[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 14, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 2007-2009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00161]



 ========================================================================
 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
 having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
 to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
 under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
 
 The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. 
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 9 / Tuesday, January 14, 2020 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 2007]]



FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Part 263

[Docket No. R-1693]
RIN 7100AF-69


Rules of Practice for Hearings

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the 
``Board'') is issuing a final rule amending its rules of practice and 
procedure to adjust the amount of each civil money 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 final rule is effective on January 14, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas O. Kelly, Senior Counsel (202-
974-7059), 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'') \1\ amended the FCPIA Act 
to require Federal agencies to make annual adjustments not later than 
January 15 of every year.\2\ The Board is now issuing a new final rule 
to set the CMP levels pursuant to the required annual adjustment for 
2020. The Board will apply these adjusted maximum penalty levels to any 
penalties assessed on or after January 14, 2020, whose associated 
violations occurred on or after November 2, 2015. Penalties assessed 
for violations occurring prior to November 2, 2015 will be subject to 
the amounts set in the Board's 2012 adjustment pursuant to the FCPIA 
Act.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Public Law 114-74, 129 Stat. 599 (2015) (codified at 28 
U.S.C. 2461 note).
    \2\ 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, sec. 4(b)(1).
    \3\ 77 FR 68680 (Nov. 16, 2012).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under the 2015 Act, the annual adjustment to be made for 2020 is 
the percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for the month of 
October 2019 exceeds the Consumer Price Index for the month of October 
2018. On December 16, 2019, as directed by the 2015 Act, the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) issued guidance to affected agencies on 
implementing the required annual adjustment which included the relevant 
inflation multiplier.\4\ Using OMB's multiplier, the Board calculated 
the adjusted penalties for its CMPs, rounding the penalties to the 
nearest dollar.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ OMB Memorandum M-20-05, Implementation of Penalty Inflation 
Adjustments for 2020, Pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties 
Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Dec. 16, 2019).
    \5\ Under the 2015 Act and implementing OMB guidance, agencies 
are not required to make an adjustment to a CMP if, during the 12 
months preceding the required adjustment, such penalty increased due 
to a law other than the 2015 Act by an amount greater than the 
amount of the required adjustment. No other laws have adjusted the 
CMPs within the Board's jurisdiction during the preceding 12 months.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Administrative Procedure Act

    The 2015 Act states that agencies shall make the annual adjustment 
``notwithstanding section 553 of title 5, United States Code.'' 
Therefore, this rule is not subject to the provisions of the 
Administrative Procedure Act (the ``APA''), 5 U.S.C. 553, requiring 
notice, public participation, and a deferred effective date.

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 states that agencies' annual adjustments are to be made 
notwithstanding section 553 of title 5 of United States Code--the APA 
section requiring notice of proposed rulemaking--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 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 amends 12 CFR 
part 263 to read as follows:

PART 263--RULES OF PRACTICE FOR HEARINGS

0
1. The authority citation for part 263 continues 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 money 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 money penalty provided by law 
within the Board's jurisdiction. The authorizing statutes contain the 
complete provisions under which the Board may seek a civil money 
penalty. The adjusted civil money penalties apply only to penalties 
assessed on or after January 14, 2020, whose associated violations 
occurred on or after November 2, 2015.
    (b) Maximum civil money penalties. The maximum (or, in the cases of 
12 U.S.C. 334 and 1832(c), fixed) civil money penalties as set forth in 
the

[[Page 2008]]

referenced statutory sections are set forth in the table in this 
paragraph (b).

                        Table 1 to Paragraph (b)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Adjusted civil
                         Statute                           money penalty
------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 U.S.C. 324:
    Inadvertently late or misleading reports, inter alia          $4,098
    Other late or misleading reports, inter alia........          40,979
    Knowingly or reckless false or misleading reports,         2,048,915
     inter alia.........................................
12 U.S.C. 334...........................................             297
12 U.S.C. 374a..........................................             297
12 U.S.C. 504:
    First Tier..........................................          10,245
    Second Tier.........................................          51,222
    Third Tier..........................................       2,048,915
12 U.S.C. 505:
    First Tier..........................................          10,245
    Second Tier.........................................          51,222
    Third Tier..........................................       2,048,915
12 U.S.C. 1464(v)(4)....................................           4,098
12 U.S.C. 1464(v)(5)....................................          40,979
12 U.S.C. 1464(v)(6)....................................       2,048,915
12 U.S.C. 1467a(i)(2)...................................          51,222
12 U.S.C. 1467a(i)(3)...................................          51,222
12 U.S.C. 1467a(r):
    First Tier..........................................           4,098
    Second Tier.........................................          40,979
    Third Tier..........................................       2,048,915
12 U.S.C. 1817(j)(16):
    First Tier..........................................          10,245
    Second Tier.........................................          51,222
    Third Tier..........................................       2,048,915
12 U.S.C. 1818(i)(2):
    First Tier..........................................          10,245
    Second Tier.........................................          51,222
    Third Tier..........................................       2,048,915
12 U.S.C. 1820(k)(6)(A)(ii).............................         337,016
12 U.S.C. 1832(c).......................................           2,976
12 U.S.C. 1847(b).......................................          51,222
12 U.S.C. 1847(d):
    First Tier..........................................           4,098
    Second Tier.........................................          40,979
    Third Tier..........................................       2,048,915
12 U.S.C. 1884..........................................             297
12 U.S.C. 1972(2)(F):
    First Tier..........................................          10,245
    Second Tier.........................................          51,222
    Third Tier..........................................       2,048,915
12 U.S.C. 3110(a).......................................          46,825
12 U.S.C. 3110(c):
    First Tier..........................................           3,747
    Second Tier.........................................          37,458
    Third Tier..........................................       1,872,957
12 U.S.C. 3909(d).......................................           2,549
15 U.S.C. 78u-2(b)(1):
    For a natural person................................           9,639
    For any other person................................          96,384
15 U.S.C. 78u-2(b)(2):
    For a natural person................................          96,384
    For any other person................................         481,920
15 U.S.C. 78u-2(b)(3):
    For a natural person................................         192,768
    For any other person................................         963,837
15 U.S.C. 1639e(k)(1)...................................          11,767
15 U.S.C. 1639e(k)(2)...................................          23,533
42 U.S.C. 4012a(f)(5)...................................           2,226
------------------------------------------------------------------------



[[Page 2009]]

    By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, under delegated authority, January 6, 2020.
Margaret McCloskey Shanks,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2020-00161 Filed 1-13-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P