[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 195 (Friday, October 8, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54794-54795]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26109]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 195 / Friday, October 8, 1999 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 54794]]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

8 CFR Ch. I, 21 CFR Ch. II, 28 CFR Ch. I


Regulatory Flexibility Act Plan for the Periodic Review of Rules

AGENCY: Department of Justice.

ACTION: Notice of regulatory review.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of section 610(a) of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Department of Justice is publishing 
this revised Regulatory Flexibility Act Review Plan. The Act provides 
for agencies to conduct a periodic review of rules having a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. This plan 
supersedes the prior Review Plan published by the Department.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Hinchman, Senior Counsel, 
Office of Policy Development, Department of Justice, Room 4258, Main 
Building, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20530, telephone 
(202) 514-8059.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

What Does Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act Require?

    Section 610(a) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 610(a), 
requires that each agency publish in the Federal Register a plan for 
the periodic review of the rules issued by that agency which have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
Section 610(a) required each agency to conduct its review within ten 
years with respect to rules in effect when the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act was enacted, or within ten years after promulgation with respect to 
rules adopted since then, if the rules meet the standard for review 
under section 610(a). The purpose of this review is to determine 
whether such rules should be continued without change, or should be 
amended or rescinded, consistent with the stated objectives of 
applicable statutes, to minimize any significant economic impact of the 
rules on a substantial number of small entities.

What Has the Department Done Pursuant to Section 610?

    Pursuant to section 610, the Department of Justice published an 
initial Regulatory Flexibility Act Plan for the Periodic Review of 
Rules in the Federal Register on November 28, 1984 at 49 FR 46820.
    This initial Department of Justice Review Plan, however, 
inadvertently contained a list of all regulations of the Department 
existing at that time (other than the organizational rules in 28 CFR 
part 0) without regard to whether the rules listed in the plan met the 
test for review under section 610, i.e., having a ``significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.''
    The only rule in effect at the time of enactment of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act that would have had a significant impact on a 
substantial number of small entities was the Drug Enforcement 
Administration (DEA) diversion control regulation for controlled 
substances. As discussed below, the DEA conducted a comprehensive 
rulemaking proceeding and revised its existing regulation in response 
to public comments several years ago.
    Section 610(a) also provides that a review plan may be amended at 
any time by the agency publishing a revision in the Federal Register. 
Accordingly, by this Notice the Department of Justice is amending its 
Regulatory Flexibility Act Review Plan.

What Other Reviews of Its Rules Has the Department Undertaken?

    Subsequent to publication of the initial Review Plan, the 
Department's regulatory components conducted thorough reviews of their 
rules, both in 1992 and as part of President Clinton's Regulatory 
Reinvention Initiative in 1995.
    During the 1995 initiative, each regulatory component reviewed 
their existing rules and identified those regulatory provisions that 
required reinvention or elimination. This wide-ranging reinvention 
effort examined all of the Department's regulations, not merely those 
few rules that fall within the statutory scope of section 610. As a 
result of that review process, many of the Department's regulatory 
components have eliminated unnecessary regulations and reinvented other 
provisions to carry out the Department's goals during the Regulatory 
Reinvention Initiative. The Department's entries in past issues of the 
semi-annual Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory 
Actions identify the Department's reinvention initiatives.
    For example, though DEA did not specifically publish a separate 
notice under section 610(c), it did engage in a full notice-and-comment 
rulemaking in 1996 and 1997, as part of the President's Regulatory 
Reinvention initiative, resulting in a substantial revision and 
clarification of its entire diversion control regulations pertaining to 
controlled substances and listed chemicals. The DEA Final Rule was 
published at 62 FR 13938 (March 24, 1997).
    In addition, as discussed below, the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service (INS) has proposed a comprehensive rewriting of its regulations 
concerning the employment verification process and the use of the Form 
I-9, which have been a source of public confusion and dissatisfaction 
in the past.

What Regulations of the Department Are Still Subject To Review 
Under the Ten-Year Review Requirement?

    No further actions under section 610 are necessary with respect to 
the Department's regulations that were in effect at the time the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act was enacted. Based upon a review of the 
Department's regulations adopted since the enactment of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act, the following final rules may have a ``significant 
economic impact upon a substantial number of small entities'':
     The Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) 
employment authorization and employer sanctions rules implementing the 
Immigration Reform and Control ACt (IRCA), 8 CFR part 274a (published 
at 52 FR 16216, May 1, 1987);
     The Civil Rights Division's anti-discrimination rules 
under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with 
respect to commercial facilities, 28 CFR part 36 (published at 56 FR 
35592, July 26, 1991);
     The DEA rules implementing the Domestic Chemical Diversion 
Control Act of 1993 (DCDCA), 21 CFR part 1309 (published at 60 FR 
32447, June 22, 1995); and
     The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) rules 
implementing section 109 of

[[Page 54795]]

the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), 28 CFR 
part 100 (published at 62 FR 13307, March 20, 1997).
    As such, these rules are appropriately the subject of the periodic 
review under section 610(a), within ten years of the publication of the 
Final Rule.
    The INS has already conducted the review required by section 610 
with respect to 8 CFR part 274a, ``Control of Employment of Aliens,'' 
in conjunction with a comprehensive restructuring of that rule. The INS 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which was published on February 2, 1998, 
at 63 FR 5287, would completely rewrite and clarify the regulations 
according to Plain Language principles; would amend the existing 
standards to reduce instances of fraud or confusion in the employment 
verification process; and would implement amendments made by the 
Illegal Immigration and Immigration Reform Act (IIRIRA), Pub. L. 104-
208, Division C. The proposed rule also announced the section 610 
review. Once a Final Rule is published, the section 610 review of these 
regulations will be complete.
    Accordingly, the schedule for periodic review of regulations of the 
Department of Justice, as required by section 610(a) of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act, is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Regulation                    Year scheduled for review
------------------------------------------------------------------------
8 CFR part 274a, Control of Employment of   Pending (proposed rule
 Aliens (INS).                               published in 1998).
28 CFR part 36, Title III of the Americans  2000.
 with Disabilities Act (ADA) with respect
 to commercial facilities (Civil Rights
 Division).
21 CFR part 1309, Domestic Chemical         2004.
 Diversion Control Act of 1993 (DEA).
28 CFR part 100, Section 109 of the         2006.
 Communications Assistance for Law
 Enforcement Act (FBI).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Dated: August 12, 1999.
Eleanor D. Acheson,
Assistant Attorney General, Office of Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 99-26109 Filed 10-7-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-BB-M