This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

22841 

Vol. 74, No. 93 

Friday, May 15, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration 

9 CFR Part 201 

RIN 0580–AB09 

Scales; Accurate Weights, Repairs, 

Adjustments or Replacements After 

Inspection 

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend 

one section of the regulations under the 

Packers and Stockyards Act (P&S Act) to 

incorporate by reference the 2009 

edition of the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) 

Handbook 44, ‘‘Specifications, 

Tolerances, and Other Technical 

Requirements for Weighing and 

Measuring Devices,’’ and to require that 

scales used by stockyard owners, market 

agencies, dealers, packers, and live 

poultry dealers to weigh livestock, 

livestock carcasses, live poultry, or feed 

for the purposes of purchase, sale, 

acquisition, payment, or settlement 

meet applicable requirements of the 

2009 NIST Handbook 44. Additionally, 

we are proposing to amend that section 

of the regulations to add ‘‘swine 

contractors’’ to the list of regulated 

entities to which the section applies. 

DATES: We will consider comments we 

receive by July 14, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit 

comments on this proposed rule. You 

may submit comments by any of the 

following methods: 

• E-Mail: comments.gipsa@usda.gov. 

• Mail: Tess Butler, GIPSA, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 

1643–S, Washington, DC 20250–3604. 

• Fax: (202) 690–2173. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Tess 

Butler, GIPSA, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., Room 

1643–S, Washington, DC 20250–3604. 

• Internet: Go to http:// 

www.regulation.gov. Follow the on-line 

instruction for submitting comments. 

Instructions: All comments should 

make reference to the date and page 

number of this issue of the Federal 

Register. Regulatory analyses and other 

documents relating to this action will be 

available for public inspection in Room 

1643–S, 1400 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Washington, DC 20250–3604 

during regular business hours. All 

comments will be available for public 

inspection in the above office during 

regular business hours (7 CFR 1.27(b)). 

Please call GIPSA’s Management 

Support Staff at (202) 720–7486 to 

arrange a public inspection of comments 

received. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: S. 

Brett Offutt, Director, Policy and 

Litigation Division, P&SP, GIPSA, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., Washington, 

DC 20250, (202) 720–7363, 

s.brett.offutt@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), 

enforces the P&S Act (7 U.S.C. 181 et 

seq.). Under authority granted to us by 

the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary), 

we are authorized (7 U.S.C. 228) to 

create those regulations necessary to 

carry out the provisions of the P&S Act 

that specify requirements for regulated 

entities that purchase livestock or 

poultry. 

The regulations under the P&S Act 

have specific requirements for (1) scales 

that regulated entities use for weighing 

livestock, poultry or feed and (2) 

packers purchasing livestock on a 

carcass grade, weight, or grade and 

weight basis. 

The Farm Security and Rural 

Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107– 

171) (Act) amended the P&S Act to add 

‘‘swine contractor’’ as a regulated entity. 

Section 10502 of the Act defined swine 

contractor as ‘‘* * * any person 

engaged in the business of obtaining 

swine under a swine production 

contract for the purpose of slaughtering 

the swine or selling the swine for 

slaughter, if (a) the swine is obtained by 

the person in commerce; or (b) the 

swine (including products from the 

swine) obtained by the person is sold or 

shipped in commerce.’’ 

Adding ‘‘swine contractor’’ to specific 

sections of the regulations would dispel 

any confusion among swine contractors 

regarding which regulations under the 

P&S Act are applicable to them. It 

would also allow GIPSA to more easily 

identify and enforce violations of the 

P&S Act. 

Description of Proposed Changes 

We propose to amend Section 201.71 

of the regulations under the P&S Act (9 

CFR 201.71) to incorporate by reference 

the 2009 edition of NIST Handbook 44. 

We would also provide instructions on 

how to obtain copies of the handbook, 

which includes updated standards for 

operating, maintaining, and testing 

scales and standards for electronic 

devices. 

We also propose to revise this section 

of the regulations by adding the term 

‘‘swine contractors,’’ as follows: 

• § 201.71(a) would state that swine 

contractors must operate, maintain, and 

test scales according to the requirements 

of the 2009 edition of Handbook 44, 

Specifications, Tolerances, and Other 

Technical Requirements for Weighing 

and Measuring Devices; 

• § 201.71(b) would require swine 

contractors to use scales equipped with 

a printing device which shall record 

weight values on a scale ticket or other 

document; and 

• § 201.71(d) would require swine 

contractors to use only scales that are 

found, upon testing and inspection, to 

be in a condition to give accurate 

weights. 

The proposed changes to add swine 

contractor as a regulated entity would 

make this section consistent with other 

regulations under the P&SA Act 

regarding regulated entities that have 

been amended to include swine 

contractors. 

Options Considered 

We considered the option of not 

adding swine contractors to the 

regulations; we would continue to 

protect the interest of swine producers 

indirectly through regulation of packers, 

dealers, and market agencies. That 

option, however, is contrary to the 

intent of Congress, which amended the 

P&S Act to give GIPSA specific 

authority over swine contractors. We 

also considered not revising the 

regulations under the P&S Act regarding 

the standards for operating, 

maintaining, and testing scales and 

22842 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 93 / Friday, May 15, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

standards for electronic devices. 

Choosing this option, however, would 

not provide up-to-date standards for 

electronic devices as new technology 

emerges, nor would it provide 

consistency with the standards imposed 

by the States’ departments of weights 

and measures. 

Effects on Regulated Entities 

This proposed rule would make it 

clear that swine contractors as well as 

other regulated entities must operate, 

maintain, and test scales according to 

the requirements of the 2009 edition of 

NIST Handbook 44 and to use scales in 

good condition and equipped with a 

printing device to record weight values. 

Since regulated entities are required 

under State law to comply with NIST 

Handbook 44, there would be no new 

costs or burden to comply. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has designated this rule as not 

significant for the purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

We have determined that this 

proposed 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.). While this proposed rule 

would affect swine contractors, most 

such entities do not meet the definition 

for small entities in the Small Business 

Act (13 CFR 121.201). Therefore, we are 

not providing an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. These actions are not 

intended to have retroactive effect. This 

rule will not pre-empt state or local 

laws, regulations, or policies, unless 

they present an irreconcilable conflict 

with this rule. There are no 

administrative procedures that must be 

exhausted prior to any judicial 

challenge to the provisions of this rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule does not contain 

new or amended information collection 

requirements subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.). It does not involve collection of 

new or additional information by the 

federal government. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

GIPSA is committed to complying 

with the E-Government Act, to promote 

the use of the internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 201 

Swine, Hogs, Livestock, Measurement 

standards. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, we propose to amend 9 CFR 

part 201 to read as follows: 

PART 201—REGULATIONS UNDER 

THE PACKERS AND STOCKYARDS 

ACT 

1. Revise the authority citation for 

part 201 to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 181–229c. 

2. In § 201.71, paragraphs (a), (b) and 

(d) are revised to read as follows: 

§ 201.71 Scales; accurate weights, repairs, 

adjustments or replacements after 

inspection. 

(a) All scales used by stockyard 

owners, swine contractors, market 

agencies, dealers, packers, and live 

poultry dealers to weigh livestock, 

livestock carcasses, live poultry, or feed 

for the purposes of purchase, sale, 

acquisition, payment, or settlement 

shall be installed, maintained, and 

operated to ensure accurate weights. 

Such scales shall meet applicable 

requirements contained in the General 

Code, Scales Code, and Weights Code of 

the 2009 edition of the National 

Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST) Handbook 44, ‘‘Specifications, 

Tolerances, and Other Technical 

Requirements for Weighing and 

Measuring Devices,’’ which is hereby 

incorporated by reference. This 

incorporation by reference was 

approved by the Director of the Federal 

Register on [INSERT EFFECTIVE DATE 

OF FINAL RULE], in accordance with 5 

U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. These 

materials are incorporated as they exist 

on the date of approval and a notice of 

any change in these materials will be 

published in the Federal Register. The 

handbook is for sale by the National 

Conference of Weights & Measures 

(NCWM), 1135 M Street, Suite 110, 

Lincoln, Nebraska 68508. Information 

on these materials may be obtained from 

NCWM by calling 402–434–4880, by emailing nfo@ncwm.net, or on the 

Internet at http://www.nist.gov/owm. 

(b) All scales used by stockyard 

owners, swine contractors, market 

agencies, dealers, packers, and live 

poultry dealers to weigh livestock, 

livestock carcasses, live poultry, or feed 

for the purpose of purchase, sale, 

acquisition, payment, or settlement of 

livestock or live poultry and all scales 

used for the purchase, sale acquisition, 

payment, or settlement of livestock on a 

carcass weight basis shall be equipped 

with a printing device which shall 

record weight values on a scale ticket or 

other document. 

* * * * * 

(d) No scales shall be operated or used 

by any stockyard owners, swine 

contractors, market agencies, dealers, 

packers, or live poultry dealers to weigh 

livestock, livestock carcasses, live 

poultry, or feed for the purposes of 

purchase, sale, acquisition, payment, or 

settlement of livestock, livestock 

carcasses or live poultry unless it has 

been found upon test and inspection, as 

specified in § 201.72, to be in a 

condition to give accurate weight. If a 

scale is inspected or tested and 

adjustments or replacements are made 

to a scale, it shall not be used until it 

has been inspected and tested and 

determined to meet all accuracy 

requirements specified in the 

regulations in this section. 

Alan R. Christian, 

Acting Administrator, Grain Inspection, 

Packers and Stockyards Administration. 

[FR Doc. E9–11159 Filed 5–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–KD–P 

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD 

12 CFR Part 913 

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE 

AGENCY 

12 CFR Part 1204 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

Office of Federal Housing Enterprise 

Oversight 

12 CFR Part 1702 

RIN 2590–AA07 

Privacy Act Implementation 

AGENCIES: Federal Housing Finance 

Board; Federal Housing Finance 

Agency; Office of Federal Housing 

Enterprise Oversight. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance 

Agency (FHFA) is proposing a 

regulation providing the procedures and 

guidelines under which it will 

implement the Privacy Act of 1974, as 

amended. The proposed regulation 

describes the policies and procedures 

whereby individuals may obtain 

notification of whether an FHFA system