[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 121 (Thursday, June 23, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40819-40820]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14675]


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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

45 CFR Parts 1230 and 2554

RIN 3045-AA65


Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation Adjustment

AGENCY: Corporation for National and Community Service.

ACTION: Interim final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is 
updating its regulations to reflect required inflation-related 
increases to the civil monetary penalties in its regulations, pursuant 
to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements 
Act of 2015.

DATES: Effective date: This rule is effective August 1, 2016.
    Comment due date: Technical comments may be submitted until July 
25, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may send your comments electronically through the 
Federal government's one-stop rulemaking Web site at 
www.regulations.gov. Also, you may mail or deliver your comments to 
Phyllis Green, Executive Assistant, Office of General Counsel, at the 
Corporation for National and Community Service, 250 E Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20525. Due to continued delays in CNCS's receipt of 
mail, we strongly encourage comments to be submitted online 
electronically. The TDD/TTY number is 800-833-3722. You may request 
this notice in an alternative format for the visually impaired.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Phyllis Green, Executive Assistant, 
Office of General Counsel, at 202-606-6709 or email to [email protected]. 
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TTY-TDD) 
may call 800-833-3722 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is a 
federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service 
through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and 
Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the President's national 
call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, 
visit NationalService.gov.
    On November 2, 2015, the President signed into law the Federal 
Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Sec. 
701 of Pub. L. 114-74) (the ``Act'') to improve the effectiveness of 
civil monetary penalties and to maintain the deterrent effect of such 
penalties. The Act requires agencies to make a ``catch-up'' adjustment 
to the level of civil monetary penalties through an interim final 
rulemaking and to adjust the civil monetary penalties for inflation 
annually.

II. Method of Calculation

    CNCS identified two civil monetary penalties in its regulations and 
calculated the catch-up adjustments as specified in the February 24, 
2016, OMB Memorandum of the Heads of Executive Departments and 
Agencies, M-16-06, Implementation of the Federal Civil Penalties 
Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. A civil monetary 
penalty under the act is a penalty, fine, or other sanction that is for 
a specific monetary amount as provided by Federal law or has a maximum 
amount provided for by federal law and is assessed or enforced by an 
agency pursuant to Federal law and is assessed or enforced pursuant to 
an administrative proceeding or a civil action in the Federal courts. 
(See 28 U.S.C. 2461 note).
    The inflation adjustment for each applicable civil monetary penalty 
is determined using the percent increase in the Consumer Price Index 
for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the month of October of the year in 
which the amount of each civil money penalty was most recently 
established or modified.
    CNCS identified two civil penalties in its regulations: (1) The 
penalty associated with Restrictions on Lobbying (45 CFR 1230.400) and 
(2) the penalty associated with the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act 
(45 CFR 2554.1).
    In 1989, Congress established civil monetary penalties related to 
Restrictions on Lobbying (Section 319, Pub. L. 101-121; 31 U.S.C. 1352) 
ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. The multiplier for 1989 is 1.89361. 
Thus, the new range of possible civil monetary penalties is from 
$18,936 to $189,361.
    The Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-509) 
established a civil monetary penalty with an upper limit of $5,000. The 
multiplier for 1986 is 2.15628. Thus, the new upper limit of the civil 
monetary penalty is $10,781.

[[Page 40820]]

III. Summary of Final Rule

    This final rule adjusts the civil monetary penalty amounts related 
to Restrictions on Lobbying (45 CFR 1230.400) and the Program Fraud 
Civil Remedies Act of 1986 (45 CFR 2554.1). The range of civil monetary 
penalties related to Restrictions on Lobbying increase from $10,000 to 
$100,000 to $18,936 to $189,361. The civil monetary penalties for the 
Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986 increase from up to $5,000 to 
up to $10,781.

IV. Regulatory Procedures

A. Determination of Good Cause for Publication Without Notice and 
Comment

    CNCS finds, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), that there is good cause 
to except this rule from the public notice and comment provisions of 
the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(b). Because CNCS is 
implementing a final rule pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties 
Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, which requires CNCS 
to update its regulations based on a prescribed formula, CNCS has no 
discretion in the nature or amount of the change to the civil monetary 
penalties. Therefore, notice and comment for these proscribed updates 
is impracticable and unnecessary. As an interim final rule, no further 
regulatory action is required for the issuance of this legally binding 
rule. If you would like to provide technical comments, however, they 
may be submitted until July 25, 2016.

B. Review Under Procedural Statutes and Executive Orders

    CNCS has determined that making technical changes to the amount of 
civil monetary penalties in its regulations does not trigger any 
requirements under procedural statutes and Executive Orders that govern 
rulemaking procedures.

V. Effective Date

    This rule is effective August 1, 2016. The adjusted civil penalty 
amounts apply to civil penalties assessed after August 1, 2016 when the 
violation occurred after November 2, 2015. If the violation occurred 
prior to November 2, 2015 or a penalty was assessed prior to August 1, 
2016, the pre-adjustment civil penalty amounts in effect prior to 
August 1, 2106 will apply.

List of Subjects

45 CFR Part 1230

    Government contracts, Grant programs, Loan programs, Lobbying, 
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

45 CFR Part 2554

    Claims, Fraud, Organization and functions (Government agencies), 
Penalties.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, under the authority of 
42 U.S.C. 12651c(c), the Corporation for National and Community Service 
amends chapters XII and XXV, title 45 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations as follows:

PART 1230--NEW RESTRICTIONS ON LOBBYING

0
1. The authority citation for part 12301 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Section 319, Pub. L. 101-121 (31 U.S.C. 1352); Pub. 
L. 93-113; 42 U.S.C. 4951, et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 5060


Sec.  1230.400  [Amended]

0
2. Amend Sec.  1230.400 by:
0
a. In paragraphs (a), (b), and (e), removing ``$10,000'' and adding, in 
its place, ``$18,936'' each place it appears.
0
b. In paragraphs (a), (b), and (e), removing ``$100,000'' and adding, 
in its place, ``$189,361'' each place it appears.

Appendix A to Part 1230 [Amended]

0
3. Amend appendix A to part 1230 by:
0
a. Removing ``$10,000'' and adding, in its place, ``$18,936'' each 
place it appears.
0
b. Removing ``$100,000'' and adding, in its place, ``$189,361'' each 
place it appears.

PART 2554--PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL REMEDIES ACT REGULATIONS

0
4. The authority citation for part 2554 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: Pub. L. 99-509, Secs. 6101-6104, 100 Stat. 1874 (31 
U.S.C. 3801-3812); 42 U.S.C. 12651c-12651d.


Sec.  2554.1  [Amended]

0
5. Amend Sec.  2554.1 by removing ``$5,000'' in paragraph (b) and 
adding, in its place, ``$10,781''.

    Dated: June 16, 2016.
Jeremy Joseph,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2016-14675 Filed 6-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6050-28-P