42748 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 175 / Tuesday, September 12, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile 

organic compounds. 

Dated: August 25, 2017. 

V. Anne Heard, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4. 

40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows: 

PART 52—APPROVAL AND 

PROMULGATION OF 

IMPLEMENTATION PLANS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 52 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Subpart S—Kentucky 

■ 2. Section 52.920(c), Table 1 is 

amended under Chapter 53 by revising 

the entry for ‘‘401 KAR 53:010’’ to read 

as follows: 

§ 52.920 Identification of plan. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

TABLE 1—EPA-APPROVED KENTUCKY REGULATIONS

State citation Title/subject 

State 

effective 

date 

EPA approval 

date Explanation 

*******

Chapter 53 Ambient Air Quality 

*******

401 KAR 53:010 ..... Ambient air quality standards ..... 07/19/16 09/12/17, [Insert citation of publication].

* * * * * * * 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2017–19212 Filed 9–11–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

42 CFR Part 403 

[CMS–6076–IFR2] 

RIN 0991–AC0 

Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties 

for Inflation; Correcting Amendment 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Interim final rule; correcting 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: In the September 6, 2016 

Federal Register (81 FR 61538), we 

published an interim final rule (IFR) 

issuing a new regulation to adjust for 

inflation the maximum civil monetary 

penalty amounts for the various civil 

monetary penalty authorities for all 

agencies within HHS. This correcting 

amendment corrects a limited number 

of technical and typographical errors 

identified in the CMS provisions of the 

September 6, 2016 IFR. 

DATES:

Effective date: This correcting 

amendment is effective September 12, 

2017. 

Applicability date: The corrections 

indicated in this correcting amendment 

are applicable beginning September 6, 

2016. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ian 

Mahoney, (410) 786–4247. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

In the September 6, 2016 (81 FR 

61538) Federal Register, in the interim 

final rule (IFR) titled ‘‘Adjustment of 

Civil Monetary Penalties for Inflation,’’ 

there is a technical error identified and 

corrected in this correcting amendment. 

The provisions of this correcting 

amendment are effective as if they had 

been included in the IFR published on 

September 6, 2016 and, accordingly, are 

applicable beginning September 6, 2016. 

The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015 (the 2015 Act) (section 701 of the 

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Pub. L. 

114–74, enacted on November 2, 2015), 

which amended the Federal Civil 

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 

1990 (the Inflation Adjustment Act) 

(Pub. L. 101–410, 104 Stat. 890 (1990) 

(codified as amended at 28 U.S.C. 2461 

note 2(a)), is intended to improve the 

effectiveness of civil monetary penalties 

and to maintain the deterrent effect of 

such penalties by requiring agencies to 

adjust the civil monetary penalties for 

inflation on an initial basis and 

annually. The U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS) lists 

the civil monetary penalties and the 

penalty amounts administered by all of 

its agencies in tabular form in 45 CFR 

102.3. 

II. Summary of Errors 

On page 61561 of the IFR, in the table 

indicating the changes in regulations 

text for § 403.912(a)(1), we inadvertently 

made errors in the specifying the 

minimum and maximum civil monetary 

penalty amounts to which the inflation 

adjustment would be applied (the ‘‘base 

penalty range’’). Specifically, we 

inadvertently changed the base penalty 

range from $1,000 and $10,000 to 

$10,000 and $100,000, respectively. The 

statutory authority for this civil money 

penalty is section 1128G of the Act (42 

U.S.C. 1320a–7h), which requires 

applicable manufacturers to report 

annually to CMS any payments or other 

transfers of value to covered recipients. 

In addition, the statute requires 

applicable manufacturers and 

applicable group purchasing 

organizations to report annually to CMS 

ownership investment interests held by 

physicians or their family members in 

such entities. Section 1128G(b)(1) of the 

Act provides that if an applicable 

manufacturer or applicable group 

purchasing organization fails to report 

the required information in timely 

manner to CMS, the entity is subject to 

a civil money penalty amount between 

$1,000 and $10,000 for each payment or 

transfer of value or ownership or 

investment interest not reported, up to 

an annual maximum of $150,000 per 

submission by a reporting entity. 

Accordingly, we are revising 


pmangrum on DSK3GDR082PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 175 / Tuesday, September 12, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 42749 

§ 403.912(a)(1) to correct the 

typographical error in the penalty 

ranges originally established in section 

1128G of the Act. 

III. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking 

and Delay in Effective Date 

In accordance with section 553(b) of 

the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) 

(5 U.S.C. 553(b)), we ordinarily publish 

a notice of proposed rulemaking in the 

Federal Register to provide for a period 

of public comment before the provisions 

of a rule take effect. However, we can 

waive this notice and comment 

procedure if the Secretary finds, for 

good cause, that the notice and 

comment process is impracticable, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public 

interest, and incorporates a statement of 

the finding and the reasons therefore in 

the notice. Section 553(d) of the APA 

ordinarily requires a 30-day delay in 

effective date of final rules after the date 

of their publication in the Federal 

Register. This 30-day delay in effective 

date can be waived, however, if an 

agency finds for good cause that the 

delay is impracticable, unnecessary, or 

contrary to the public interest, and the 

agency incorporates a statement of the 

findings and its reasons in the rule 

issued. 

We believe that this document does 

not constitute a rulemaking that would 

be subject to the requirement for a 

public comment period. Specifically, we 

find that undertaking further notice and 

comment procedures to correct the IFR 

in unnecessary and contrary to public 

interest. 

First, we believe it is unnecessary to 

allow for public comment regarding 

whether to correct a misstated penalty 

range that is inconsistent with, and 

exponentially higher than, that 

permitted by the authorizing statute. As 

noted previously, this correcting 

amendment merely corrects a 

typographical error in the base penalty 

range to which the inflation increase 

implemented by the IFR would be 

applied. This correction is necessary to 

ensure that the base penalty range does 

not exceed the range authorized under 

section 1128G(b)(1)(A) of the Act, as 

adjusted under the Inflation Adjustment 

Act. Public comment on this correction 

amendment is unnecessary because it 

could never change the statutory 

penalty range at issue. We note that the 

IFR never indicated that we were 

increasing the base penalty range 

identified in this or any other civil 

money penalty authority. In fact, on 

page 61548 of the IFR, we indicated that 

the new inflation adjusted penalty range 

under § 403.912(a) would be from 

$1,087 to $10,874 per unreported 

arrangement, up to a calendar year cap 

of $163,117. Furthermore, we note that 

the erroneous base range stated on page 

61561 of the IFR makes little sense in 

light of the statutory calendar year cap 

for this penalty. Under the original base 

penalty range, CMS could impose the 

minimum penalty of $1,000 for up to 

150 unreported arrangements. Under the 

erroneous regulations text in the IFR, 

CMS would be permitted to impose the 

minimum penalty amount of $10,000 for 

only a maximum of 16 unreported 

arrangements. Even if we had the 

statutory authority to increase the base 

penalty range through rulemaking, the 

maximum penalty amount erroneously 

stated in the IFR is patently inconsistent 

with one of the stated policies of the 

IFR—to maintain the deterrent effect of 

civil money penalties. Second, we 

believe that providing an opportunity 

for public comment on this correcting 

amendment is contrary to the public 

interest. First, as noted previously, 

public comment in this case could never 

change the statutory penalty range at 

issue. We believe that it would not be 

in the public interest to offer a futile 

comment period. Second, the entities 

subject to civil money penalties 

authorized under section 1128G(b) of 

the Act should be advised, in a timely 

manner, of the correct amounts for 

which they could be liable. It is in the 

public interest to ensure that the 

regulations accurately reflect the 

statutory authority. 

For similar reasons, we are also 

waiving the 30-day delay in effective 

date for this correcting amendment. 

First, we believe it is unnecessary to 

delay the effective date of corrections to 

a typographical error in regulation text 

that was patently inconsistent with the 

relevant statutory authority. Second, we 

believe that delaying the effective date 

of these corrections would be contrary 

to the public interest because the 

entities subject to civil money penalties 

should be advised, in a timely manner, 

of the correct amounts for which they 

could be liable. Therefore, we find good 

cause to waive the 30-day delay in 

effective date. 

Finally, the corrections indicated in 

this correcting amendment are 

applicable to civil monetary penalties as 

if they had been included in the IFR. 

That is, the corrections are applicable to 

civil money penalties imposed under 

§ 403.912(a)(1) beginning September 6, 

2016, the date the IFR became effective. 

We do not believe this correcting 

amendment constitutes retroactive 

rulemaking because the erroneous base 

penalty range was never authorized 

under section 1128G(b) of the Act. In 

addition, we have not imposed any 

penalties under § 403.912(a)(1) since the 

effective date of the IFR. 

List of Subjects in 42 CFR Part 403 

Grant programs—health, Health 

insurance, Hospitals, Intergovernmental 

relations, Medicare, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Accordingly, as noted in section II. of 

this document, the Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services is making the 

following correcting amendments to 42 

CFR part 403: 

PART 403—SPECIAL PROGRAMS AND 

PROJECTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 403 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1395b–3 and Secs. 

1102 and 1871 of the Social Security Act (42 

U.S.C. 1302 and 1395hh). 

§ 403.912 [Amended] 

■ 2. Section 403.912(a)(1) is amended 

by removing the phrase ‘‘not less than 

$10,000, but not more than $100,000’’ 

and adding in its place the phrase ‘‘not 

less than $1,000, but not more than 

$10,000.’’ 

Dated: August 17, 2017. 

Seema Verma, 

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

Dated: September 6, 2017. 

Thomas E. Price, 

Secretary, Department of Health and Human 

Services. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19311 Filed 9–11–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 73 

[MB Docket No. 12–106, FCC 17–41] 

Noncommercial Educational Station 

Fundraising for Third-Party Non-Profit 

Organizations 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of 

effective date. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the 

Commission announces that the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) has 

approved, for a period of three years, the 

information collection associated with 

the Commission’s Noncommercial 

Educational Station Fundraising for 

Third-Party Non-Profit Organizations 

Report and Order’s third-party 

fundraising rules. This document is 

consistent with the Report and Order, 


pmangrum on DSK3GDR082PROD with RULES1