[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 176 (Wednesday, September 11, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57536-57537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-23061]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 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.
 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 11, 2002 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 57536]]



OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 531

RIN 3206-AJ62


Locality Pay Areas

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing proposed 
regulations to tie the metropolitan area portion of locality pay area 
boundaries to the geographic scope of Metropolitan Statistical Area and 
Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area definitions that are 
contained in the attachments to Office of Management and Budget 
Bulletin 99-04.

DATES: We must receive comments on or before November 12, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Send or deliver comments to Donald J. Winstead, Assistant 
Director for Compensation Administration, Workforce Compensation and 
Performance Service, Office of Personnel Management, Room 7H31, 1900 E 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20415-8200; FAX: (202) 606-4264; or e-mail: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allan Hearne, (202) 606-2838; FAX: 
(202) 606-4264; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 5304(f) of title 5, United States 
Code, authorizes the President's Pay Agent (the Secretary of Labor, the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Director 
of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)) to determine appropriate 
pay localities. The Pay Agent must give thorough consideration to the 
views and recommendations of the Federal Salary Council, a body 
composed of experts in the fields of labor relations and pay policy and 
representatives of Federal employee organizations. The President 
appoints the members of the Federal Salary Council, who submit annual 
recommendations to the President's Pay Agent about the locality pay 
program for General Schedule employees. The establishment or 
modification of pay area boundaries must conform with the notice and 
comment provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553).
    Based on the Council's recommendations in 1993, the Pay Agent 
approved using Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and Consolidated 
Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) definitions as the basis for 
defining locality pay areas. OMB defines MSAs and CMSAs based on 
population size, population density, and commuting patterns. The 
Council also recommended and the Pay Agent approved criteria for adding 
adjoining areas to locality pay areas that are not already part of the 
MSA and CMSA as defined by OMB. Under our current regulations, the 
metropolitan area portion of locality pay areas changes automatically 
when OMB revises its metropolitan area definitions.
    In October 2000, the Federal Salary Council recommended that the 
Pay Agent revise the regulations to hold the current MSA or CMSA 
portion of locality pay areas constant until the Pay Agent and the 
Federal Salary Council have an opportunity to review new metropolitan 
area definitions and new commuting patterns and other data from the 
2000 census. OMB plans to substantially revise its metropolitan area 
definitions in 2003 based on new census data and new criteria. The 
Council also recommended that the Pay Agent continue to monitor 
counties adjacent to locality pay areas during this period and make 
minor adjustments in pay area boundaries if a particularly egregious 
situation justifies such action.
    Under the proposed rule, locality pay areas would no longer change 
automatically if OMB changes metropolitan area definitions. The new 
reference to the geographic scope of an MSA or CMSA is to make certain 
that locality pay area boundaries are not affected by county name 
changes or revisions to counties within the original geographic scope 
of the MSA. Dade County, FL, changed its name to Miami-Dade County, and 
the County of Broomfield, CO, was recently created out of portions of 
Adams, Boulder, Jefferson, and Weld Counties. All of these areas were 
already within the geographic scope of the Miami or Denver CMSA, as 
listed in attachments to OMB Bulletin 99-04, and remain covered by the 
existing locality pay areas.
    A full listing of locality pay areas is at http://opm.gov/oca/02tables/locdef.htm. The proposed change to hold constant the 
metropolitan area portion of locality pay areas would have no effect on 
current locality pay area boundaries or locality rates.

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Review

    The Office of Management and Budget has reviewed this rule in 
accordance with E.O. 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

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

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 531

    Government employees, Law enforcement officers, Wages.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Kay Coles James,
Director.
    Accordingly, OPM is proposing to amend 5 CFR part 531 as follows:

PART 531--PAY UNDER THE GENERAL SCHEDULE

    1. The authority citation for part 531 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 5115, 5307, and 5338; sec. 4 of Pub. L. 
103-89, 107 Stat. 981; and E.O. 12748, 56 FR 4521, 3 CFR 1991 Comp., 
p. 316;

    Subpart B also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5303(g), 5333, 5334(a), and 
7701(b)(2);
    Subpart C also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305, and 5553; 
sections 302 and 404 of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act 
of 1990 (FEPCA), Pub. L. 101-509, 104 Stat. 1462 and 1466; and 
section 3(7) of Pub. L. 102-378, 106 Stat. 1356;
    Subpart D also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5335(g) and 7701(b)(2);
    Subpart E also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5336;
    Subpart F also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305(g)(1), and 5553; 
E.O. 12883, 58 FR 63281, 3 CFR, 1993 Comp., p. 682; and E.O. 13106, 
63 FR 68151, 3 CFR, 1998 Comp., p. 224;
    Subpart G also issued under 5 U.S.C. 5304, 5305, and 5553; 
section 302 of FEPCA, Pub. L. 101-509, 104 Stat. 1462; and E.O. 
12786, 56 FR 67453, 3 CFR, 1991 Comp., p. 376.

[[Page 57537]]

Subpart F--Locality-Based Comparability Payments

* * * * *
    2. In Sec.  531.602, the definitions of CMSA and MSA are revised to 
read as follows:


Sec.  531.603  Definitions

* * * * *
    CMSA means the geographic scope of a Consolidated Metropolitan 
Statistical Area, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) in List II of the attachments to OMB Bulletin 99-04.
* * * * *
    MSA means the geographic scope of a Metropolitan Statistical Area, 
as defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in List I of 
the attachments to OMB Bulletin 99-04.
* * * * *
    3. In Sec.  531.606, paragraph (g) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  531.606  Administration of locality rates of pay.

* * * * *
    (g) In the event of a change in the geographic coverage of a 
locality pay area, the effective date of the change in an employee's 
entitlement to a locality rate of pay under this subpart is the first 
day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after the date 
on which the change in geographic coverage becomes effective.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 02-23061 Filed 9-10-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-39-M