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. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

66293

Vol. 66, No. 247

Wednesday, December 26, 2001

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

7 CFR Part 1710

RIN 0572–AB71

Treasury Rate Direct Loan Program

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

SUMMARY: In fiscal year 2001, Congress

provided funding to establish a Treasury

rate direct loan program to address the

backlog of qualified loan applications

for insured municipal rate electric loans

from RUS. RUS administered the

Treasury rate loan program in a manner

substantially the same as it

administered the municipal rate

program under a Notice of Funding

Availability (NOFA) published in the

Federal Register at 65 FR 80830 on

December 22, 2000. Title III of the

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food

and Drug Administration, and Related

Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002

authorizes a direct Treasury rate electric

loan program of $750 million for FY

2002. RUS is amending its regulations to

establish rules and regulations to

administer the Treasury rate direct loan

program.

DATES: This rule is effective February

11, 2002 unless we receive written

adverse comments or written notice of

intent to submit adverse comments on

or before January 25, 2002. If we receive

such comments or notice, we will

publish a timely document in the

Federal Register withdrawing the direct

final rule. Comments received will be

considered under the proposed rule

published in this edition of the Federal

Register in the proposed rule section. A

second public comment period will not

be held. Parties interested in

commenting on this action should do so

at this time.

ADDRESSES: Submit adverse comments

or notice of intent to submit adverse

comments to F. Lamont Heppe, Jr.,

Director, Program Development and

Regulatory Analysis, Rural Utilities

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

1400 Independence Ave., SW., STOP

1522, Washington, DC 20250–1522. RUS

suggests a signed original and three

copies of all comments (7 CFR 1700.4).

All comments received will be made

available for public inspection at room

4030, South Building, Washington, DC,

between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. (7 CFR

1.27(b)).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert O. Ellinger, Chief, Policy

Analysis and Loan Management Staff,

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural

Utilities Service, Electric Program,

Room 4041 South Building, Stop 1560,

1400 Independence Ave., SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–1560,

Telephone: (202) 720–0424, FAX (202)

690–0717, E-mail:

rellinge@rus.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

This rule has been determined to be

not significant for purposes of Executive

Order 12866 and, therefore, has not

been reviewed by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB).

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed in

accordance with Executive Order 12988,

Civil Justice Reform. RUS has

determined that this rule meets the

applicable standards provided in

section 3 of the Executive Order. In

addition, all State and local laws and

regulations that are in conflict with this

rule will be preempted; no retroactive

effect will be given to this rule; and, in

accordance with section 212(e) of the

Department of Agriculture

Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C.

sec. 6912(e)) administrative appeals

procedures, if any are required, must be

exhausted before an action against the

Department or its agencies may be

initiated.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

The Administrator of RUS has

determined that this rule will not have

a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities as

defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act

(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). The RUS electric

program provides loans and loan

guarantees to borrowers at interest rates

and on terms that are more favorable

than those generally available from the

private sector. RUS borrowers, as a

result of obtaining federal financing,

receive economic benefits that exceed

any direct economic costs associated

with complying with RUS regulations

and requirements.

Information and Recordkeeping

Requirements

The reporting and recordkeeping

requirements contained in this rule are

currently approved by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB)

pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35) under

control number 0572–0032.

Unfunded Mandates

This rule contains no Federal

mandates (under the regulatory

provisions of Title II of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act of 1995) for State,

local, and tribal governments or the

private sector. Thus, this rule is not

subject to the requirements of sections

202 and 205 of the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995.

National Environmental Policy Act

Certification

The Administrator of RUS has

determined that this rule will not

significantly affect the quality of human

environment as defined by the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). Therefore, this

action does not require an

environmental impact statement or

assessment.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

The program described by this rule is

listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance Programs under number

10.850, Rural Electrification Loans and

Loan Guarantees. This catalog is

available on a subscription basis from

the Superintendent of Documents, U.S.

Government Printing Office,

Washington, DC 20402–9325, telephone

number (202) 512–1800.

Executive Order 12372

This rule is excluded from the scope

of Executive Order 12372,

Intergovernmental Consultation, which

may require consultation with State and

local officials. See the final rule related

notice entitled ‘‘Department Programs

66294 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 26, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

and Activities Excluded From Executive

Order 12372,’’ (50 FR 47034) advising

that RUS loans and loan guarantees are

not covered by Executive Order 12372.

Background

Title III of the Agriculture, Rural

Development, Food and Drug

Administration, and Related Agencies

Appropriations Act, 2001 (Pub. L. 106–

387) authorized a direct Treasury rate

electric loan program of $500 million for

FY 2001. On December 22, 2000, a

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA)

was published in the Federal Register at

65 FR 80830 announcing the availability

of $500 million in direct Treasury rate

electric loans for fiscal year (FY) 2001.

The document described the eligibility

and submission requirements, the

criteria to be used by the RUS to select

applications for funding, and the

expectation that the current backlog of

qualifying applications for loans from

RUS under the Rural Electrification Act

would exhaust all of the available

funding.

With the primary distinction between

the established municipal rate electric

loan program and the Treasury rate

electric loan program merely one of

interest setting methodologies,

qualifying applications for municipal

rate electric loans which were submitted

to RUS in accordance with 7 CFR part

1710, subpart I, before October 28, 2000,

were treated as pre-applications for

Treasury rate electric loans. RUS

contacted qualified applicants in the

order which they were queued, and

offered the applicant the opportunity to

elect to receive its loan at the Treasury

rate in lieu of the municipal rate. RUS

administered the direct Treasury rate

program during FY 2001 in a manner

substantially the same as it

administered the municipal rate

program.

General, pre-loan, and post-loan

policies and procedures for electric

loans made by RUS may be found in 7

CFR parts 1710, 1714, and 1717. It is

expected that the continued use of

established and highly effective electric

loan program procedures will enable

RUS to continue to make prudent loans

to qualified applicants. These

procedures are familiar to both RUS

staff and to the applicants and worked

well for the Treasury rate loan program.

Continuing this approach helps assure

that the funds authorized by Congress

are expended in a timely and efficient

manner as Congress intended. RUS

considered using another NOFA for FY

2002 but has decided that the

continuation of this program for the

second year makes rulemaking

appropriate at this time.

Section 4 of the Rural Electrification

Act of 1936 (RE Act) (7 U.S.C. 904),

among other things, provides RUS with

the authority to make loans for rural

electrification and for the purpose of

furnishing and improving electric

service in rural areas. Title III of the

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food

and Drug Administration, and Related

Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002

(Pub. L. 107–76) authorizes a direct

Treasury rate electric loan program of

$750 million for FY 2002. Congress

provided funding for continuation of the

Treasury rate direct loan program in an

effort to meet current and projected

demand for capital to furnish and

improve electric service in rural areas.

RUS is amending its regulations to

establish rules and regulations for use in

administering the Treasury rate direct

loan program.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1710

Electric power, Electric utilities, Loan

programs-energy, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Rural

areas.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, RUS amends 7 CFR Chapter

XVII as follows:

PART 1710—GENERAL AND PRELOAN POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

COMMON TO ELECTRIC LOANS AND

GUARANTEES

1. The authority citation for this part

1710 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 901 et seq., 1921 et

seq., 6941 et seq.

2. The subject heading for part 1710

is revised to read as set out above.

Subpart B—Types of Loans and Loan

Guarantees

3. Redesignate § 1710.51 as § 1710.52

and add a new § 1710.51 to read as

follows:

§ 1710.51 Direct loans.

RUS makes direct loans under section

4 of the RE Act.

(a) General. Except as otherwise

modified by this section, RUS will make

loans under the direct Treasury rate

loan program in the same manner that

it makes loans under the municipal rate

program. The general and pre-loan

policies and procedures for municipal

rate electric loans made by RUS may be

found in this part and 7 CFR part 1714.

Treasury rate electric loans are also

governed by such municipal rate

policies and procedures, except as

follows:

(1) Interest rates. The standard

interest rate on direct Treasury rate

loans will be established daily by the

United States Treasury. The borrower

will select interest rate terms for each

advance of funds. The minimum

interest rate term shall be one year.

Interest rate terms will be limited to

terms published by the Treasury (i.e. 1,

2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 20, and 30). Interest rate

terms to final maturity date, if other

than published by Treasury, will be

determined by RUS. Interest rates for

terms greater than 30 years will be at the

30-year rate. There will be no interest

rate cap on Treasury rate loans.

(2) Prepayment. A Treasury rate direct

electric loan may be repaid at par on its

rollover maturity date if there is one.

Such a loan, or portion thereof, may also

be prepaid after it has been advanced for

not less than two years, at any time

prior to its rollover or final maturity

date at its ‘‘net present value’’ (NPV) as

determined by RUS.

(3) Supplemental financing.

Supplemental financing will not be

required in connection with Treasury

rate direct electric loans.

(4) Transitional assistance. A

Treasury rate direct loan is not available

to provide transitional assistance to

borrowers.

(b) Loan documents. Successful

applicants will be required to execute

and deliver to RUS a promissory note

evidencing the borrower’s obligation to

repay the loan. The note must be in

form and substance satisfactory to RUS.

RUS will require a form of note

substantially in the form that it

currently accepts for direct municipal

rate electric loans, with such revisions

as may be necessary or appropriate to

reflect the different interest setting

provisions and the terms of paragraphs

(a) (1) and (2) of this section. All notes

will be secured in accordance with the

terms of 7 CFR part 1718.

Subpart C—Loan Proposes and Basic

Policies

4. In § 1710.102, redesignate

paragraphs (b) and (c) as (c) and (d) and

add a new paragraph (b) to read as

follows:

§ 1710.102 Borrower eligibility for different

types of loans.

* * * * *

(b) Direct loans under section 4.

Direct loans are normally reserved for

the financing of distribution and

subtransmission facilities of both

distribution and power supply

borrowers, including, under certain

circumstances, the implementation of

demand side management, energy

conservation programs, and on grid and

off grid renewable energy systems.

* * * * *

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 26, 2001 / Rules and Regulations 66295

Subpart I—Application Requirements

and Procedures for Loans

5. The heading for Subpart I is revised

to read as set out above.

6. Revise § 1710.401(a)(2)(i) to read as

follows:

§ 1710.401 Loan application documents.

(a) * * *

(2) * * *

(i) The requested loan type, loan

amount, loan term, final maturity and

method of amortization (§ 1710.110(b));

* * * * *

Dated: December 18, 2001.

Hilda Gay Legg,

Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.

[FR Doc. 01–31574 Filed 12–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Part 203

[Regulation C; Docket No. R–1119]

Home Mortgage Disclosure

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the

Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Final rule; staff commentary.

SUMMARY: The Board is publishing a

final rule amending the staff

commentary that interprets the

requirements of Regulation C (Home

Mortgage Disclosure). The Board is

required to adjust annually the assetsize exemption threshold for depository

institutions based on the annual

percentage change in the Consumer

Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and

Clerical Workers. The present

adjustment reflects changes for the

twelve–month period ending in

November 2001. During this period, the

index increased by 2.91 percent; as a

result, the exemption threshold is

increased to $32 million. Thus,

depository institutions with assets of

$32 million or less as of December 31,

2001, are exempt from data collection in

2002.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2002. This

rule applies to all data collection in

2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan

S. Sokolov, Attorney, Division of

Consumer and Community Affairs, at

(202) 452–3667; for users of

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf

(TDD) only, contact(202) 263–4869.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Home

Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA; 12

U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) requires most

mortgage lenders located in

metropolitan areas to collect data about

their housing-related lending activity.

Annually, lenders must file reports with

their federal supervisory agencies and

make disclosures available to the public.

The Board’s Regulation C (12 CFR part

203) implements HMDA.

Provisions of the Economic Growth

and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1996 (codified at 12 U.S.C.

2808(b)) amended HMDA to expand the

exemption for small depository

institutions. Prior to 1997, HMDA

exempted depository institutions with

assets totaling $10 million or less, as of

the preceding year end. The statutory

amendment increased the asset-size

exemption threshold by requiring a one

time adjustment of the $10 million

figure based on the percentage by which

the Consumer Price Index for Urban

Wage Earners and Clerical Workers

(CPIW) for 1996 exceeded the CPIW for

1975, and provided for annual

adjustments thereafter based on the

annual percentage increase in the CPIW.

The one–time adjustment increased the

exemption threshold to $28 million for

1997 data collection.

Section 203.3(a)(1)(ii) of Regulation C

provides that the Board will adjust the

threshold based on the year–to–year

change in the average of the CPIW, not

seasonally adjusted, for each twelve–

month period ending in November,

rounded to the nearest million. Pursuant

to this section, the Board raised the

threshold to $29 million for 1998 data

collection, raised it to $30 million for

1999 data collection, and kept it at that

level for data collection in 2000. The

Board raised the threshold to $31

million for data collection in 2001.

During the period ending November

2001, the CPIW increased by 2.91

percent. As a result, the exemption

threshold is increased to $32 million.

Thus, depository institutions with assets

of $32 million or less as of December 31,

2001, are exempt from data collection in

2002. An institution’s exemption from

collecting data in 2002 does not affect

its responsibility to report the data it

was required to collect in 2001.

The Board is amending comment

3(a)–2 of the staff commentary to

implement the increase in the

exemption threshold. Under the

Administrative Procedure Act, notice

and opportunity for public comment are

not required if the Board finds that

notice and public comment are

unnecessary or would be contrary to the

public interest. 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).

Regulation C establishes the formula for

determining adjustments to the

exemption threshold, if any, and the

amendment to the staff commentary

merely applies the formula. This

amendment is technical and not subject

to interpretation. For these reasons, the

Board has determined that publishing a

notice of proposed rulemaking and

providing opportunity for public

comment are unnecessary and would be

contrary to the public interest.

Therefore, the amendment is adopted in

final form.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 203

Banks, Banking, Federal Reserve

System, Mortgages, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, the Board amends 12 CFR

part 203 as follows:

PART 203–HOME MORTGAGE

DISCLOSURE (REGULATION C)

1. The authority citation for part 203

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 2801–2810.

2. In Supplement I to part 203, under

Section 203.3–Exempt Institutions,

under 3(a) Exemption based on location,

asset size, or number of home–purchase

loans, paragraph 2 is revised to read as

follows:

SUPPLEMENT I to PART 203–STAFF

COMMENTARY

* * * * *

Section 203.3 Exempt Institutions

3(a) Exemption based on location, asset

size, or number of home-purchase loans.

* * * * *

2. Adjustment of exemption threshold

for depository institutions. For data

collection in 2002, the asset–size

exemption threshold is $32 million.

Depository institutions with assets at or

below $32 million are exempt from

collecting data for 2002.

* * * * *

By order of the Board of Governors of the

Federal Reserve System, acting through the

Director of the Division of Consumer and

Community Affairs under delegated

authority, December 18, 2001.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 01–31563 Filed 12–21–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S