[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 53 (Monday, March 18, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10879-10881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6268]



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 Rules and Regulations
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 to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
 under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 53 /  Monday, March 18, 1996 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 10879]]


OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 3206-AH27

Prevailing Rate Systems; Redefinition of Certain Federal Wage 
System Wage Areas

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final 
rule to redefine several Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas for pay-
setting purposes. OPM is engaged in an ongoing project to review the 
geographic definitions of selected FWS wage areas. Based on recent 
reviews of wage and survey area boundaries in a number of wage areas, 
OPM is redefining and/or renaming the following FWS wage areas: 
Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD; Biloxi, MS; Columbus-Aberdeen, 
MS; Jackson, MS; Meridian, MS; Great Falls, MT; Pittsburgh, PA; Eastern 
Tennessee; Corpus Christi, TX; San Antonio, TX; and West Virginia. 
Timing of the actual implementation of changes in these wage areas 
varies somewhat because of the varying dates for the conduct of local 
FWS wage surveys.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 17, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mark Allen, (202) 606-2848.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OPM is engaged in an ongoing project to 
review the geographic definitions of selected FWS appropriated fund 
wage areas. On December 19, 1995, OPM published a proposed rule (60 FR 
65245) concerning changes in several FWS wage area definitions. The 
proposed rule provided a 30-day period for public comment. OPM received 
comments regarding the definition of the Columbus-Aberdeen, MS, wage 
area from several FWS employees in the wage area and an attorney. The 
commenters recommended that OPM remove Panola, Yalobusha, and Grenada 
Counties, MS, from the Columbus-Aberdeen wage area and redefine the 
counties to the Memphis, TN, wage area.
    During its study of the Columbus-Aberdeen wage area, the Federal 
Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee carefully reviewed the wage area 
definitions of Grenada, Panola, and Yalobusha Counties and determined 
by consensus that, according to the regulatory criteria for defining 
FWS wage areas (section 532.211 of title 5, Code of Federal 
Regulations), the counties should remain in the wage area to which they 
are currently defined, with Grenada County being added to the wage 
area's survey area. OPM concurs with that finding and does not, 
therefore, agree that Grenada, Panola, and Yalobusha Counties should be 
redefined to the Memphis wage area.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    I certify that these regulations will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because they 
affect only Federal agencies and employees.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 532

    Administrative practice and procedure, Freedom of information, 
Government employees, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Wages.

Office of Personnel Management.
Lorraine A. Green,
Deputy Director.

    Accordingly, OPM is amending 5 CFR Part 532 as follows:


PART 532--PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS

    1. The authority citation for part 532 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5343, 5346; Sec. 532.707 also issued under 5 
U.S.C. 552.

Appendix A to Subpart B--[Amended]

    2. Appendix A to subpart B is amended for Great Falls, MT, by 
removing the name ``Great Falls'' and adding in its place ``Montana'', 
and for Columbus-Aberdeen, MS, by removing the name ``Columbus-
Aberdeen'' and adding in its place ``Northern Mississippi''.
    3. Appendix C to subpart B is amended by revising the wage area 
listings for Hagerstown-Martinsburg-Chambersburg, MD and Biloxi, MS; 
removing ``Columbus-Aberdeen'' MS and inserting in alphabetical order a 
new listing for ``Northern Mississippi;'' and revising the listing for 
Jackson, MS; Meridian, MS; the state of Montana; Pittsburgh, PA; 
Eastern Tennessee; Corpus Christi, TX; San Antonio, TX; and West 
Virginia to read as follows:

Appendix C to Subpart B of Part 532--Appropriated Fund Wage and Survey 
Areas

 * * * * *

MARYLAND

 * * * * *

HAGERSTOWN-MARTINSBURG-CHAMBERSBURG

Survey Area

Maryland:
    Washington
Pennsylvania:
    Franklin
West Virginia:
    Berkeley

Area of Application--Survey Area Plus

Maryland:
    Allegany
    Garrett
Pennsylvania:
    Fulton (Effective as of April 17, 1996.)
Virginia (cities):
    Harrisonburg
    Winchester
Virginia (counties):
    Clarke
    Culpeper
    Frederick
    Greene
    Madison
    Page
    Rappahannock
    Rockingham
    Shenandoah
    Warren
West Virginia:
    Hampshire
    Hardy
    Jefferson
    Mineral
    Morgan
 * * * * *

MISSISSIPPI

BILOXI

Survey Area

Mississippi:
    Hancock
    Harrison
    Jackson
    
[[Page 10880]]


Area of Application--Survey Area Plus

Mississippi:
    George
    Pearl River
    Stone (Effective as of November 1, 1997.)

JACKSON

Survey area

Mississippi:
    Hinds
    Rankin
    Warren

Area of Application--Survey Area Plus

Mississippi:
    Adams (Effective as of February 1, 1997.)
    Amite
    Attala
    Claiborne (Effective as of February 1, 1997.)
    Copiah
    Covington
    Franklin
    Holmes
    Humphreys
    Issaquena
    Jefferson (Effective as of February 1, 1997.)
    Jefferson Davis
    Lawrence
    Lincoln
    Madison
    Marion
    Pike
    Scott
    Sharkey
    Simpson
    Smith
    Walthall
    Wilkinson
    Yazoo

MERIDIAN

Survey Area

Mississippi:
    Forest
    Lamar (Effective as of February 1, 1997.)
    Lauderdale
Alabama:
    Choctaw

Area of Application--Survey Area Plus

Mississippi:
    Clarke
    Greene
    Jasper
    Jones
    Kemper
    Leake
    Neshoba
    Newton
    Perry
    Wayne
Alabama:
    Sumter

NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI

Survey Area

Mississippi:
    Clay
    Grenada (Effective as of February 1, 1996.)
    Leflore (Effective as of February 1, 1996.)
    Lee
    Lowndes
    Monroe
    Oktibbeha

Area of Application--Survey Area Plus

Mississippi:
    Alcorn
    Bolivar
    Calhoun
    Carroll
    Chickasaw
    Choctaw
    Coahoma
    Itawamba
    Layfayette (Excluding Holly Springs National Forest.)
    Montgomery
    Noxubee
    Panola
    Pontotoc (Excluding Holly Springs National Forest.)
    Prentiss
    Quitman
    Sunflower
    Tallahatchie
    Tishomingo
    Union (Excluding Holly Springs National Forest.)
    Washington
    Webster
    Winston
    Yalobusha
 * * * * *

MONTANA

Survey Area

Montana:
    Cascade
    Lewis and Clark
    Yellowstone

Area of Application--Survey Area Plus

Montana:
    Beaverhead
    Big Horn
    Blaine
    Broadwater
    Carbon
    Carter
    Chouteau
    Custer
    Daniels
    Dawson
    Deer Lodge
    Fallon
    Fergus
    Flathead
    Gallatin
    Garfield
    Glacier
    Golden Valley
    Granite
    Hill
    Jefferson
    Judith Basin
    Lake
    Liberty
    Lincoln
    McCone
    Madison
    Meagher
    Mineral
    Missoula
    Musselshell
    Park
    Petroleum
    Phillips
    Pondera
    Powder River
    Powell
    Prairie
    Ravalli
    Richland
    Roosevelt
    Rosebud
    Sanders
    Sheridan
    Silver Bow
    Stillwater
    Sweet Grass
    Teton
    Toole
    Treasure
    Valley
    Wheatland
    Wibaux
Wyoming:
    Big Horn
    Park
* * * * *

PENNSYLVANIA

* * * * *

PITTSBURGH

Survey Area

Pennsylvania:
    Allegheny
    Beaver
    Butler (Effective as of the first day of the month of the first 
full-scale wage survey in the Pittsburgh wage area following April 
17, 1996.)
    Washington
    Westmoreland

Area of Application--Survey Area Plus

Pennsylvania:
    Armstrong
    Bedford
    Blair
    Cambria
    Cameron
    Centre
    Clarion
    Clearfield
    Clinton
    Crawford
    Elk
    Erie
    Fayette
    Forest
    Greene
    Huntingdon
    Indiana
    Jefferson
    Lawrence
    McKean
    Mercer
    Potter
    Somerset
    Venango
    Warren
Ohio:
    Belmont
    Carroll
    Harrison
    Jefferson
    Tuscarawas
West Virginia:
    Brooke
    Hancock
    Marshall
    Ohio
* * * * *

[[Page 10881]]


TENNESSEE

EASTERN TENNESSEE

Survey Area

Tennessee:
    Carter
    Hawkins
    Sullivan
    Unicoi
    Washington
Virginia (city):
    Bristol
Virginia (counties):
    Scott
    Washington

Area of Application--Survey Area Plus

Tennessee:
    Cocke
    Greene
    Hancock
    Johnson
Virginia:
    Buchanan
    Grayson
    Lee
    Russell
    Smyth
    Tazewell
North Carolina:
    Alleghany
    Ashe
    Watauga
Kentucky:
    Harlan
    Letcher
* * * * *

TEXAS

* * * * *

CORPUS CHRISTI

Survey Area

Texas:
    Nueces
    San Patricio

Area of Application--Survey Area Plus

Texas:
    Aransas
    Bee
    Brooks (Effective as of the first day of the first applicable 
pay period beginning on or after April 17, 1996.
    Calhoun
    Cameron (Effective as of the first day of the first applicable 
pay period beginning on or after April 17, 1996.
    Goliad
    Hidalgo (Effective as of the first day of the first applicable 
pay period beginning on or after April 17, 1996.
    Jim Wells
    Kenedy (Effective as of the first day of the first applicable 
pay period beginning on or after April 17, 1996.
    Kleberg
    Live Oak
    Refugio
    Starr (Effective as of the first day of the first applicable pay 
period beginning on or after April 17, 1996.
    Victoria
    Willacy (Effective as of the first day of the first applicable 
pay period beginning on or after April 17, 1996.
* * * * *

SAN ANTONIO

Survey Area

Texas:
    Bexar
    Comal
    Guadalupe

Area of Application--Survey Area Plus

Texas:
    Atascosa
    Bandera
    De Witt
    Dimmit
    Duval
    Edwards
    Frio
    Gillespie
    Gonzales
    Jim Hogg
    Karnes
    Kendall
    Kerr
    Kinney
    La Salle
    McMullen
    Maverick
    Medina
    Real
    Uvalde
    Val Verde
    Webb
    Wilson
    Zapata
    Zavala
* * * * *

WEST VIRGINIA

Survey Area

West Virginia:
    Cabell
    Harrison
    Kanawha
    Marion
    Monongalia
    Putnam
    Wayne
Ohio:
    Lawrence
Kentucky:
    Boyd
    Greenup

Area of Application--Survey Area Plus

West Virginia:
    Barbour
    Boone
    Braxton
    Calhoun
    Clay
    Doddridge
    Fayette
    Gilmer
    Grant
    Greenbrier
    Jackson
    Lewis
    Lincoln
    Logan
    McDowell
    Mason
    Mercer
    Mingo
    Monroe
    Nicholas
    Pendleton
    Pleasants
    Pocahontas
    Preston
    Raleigh
    Randolph
    Ritchie
    Roane
    Summers
    Taylor
    Tucker
    Tyler
    Upshur
    Webster
    Wetzel
    Wirt
    Wood
    Wyoming
Ohio:
    Athens
    Gallia
    Jackson
    Meigs
    Monroe
    Morgan
    Noble
    Pike
    Scioto
    Vinton
    Washington
Kentucky:
    Carter
    Elliott
    Floyd
    Johnson
    Lawrence
    Lewis
    Magoffin
    Martin
    Pike
Virginia (city):
    Norton (Effective as of April 17, 1996.
Virginia (counties):
    Dickenson
    Wise
* * * * *
FR Doc. 96-6268 Filed 3-15-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-M