[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 23, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8841-8844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-4214]



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 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 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 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 23, 2000 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 8841]]



ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE OF THE FEDERAL REGISTER

1 CFR Parts 8, 10 and 11

[A.G. Order No. 2287-2000]
RIN 3095-ZA02


Prices, Availability and Official Status of Federal Register 
Publications

AGENCY: Administrative Committee of the Federal Register.

ACTION: Final rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Administrative Committee of the Federal Register (ACFR) 
announces increases in the prices charged for the paper and microfiche 
editions of Federal Register publications. The price changes apply to 
the daily Federal Register, the Federal Register Index and LSA (List of 
CFR Sections Affected), the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the 
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. The Administrative 
Committee has determined that it is necessary to increase prices to 
enable the Government Printing Office (GPO) to recover the full cost of 
producing and distributing Federal Register publications. This final 
rule also makes amendments to acknowledge the official status and 
availability of online editions of the CFR and the Weekly Compilation 
of Presidential Documents on the GPO Access service.

DATES: This final rule is effective March 24, 2000. Comments will be 
accepted through April 24, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Michael White. Written 
comments may be submitted by U.S. mail to the Office of the Federal 
Register (NF), National Archives and Records Administration, 
Washington, DC 20408-0001, or by private delivery services to the 
Office of the Federal Register, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., Suite 
700, Washington, DC 20001. Comments may also be submitted by email to 
[email protected], or by fax to 202-523-6866.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael White at 202-275-4292.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Under the Federal Register Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 15), the 
Administrative Committee of the Federal Register is responsible for 
establishing the prices charged for Federal Register publications. The 
Administrative Committee has determined that it must make price 
adjustments to certain publications to accurately reflect the current 
costs of production and distribution. This final rule will increase the 
subscription rates for the paper editions of the daily Federal 
Register, the Federal Register Index and LSA (List of CFR Sections 
Affected), the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the Weekly 
Compilation of Presidential Documents. The subscription rates and the 
single copy prices of the microfiche editions of the daily Federal 
Register and CFR also will increase.
    On September 1, 1992, the Administrative Committee adopted a policy 
to require revenues from subscriptions and single copy sales of ACFR 
publications to keep pace with printing and distribution costs, and 
postal rate increases. Since 1992, the Administrative Committee has 
periodically adjusted the prices of Federal Register publications in 
accordance with GPO cost analyses. The Administrative Committee's last 
price change regulation raised the prices of paper publications and 
lowered the prices of microfiche editions (61 FR 68118, December 27, 
1996).
    The final rule takes into account GPO's current analysis of its 
actual production and distribution costs over the past three years and 
projected costs for the year 2000. The Administrative Committee has 
determined that it is necessary to increase the prices charged for the 
paper editions of Federal Register publications by an average of 15 
percent to achieve full cost recovery. This amounts to a 5 percent 
increase for each of the past three years since the last price changes. 
The increases are primarily attributable to higher labor expenses, 
postal rates and paper costs, and a substantial decline in sales of 
printed publications, causing upward pressure on the average cost per 
subscription. Price increases for the microfiche editions of the 
Federal Register and the CFR are the result of a competitive bidding 
process.
    Single copy sales and subscriptions to Federal Register 
publications have declined steadily since online service on GPO Access 
began in 1994. The decline in sales accelerated when free access began 
in late 1995. Since the beginning of fiscal year 1995, the number of 
paid subscriptions to the daily Federal Register has declined by 60 per 
cent and sales of CFR products and other Federal Register publications 
have fallen off by more than 36 percent. As a result, a smaller 
subscriber base must absorb a greater share of the costs.
    Over the same time period in which sales of Federal Register 
publications have fallen, the public has been using Federal Register 
publications online in large and increasing numbers. Information 
retrievals from online Federal Register publications have grown by 6612 
percent since the beginning of fiscal year 1995. During fiscal year 
1999, users retrieved 48 million individual documents from the online 
edition of the Federal Register and 88 million from the online CFR. 
These figures demonstrate that the Administrative Committee is meeting 
its goal for enhancing public access to Federal Register publications 
to provide essential information on the functions, actions and 
regulatory requirements of the Government.
    The increased prices for Federal Register publications are 
reflected in amendments to 1 CFR part 11 of this final rule. The 
following rates will be effective March 24, 2000. The annual 
subscription rate for the daily Federal Register paper edition is 
increased to $638. For a combined Federal Register, Federal Register 
Index and LSA (List of CFR Sections Affected) subscription the price is 
increased to $697. The price of a single copy of the daily Federal 
Register paper edition is increased to $9. The annual subscription 
price of the microfiche edition of the Federal Register, which includes 
the Federal Register Index and LSA, is increased to $253. The price of 
a single copy of the daily Federal Register microfiche edition is 
increased to $2. The annual subscription price for the Federal Register 
Index is increased to $28. The

[[Page 8842]]

annual subscription price for the monthly LSA is increased to $31. The 
annual subscription rates for a full set of CFR volumes are increased 
to $1,094 for the paper edition, and $290 for the microfiche edition. 
The price of a single copy of the CFR microfiche edition is increased 
to $2. The annual subscription rates for the Weekly Compilation of 
Presidential Documents are increased to $92 for delivery by non-
priority mail and $151 for delivery by first-class mail. The price of a 
single copy of the Weekly Compilation is increased to $4.
    In addition to the price changes contained in this document, the 
Administrative Committee is amending its regulations in 1 CFR parts 8, 
10 and 11 to acknowledge the official status and availability of the 
online editions of the CFR and the Weekly Compilation of Presidential 
Documents. The Administrative Committee has general authority under 44 
U.S.C. 1506 to determine the manner and form for publishing the Federal 
Register and its special editions. The CFR and Weekly Compilation are 
special editions of the Federal Register. The Government Printing 
Office Electronic Information Access Enhancement Act of 1993 (GPO 
Access), 44 U.S.C. 4101, provided additional authority for the 
Administrative Committee to expand public access to Federal Register 
publications, beginning with the inauguration of online Federal 
Register service on June 8, 1994.
    In 1995 and 1996, the Administrative Committee authorized GPO and 
the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) to develop online editions of 
the CFR and other Federal Register publications to provide the American 
public with greater access to essential Government information. The 
OFR/GPO partnership posted selected volumes of the 1996 CFR in October 
of 1996 to begin the pilot program. Beginning with the 1997 set, all 
annual CFR volumes are available on the GPO Access service.
    The online edition of the CFR is produced from the same OFR/GPO 
publication database that is used to print the paper volumes. It 
includes text-only files (with notations to indicate where graphics are 
omitted) and Portable Document Format (PDF) files which produce page-
for-page replicas of the printed volumes, including all graphics. The 
text-only files ensure that persons with visual disabilities have equal 
access to federal regulations.
    The CFR is the official codification of federal regulations having 
general applicability and legal effect. Under the Federal Register Act 
(44 U.S.C. 1510), the CFR is prima facie evidence of the original 
documents filed with the OFR and published in the Federal Register, and 
the fact that they are in effect on and after the dates specified in 
the codification. The CFR, in the formats authorized by the 
Administrative Committee, is the only official codification of federal 
regulations. By amending its regulations to recognize the online CFR on 
GPO Access as one of three authorized publication formats, the 
Administrative Committee assures the public that it may fully rely on 
the online edition of the CFR on GPO Access as an official legal 
publication.
    In 1997, the OFR/GPO partnership developed a pilot for an online 
edition of the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. The Weekly 
Compilation is an official serial publication of Presidential 
documents. OFR editors review all material submitted for publication in 
the Weekly Compilation to assure the accuracy and integrity of the 
publication. The Weekly Compilation contains Presidential statements, 
memoranda, messages to Congress and federal agencies, speeches and 
other remarks released by the White House. Like the online CFR, the 
online edition of the Weekly Compilation includes text-only files and 
PDF files. The files begin with documents from January 1993 through the 
present. By amending its regulations to recognize the official status 
of the online Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents on GPO 
Access, the Administrative Committee assures the public that it may 
rely on the online edition as an authoritative source of historical 
information.
    Accordingly, this final rule revises 1 CFR 8.6 and 11.3 by listing 
the online CFR on GPO Access as one of the three official formats 
authorized by the Administrative Committee. Sections 10.3 and 11.6 are 
revised to include the online edition of the Weekly Compilation of 
Presidential Documents on GPO Access as an official Federal Register 
publication. The affected sections are also slightly reorganized to 
create shorter paragraphs and a more parallel structure consistent with 
plain language requirements.
    The Administrative Committee's last price change regulation invited 
public comment on the pricing structure of Federal Register 
publications. The Administrative Committee did not receive any comments 
relating specifically to the prices of print publications. But several 
customers made suggestions for improving the user interfaces of the 
online publications to make them better alternatives to the printed 
publications. In response to those concerns, OFR and GPO developed 
browsing features for the online Federal Register and CFR to provide 
direct access to material through hypertext tables of contents, and GPO 
added more powerful servers.
    Customers who need assistance or wish to submit suggestions for 
improving online Federal Register publications are referred to the GPO 
Access User Support Team. GPO provides information on free public 
access to the online editions of Federal Register publications on the 
GPO Access service via:

     Telephone at 202-512-1530, or toll free at 1-888-293-6498;
     Fax at 202-512-1262;
     Email at [email protected];
     GPO's Federal Register World Wide Web site at http://www.access.gpo/nara, or see the National Archives and Records 
Administration's Federal Register Web site at: http://www.nara.gov/fedreg;
     Federal depository libraries (for the location of the 
nearest depository library, call the telephone numbers listed above or 
access the information online at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su__docs/
libpro.html); and
     The daily paper edition of the Federal Register on 
introductory page II.

Regulatory Analysis

Administrative Procedure Act

    The Administrative Committee has determined that publication of a 
proposed rule is unnecessary under the good cause exception of 5 U.S.C. 
553(b)(B). The Administrative Committee must set the prices for Federal 
Register subscriptions and individual copies according to the funding 
mechanisms authorized under law for the Federal Register program. GPO 
is legally required to recover its production and distribution costs. 
The Administrative Committee has no discretion or means to subsidize 
the cost of its publications. The revised price schedule is based on an 
in-depth cost study conducted by GPO for the Administrative Committee, 
and only actual costs from prior years and conservative estimates of 
future costs were considered in setting these prices. Granting official 
status to the online editions of the CFR and the Weekly Compilation of 
Presidential Documents is a procedural matter. It is not a substantive 
rule that materially affects the rights or obligations of any person. 
For these reasons, the Administrative Committee has determined that 
there is good cause for promulgating this final rule without a prior 
notice of proposed rulemaking. The Administrative

[[Page 8843]]

Committee continues to welcome comments from interested persons on all 
matters related to this final rule.

Executive Order 12866

    The final rule has been drafted in accordance with Executive Order 
12866, section 1(b), ``Principles of Regulation.'' The Administrative 
Committee has determined that this final rule is not a significant 
regulatory action, as defined under section 3(f) of Executive Order 
12866. The rule has been submitted to the Office of Management and 
Budget under section 6(a)(3)(E) of Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., does not 
apply to rate increases necessary to recover the costs to the 
Government of printing and distributing Federal Register publications. 
This rule will not have a significant impact on small entities since it 
imposes no requirements, and any increased costs can be avoided by 
accessing Federal Register publications through the free GPO Access 
service over the Internet or at a Federal depository library.

Federalism

    This rule has no federalism implications under Executive Order 
13132. It does not impose compliance costs on State or local 
governments or preempt State law.

Congressional Review

    This rule is not a major rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). The 
Administrative Committee will submit a rule report, including a copy of 
this final rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller 
General of the United States as required under the congressional review 
provisions of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 
1986.

List of Subjects

1 CFR Part 8

    Administrative practice and procedure, Code of Federal Regulations, 
Government publications.

1 CFR Part 10

    Government publications, Presidential documents, Public Papers of 
the Presidents of the United States, Weekly Compilation of Presidential 
Documents.

1 CFR Part 11

    Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, Government 
publications, Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, 
United States Government Manual, Weekly Compilation of Presidential 
Documents.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Administrative 
Committee of the Federal Register amends parts 8, 10 and 11 of chapter 
I of title 1 of the Code of Federal Regulations as set forth below:

PART 8--CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 8 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 1506, 1510; sec. 6, E.O. 10530, 19 FR 2709, 
3 CFR, 1954-1958 Comp., p. 189.

    2. Revise Sec. 8.6 to read as follows:


Sec. 8.6  Forms of publication.

    (a) Under section 1506 of title 44, United States Code, the 
Administrative Committee authorizes publication of the Code of Federal 
Regulations in the following formats:

(1) Paper;
(2) Microfiche; and
(3) Online on GPO Access (44 US.C. 4101).

    (b) The Director of the Federal Register is authorized to regulate 
the format of the Code of Federal Regulations according to the needs of 
users and compatibility with the facilities of the Government Printing 
Office. The Director may provide for the Code of Federal Regulations to 
be printed in as many separately bound books as necessary, set 
requirements for microfiche images, and oversee the organization and 
means of access to material in the online edition.

PART 10--PRESIDENTIAL PAPERS

    1. The authority citation for part 10 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 1506; sec. 6, E.O. 10530, 19 FR 2709, 3 
CFR, 1954-1958 Comp., p. 189.

    2. Revise Sec. 10.3 to read as follows:


Sec. 10.3  Format, indexes, and ancillaries.

    (a) The Administrative Committee publishes the paper edition of the 
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents in the binding and style 
it considers suitable for public and official use.
    (b) The Administrative Committee publishes the online edition of 
the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents on GPO Access (44 
U.S.C. 4101).
    (c) The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is 
appropriately indexed and contains ancillary information on 
Presidential activities and documents not carried in full text. In 
general, ancillary texts, notes and tables are derived from official 
sources.

PART 11--SUBSCRIPTIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 11 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 1506; sec. 6, E.O. 10530, 19 FR 2709, 3 
CFR, 1954-1958 Comp., p. 189.

    2. In Sec. 11.2, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec. 11.2  Federal Register.

    (a) The subscription price for the paper edition of the daily 
Federal Register, including postage, is $638 per year. A combined 
subscription to the daily Federal Register, the monthly Federal 
Register Index, and the monthly LSA (List of CFR Sections Affected), 
including postage, is $697 per year for the paper edition, or $253 per 
year for the microfiche edition. Six-month subscriptions to the paper 
and microfiche editions are also available at one-half the annual rate. 
Limited quantities of current or recent issues may be purchased for $9 
per copy for the paper edition, or $2 per copy for the microfiche 
edition.
* * * * *

    3. Revise Sec. 11.3 to read as follows:


Sec. 11.3   Code of Federal Regulations.

    (a) The subscription price for a complete set of the Code of 
Federal Regulations, including postage, is $1094 per year for the 
bound, paper edition, or $290 per year for the microfiche edition. The 
Government Printing Office sells individual volumes of the paper 
edition of the Code of Federal Regulations at prices determined by the 
Superintendent of Documents under the general direction of the 
Administrative Committee. The price of an individual volume of the 
microfiche edition is $2 per copy.
    (b) The online edition of the Code of Federal Regulations, issued 
under the authority of the Administrative Committee, is available on 
GPO Access, a service of the Government Printing Office (44 U.S.C. 
4101).

    4. Revise Sec. 11.6 to read as follows:


Sec. 11.6  Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents.

    (a) The subscription price for the paper edition of the Weekly 
Compilation of Presidential Documents is $92 per year for delivery by 
non-priority mail, or $151 per year for delivery by first-class mail. 
The price of an individual copy is $4.
    (b) The online edition of the Weekly Compilation of Presidential 
Documents, issued under the authority of the

[[Page 8844]]

Administrative Committee, is available on GPO Access, a service of the 
Government Printing Office (44 U.S.C. 4101).

    5. Revise Sec. 11.7 to read as follows:


Sec. 11.7   Federal Register Index.

    The annual subscription price for the monthly Federal Register 
Index, purchased separately, in paper form, is $28.

    6. Revise Sec. 11.8 to read as follows:


Sec. 11.8  LSA (List of CFR Sections Affected).

    The annual subscription price for the monthly LSA (List of CFR 
Sections Affected), purchased separately, in paper form, is $31.

John W. Carlin,
Chairman.
Michael F. DiMario,
Member.
Rosemary Hart,
Member.
Janet Reno,
Attorney General.
John W. Carlin,
Archivist of the United States.
[FR Doc. 00-4214 Filed 2-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1505-02-P