[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 139 (Wednesday, July 20, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47006-47009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16969]
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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
12 CFR Part 263
[Docket No. R-1543]
RIN 7100 AE-55
Rules of Practice for Hearings
AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
ACTION: Interim final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the
``Board'') is issuing an interim final rule amending its rules of
practice and procedure to adjust the amount of each civil monetary
penalty (``CMP'') provided by law within its jurisdiction to account
for inflation as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015.
DATES: This interim final rule is effective on August 1, 2016. Comments
on the interim final rule must be received on or before August 30,
2016.
ADDRESSES: When submitting comments, please consider submitting your
comments by email or fax because paper mail in the Washington, DC area
and at the Board may be subject to delay. You may submit comments,
identified by Docket No. R-1543 and RIN 7100 AE 55, by any of the
following methods:
Agency Web site: www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments at www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow
the instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected]. Include the
docket number in the subject line of the message.
Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
Mail: Address to Robert deV. Frierson, Secretary, Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20551.
All public comments will be made available on the Board's Web site
at
[[Page 47007]]
www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted,
unless modified for technical reasons. Accordingly, comments will not
be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. Public
comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper form in Room
3515, 1801 K Street NW. (between 18th and 19th Streets), Washington, DC
20551) between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine H. Wheatley, Associate
General Counsel (202/452-3779), or Mehrnoush Bigloo, Senior Attorney
(202/475-6361), Legal Division, Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC
20551. For users of Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD) only,
contact 202/263-4869.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act
The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, 28
U.S.C. 2461 note (``FCPIA Act''), requires Federal agencies to adjust,
by regulation, the CMPs within their jurisdiction to account for
inflation. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act
Improvements Act of 2015 (the ``2015 Act'' or the ``Act'') \1\ amended
the FCPIA to require the adjustment to be made annually rather than
every four years, and to direct federal agencies to make the ``catch-
up'' adjustment--the first inflation adjustment after the date of
enactment of the 2015 Act--through an interim final rulemaking, to take
effect no later than August 1, 2016.\2\ The Board is issuing this
interim final rule to set the new civil monetary penalty levels
pursuant to the required catch-up adjustment. The Board will apply
these adjusted maximum penalty levels to any penalties assessed on or
after August 1, 2016. Penalties assessed prior to August 1, 2016, will
be subject to the amounts set in the Board's last adjustment pursuant
to the FCPIA.\3\
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\1\ Pub. L. 114-74, 129 Stat. 599 (2015) (codified at 28 U.S.C.
2461 note).
\2\ 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, section 4(b)(1).
\3\ 77 FR 68,680 (Nov. 16, 2012).
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Under the 2015 Act, the initial catch-up adjustment is the
percentage for each civil monetary penalty by which the Consumer Price
Index for the month of October 2015 exceeds the Consumer Price Index
for the month of October of the calendar year during which the amount
of the penalty was established or adjusted other than pursuant to the
FCPIA. On February 24, 2016, as directed by the 2015 Act, the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) issued guidance to agencies on implementing
the required catch-up adjustment which included the relevant inflation
multipliers per calendar year.\4\ Using OMB's multipliers, the Board
calculated the adjusted penalties for its civil monetary penalties,
rounding the penalties to the nearest dollar. Under the 2015 Act, the
amount of any increase may not exceed 150 percent of the amount of the
penalty on the date of the enactment of the 2015 Act, which is November
2, 2015.\5\ Accordingly, in a few cases where the calculated penalties
exceeded the statutory maximum, the Board adjusted the respective
penalty amount to 250 percent of the prior penalty. The Board also
determined that none of the increases resulting from application of the
2015 Act's formula would have a negative economic impact and that any
social costs of increasing those penalty limits would not outweigh the
benefits of the increase. For this reason, the Board did not seek an
exception from the application of the formula as permitted by section
4(c) of the 2015 Act.
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\4\ OMB Memorandum M-16-06, Implementation of the Federal Civil
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Feb.
24, 2016).
\5\ 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, section 4(b)(2)(C).
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Administrative Procedure Act
Pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (the ``APA''), notice
of proposed rulemaking and opportunity for public comment are not
required prior to the issuance of a final rule if an agency, for good
cause, finds that ``notice and public procedure thereon are
impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.'' \6\
As discussed above, the Board calculated the initial catch-up
adjustment strictly in accordance with the requirements of the 2015 Act
and OMB's implementing guidance. Moreover, the 2015 Act expressly
requires the Board to publish the new catch-up penalty levels through
an interim final rule, meaning that the rule can become effective prior
to the receipt of public comments.\7\ For these reasons, the Board
finds good cause to determine that publishing a notice of proposed
rulemaking and providing opportunity for public comment prior to
adopting a final rule are unnecessary.\8\ Nevertheless, because the
Board is required to publish the catch-up penalty levels through an
interim final rulemaking, the Board is inviting comments on this
interim final rule. In view of the fact that the Board has calculated
the catch-up adjustments strictly in accordance with OMB's implementing
guidance, the Board specifically encourages comments identifying any
issues with the Board's calculations under that guidance. The Board
also invites comments regarding its determination that the bases for an
exception under section 4(c) of the 2015 Act were not met.
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\6\ 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B).
\7\ 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, section 4(b)(1).
\8\ 5 U.S.C. 553(b).
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Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., requires a
regulatory flexibility analysis only for rules for which an agency is
required to publish a general notice of proposed rulemaking. Because
the 2015 Act requires agencies' catch-up adjustments to be made through
an interim final rule, the Board is not publishing a notice of proposed
rulemaking. Therefore, the Regulatory Flexibility Act does not apply.
Paperwork Reduction Act
There is no collection of information required by this interim
final rule that would be subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 263
Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Crime, Equal access
to justice, Lawyers, Penalties.
Authority and Issuance
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Board of Governors
amends 12 CFR part 263 as follows:
PART 263--RULES OF PRACTICE FOR HEARINGS
0
1. The authority citation for part 263 is revised to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 504, 554-557; 12 U.S.C. 248, 324, 334, 347a,
504, 505, 1464, 1467, 1467a, 1817(j), 1818, 1820(k), 1829, 1831o,
1831p-1, 1832(c), 1847(b), 1847(d), 1884, 1972(2)(F), 3105, 3108,
3110, 3349, 3907, 3909(d), 4717; 15 U.S.C. 21, 78l(i), 78o-4, 78o-5,
78u-2; 1639e(k); 28 U.S.C. 2461 note; 31 U.S.C. 5321; and 42 U.S.C.
4012a.
0
2. Section 263.65 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 263.65 Civil monetary penalty inflation adjustments.
(a) Inflation adjustments. In accordance with the Federal Civil
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, which
further amended the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of
1990, the Board has set forth in paragraph (b) of this section the
adjusted maximum amounts for each civil monetary penalty provided by
law
[[Page 47008]]
within the Board's jurisdiction. The authorizing statutes contain the
complete provisions under which the Board may seek a civil monetary
penalty. The adjusted civil monetary penalties apply only to penalties
assessed on or after August 1, 2016.
(b) Maximum civil monetary penalties. The maximum civil monetary
penalties as set forth in the referenced statutory sections are set
forth in the table in this paragraph (b).
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Adjusted civil
Statute monetary
penalty
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12 U.S.C. 324:
Inadvertently late or misleading reports, inter alia $3,787
Other late or misleading reports, inter alia........ 37,872
Knowingly or reckless false or misleading reports, 1,893,610
inter alia.........................................
12 U.S.C. 334........................................... 275
12 U.S.C. 374a.......................................... 275
12 U.S.C. 504:
First Tier.......................................... 9,468
Second Tier......................................... 47,340
Third Tier.......................................... 1,893,610
12 U.S.C. 505:
First Tier.......................................... 9,468
Second Tier......................................... 47,340
Third Tier.......................................... 1,893,610
12 U.S.C. 1464(v)(4).................................... 3,787
12 U.S.C. 1464(v)(5).................................... 37,872
12 U.S.C. 1464(v)(6).................................... 1,893,610
12 U.S.C. 1467a(i)(2)................................... 47,340
12 U.S.C. 1467a(i)(3)................................... 47,340
12 U.S.C. 1467a(r):
First Tier.......................................... 3,787
Second Tier......................................... 37,872
Third Tier.......................................... 1,893,610
12 U.S.C. 1817(j)(16):
First Tier.......................................... 9,468
Second Tier......................................... 47,340
Third Tier.......................................... 1,893,610
12 U.S.C. 1818(i)(2):
First Tier.......................................... 9,468
Second Tier......................................... 47,340
Third Tier.......................................... 1,893,610
12 U.S.C. 1820(k)(6)(A)(ii)............................. 311,470
12 U.S.C. 1832(c)....................................... 2,750
12 U.S.C. 1847(b)....................................... 47,340
12 U.S.C. 1847(d):
First Tier.......................................... 3,787
Second Tier......................................... 37,872
Third Tier.......................................... 1,893,610
12 U.S.C. 1884.......................................... 275
12 U.S.C. 1972(2)(F):
First Tier.......................................... 9,468
Second Tier......................................... 47,340
Third Tier.......................................... 1,893,610
12 U.S.C. 3909(d)....................................... 2355
12 U.S.C. 3110(a)....................................... 43,275
12 U.S.C. 3110(c):
First Tier.......................................... 3,462
Second Tier......................................... 34,620
Third Tier.......................................... 1,730,990
15 U.S.C. 78u-2(b)(1):
For a natural person................................ 8,908
For any other person................................ 89,078
15 U.S.C. 78u-2(b)(2):
For a natural person................................ 89,078
For any other person................................ 445,390
15 U.S.C. 78u-2(b)(3):
For a natural person................................ 178,156
For any other person................................ 890,780
15 U.S.C. 1639e(k)(1)................................... 10,875
15 U.S.C. 1639e(k)(2)................................... 21,749
42 U.S.C. 4012a(f)(5)................................... 2056
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[[Page 47009]]
By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, July 13, 2016.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Secretary of the Board.
Billing Code: 6210-01-P
[FR Doc. 2016-16969 Filed 7-19-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P