27730 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 111 / Thursday, June 11, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

1381a, 1382, 1382a, 1382b, 1382c(f), 1382j, 

1383, and 1383b); sec. 211, Public Law 93– 

66, 87 Stat. 154 (42 U.S.C. 1382 note). 

6. In § 416.1202: 

a. Revise the second sentence and 

remove the third sentence of paragraph 

(a); 

b. Add new paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), 

and (a)(3); and 

c. Revise paragraph (b)(1). 

The additions and revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 416.1202 Deeming of resources. 

(a) * * * In addition to the exclusions 

listed in § 416.1210, we also exclude the 

following items: 

(1) Pension funds that the ineligible 

spouse may have. Pension funds are 

defined as funds held in individual 

retirement accounts (IRA), as described 

by the Internal Revenue Code, or in 

work-related pension plans (including 

such plans for self-employed persons, 

sometimes referred to as Keogh plans); 

(2) For 9 months beginning with the 

month following the month of receipt, 

the unspent portion of any retroactive 

payment of special pay an ineligible 

spouse received from one of the 

uniformed services pursuant to 37 

U.S.C. 310; and 

(3) For 9 months beginning with the 

month following the month of receipt, 

the unspent portion of any retroactive 

payment of family separation allowance 

an ineligible spouse received from one 

of the uniformed services pursuant to 37 

U.S.C. 427 as a result of deployment to 

or service in a combat zone (as defined 

in § 416.1160(d)). 

(b) * * * 

(1) General. In the case of a child (as 

defined in § 416.1856) who is under age 

18, we will deem to that child any 

resources, not otherwise excluded under 

this subpart, of his ineligible parent who 

is living in the same household with 

him (as described in § 416.1851). We 

also will deem to the child the resources 

of his ineligible stepparent. As used in 

this section, the term ‘‘parent’’ means 

the natural or adoptive parent of a child, 

and the term ‘‘stepparent’’ means the 

spouse (as defined in § 416.1806) of 

such natural or adoptive parent who is 

living in the same household with the 

child and parent. We will deem to a 

child the resources of his parent and 

stepparent whether or not those 

resources are available to him. We will 

deem to a child the resources of his 

parent and stepparent only to the extent 

that those resources exceed the resource 

limits described in § 416.1205. (If the 

child is living with only one parent, we 

apply the resource limit for an 

individual. If the child is living with 

both parents, or the child is living with 

one parent and a stepparent, we apply 

the resource limit for an individual and 

spouse.) We will not deem to a child the 

resources of his parent or stepparent if 

the child is excepted from deeming 

under paragraph (b)(2) of this section. In 

addition to the exclusions listed in 

§ 416.1210, we also exclude the 

following items: 

(i) Pension funds of an ineligible 

parent (or stepparent). Pension funds 

are defined as funds held in IRAs, as 

described by the Internal Revenue Code, 

or in work-related pension plans 

(including such plans for self-employed 

persons, sometimes referred to as Keogh 

plans); 

(ii) For 9 months beginning with the 

month following the month of receipt, 

the unspent portion of any retroactive 

payment of special pay an ineligible 

parent (or stepparent) received from one 

of the uniformed services pursuant to 37 

U.S.C. 310; and 

(iii) For 9 months beginning with the 

month following the month of receipt, 

the unspent portion of any retroactive 

payment of family separation allowance 

an ineligible parent (or stepparent) 

received from one of the uniformed 

services pursuant to 37 U.S.C. 427 as a 

result of deployment to or service in a 

combat zone (as defined in 

§ 416.1160(d)). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E9–13621 Filed 6–10–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY 

Fiscal Service 

31 CFR Part 285 

RIN 1510–AB20 

Offset of Tax Refund Payments to 

Collect Past-Due, Legally Enforceable 

Nontax Debt 

AGENCY: Financial Management Service, 

Fiscal Service, Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Department of the 

Treasury, Financial Management 

Service, is proposing to amend its 

regulation governing the offset of tax 

refund payments to collect nontax debts 

owed to the United States. We are 

proposing to remove the ten-year time 

limitation on the collection of debts by 

tax refund offset. This change will allow 

for the use of tax refund offset to collect 

nontax debts owed to the United States 

irrespective of the amount of time the 

debt has been outstanding. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

August 10, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: The Financial Management 

Service (FMS) participates in the U.S. 

government’s eRulemaking Initiative by 

publishing rulemaking information on 

www.regulations.gov. Regulations.gov 

offers the public the ability to comment 

on, search, and view publicly available 

rulemaking materials, including 

comments received on rules. 

Comments on this rule, identified by 

docket FISCAL–FMS–2008–0003, 

should only be submitted using the 

following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions on the Web site for 

submitting comments. 

Mail: Tom Dungan, Debt Management 

Services, Financial Management 

Service, 401 14th Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20227. 

The fax and e-mail methods of 

submitting comments on rules to FMS 

have been retired. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name 

(‘‘Financial Management Service’’) and 

docket number FISCAL–FMS–2008– 

0003 for this rulemaking. In general, 

comments received will be published on 

Regulations.gov without change, 

including any business or personal 

information provided. Comments 

received, including attachments and 

other supporting materials, are part of 

the public record and subject to public 

disclosure. Do not enclose any 

information in your comment or 

supporting materials that you consider 

confidential or inappropriate for public 

disclosure. 

You may also inspect and copy this 

proposed rule at: Treasury Department 

Library, Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA) Collection, Room 1428, Main 

Treasury Building, 1500 Pennsylvania 

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20220. 

Before visiting, you must call (202) 622– 

0990 for an appointment. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas Dungan, Policy Analyst, at 

(202) 874–6660, or Tricia Long, Senior 

Attorney, at (202) 874–6680. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Food, Conservation and Energy 

Act of 2008, Public Law 110–234, 

Section 14219, 22 Stat. 923 (2008) (‘‘the 

Act’’) amended the Debt Collection Act 

of 1982 (as amended by the Debt 

Collection Improvement Act of 1996) to 

remove a restriction on the collection of 

debt by offset of nontax payments. Prior 

to this change, nontax payments could 

be offset to collect debt only if the debt 


cprice-sewell on PRODPC61 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 111 / Thursday, June 11, 2009 / Proposed Rules 27731 

was delinquent for a period of less than 

ten years. The amendment to the law 

allows for the collection of debt by 

offsetting nontax payments without any 

time limitation and applies to any debt 

outstanding on or after the date of the 

enactment of the Act. 

Although this statutory change does 

not directly apply to the offset of tax 

refund payments, we are nevertheless 

proposing to amend this regulation to 

mirror the statutory change because the 

regulatory time limitation contained in 

this regulation was intended to create 

uniformity in the way non-judicial 

offsets were conducted. Because there 

was no logical reason why the ten-year 

limitation applicable to the offset of 

nontax payments should not apply to 

non-judicial offsets under other statutes 

which did not contain their own 

limitations period, this regulation 

applied a ten-year limitation on the 

collection of debt by tax refund offset. 

However, now that the ten-year 

limitation has been eliminated for the 

offset of nontax payments, the rationale 

for including a ten-year limitation in 

this rule no longer applies. 

The proposed changes to this rule 

remove the limitations period by 

explicitly stating that no time limitation 

shall apply, and explain that by 

removing the time limitation, all debts, 

including debts that were ineligible for 

collection by offset prior to the removal 

of the limitations period, may now be 

collected by tax refund offset. 

Additionally, to avoid any undue 

hardship, we are proposing the addition 

of a notice requirement applicable to 

debts that were previously ineligible for 

collection by offset because they had 

been outstanding for more than ten 

years. For these debts, creditor agencies 

must certify to FMS that a notice of 

intent to offset was sent to the debtor 

after the debt became ten years 

delinquent. This notice of intent to 

offset is intended to alert the debtor that 

his debt may now be collected by offset 

and allows the debtor additional 

opportunities to dispute the debt, enter 

into a repayment agreement or 

otherwise avoid offset. This requirement 

will apply even in a case where notice 

was sent prior to the debt becoming ten 

years old. This requirement applies only 

with respect to debts that were 

previously ineligible for collection by 

offset because of the time limitation and 

does not apply to debts, such as 

Department of Education student loan 

debts, that could be collected by offset 

without regard to any time limitation 

prior to this regulatory change. 

II. Procedural Analyses 

Request for Comment on Plain Language 

Executive Order 12866 requires each 

agency in the Executive branch to write 

regulations that are simple and easy to 

understand. We invite comment on how 

to make the proposed rule clearer. For 

example, you may wish to discuss: (1) 

Whether we have organized the material 

to suit your needs; (2) whether the 

requirements of the rules are clear; or (3) 

whether there is something else we 

could do to make these rules easier to 

understand. 

Regulatory Planning and Review 

The proposed rule does not meet the 

criteria for a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ as defined in Executive Order 

12866. Therefore, the regulatory review 

procedures contained therein do not 

apply. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis 

It is hereby certified that the proposed 

rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. This rule 

merely removes the ten-year time 

limitation on the collection of debts by 

tax refund offset. Moreover, the 

provisions contained in this proposed 

rule would primarily affect federal 

creditor agencies and impose no 

additional costs to small entities. 

Accordingly, a regulatory flexibility 

analysis under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is 

not required. 

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 285 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Child support, Child welfare, 

Claims, Credits, Debts, Disability 

benefits, Federal employees, 

Garnishment of wages, Hearing and 

appeal procedures, Loan programs, 

Privacy, Railroad retirement, Railroad 

unemployment insurance, Salaries, 

Social Security benefits, Supplemental 

Security Income (SSI), Taxes, Veterans’ 

benefits, Wages. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, we propose to amend 31 CFR 

part 285 as follows: 

PART 285—DEBT COLLECTION 

AUTHORITIES UNDER THE DEBT 

COLLECTION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 

1996 

1. The authority citation for part 285 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5514; 26 U.S.C. 6402; 

31 U.S.C. 321, 3701, 3711, 3716, 3719, 

3720A, 3720B, 3720D; 42 U.S.C. 664; E.O. 

13019, 61 FR 51763, 3 CFR, 1996 Comp., p. 

216. 

2. In § 285.2, remove paragraph 

(d)(1)(ii), redesignate paragraphs 

(d)(1)(iii) through (d)(1)(v) as paragraphs 

(d)(1)(ii) through (d)(1)(ii) through 

(d)(1)(iv) respectively, and add 

paragraph (d)(6) as follows: 

§ 285.2 Offset of tax refund payments to 

collect past-due, legally enforceable nontax 

debt. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(6)(i) Creditor agencies may submit 

debts to FMS for collection by tax 

refund offset irrespective of the amount 

of time the debt has been outstanding. 

Accordingly, all nontax debts, including 

debts that were delinquent for ten years 

or longer prior to [INSERT DATE 30 

DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THE 

FINAL RULE IN THE FEDERAL 

REGISTER] may be collected by tax 

refund offset. 

(ii) For debts outstanding more than 

ten years on or before [INSERT DATE 30 

DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THE 

FINAL RULE IN THE FEDERAL 

REGISTER], creditor agencies must 

certify to FMS that the notice of intent 

to offset described in paragraph 

(d)(1)(iii)(B) of this section was sent to 

the debtor after the debt became ten 

years delinquent. This requirement will 

apply even in a case where notice was 

also sent prior to the debt becoming ten 

years delinquent, but does not apply to 

any debt that could be collected by 

offset without regard to any time 

limitation prior to [INSERT DATE 30 

DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THE 

FINAL RULE IN THE FEDERAL 

REGISTER]. 

* * * * * 

Dated: May 29, 2009. 

Gary Grippo, 

Acting Fiscal Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–13604 Filed 6–10–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–35–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2009–0033; FRL–8916–8] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; West 

Virginia; Clean Air Interstate Rule 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve 

a revision to the West Virginia State 

Implementation Plan (SIP). This 

revision addresses the requirements of 


cprice-sewell on PRODPC61 with PROPOSALS