[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 8 (Monday, January 13, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1760-1761]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00294]


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FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION

46 CFR Part 506

[Docket No. 20-01]
RIN 3072-AC79


Inflation Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties

AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Maritime Commission (Commission) is publishing 
this final rule to adjust for inflation the civil monetary penalties 
assessed or enforced by the Commission, pursuant to the Federal Civil 
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act). 
The 2015 Act requires that agencies adjust and publish their civil 
penalties by January 15 each year.

DATES: This rule is effective January 15, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William H. Shakely, Acting General 
Counsel, Federal Maritime Commission, 800 North Capitol Street NW, Room 
1018, Washington, DC 20573; (202) 523-5740.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule adjusts the civil monetary 
penalties assessable by the Commission in accordance with the 2015 Act, 
which became effective on November 2, 2015, section 701 of Public Law 
114-74. The 2015 Act further amended the Federal Civil Penalties 
Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (FCPIAA), Public Law 101-410, 104 
Stat. 890 (codified as amended at 28 U.S.C. 2461 note), in order to 
improve the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties and to maintain 
their deterrent effect.
    The 2015 Act requires agencies to adjust civil monetary penalties 
under their jurisdiction by January 15 each year, based on changes in 
the consumer price index (CPI-U) for the month of October in the 
previous calendar year. On December 16, 2019, the Office of Management 
and Budget published guidance stating that the CPI-U multiplier for 
October 2019 is 1.01764.\1\ In order to complete the adjustment for 
January 2020, the Commission must multiply the most recent civil 
penalty amounts in 46 CFR part 506 by the multiplier, 1.01764.
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    \1\ Office of Management and Budget, M-20-05, Implementation of 
Penalty Inflation Adjustments for 2020, Pursuant to the Federal 
Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, 
at 1 (Dec. 16, 2019) (M-20-05).
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Rulemaking Analyses and Notices

Notice and Effective Date

    Adjustments under the FCPIAA, as amended by the 2015 Act, are not 
subject to the procedural rulemaking requirements of the Administrative 
Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), including the requirements for 
prior notice, an opportunity for comment, and a delay between the 
issuance of a final rule and its effective date.\2\ As noted above, the 
2015 Act requires that the Commission adjust its civil monetary 
penalties no later than January 15 of each year.
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    \2\ FCPIAA section 4(b)(2); M-20-05 at 4.
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Congressional Review Act

    The rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by the Congressional 
Review Act, codified at 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq. The rule will not result 
in: (1) An annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more; (2) a 
major increase in costs or prices; or (3) significant adverse effects 
on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or 
the ability of United States-based companies to compete with foreign-
based companies. 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (codified as amended at 5 U.S.C. 
601-612) provides that whenever an agency promulgates a final rule 
after being required to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking under 
the APA (5 U.S.C. 553), the agency must prepare and make available a 
final regulatory flexibility analysis describing the impact of the rule 
on small entities or the head of the agency must certify that the rule 
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities. 5 U.S.C. 604-605. As indicated above, this final rule 
is not subject to the APA's notice and comment requirements, and the 
Commission is not required to either conduct a regulatory flexibility 
analysis or certify that the final rule would not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521) requires 
an agency to seek and receive approval from the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) before collecting information from the public. 44 
U.S.C. 3507. The agency must submit collections of information in rules 
to OMB in conjunction with the publication of the notice of proposed 
rulemaking. 5 CFR 1320.11. This final rule does not contain any 
collection of information, as defined by 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 
1320.3(c).

Regulation Identifier Number

    The Commission assigns a regulation identifier number (RIN) to each 
regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory 
and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda). The Regulatory Information 
Service Center publishes the Unified Agenda in April and October of 
each year. The public may use the RIN contained in the heading at the 
beginning of this document to find this action in the Unified Agenda, 
available at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain.

[[Page 1761]]

List of Subjects in 46 CFR Part 506

    Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Penalties.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, 46 CFR part 506 is amended 
as follows:

PART 506--CIVIL MONETARY PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT

0
1. The authority citation for part 506 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  28 U.S.C. 2461.

0
2. Amend Sec.  506.4 by revising paragraph (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  506.4   Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.

* * * * *
    (d) Inflation adjustment. Maximum civil monetary penalties within 
the jurisdiction of the Federal Maritime Commission are adjusted for 
inflation as follows:

                                            Table 1 to Paragraph (d)
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                                                                                      Maximum         Maximum
                                                     Civil monetary penalty        penalty as of   penalty as of
          United States Code citation                      description              January 15,     January 15,
                                                                                       2019            2020
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46 U.S.C. 42304...............................  Adverse impact on U.S. carriers       $2,103,861      $2,140,973
                                                 by foreign shipping practices.
46 U.S.C. 41107(a)............................  Knowing and Willful violation/            60,039          61,098
                                                 Shipping Act of 1984, or
                                                 Commission regulation or order.
46 U.S.C. 41107(a)............................  Violation of Shipping Act of              12,007          12,219
                                                 1984, Commission regulation or
                                                 order, not knowing and willful.
46 U.S.C. 41108(b)............................  Operating in foreign commerce            120,079         122,197
                                                 after tariff suspension.
46 U.S.C. 42104...............................  Failure to provide required                9,472           9,639
                                                 reports, etc./Merchant Marine
                                                 Act of 1920.
46 U.S.C. 42106...............................  Adverse shipping conditions/           1,894,261       1,927,676
                                                 Merchant Marine Act of 1920.
46 U.S.C. 42108...............................  Operating after tariff or                 94,713          96,384
                                                 service contract suspension/
                                                 Merchant Marine Act of 1920.
46 U.S.C. 44102, 44104........................  Failure to establish financial            23,924          24,346
                                                 responsibility for non-                     798             812
                                                 performance of transportation.
46 U.S.C. 44103, 44104........................  Failure to establish financial            23,924          24,346
                                                 responsibility for death or                 798             812
                                                 injury.
31 U.S.C. 3802(a)(1)..........................  Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act/         11,463          11,665
                                                 making false claim.
31 U.S.C. 3802(a)(2)..........................  Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act/         11,463          11,665
                                                 giving false statement.
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    By the Commission.
Rachel Dickon,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-00294 Filed 1-10-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6731-AA-P