Revenue

Code, this notice of proposed

rulemaking will be submitted to the

Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small

Business Administration for comment

on its impact on small business.

Comments and Requests for a Public

Hearing

Before these proposed regulations are

adopted as final regulations,

consideration will be given to any

written comments (a signed original and

eight (8) copies) that are submitted

timely to the IRS. All comments will be

available for public inspection and

copying. A public hearing may be

scheduled if requested in writing by any

person that timely submits written

comments. If a public hearing is

scheduled, notice of the date, time, and

place for the hearing will be published

in the Federal Register.

Drafting Information

The principal author of the

regulations concerning the

modifications of bad debts is Craig R.

Wojay, Office of Assistant Chief Counsel

(Financial Institutions and Products),

IRS. The principal author of the

regulations concerning dealer

assignments of notional principal

contracts is Thomas J. Kelly, Office of

Assistant Chief Counsel (Financial

Institutions and Products), IRS.

However, other personnel from the IRS

and Treasury Department participated

in their development.

List of Subjects in 26 CFR Part 1

Income taxes, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Proposed Amendments to the

Regulations

Accordingly, 26 CFR part 1 is

proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 1—INCOME TAXES

Paragraph 1. The authority citation

for part 1 continues to read in part as

follows:

Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * *

Par. 2. Section 1.166–3 is amended by

adding paragraph (a)(3) to read as

follows:

§ 1.166–3 Partial or total worthlessness.

(The text of proposed paragraph (a)(3)

is the same as the text of § 1.166–

3T(a)(3) published elsewhere in this

issue of the Federal Register).

Par. 3. Section 1.1001–4 is added to

read as follows:

§ 1.1001–4 Modifications of notional

principal contracts.

(The text of proposed section 1.1001–

4 is the same as the text of § 1.1001–4T

published elsewhere in this issue of the

Federal Register).

Margaret Milner Richardson,

Commissioner of Internal Revenue,

[FR Doc. 96–15831 Filed 6–24–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 59

[AD–FRL–5526–3]

National Volatile Organic Compounds

Emission Standards for Architectural

Coatings

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule and notice of

public hearing.

SUMMARY: The proposed standards

would reduce emissions of volatile

organic compounds (VOC) from

architectural coatings. The proposed

standards implement Section 183(e) of

the Clean Air Act (CAA), as amended in

1990, which requires the Administrator

to control VOC emissions from certain

categories of consumer and commercial

products.

Exposure to ozone is associated with

a wide variety of human health effects,

agricultural crop loss, and damage to

forests and ecosystems. As required by

Section 183(e), the Administrator

conducted a study to determine the

potential of VOC emissions from

consumer and commercial products to

contribute to ozone levels that violate

the National Ambient Air Quality

Standards (NAAQS) for ozone and

established a list of product categories

to be regulated. Based on the criteria

described in the study and

accompanying report, the EPA

determined that VOC emissions from

architectural coatings should be

reduced. Therefore, the EPA is

proposing standards to reduce ozonecausing VOC emissions from these

coatings. The proposed standards would

reduce annual emissions of VOC by

106,000 tons representing a 20 percent

reduction from 1990 levels.

The proposed rule is centered around

requiring VOC content levels for 55

individual architectural coating

categories. When promulgated these

requirements on manufacturers and

importers of architectural coatings are

anticipated to take effect on April 1,

1997. This rulemaking is on an

expedited schedule, with a relatively

short public comment period.

Following proposal of this rule, the

EPA plans to participate in a joint study

with the architectural coatings industry.

This study will focus on the feasibility

of adopting more stringent VOC

requirements in the future.

DATES: Comments. Comments pertaining

to the proposed rule must be received

on or before August 30, 1996.

Public Hearing. A public hearing will

be held, if requested, to provide

interested persons an opportunity for

oral presentation of data, views, or

arguments concerning the proposed

standards for architectural coatings. If

anyone contacts the EPA requesting to

speak at a public hearing concerning

this proposed rule by July 18, 1996, a

public hearing will be held on July 30,

1996, beginning at 10:00 a.m. Persons

interested in attending the hearing

should notify Ms. Kim Teal, (919) 541–

5580 by July 18, 1996, to verify that a

hearing will occur and for notification

of the location of the hearing. The

record for the public hearing will

remain open for 30 days after

completion of the hearing to provide an

opportunity for the submission of

rebuttal and supplementary

information.

Persons wishing to present oral

testimony concerning this proposed rule

must contact Ms. Kim Teal at the EPA

by July 18, 1996. Ms. Teal may be

contacted at the following address:

Coatings and Consumer Products Group

(MD–13), U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency, Research Triangle Park, North

Carolina 27711, telephone number (919)

541–5580, FAX number (919) 541–5689.

ADDRESSES: Comments. Comments

should be submitted (in duplicate) to:

Air and Radiation Docket and

Information Center (6102), Attention:

Docket No. A–92–18, U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, 401

M Street SW, Washington, DC 20460.

Comments and data may also be

submitted electronically by sending

electronic mail (e-mail) to: a-and-rdocket@epamail.epa.gov. Electronic

comments must be submitted as an

ASCII file avoiding the use of special

characters and any form of encryption.

Comments and data will also be

accepted on disks in WordPerfect in 5.1

file format or ASCII file format. All

comments and data in electronic form

must be identified by the docket number

A–92–18. No Confidential Business