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
42750 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 175 / Tuesday, September 12, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

which stated that the Commission 

would publish a document in the 

Federal Register announcing the 

effective date of those rules. 

DATES: The amendments to 47 CFR 

73.503(e)(1), 73.621(f)(1), and 

73.2527(e)(14), published at 82 FR 

21127, May 5, 2017, are effective 

November 13, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathy Berthot, Media Bureau, Policy 

Division, at (202) 418–7454, or email: 

kathy.berthot@fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document announces that, on August 

30, 2017, OMB approved, for a period of 

three years, the information collection 

requirements relating to the third-party 

fundraising rules contained in the 

Commission’s Report and Order, FCC 

17–41, published at 82 FR 21127, May 

5, 2017. The OMB Control Number is 

3060–1174. The Commission publishes 

this document as an announcement of 

the effective date of the rules. If you 

have any comments on the burden 

estimates listed below, or how the 

Commission can improve the 

collections and reduce any burdens 

caused thereby, please contact Cathy 

Williams, Federal Communications 

Commission, Room 1–C823, 445 12th 

Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. 

Please include the OMB Control 

Number, 3060–1174, in your 

correspondence. The Commission will 

also accept your comments via email at 

PRA@fcc.gov. 

To request materials in accessible 

formats for people with disabilities 

(Braille, large print, electronic files, 

audio format), send an email to fcc504@

fcc.gov or call the Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (voice), (202) 418–0432 

(TTY). 

Synopsis 

As required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), 

the FCC is notifying the public that it 

received final OMB approval on August 

30, 2017, for the information collection 

requirements contained in the 

Commission’s rules at 47 CFR 

73.503(e)(1), 73.621(f)(1), and 

73.2527(e)(14). 

Under 5 CFR part 1320, an agency 

may not conduct or sponsor a collection 

of information unless it displays a 

current, valid OMB Control Number. 

No person shall be subject to any 

penalty for failing to comply with a 

collection of information subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act that does not 

display a current, valid OMB Control 

Number. The OMB Control Number is 

3060–1174. 

The foregoing notice is required by 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13, October 1, 1995, 

and 44 U.S.C. 3507. 

The total annual reporting burdens 

and costs for the respondents are as 

follows: 

OMB Control Number: 3060–1174. 

OMB Approval Date: August 30, 2017. 

OMB Expiration Date: August 31, 

2020. 

Title: Section 73.503, Licensing 

requirements and service; Section 

73.621, Noncommercial educational TV 

stations; Section 73.3527, Local public 

inspection file of noncommercial 

educational stations. 

Form Number: N/A. 

Respondents: Business or other forprofit entities; Not-for-profit 

institutions. 

Number of Respondents and 

Responses: 2,200 respondents; 33,000 

responses. 

Estimated Time per Response: 0.5 

hours. 

Frequency of Response: 

Recordkeeping requirement; Third party 

disclosure requirement. 

Obligation to Respond: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. The statutory 

authority which covers these 

information collections is contained in 

47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 303, and 399B. 

Total Annual Burden: 16,500 hours. 

Total Annual Cost: No cost. 

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: 

An assurance of confidentiality is not 

offered because this information 

collection does not require the 

collection of personally identifiable 

information (PII) from individuals. 

Privacy Act: No impact(s). 

Needs and Uses: On April 20, 2017, 

the Commission adopted a Report and 

Order in MB Docket No. 12–106, FCC 

17–41, In the Matter of Noncommercial 

Educational Station Fundraising for 

Third-Party Non-Profit Organizations. 

Under the Commission’s existing rules, 

a noncommercial educational (NCE) 

broadcast station may not conduct 

fundraising activities to benefit any 

entity besides the station itself if the 

activities would substantially alter or 

suspend regular programming. The 

Report and Order relaxes the rules to 

allow NCE stations to spend up to one 

percent of their total annual airtime 

conducting on-air fundraising activities 

that interrupt regular programming for 

the benefit of third-party non-profit 

organizations. 

The following is a description of the 

information collection requirements for 

which the Commission received OMB 

approval: 

Audience disclosure: Pursuant to 47 

CFR 73.503(e)(1), a noncommercial 

educational FM broadcast station that 

interrupts regular programming to 

conduct fundraising activities on behalf 

of third-party non-profit organizations 

must air a disclosure during such 

activities clearly stating that the 

fundraiser is not for the benefit of the 

station itself and identifying the entity 

for which it is fundraising. Pursuant to 

47 CFR 73.621(f)(1), a noncommercial 

educational TV broadcast station that 

interrupts regular programming to 

conduct fundraising activities on behalf 

of third-party non-profit organizations 

must air a disclosure during such 

activities clearly stating that the 

fundraiser is not for the benefit of the 

station itself and identifying the entity 

for which it is fundraising. The 

audience disclosure must be aired at the 

beginning and the end of each 

fundraising program and at least once 

during each hour in which the program 

is on the air. 

Retention of information on 

fundraising activities in local public 

inspection file: Pursuant to 47 CFR 

73.3527(e)(14), each noncommercial 

educational FM broadcast station and 

noncommercial educational TV 

broadcast station that interrupts regular 

programming to conduct fundraising 

activities on behalf of a third-party nonprofit organization must place in its 

local public inspection file, on a 

quarterly basis, the following 

information for each third-party 

fundraising program or activity: The 

date, time, and duration of the 

fundraiser; the type of fundraising 

activity; the name of the non-profit 

organization benefitted by the 

fundraiser; a brief description of the 

specific cause or project, if any, 

supported by the fundraiser; and, to the 

extent that the station participated in 

tallying or receiving any funds for the 

non-profit group, an approximation, to 

the nearest $10,000, of the total funds 

raised. The information for each 

calendar quarter is to be filed by the 

tenth day of the succeeding calendar 

quarter (e.g., January 10 for the quarter 

October–December, April 10 for the 

quarter January–March, etc.). 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene H. Dortch, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2017–19218 Filed 9–11–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 


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