[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 29, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40957-40958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18274]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

41 CFR Part 105-70

[FPMR Case 2016-101-1; Docket No. 2016-0009; Sequence No. 1]
RIN 3090-AJ70


Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986, Civil Monetary 
Penalties Inflation Adjustment

AGENCY: Office of General Counsel, General Services Administration.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 
Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement 
Act of 1996 and further amended by the Federal Civil Penalties 
Inflation Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 2015, this final rule 
incorporates the penalty inflation adjustments for the civil monetary 
penalties set forth in the United States Code, as codified in our 
regulations.

DATES: Effective: September 28, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Aaron Pound, Assistant General 
Counsel, General Law Division (LG), General Services Administration, 
1800 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20405. Telephone Number 202-501-1460.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996

    To maintain the remedial impact of civil monetary penalties (CMPs) 
and to promote compliance with the law, the Federal Civil Penalties 
Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-410) was amended by the 
Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134) to require 
Federal agencies to regularly adjust certain CMPs for inflation and 
further amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act 
Improvement Act of 2015 (Sec. 701 of Pub. L. 114-74). As amended, the 
law requires each agency to make an initial inflationary adjustment for 
all applicable CMPs, and to make further adjustments at least once 
every year thereafter for these penalty amounts. The Debt Collection 
Improvement Act of 1996 further stipulates that any resulting increases 
in a CMP due to the calculated inflation adjustments shall apply only 
to violations which occur after the date the increase takes effect, 
i.e., thirty (30) days after date of publication in the Federal 
Register. Pursuant to the 2015 Act, agencies are required to adjust the 
level of the CMP with an initial ``catch up'', and make subsequent 
annual adjustments for inflation. Catch up adjustments are based on the 
percent change between the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers 
(CPI-U) for the month of October for the year of the previous 
adjustment, and the October 2015 CPI-U. Annual inflation adjustments 
will be based on the percent change between the October CPI-U preceding 
the date of adjustment and the prior year's October CPI-U.

II. The Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986

    In 1986, sections 6103 and 6104 of the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-501) set forth the Program Fraud 
Civil Remedies Act of 1986 (PFCRA). Specifically, this statute imposes 
a CMP and an assessment against any person who, with knowledge or 
reason to know, makes, submits, or presents a false, fictitious, or 
fraudulent claim or statement to the Government. The General Services 
Administration's regulations, published in the Federal Register (61 FR 
246, December 20, 1996) and codified at 41 CFR part 105-70, set forth a 
CMP of up to $5,500 for each false claim or statement made to the 
agency. Based on the penalty amount inflation factor calculation, 
derived from dividing the June 2015 CPI by the June 1996 CPI, after 
rounding we are adjusting the maximum penalty amount for this CMP to 
$10,781 per violation.

III. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    In developing this final rule, we are waiving the usual notice of 
proposed rulemaking and public comment procedures set forth in the

[[Page 40958]]

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553 (APA). The APA provides an 
exception to the notice and comment procedures when an agency finds 
there is good cause for dispensing with such procedures on the basis 
that they are impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public 
interest. We have determined that under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) good 
cause exists for dispensing with the notice of proposed rulemaking and 
public comment procedures for this rule. Specifically, this rulemaking 
comports and is consistent with the statutory authority set forth in 
the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, with no issues of policy 
discretion. Accordingly, we believe that opportunity for prior comment 
is unnecessary and contrary to the public interest, and we are issuing 
these revised regulations as a final rule that will apply to all future 
cases under this authority.

IV. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

    Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess 
all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if 
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize 
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public 
health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). E.O. 
13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, 
of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility. 
This is a not significant regulatory action and, therefore, was not 
subject to review under Section 6(b) of E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning 
and Review, dated September 30, 1993. This rule is not a major rule 
under 5 U.S.C. 804.
    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has reviewed this final 
rule in accordance with the provisions of E.O. 12866 and has determined 
that it does not meet the criteria for a significant regulatory action. 
As indicated above, the provisions contained in this final rulemaking 
set forth the inflation adjustments in compliance with the Debt 
Collection Improvement Act of 1996 for specific applicable CMPs. The 
great majority of individuals, organizations and entities addressed 
through these regulations do not engage in such prohibited conduct, and 
as a result, we believe that any aggregate economic impact of these 
revised regulations will be minimal, affecting only those limited few 
who may engage in prohibited conduct in violation of the statute. As 
such, this final rule and the inflation adjustment contained therein 
should have no effect on Federal or state expenditures.

V. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Administrator of General Services certifies that this final 
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small business entities. While some penalties may have an 
impact on small business entities, it is the nature of the violation 
and not the size of the entity that will result in an action by the 
agency, and the aggregate economic impact of this rulemaking on small 
business entities should be minimal, affecting only those few who have 
engaged in prohibited conduct in violation of statutory intent.

VI. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule imposes no new reporting or recordkeeping 
requirements necessitating clearance by OMB.

List of Subject in 41 CFR Part 105-70

    Administrative hearing, Claims, Program fraud.

    Dated: July 18, 2017.
Timothy Horne,
Acting Administrator of General Services.

    Accordingly, 41 CFR part 105-70 is amended as set forth below:

PART 105-70--IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL REMEDIES ACT 
OF 1986

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1. The authority citation for 41 CFR part 105-70 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 40 U.S.C. 486(c); 31 U.S.C. 3809.


Sec.  105-70.003  [Amended]

0
2. Amend Sec.  105-70.003 by--
0
a. Removing from paragraph (a)(1)(iv) the amount ``5,500'' and adding 
``10,781'' in its place; and
0
b. Removing from paragraph (b)(1)(ii) the amount ``5,500'' and adding 
``10,781'' in its place.

[FR Doc. 2017-18274 Filed 8-28-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-81-P