[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 7, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18296-18301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-7857]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

8 CFR Part 103

19 CFR Part 24

RIN 1651-AA51


Overtime Compensation and Premium Pay for Customs Officers

AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This document proposes to amend the definition of ``customs 
officer'' for the purpose of eligibility for overtime compensation and 
premium pay. In addition, a conforming change is made to the definition 
of ``immigration officer''. These revisions are necessary to reflect 
recent changes in the functions and organizational structure of U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection consistent with the Homeland Security Act 
of 2002.

DATES: Comments must be received by May 7, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Written comments (preferably in triplicate) may be addressed 
to the Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and Rulings, U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20229, and may be inspected at 799 9th Street, NW., 5th 
Floor, Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Balaban, Financial Analyst, 
Office of Field Operations, (202) 927-0031.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 24.16 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 24.16) sets forth 
the procedure that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) must follow 
to furnish overtime and premium pay to customs officers, as required by 
the Customs Officer Pay Reform Act (``COPRA''; 19 U.S.C. 267). The 
statutory language at 19 U.S.C. 267(e)(1) provides that overtime 
compensation and premium pay may be paid to an individual performing 
those functions specified by regulation by the Secretary of the 
Treasury for a customs inspector or canine enforcement officer. Since 
the enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-296, 
116 Stat. 2135, 6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.), these regulations are 
promulgated by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
    The enabling regulation, specifically Sec.  24.16(b)(7), Customs 
Regulations, defines those eligible for COPRA coverage by specifying 
only four position descriptions: ``Customs Inspector,'' ``Supervisory 
Customs Inspector,'' ``Canine Enforcement Officer,'' and ``Supervisory 
Canine Enforcement Officer.'' This definition does not encompass the 
expanded border security and inspection functions brought into CBP by 
the government reorganization consistent with the Homeland Security Act 
of 2002. (See Homeland Security Act and the President's Reorganization 
Plan of November 25, 2002, as amended by the President's January 30, 
2003 modification.)
    When CBP was established on March 1, 2003, it brought together some 
18,000 inspection personnel from different agencies and disciplines at 
the nation's ports of entry, with the priority mission of preventing 
terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States. At 
present, three different overtime and premium pay systems are

[[Page 18297]]

required to administer overtime compensation and premium pay for 
inspection personnel.

Proposed Regulation

    This proposed regulation would amend the definition of ``customs 
officer'' for the purpose of eligibility for overtime compensation and 
premium pay. As a result of this regulatory change to the definition of 
``customs officer'' in 19 CFR and a conforming change to the definition 
of ``immigration officer'' in 8 CFR, the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) will implement a single overtime and premium pay system, 
COPRA, replacing the three different systems that are now in place. 
This will eliminate the inequities and disparities in pay and 
scheduling under the three different systems.
    A new position, Customs and Border Protection Officer (known as CBP 
Officer), is being established to merge the expanded border and 
inspection functions formerly performed within three separate agencies: 
the Immigration and Naturalization Service (Department of Justice), the 
United States Customs Service (Department of the Treasury), and the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (Department of Agriculture). 
The CBP Officer will be the principal front line officer carrying out 
the priority mission and the traditional customs, immigration and some 
agriculture inspection functions, which are now the responsibility of 
CBP. The establishment of the new position will enable the agency to 
perform its mission more efficiently and to provide better protection 
and service to the public at the ports of entry. In addition, CBP is 
establishing the CBP Agriculture Specialist position with 
responsibilities for agriculture inspection of passengers and cargo as 
well as analysis of agriculture imports. In order to assure that these 
officers meet their responsibilities to the public, they are required 
to be available for overtime as a condition of employment.
    To enable CBP to furnish overtime compensation and premium pay for 
these new positions, it is necessary to include ``Customs and Border 
Protection Officer'' and related positions within the definition of 
``customs officer'' in 19 CFR 24.16(b)(7). It is noted that the 
continued usage of the term ``customs officer'' does not reflect any 
reorganization within DHS. Rather, it occurs because it reflects the 
pertinent statutory authority, 19 U.S.C. 267, regarding overtime 
compensation and premium pay. Including the ``Customs and Border 
Protection Officer'' within the definition of ``customs officer'' in 19 
CFR 24.16(b)(7) does not affect the authority of a ``Customs and Border 
Protection Officer'' to engage in customs, immigration, and agriculture 
inspection functions. Instead, it is a key step to implementing the 
``one face at the border'' initiative by harmonizing the pay systems 
for the personnel who perform those functions.
    Furthermore, it is necessary to include a technical change in 8 CFR 
103.1 to authorize a customs officer, as defined in 19 CFR 24.16(b)(7), 
to perform immigration inspection functions, without a separate 
designation. Currently, customs officers perform such immigration 
functions pursuant to a designation as an immigration officer.
    Finally, it is important to note that this proposed rule is 
tangentially related but separate and distinct from the proposed rule 
published on February 20, 2004 in the Federal Register by DHS and the 
Office of Personnel Management regarding the establishment of a new 
human capital system for DHS. The two proposals address different human 
resources issues. This proposed rule expands the eligibility of certain 
employees to receive overtime compensation and premium pay under 19 
U.S.C. 267. This rule has no impact on setting any employee's basic 
rate of pay. The human capital rule, on the other hand, proposes to 
create a new system for setting basic pay within DHS.

Comments

    Before adopting this proposed regulation as a final rule, 
consideration will be given to any written comments timely submitted to 
CBP, including comments on the clarity of this proposed rule and how it 
may be made easier to understand. Comments submitted will be available 
for public inspection in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 
(5 U.S.C. 552) and Sec.  103.11(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 
103.11(b)), on normal business days between the hours of 9 A.M. and 
4:30 P.M. at the Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and Rulings, 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 799 9th Street, NW., 5th Floor, 
Washington, DC. Arrangements to inspect submitted comments should be 
made in advance by calling Mr. Joseph Clark at (202) 572-8768.

Executive Order 12866

    This rule is considered by DHS to be a ``significant regulatory 
action'' under Executive Order 12866, section 3(f), Regulatory Planning 
and Review. Accordingly, this rule has been submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review. DHS has assessed the impacts of 
this rulemaking and its alternatives, as presented below.

Impact on User Fees

    At present, three user fees, supplemented by appropriations, fund 
the three different overtime pay systems that, in turn, govern the 
three traditional inspection disciplines. CBP will assure that there 
will be no impact on fees or service levels. CBP will track and account 
by activity how the fees are spent to ensure the proper transfer of 
immigration and agriculture funds to reimburse the Customs User Fee 
Account to cover costs incurred for immigration and agriculture 
overtime services. CBP plans to use the Cost Management Information 
System (CMIS) to track expenses by activity. CMIS is an activity-based 
cost accounting system that has been audited and endorsed by the 
General Accounting Office. Employees use established activity codes to 
track their time through the Customs Time and Attendance System. Fee 
payers that are currently providing the traditional user fee funding 
for customs, immigration and agriculture inspection services will 
continue to pay and benefit as they have in the past.

Impact on Employees

    As noted, when CBP was established on March 1, 2003, it brought 
together inspection personnel from three different agencies 
(Agriculture, Immigration and Naturalization Service, and Customs). 
Inspectors in each of these workforces earn overtime and premium pay 
based on three different statutes. In order to establish ``one face at 
the border,'' CBP is creating a new frontline officer corps to unify 
and integrate the inspectional work of these three legacy agencies. The 
unified occupations require a single compensation system. Today, while 
the officers are still classified in the three legacy occupations, they 
are paid under three sets of overtime rules, which has resulted in 
disparate earnings for virtually the same work. In addition, the three 
separate occupations and overtime rules have created significant 
administrative inefficiencies, as well as work assignment and payroll 
problems. The impact of this proposal on the inspectional workforce is 
that officers who perform the same functions at the ports of entry will 
be paid overtime and premium pay under the same computational rules.
    This proposed rule does not address the number of overtime hours 
the officers will be required to work, which varies by individual, by 
port, and by

[[Page 18298]]

other factors such as workload fluctuations, staffing levels at a 
particular location, and changes to the national threat alert level. 
Instead, this proposed rule adds currently classified immigration and 
agriculture officers (approximately 8,000 inspectors) to the COPRA 
system, and thus affects their rates of overtime and premium pay for 
actual hours worked. (Over 10,000 inspectors, all former Customs 
Service, are already covered by COPRA.)
    The impact of this rule will be that for some work schedules, 
certain employees will earn more, while for other work schedules, they 
will earn less. For example, current agriculture inspectors who work 
overtime on a weekday will earn ``double time'' under COPRA instead of 
``time-and-a-half'' under their current system. On the other hand, 
these same inspectors may earn less under COPRA than under their 
current system for work on a Sunday. The chart below provides 
additional examples of how the three overtime systems differ when 
comparing hours worked. On the whole, the impact of this proposed rule 
on the overall earnings for the same or similar number of hours worked 
is expected to be minimal. While some features of COPRA are less 
generous than those of other systems, there are compensating features 
that are more generous. Thus, the differences between COPRA and the 
other systems balance out in terms of earnings for hours worked. 
However, it is noted that this proposed rule affects only one aspect of 
overtime and premium pay earnings of employees. Other factors, such as 
the total number of hours worked and when the overtime is worked, 
impact the aggregate earnings of officers on an annual basis. The 
explanation provided herein, both in text and in the accompanying 
Table, represent a good faith effort to explain the potential impact of 
this proposed rule on the employees. However, due to the complexities 
of the different systems and the differing work schedules of individual 
inspectors, the exact impact of the proposed rule on a specific 
employee is speculative and incapable of exact computation. The 
difficulty of comparing these systems is highlighted in the November 
2001 GAO Report titled Customs and INS--Comparison of Officer's Pay 
(GAO-02-21). The GAO Report compared two of these systems and concluded 
that ``straightforward and generalizable comparisons in relation to 
these pay provisions are infeasible.''
    CBP does not anticipate that the proposed amendment will have an 
impact on private entities, as the proposed changes pertain to the 
agency's internal operating procedures and, because overtime 
compensation will be funded with existing user fees the expenditure of 
which will be subject to normal accounting within the government. 
However, DHS has determined this action is a ``significant'' regulatory 
action within the meaning of Executive Order 12866 because it may be 
perceived to relate to the revisions of the Federal employment system 
DHS is presently considering under the Homeland Security Act. This 
proposal is separate from those revisions, which do not address 
overtime compensation.

Similarities and Differences Between COPRA and Other Overtime Systems

    There are a number of similarities and differences between COPRA 
and the overtime systems under which legacy immigration and agriculture 
inspectors have been covered.
    The following chart compares the major provisions of the three 
systems. The chart contains a high-level overview of the systems and is 
not intended to contain all the details relevant to determining the 
rate of pay in specific situations.

                                                     Table.--General Comparison of Overtime Systems
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                                                             Immigration          Agriculture
        Pay provision/term          Customs inspectors       inspectors           inspectors
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Basic pay.......................   General Schedule     Same as Customs...   Same as Customs.
                                    pay with locality
                                    pay adjustment
                                    based on
                                    geographic area.
 Basic hourly rate...............   General Schedule     Same as Customs...   Same as Customs.
                                    hourly rate with
                                    locality pay
                                    included.
 Basic workweek..................   7-day.............   6-day (Monday-       6-day (Monday-
                                                         Saturday).           Saturday).
 Basic overtime..................   Compensation in      Compensation in      Compensation in
                                    addition to basic    addition to basic    addition to basic
                                    pay for work in      pay for work in      pay for work in
                                    excess of the 40-    excess of the 40-    excess of the 40-
                                    hour regularly       hour regularly       hour regularly
                                    scheduled work       scheduled            scheduled work
                                    week or work in      workweek. Applies    week or work in
                                    excess of 8 hours    to inspection        excess of 8 hours
                                    in a day. Overtime   overtime hours       in a day. Overtime
                                    pay is 2 times the   worked between 5     pay is 1.5 times
                                    basic hourly rate--  p.m. and 8 a.m.,     the basic hourly
                                    a 100-percent        Monday-Saturday      rate not to exceed
                                    premium (COPRA).     and anytime on       a GS-10.1 pay for
                                                         Sunday or a          overtime Monday
                                                         holiday. Overtime    through Saturday
                                                         pay is 4 hours pay   (Title 5).
                                                         for each
                                                         additional 2 hours
                                                         or fraction
                                                         thereof (1931 Act).
 Other overtime..................   Not applicable....   Compensation in      Not applicable.
                                                         addition to basic
                                                         pay for (1)
                                                         overtime
                                                         inspection work
                                                         between 8 a.m. and
                                                         5 p.m. Monday-
                                                         Saturday and (2)
                                                         non-inspection
                                                         overtime outside
                                                         these hours.
                                                         Overtime is paid
                                                         at 1.5 times the
                                                         basic hourly rate
                                                         (50-percent
                                                         premium.) Maximum
                                                         rate is based on
                                                         salary for GS-10,
                                                         step 1--(the 1945
                                                         Act, FEPA).
 Premium pay.....................   Overall term         In addition to       Overall term
                                    referring to extra   Sunday, holiday,     referring to extra
                                    compensation or      and night pay, INS   compensation or
                                    ``premium'' paid     includes overtime    ``premium'' paid
                                    for work performed   in its definition    for work performed
                                    on Sunday,           of premium pay.      on holiday or at
                                    holiday, or at                            night. (The term
                                    night. (The term                          does not cover
                                    does not cover                            overtime pay.)
                                    overtime pay.)

[[Page 18299]]

 
 Sunday pay......................   Premium paid in     Compensation for      Compensation for
                                    addition to basic    Sunday work.         Sunday work.
                                    hourly rate for      Sunday pay is 2-     Sunday pay is 2
                                    Sunday work.         days' pay for 8 or   times the hourly
                                    Sunday pay is 1.5    fewer hours          rate for actual
                                    times the basic      worked. Sunday is    hours worked.
                                    hourly rate (50-     not a regularly      Sunday is not a
                                    percent premium).    scheduled workday.   regularly
                                    Sunday can be a      Sunday work is       scheduled workday.
                                    regularly            scheduled in         Sunday work is
                                    scheduled workday.   addition to the      scheduled in
                                    Officers are paid    regular workweek     addition to the
                                    for actual hours     and is always        regular workweek
                                    worked.              staffed with         and is always
                                                         overtime.            staffed with
                                                         Immigration          overtime (Public
                                                         inspectors are       Law 107-171).
                                                         paid based on
                                                         minimum periods of
                                                         time worked.
 Holiday pay.....................   Premium paid in      Premium paid in      Premium paid in
                                    addition to basic    addition to basic    addition to basic
                                    hourly rate for      hourly rate for      hourly rate for
                                    work on a holiday.   work on a holiday.   work on a holiday.
                                    Holiday pay is 2     Two days' pay for    Holiday pay is 2
                                    times the basic      8 or fewer hours     times the basic
                                    hourly rate (100-    worked (Mon.-        hourly rate (100-
                                    percent premium).    Sat.), in addition   percent premium).
                                                         to basic pay.
 Night pay (night differential)..   Premium paid in      Premium paid in      Same as
                                    addition to basic    addition to basic    Immigration.
                                    hourly rate for      hourly rate for
                                    night work. Night    night work.
                                    differential pay     Officers are paid
                                    rates differ based   10-percent premium
                                    on the time or       or
                                    shift hours          ``differential''
                                    worked. Officers     for hours worked
                                    paid 1.15 or 1.2     between 6 p.m. and
                                    times the basic      6 a.m.
                                    hourly rate (15-
                                    or 20-percent
                                    differential).
                                    ``Majority of
                                    hours'' provision
                                    applies depending
                                    on actual hours
                                    worked.
 Night pay on leave..............   Customs inspectors   Immigration          Same as
                                    are paid night       inspectors are       Immigration.
                                    differential for     paid limited night
                                    work assigned on     differential (if
                                    night shifts when    less than 8 hours
                                    they are on          per pay period)
                                    annual, sick, or     for work assigned
                                    other leave.         to night shifts
                                                         when they are on
                                                         leave. INS does
                                                         not pay night
                                                         differential to
                                                         officers on
                                                         vacation (extended
                                                         annual leave).
 Commute compensation............   Compensation for     Not authorized....  Compensation for
                                    returning to work                         returning to work
                                    (commute) to                              (commute) to
                                    perform an                                perform an
                                    overtime work                             overtime work
                                    assignment.                               assignment.
                                   Commute                                    Commute
                                    compensation is 3                         compensation is
                                    times the basic                           based on local
                                    hourly rate.                              rates. It is
                                                                              generally between
                                                                              1 to 3 times the
                                                                              basic hourly rate.
 Callback........................   Additional           See rollback......   Additional
                                    overtime paid for                         overtime paid for
                                    reporting early or                        returning to work
                                    returning to work                         for unscheduled
                                    for unscheduled                           inspections.
                                    inspections.                              Callback is 2
                                    Callback is 2                             times the basic
                                    times the basic                           hourly rate for
                                    hourly rate.                              Sundays but capped
                                                                              at GS-10.1 pay for
                                                                              overtime work
                                                                              between Monday and
                                                                              Saturday.
 Rollback........................   See callback......   Additional           See callback.
                                                         overtime paid for
                                                         reporting early or
                                                         returning to work
                                                         for unscheduled
                                                         inspections.
                                                         Rollback is 2-
                                                         hours' additional
                                                         pay at basic
                                                         overtime rate.
 Foreign language proficiency       Premium paid for     Not authorized....   Not authorized.
 Award.                             proficiency and
                                    use of foreign
                                    language while
                                    performing
                                    inspection duties.
                                    Foreign language
                                    award is between 3
                                    and 5 percent of
                                    basic pay.
 Retirement annuity (overtime       Customs includes     Not authorized....   Not authorized.
 earnings included).                overtime earnings
                                    (up to \1/2\ the
                                    Statutory Cap) in
                                    calculating
                                    retirement pay.
 Alternate work schedule.........   Regularly            Same as Customs...   Same as Customs.
                                    scheduled work
                                    during a pay
                                    period based on a
                                    9- or 10-hour
                                    workday totaling
                                    80 hours per day
                                    period (every 2
                                    weeks).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 18300]]

Increased Efficiency

    The adoption of a single overtime system in lieu of three overtime 
systems now in place provides greater efficiencies in scheduling, 
monitoring and tracking overtime. Thus, CBP anticipates no net costs 
from this proposed regulation, either to the public at large or to user 
fee payers interested in maintaining levels of services and 
facilitation. In fact, CBP anticipates savings both to the government 
and to the public as the systems for paying officers for overtime and 
clearing goods and passengers are made more effective and efficient.
    DHS invites comment on the impacts of this proposed rule.

Alternatives Considered

    A key objective in establishing DHS was to unify border security 
functions at the nation's ports of entry. In DHS, the three separate 
agencies whose employees previously worked side by side at these ports 
of entry are now united. They are unified not only in the same 
organization, with the same management chain of command--they are also 
united around a common priority mission. In addition, these employees, 
with appropriate cross-training, will merge to perform the traditional 
missions that came together at the ports of entry from the legacy 
agencies of U.S. Customs, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 
and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Thus, a well-
trained and well-integrated workforce serves as a ``force multiplier'' 
in carrying out both the priority mission and the traditional missions 
of CBP. However, in order to integrate the workforce, a common overtime 
and premium pay system is required.
    In order to implement the new frontline positions of CBP Officer 
and CBP Agriculture Specialist, it is necessary and appropriate to have 
the incumbents of these positions work under the same overtime system. 
That is, it is not feasible to pay incumbents of the same position 
under different overtime systems. Notwithstanding the feasibility, it 
is also not fair to employees to pay them differently when they are 
working side by side, performing the same type of work. Thus, the 
alternative of maintaining three overtime systems was considered not 
viable under the Secretary's ``one face at the border'' initiative.
    A review of available options for the overtime system was 
undertaken. COPRA was selected as the best available compensation 
system for the new positions because of the advantages it offers 
management, employees, and the traveling public. It is the most modern 
of the three systems, implemented only 10 years ago; in contrast, the 
statutes governing the other legacy systems were each enacted over 50 
years ago, before the exponential growth of international trade and 
travel. COPRA more closely aligns pay to actual work performed, 
enabling the agency to more efficiently manage overtime. It establishes 
a 7-day workweek under which Sunday is not considered an overtime day, 
thereby providing greater flexibility in managing work assignments 
since officers can be regularly scheduled for any day of the week based 
on operational needs. Further, it is not statutorily permissible to use 
the overtime systems governing the immigration (1931 Act) and 
agriculture (Public Law 107-171) inspectors to cover all inspectional 
activities performed by these new unified officer positions.
    CBP considered, but rejected, the option of converting all 
inspectors to a totally new overtime and premium pay system. In order 
to do so, CBP would have needed to seek authorizing legislation. As a 
result, it is not certain whether, or when, appropriate legislation 
would have been enacted. This would have involved unacceptable delays 
in the implementation of the ``one face at the border'' initiative.
    For the employee, COPRA offers better premium pay rates than the 
other systems for employees who work night shifts (as outlined in the 
comparison chart above). Another significant advantage over the other 
systems is that COPRA provides a retirement benefit. Under the statute, 
up to 50% of the statutory cap (Pub. L. 103-66) on overtime earnings is 
credited as base pay for retirement purposes, yielding a higher annuity 
that is more aligned with the officer's annual earnings. COPRA also 
authorizes payment of a foreign language proficiency award (up to 5% of 
base pay) to officers who maintain and use their language skills as 
part of their job duties.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    DHS has determined that as this proposed rule would apply only 
internally to CBP employees, it will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities, pursuant to the 
provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

Unfunded Mandates

    These proposed regulations would not result in the expenditure by 
State, local, or tribal governments of more than $100 million annually. 
Thus, no written assessment of unfunded mandates is required.

E.O. 13132, Federalism

    DHS has determined these proposed regulations would not have 
Federalism implications because they would apply only to Federal 
agencies and employees. The proposed regulations would not have 
financial or other effects on States, the relationship between the 
Federal Government and the States, or the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government.

E.O. 12988, Civil Justice Reform

    The proposed regulation is consistent with the requirements of E.O. 
12988. Among other things, the regulation would not preempt, repeal or 
modify any federal statute; provides clear standards; has no 
retroactive effects; defines key terms; and is drafted clearly.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The proposed regulations do not involve any information collection 
from any member of the public.

List of Subjects

8 CFR Part 103

    Administrative practice and procedure, Authority delegations 
(Government agencies), Immigration, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

19 CFR Part 24

    Accounting, Customs duties and inspection, Financial and accounting 
procedures, User fees, Wages.

Proposed Amendments to the Regulations

    For the reasons stated above, it is proposed to amend chapter I of 
Title 8 and chapter I of Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations as 
set forth below.

Title 8, Chapter I

PART 103--POWERS AND DUTIES; AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS

    1. The authority citation for part 103 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 552, 552A; 8 U.S.C. 1101, 1103, 1304, 
1356; 31 U.S.C. 9701; Public Law 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135 (6 U.S.C. 1 
et seq.); E.O. 12356, 47 FR 14874, 15557, 3 CFR, 1982 Comp., p. 166; 
8 CFR part 2.
* * * * *
    2. In Sec.  103.1, paragraph (a) is republished and paragraph (b) 
is amended by adding a sentence at the end to read as follows:

[[Page 18301]]

Sec.  103.1  Delegations of authority; designation of immigration 
officers.

    (a) Delegations of authority. Delegations of authority to perform 
functions and exercise authorities under the immigration laws may be 
made by the Secretary of Homeland Security as provided by Sec.  2.1 of 
this chapter.
    (b) Immigration Officer. * * * Any customs officer, as defined in 
19 CFR 24.16, is hereby authorized to exercise the powers and duties of 
an immigration officer as specified by the Act and this chapter.

Title 19, Chapter I

PART 24--CUSTOMS FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE

    3. The general authority citation for part 24 is revised and the 
specific authority citation for Sec.  24.16 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 58a-58c, 66, 1202 (General 
Note 23, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States) 1505, 
1520, 1624; 26 U.S.C. 4461, 4462; 31 U.S.C. 9701; Public Law 107-
296, 116 Stat. 2135 (6 U.S.C. 1 et seq.).
* * * * *
    Section 24.16 also issued under 19 U.S.C. 261, 267, 1450, 1451, 
1452, 1623; 46 U.S.C. 2111, 2112;
* * * * *
    4. In Sec.  24.16, paragraph (b)(7) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  24.16  Overtime services; overtime compensation and premium pay 
for Customs Officers; rate of compensation.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (7) Customs Officer means only those individuals assigned to 
position descriptions entitled ``Customs Inspector,'' ``Supervisory 
Customs Inspector,'' ``Canine Enforcement Officer,'' ``Supervisory 
Canine Enforcement Officer,'' ``Customs and Border Protection 
Officer,'' ``Supervisory Customs and Border Protection Officer,'' 
``Customs and Border Protection Agriculture Specialist,'' or 
``Supervisory Customs and Border Protection Agriculture Specialist.''

    Dated: April 1, 2004.
Robert C. Bonner,
Commissioner, Customs and Border Protection.
Tom Ridge,
Secretary, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 04-7857 Filed 4-6-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P