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.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

41157 

Vol. 82, No. 167 

Wednesday, August 30, 2017 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 611 

Advanced Technology Vehicles 

Manufacturer Assistance Program 

AGENCY: Loan Programs Office, 

Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Interpretive rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(‘‘DOE’’) is adopting an interpretive rule 

to clarify its interpretation of Section 

136 of the Energy Independence and 

Security Act of 2007, as amended 

(‘‘EISA’’) and its implementing 

regulations for the Advanced 

Technology Vehicle Manufacturing 

Loan Program (the ‘‘ATVM Loan 

Program’’) authorized by Section 136. 

Section 136(f), which establishes 

requirements for the administrative 

costs associated with loans under the 

ATVM Loan Program, was implemented 

by DOE pursuant to a 2008 interim final 

rule governing the operation of the 

ATVM Program. The implementing 

regulation in part provided that the 

borrower would be required to pay at 

the time of the closing of the loan, an 

‘‘Administrative Fee’’ equal to 10 basis 

points of the principal amount of the 

loan. DOE is adopting this interpretive 

rule to explain its view that the 

administrative costs imposed by 

Congress under Section 136(f) is 

separate from the cost of the outside 

advisors engaged by DOE in connection 

with the review and processing of their 

respective loan applications, negotiation 

of conditional commitments, and 

closing of loans. 

DATES: This interpretive rule is effective 

on August 30, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Herbert A. Glaser, Chief Counsel, Loan 

Programs Office, U.S. Department of 

Energy, 1000 Independence Ave. SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121, email: 

lgprogram@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction and Background 

II. Approval of the Office of the Secretary 

I. Introduction and Background 

Section 136 of EISA authorizes the 

Secretary of Energy (the ‘‘Secretary’’) to 

issue grants and direct loans to 

applicants for the costs of reequipping, 

expanding, or establishing 

manufacturing facilities in the United 

States to produce qualified advanced 

technology vehicles, or qualifying 

components. Section 136 also 

authorizes the Secretary to issue grants 

and direct loans for the costs of 

engineering integration performed in the 

United States of qualifying advanced 

technology vehicles and qualifying 

components. DOE promulgated 

regulations implementing Section 136 at 

10 CFR part 611, 73 FR 66721 

(November 12, 2008). The regulations 

included implementation of Section 

136(f), ‘‘Fees,’’ which specifies that 

administrative costs shall be no more 

than $100,000 or 10 basis points of the 

loan. This statutory requirement is 

implemented at 10 CFR 611.107(e), 

which states that ‘‘[t]he Borrower will 

be required to pay at the time of the 

closing of the loan a fee equal to 10 

basis points of the principal amount of 

the loan.’’ This payment is referred to as 

the ‘‘Administrative Fee.’’ 

Although the Administrative Fee has 

been the sole fee imposed by DOE under 

the ATVM Loan Program to date, DOE 

does not interpret Section 136(f) as 

restricting its ability to assess other fees 

and charges on borrowers or other 

applicants, as defined in the 

implementing regulation at 10 CFR 

611.2. Moreover, DOE does not interpret 

Section136(f) as limiting the Secretary’s 

discretion to impose on borrowers or 

other applicants the cost of outside 

advisors engaged by DOE in connection 

with the processing and review of their 

respective loan applications or the 

negotiation and closing of their 

respective loan commitments and 

closings (collectively, ‘‘Transaction 

Advisory Costs’’). In the 2008 

rulemaking, DOE discussed its 

interpretation of Section 136(f), 

explaining that DOE interprets the 

statute as authorizing DOE to charge 

borrowers an administrative fee and as 

providing DOE with the flexibility to 

choose either monetary option set forth 

in the statute. DOE decided in the 2008 

rulemaking that administrative costs 

imposed on each borrower will be 10 

basis points of the loan, to be paid by 

the borrower on the closing date of the 

loan. DOE based its decision on the 

need for fairness among borrowers and 

the belief that administrative costs for a 

loan would be in excess of 10 basis 

points, and by selecting 10 basis points 

as the fee for all loans, DOE ensured that 

borrowers of smaller loans would pay 

smaller Administrative Fees. Nothing in 

the rulemaking sought to define 

‘‘administrative costs,’’ nor did it 

suggest that Section 136(f) limited 

DOE’s authority to recover costs not 

considered ‘‘administrative costs.’’ In 

this regard, the preamble to the 2008 

interim final rule refers to a ‘‘fee’’, but 

does not suggest that the fee is 

exclusive. Moreover, both Section 136(f) 

and the implementing regulations are 

silent as to the allocation, between DOE 

and applicants, of Transaction Advisory 

Costs or other costs that fall outside of 

the scope of administrative costs. 

Generally, the costs incurred by DOE 

to date to carry out the ATVM Loan 

Program can be divided into two 

categories: Those costs attributable 

generally to the overall administration 

of the ATVM Program, including payroll 

and other overhead costs of the Loan 

Programs Office ATVM Division, which 

are incurred irrespective of the volume 

or complexity of loan applications 

(‘‘Category I Costs’’), and those costs 

attributable directly to the review, 

processing, closing and management of 

specific loan transactions, including 

Transaction Advisory Costs (‘‘Category 

II Costs’’). Transaction Advisory Costs 

and other Category II Costs vary 

significantly in relation to the maturity 

and organization of the applicant and 

the complexity of the proposed project, 

among other factors. 

In this rulemaking, DOE interprets 

‘‘administrative costs’’ as used in 

Section 136(f) not to include Category II 

Costs, including Transactional Advisory 

Costs. DOE interprets Section 136(f) to 

instead establish a limit on the Category 

I Costs of the ATVM Loan Program that 

can be recovered through the imposition 

of the Administrative Fee. Allocating to 

the applicant the responsibility for 

Transaction Advisory Costs associated 

with the applicant’s transaction is 

consistent with the prevailing practices 

of similar federal financing programs 

and commercial lenders in similar 

transactions. Accordingly, DOE does not 

interpret either Section 136(f) or the 

41158 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 30, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

1Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and 

Disclosure Act of 2009, Public Law 111–24, 123 

Stat. 1734 (2009). 

implementing regulations to restrict 

DOE’s ability to allocate the Transaction 

Advisory Costs or other Category II 

Costs associated with a particular 

application to the relevant applicant. 

Based on its interpretation of the 

statute as explained in this rule, 

applicants for ATVM loans can bear all 

Transaction Advisory Costs associated 

with their respective applications. 

Applicants would pay Transaction 

Advisory Costs pursuant to direct 

agreements executed by and between 

the applicant and each relevant outside 

transaction advisor, in a form acceptable 

to DOE and each such transaction 

advisor, no later than the date 

determined by DOE in its discretion 

with respect to such pending 

application. 

II. Approval of the Office of the 

Secretary 

The Secretary of Energy has approved 

publication of this interpretive rule. 

List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 611 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Loan programs—energy, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 24, 

2017. 

John Sneed, 

Executive Director, Loan Programs Office. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18400 Filed 8–29–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

12 CFR Part 1026 

Truth in Lending (Regulation Z) Annual 

Threshold Adjustments (Credit Cards, 

HOEPA, and ATR/QM) 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Final rule; official 

interpretation. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer 

Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing 

this final rule amending the official 

interpretations for Regulation Z, which 

implements the Truth in Lending Act 

(TILA). The Bureau is required to 

calculate annually the dollar amounts 

for several provisions in Regulation Z; 

this final rule revises, as applicable, the 

dollar amounts for provisions 

implementing TILA and amendments to 

TILA, including under the Credit Card 

Accountability Responsibility and 

Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act), the 

Home Ownership and Equity Protection 

Act of 1994 (HOEPA), and the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). The 

Bureau is adjusting these amounts, 

where appropriate, based on the annual 

percentage change reflected in the 

Consumer Price Index (CPI) in effect on 

June 1, 2017. 

DATES: This final rule is effective 

January 1, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jaclyn Maier, Counsel, Office of 

Regulations, Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW., 

Washington, DC 20552 at (202) 435– 

7700. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Bureau is amending the official 

interpretations for Regulation Z, which 

implements TILA, to update the dollar 

amounts of various thresholds that are 

adjusted annually based on the annual 

percentage change in the CPI as 

published by the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS). Specifically, for openend consumer credit plans under TILA, 

the threshold that triggers requirements 

to disclose minimum interest charges 

will remain unchanged at $1.00 in 2018. 

For open-end consumer credit plans 

under the CARD Act amendments to 

TILA, the adjusted dollar amount for the 

safe harbor for a first violation penalty 

fee will remain unchanged at $27 in 

2018 and the adjusted dollar amount for 

the safe harbor for a subsequent 

violation penalty fee will remain 

unchanged at $38 in 2018. For HOEPA 

loans, the adjusted total loan amount 

threshold for high-cost mortgages in 

2018 will be $21,032. The adjusted 

points and fees dollar trigger for highcost mortgages in 2018 will be $1,052. 

For the general rule to determine 

consumers’ ability to repay mortgage 

loans, the maximum thresholds for total 

points and fees for qualified mortgages 

in 2018 will be 3 percent of the total 

loan amount for a loan greater than or 

equal to $105,158; $3,155 for a loan 

amount greater than or equal to $63,095 

but less than $105,158; 5 percent of the 

total loan amount for a loan greater than 

or equal to $21,032 but less than 

$63,095; $1,052 for a loan amount 

greater than or equal to $13,145 but less 

than $21,032; and 8 percent of the total 

loan amount for a loan amount less than 

$13,145. 

I. Background 

A. Credit Card Annual Adjustments 

Minimum Interest Charge Disclosure 

Thresholds 

Sections 1026.6(b)(2)(iii) and 

1026.60(b)(3) of the Bureau’s Regulation 

Z implement sections 127(a)(3) and 

127(c)(1)(A)(ii)(II) of TILA. Sections 

1026.6(b)(2)(iii) and 1026.60(b)(3) 

require the disclosure of any minimum 

interest charge exceeding $1.00 that 

could be imposed during a billing cycle 

and provide that, for open-end 

consumer credit plans, the minimum 

interest charge thresholds will be recalculated annually using the CPI that 

was in effect on the preceding June 1; 

the Bureau uses the Consumer Price 

Index for Urban Wage Earners and 

Clerical Workers (CPI–W) for this 

adjustment. When the cumulative 

change in the adjusted minimum value 

derived from applying the annual CPI– 

W level to the current amounts in 

§§ 1026.6(b)(2)(iii) and 1026.60(b)(3) has 

risen by a whole dollar, the minimum 

interest charge amounts set forth in the 

regulation will be increased by $1.00. 

The BLS publishes consumer-based 

indices monthly but does not report a 

CPI change on June 1; adjustments are 

reported in the middle of the month. 

This adjustment analysis is based on the 

CPI–W index in effect on June 1, 2017, 

which was reported by BLS on May 12, 

2017, and reflects the percentage change 

from April 2016 to April 2017. The CPI– 

W is a subset of the Consumer Price 

Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI–U) 

index and represents approximately 28 

percent of the U.S. population. The 

adjustment analysis accounts for a 2.1 

percent increase in the CPI–W from 

April 2016 to April 2017. This increase 

in the CPI–W when applied to the 

current amounts in §§ 1026.6(b)(2)(iii) 

and 1026.60(b)(3) did not trigger an 

increase in the minimum interest charge 

threshold of at least $1.00, and the 

Bureau is therefore not amending 

§§ 1026.6(b)(2)(iii) and 1026.60(b)(3). 

Safe Harbor Penalty Fees 

Section 1026.52(b)(1)(ii)(A) and (B) of 

the Bureau’s Regulation Z implements 

section 149(e) of TILA, established by 

the CARD Act.1 Section 

1026.52(b)(1)(ii)(D) provides that the 

safe harbor provision, which establishes 

the permissible penalty fee thresholds 

in § 1026.52(b)(1)(ii)(A) and (B), will be 

re-calculated annually using the CPI 

that was in effect on the preceding June 

1; the Bureau uses the CPI–W for this 

adjustment. The BLS publishes 

consumer-based indices monthly but 

does not report a CPI change on June 1; 

adjustments are reported in the middle 

of the month. The CPI–W is a subset of 

the CPI–U index and represents 

approximately 28 percent of the U.S. 

population. When the cumulative 

change in the adjusted value derived