[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 18, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47070-47071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20221]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 222

RIN 1810-AB24
[Docket ID ED-2015-OESE-0109]


Impact Aid Program; Corrections

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Final regulations; correcting amendments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Education (Department) published final 
regulations in the Federal Register on September 20, 2016 to amend the 
Impact Aid Program (IAP) regulations issued under title VII of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every 
Student Succeeds Act. The amendatory instructions at the end of the 
2016 final rule inadvertently removed some definitions from these 
regulations. This document corrects the regulations by adding those 
definitions back into the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

DATES: These regulations are effective September 18, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristen Walls, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3C103, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: (202) 260-3858. Email: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 20, 2016, the Secretary 
published final regulations for this program in the Federal Register 
(81 FR 64728). The amendatory instructions for Sec.  222.161 resulted 
in some of the definitions from Sec.  222.161 being mistakenly removed. 
It was not our intention to remove these definitions through that 
rulemaking and the preamble to the proposed or final rule never 
indicated that we were removing these definitions. We are taking this 
action to correct the regulations. The definitions that were removed 
and that we are adding back in their proper place are: Equalize 
expenditures, local tax revenues, local tax revenues covered under a 
State equalization program, revenue, State aid, and total local tax.

Waiver of Rulemaking

    Under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), the 
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to 
comment on proposed regulations. However, the APA provides that an 
agency is not required to conduct notice-and-comment rulemaking when 
the agency, for good cause, finds that notice and public comment 
thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public 
interest (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B)). There is good cause to waive rulemaking 
here as unnecessary.
    Rulemaking is ``unnecessary'' in those situations in which ``the 
administrative rule is a routine determination, insignificant in nature 
and impact, and inconsequential to the industry and to the public.'' 
Utility Solid Waste Activities Group v. EPA, 236 F.3d 749, 755 (D.C. 
Cir. 2001), quoting U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney General's 
Manual on the Administrative Procedure Act 31 (1947) and South Carolina 
v. Block, 558 F. Supp. 1004, 1016 (D.S.C. 1983).
    These regulations merely restore the regulatory definitions as they 
appeared in the CFR prior to their unintended removal in connection 
with the 2016 Impact Aid final rule. Because the definitions were 
originally adopted through notice-and-comment rulemaking and their 
removal was in error, rulemaking to restore the definitions is 
unnecessary.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the program contact person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations via the Federal Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well as all other 
documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text 
or Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you must have Adobe 
Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.041 Impact Aid)

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 222

    Administrative practice and procedure, Education of individuals 
with disabilities, Elementary and secondary education, Federally 
affected areas, Grant programs--education, Indians--education, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, School construction.

    Dated: September 13, 2018.
Frank Brogan,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.

    Accordingly, part 222 of title 34 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations is corrected by making the following amendments:

PART 222--IMPACT AID PROGRAMS

0
1. The authority citation for part 222 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  20 U.S.C. 7701-7714, unless otherwise noted.


0
2. Section 222.161 is amended by revising paragraph (c) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  222.161  How is State aid treated under section 7009 of the Act?

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    (c) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this subpart:
    Current expenditures is defined in section 7013(4) of the Act. 
Additionally, for the purposes of this section it does not include 
expenditures of funds received by the agency under sections 7002 and 
7003(b) (including hold harmless payments calculated under section 
7003(e)) that are not taken into consideration under the State aid 
program and exceed the proportion of those funds that the State would 
be allowed to take into consideration under Sec.  222.162.
    Equalize expenditures means to meet the standard set forth in Sec.  
222.162.
    Local tax revenues means compulsory charges levied by an LEA or by 
an intermediate school district or other local governmental entity on 
behalf of

[[Page 47071]]

an LEA for current expenditures for educational services. ``Local tax 
revenues'' include the proceeds of ad valorem taxes, sales and use 
taxes, income taxes and other taxes. Where a State funding formula 
requires a local contribution equivalent to a specified mill tax levy 
on taxable real or personal property or both, ``local tax revenues'' 
include any revenues recognized by the State as satisfying that local 
contribution requirement.
    Local tax revenues covered under a State equalization program means 
``local tax revenues'' as defined in paragraph (c) of this section 
contributed to or taken into consideration in a State aid program 
subject to a determination under this subpart, but excluding all 
revenues from State and Federal sources.
    Revenue means an addition to assets that does not increase any 
liability, does not represent the recovery of an expenditure, does not 
represent the cancellation of certain liabilities without a 
corresponding increase in other liabilities or a decrease in assets, 
and does not represent a contribution of fund capital in food service 
or pupil activity funds. Furthermore, the term ``revenue'' includes 
only revenue for current expenditures.
    State aid means any contribution, no repayment for which is 
expected, made by a State to or on behalf of LEAs within the State for 
current expenditures for the provision of free public education.
    Total local tax revenues means all ``local tax revenues'' as 
defined in paragraph (c) of this section, including tax revenues for 
education programs for children needing special services, vocational 
education, transportation, and the like during the period in question 
but excluding all revenues from State and Federal sources.
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[FR Doc. 2018-20221 Filed 9-17-18; 8:45 am]
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