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

34713

Vol. 61, No. 129

Wednesday, July 3, 1996

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Parts 530, 531, 534, 550, 575,

581, 582, and 630

RIN 3206–AH09

Pay Under the General Schedule;

Termination of Interim Geographic

Adjustments

AGENCY: Office of Personnel

Management.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel

Management is issuing final regulations

to implement the termination of interim

geographic adjustments (IGA’s) payable

to certain Federal employees. The IGA’s

were terminated because the localitybased comparability payments the

President authorized for January 1996

exceeded 8 percent in both of the two

remaining IGA areas (New YorkNorthern New Jersey-Long Island, NY–

NJ–CT–PA, and Los Angeles-RiversideOrange County, CA).

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 2, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jeanne D. Jacobson, (202) 606–2858 or

FAX: (202) 606–0824.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

February 1, 1996, the Office of

Personnel Management (OPM)

published interim regulations (61 FR

3539) to implement the termination of

IGA’s. IGA’s were terminated because

the locality-based comparability

payments the President authorized for

January 1996 exceeded 8 percent in both

of the two remaining IGA areas (New

York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island,

NY–NJ–CT–PA, and Los AngelesRiverside-Orange County, CA).

The President’s alternative pay plan

of August 31, 1995, provided an 8.05-

percent comparability payment for the

New York-Northern New Jersey-Long

Island, NY–NJ–CT–PA, locality pay area

and an 8.15-percent comparability

payment for the Los Angeles-RiversideOrange County, CA, locality pay area for

1996. Since the comparability payments

exceeded the 8-percent IGA previously

established for these areas, the

President’s Executive Order 12984 of

December 28, 1995, included no IGA

pay schedules. This had the effect of

terminating the IGA’s for the New York

and Los Angeles IGA areas. (Executive

Order 12944 of December 29, 1994,

previously terminated IGA’s for the San

Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA IGA

area because the comparability payment

for that area exceeded 8 percent in

January 1995.)

As a result of the termination of

IGA’s, the interim rule removed 5 CFR

part 531, subpart A, ‘‘Interim

Geographic Adjustments.’’ However,

because some employees in the former

IGA areas will continue to receive

‘‘continued rates of pay’’ (a form of

saved pay established in January 1994

for employees who previously received

an IGA on top of a worldwide or

nationwide special rate), the provisions

previously found in subpart A

concerning the administration of

continued rates of pay were retained in

a new subpart G of part 531. The interim

regulations also made conforming

changes in other parts of the regulations

to reflect the termination of IGA’s.

The 60-day comment period for the

interim regulations ended on April 1,

1996. OPM received comments by

telephone from one agency asking for

clarification of 5 CFR 531.703(i). Section

531.703(i) provides that an employee’s

entitlement to a continued rate of pay is

not affected by a temporary promotion

or temporary reassignment. The agency

felt this provision could be interpreted

incorrectly to provide entitlement to

continued pay during temporary

promotions or reassignments when such

assignments involve one of the actions

that ordinarily terminate continued pay,

such as when an employee’s official

duty station is no longer located in one

of the IGA areas. OPM agrees.

We have revised 5 CFR 531.703(i) in

the final regulations to provide that an

employee’s entitlement to a continued

rate of pay is not affected by a

temporary promotion or temporary

reassignment, unless such assignments

cause one of the conditions in 5 CFR

531.703(g) to be satisfied. In such

situations, the continued rate is

suspended during the temporary

promotion or reassignment. The

employee’s entitlement to the continued

rate resumes as if never interrupted

upon return to his or her permanent

position, as long as the employee is

otherwise eligible to receive that rate. A

continued rate that is resumed must

include any pay adjustments authorized

for the permanent position during the

period of the temporary promotion or

reassignment, as provided in 5 CFR

531.703(e).

This revision is the only change being

made in the interim regulations. All

other provisions of the interim

regulations are adopted as final.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

I certify that these regulations will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities

because they will apply only to Federal

agencies and employees.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Parts 530, 531,

534, 550, 575, 581, 582, and 630

Administrative practice and

procedure, Alimony, Child support,

Claims, Government employees,

Hospitals, Law enforcement officers,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Students, and Wages.

Office of Personnel Management.

James B. King,

Director.

Accordingly, the interim rule

amending parts 530, 531, 534, 550, 575,

581, 582, and 630 of title 5, Code of

Federal Regulations, which was

published at 61 FR 3539 on February 1,

1996, is adopted as final with the

following change:

PART 531—PAY UNDER THE

GENERAL SCHEDULE

1. The authority citation for part 531

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5115, 5307, and 5338;

sec. 4 of Pub. L. 103–89, 107 Stat. 981 and

E.O. 12748, 56 FR 4521, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp.,

p. 316;

Subpart B also issued under 5 U.S.C.

5303(g), 5333, 5334(a), and 7701(b)(2);

Subpart C also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304,

5305, and 5553; sections 302 and 404 of

FEPCA, Pub. L. 101–509, 104 Stat. 1462 and

1466; and section 3(7) of Pub. L. 102–378,

106 Stat. 1356;

Subpart D also issued under 5 U.S.C.

5335(g) and 7701(b)(2);

Subpart E also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5336;
34714 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 129 / Wednesday, July 3, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

Subpart F also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304,

5305(g)(1), and 5553; and E.O. 12883, 58 FR

63281, 3 CFR, 1993 Comp., p. 682;

Subpart G also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304,

5305, and 5553; section 302 of the Federal

Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990

(FEPCA), Pub. L. 101–509, 104 Stat. 1462;

and E.O. 12786, 56 FR 67453, 3 CFR, 1991

Comp., p. 376.

Subpart G—Continued Rates of Pay

2. In § 531.703, paragraph (i) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 531.703 Administration of continued

rates of pay.

* * * * *

(i) An employee’s entitlement to a

continued rate of pay is not affected by

a temporary promotion or temporary

reassignment, except that a continued

rate shall be suspended when a

temporary promotion or reassignment

causes one of the conditions in

paragraph (g) of this section to be

satisfied. In such situations, an

employee’s entitlement to continued

pay will resume as if never interrupted

upon return to the permanent position,

subject to the requirements of this

subpart. A continued rate that is

resumed shall include any pay

adjustments that were authorized for the

permanent position under paragraph (e)

of this section during the period of the

temporary promotion or reassignment.

[FR Doc. 96–16942 Filed 7–2–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6325–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

7 CFR Part 868

RIN 0580–AA47

Fees for Rice Inspection

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Federal Grain Inspection

Service (FGIS), of the Grain Inspection,

Packers and Stockyards Administration

(GIPSA) is increasing the fees for

Federal Rice Inspection Services, as

performed under the Agricultural

Marketing Act (AMA) of 1946. This fee

increase is intended to cover, as nearly

as practicable, the projected operating

costs, including related supervisory and

administrative costs, for Federal Rice

Inspection Services rendered and to

generate sufficient revenues to cover

costs and maintain an appropriate

operating reserve.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 2, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

George Wollam, USDA–GIPSA, Room

0623—South Building, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, D.C., 20090–6454,

telephone (202) 720–0292.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

This rule has been determined to be

significant for the purposes of Executive

Order 12866 and, therefore, has been

reviewed by the Office of Management

and Budget. This increase in the service

fees is necessary to recover operating

losses in the Federal Rice Inspection

Services. These fees were last increased

on January 1, 1995 56 FR 15483), but

revenue is still not covering operating

costs. The overall cost of operating the

Federal Rice Inspection Service program

increased between fiscal years (FY) 1994

and 1995 by more than 6 percent. In FY

1955, the program generated revenue of

$3,982,744 with operating costs of

$4,274,733, resulting in a 1-year

operating loss of $291,990.

Executive Order 12778

This final rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12778, Civil

Justice Reform. This action is not

intended to have a retroactive effect.

This final rule will not preempt any

State or local laws, regulations, or

policies unless they present

irreconcilable conflict with this rule.

There are no administrative procedures

which must be exhausted prior to any

judicial challenge to provisions of this

rule.

Effect on Small Entities

James R. Baker, Administrator,

GIPSA, has determined that this final

rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities as defined in

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

601 et seq.) because most users of the

rice inspection services do not meet the

requirements for small entities. In

addition, GIPSA is required by statute to

recover the costs of providing rice

inspection services.

Information Collection and Record

Keeping Requirements

In compliance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C.

Chapter 35), the information collection

and recordkeeping requirements

concerning applications for official

inspection services, including rice

inspections, have been approved by the

Office of Management and Budget under

control number 0580–0013.

Background

On January 11, 1996, FGIS proposed

in the Federal Register (61 FR 1013) to

increase fees charged for Federal Rice

Inspection Services. The rice inspection

fees were last amended on January 1,

1995 (56 FR 15483). They presently

appear in § 868.91 in Tables 1 and 2 of

the regulations (7 CFR 868.91 (Tables 1

and 2)). Since publication of the

proposed rule, FY 96 cost and revenue

information has become available and

has been included in the discussion

herein.

FGIS continually monitors its cost,

revenue, and operating reserve levels to

ensure that there are sufficient resources

for operations. During FYs 1993, 1994,

and 1995, respectively, FGIS

implemented cost-saving measures in an

effort to provide more cost effective

services. However, while the quantity of

rice inspections may fluctuate, certain

FGIS costs remain constant.

Consequently, revenues ($3,758,893;

$3,500,597; $3,982,744) did not cover

operating costs ($3,847,762; $4,022,194;

and $4,274,733) for FYs 1993, 1994, and

1995, respectively. This reflects a

reduction in operating reserves for all

three fiscal years.

At the time of the publication of the

proposed rule, FY 94 offered the most

current 1-year figures available to

compare FGIS’ rice inspection operating

costs with revenue. The figures for this

year were used to project the budgeted

FY 95 rice inspection operating costs

and establish revenue levels necessary

to cover projected operating costs.

During the period of October 1, 1994, to

July 31, 1995, the actual operating cost

was $3,760,305 and revenue was

$3,438,683, resulting in a reduction in

operating reserves of $321,667.

Since the publication of the proposed

rule, FY 95 offers the most current 1-

year figures available to compare FGIS’

rice inspection operating costs with

revenue. The figures for FY 95 used to

project the budgeted FY 96 rice

inspection operating costs and establish

revenue levels necessary to cover those

projected costs confirms the trend

toward reducing operating reserves.

From October 1, 1994, to September 30,

1995, the actual operating cost was

$4,274,733 and revenue was $3,982,744,

resulting in a reduction in operating

reserves of $291,990.

The trend, as reflected in FY 94 to FY

95 data, is expected to continue. This

overall trend necessitates an increase in

fees and an increase to the per-hundredweight volume charge for services

performed at export port locations on

lots at rest in order to recover the

projected operating costs and maintain