[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 92 (Friday, May 14, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 26455-26456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09303]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

41 CFR Parts 300-90, 301-74, and Appendix E to Chapter 301

[FTR Case 2021-301-01; Docket No. GSA-FTR-2021-0011, Sequence No. 1]
RIN 3090-AK41


Federal Travel Regulation; Removal and Reservation of Part 300-
90--Telework Travel Expenses Test Programs and Appendix E to Chapter 
301--Suggested Guidance for Conference Planning

AGENCY:  Office of Government-wide Policy (OGP), General Services 
Administration (GSA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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

SUMMARY: GSA is proposing to amend the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) 
to remove and reserve the regulations implementing GSA's authority to 
conduct telework travel expenses test programs. GSA's authority to 
authorize agencies to conduct such test programs expired in accordance 
with the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 2021. GSA is also proposing to remove and reserve 
Appendix E to Chapter 301, which contains suggested guidance for 
conference planning.

DATES: Interested parties should submit written comments to the 
Regulatory Secretariat Division at the address shown below on or before 
July 13, 2021 to be considered in the formation of the final rule.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in response to FTR case 2021-301-01 to: 
Regulations.gov: https://www.regulations.gov. Submit comments via the 
Federal eRulemaking portal by searching for ``FTR Case 2021-301-01''. 
Select the link ``Comment Now'' that corresponds with FTR Case 2021-
301-01. Follow the instructions provided at the ``Comment Now'' screen. 
Please include your name, company name (if any), and ``FTR Case 2021-
301-01'' on your attached document. If your comment cannot be submitted 
using https://www.regulations.gov, call or email the points of contact 
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for 
alternate instructions.
    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite FTR Case 2021-
301-01, in all correspondence related to this case. Comments received 
generally will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal and/or business confidential information 
provided. To confirm receipt of your comment(s), please check 
www.regulations.gov, approximately two to three days after submission 
to verify posting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jill Denning, Program Analyst, at 
202-208-7642 or [email protected] for

[[Page 26456]]

clarification of content. For information pertaining to status or 
publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at 202-501-
4755. Please cite FTR Case 2021-301-01.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    This proposed rule first amends the FTR to remove and reserve part 
300-90. Originally, this part was included in the FTR due to the 
enactment of Public Law (Pub. L.) 111-292, the ``Telework Enhancement 
Act of 2010,'' codified at 5 U.S.C. 5711, which authorized the creation 
of agency telework travel expenses test programs managed by GSA.
    When submitting a test program proposal to GSA, agencies were 
directed to include an analysis of the expected cost and benefits and a 
set of criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the program. Once 
approved, participating agencies were required to submit an annual 
report on the results of the test program, including overall costs and 
benefits.
    Only one Federal agency, the United States Patent and Trademark 
Office (USPTO), ever requested and then implemented a telework travel 
test program under this authority. When Public Law 116-283 became 
effective on January 1, 2021, it made the USPTO telework travel 
expenses program permanent. At the same time, the law also removed 
GSA's authority to implement telework travel expenses test programs, 
making part 300-90 no longer necessary.
    GSA is also proposing to remove and reserve Appendix E to Chapter 
301 of the FTR, ``Suggested Guidance for Conference Planning,'' first 
published January 10, 2000 (65 FR 1329). As noted in the title, the 
guidance is suggested, not a mandatory set of instructions agencies 
must follow when planning a conference. Some readers have found the 
word ``suggested'' in the title confusing and duplicative, considering 
similar regulatory instructions regarding conference planning are 
located in FTR part 301-74. GSA believes that general information on 
how to plan a conference, the focus of Appendix E, is now more widely 
available through non-Governmental and professional resources than it 
was when the appendix was first published.
    Finally, one reference to Appendix E that was in regulatory text is 
also proposed for removal.

II. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

    Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess 
all costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if 
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize 
net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public 
health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). E.O. 
13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, 
of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility. 
This is not anticipated to be a significant regulatory action and, 
therefore, was not subject to review under Section 6(b) of E.O. 12866, 
Regulatory Planning and Review, dated September 30, 1993.

III. Congressional Review Act

    This proposed rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 
Subtitle E of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 
1996 (codified at 5 U.S.C. 801-808), also known as the Congressional 
Review Act or CRA, generally provides that before a rule may take 
effect, the agency promulgating the rule must submit a rule report, 
which includes a copy of the rule, to each House of the Congress and to 
the Comptroller General of the United States.

IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    GSA does not expect this proposed rule to have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities within the 
meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., 
because the changes are administrative in nature and only affect 
Government employees.
    Therefore, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis has not been 
performed. GSA invites comments from small business concerns and other 
interested parties on the expected impact of this rule on small 
entities.
    GSA will also consider comments from small entities concerning the 
existing regulations in subparts affected by the rule in accordance 
with 5 U.S.C. 610. Interested parties must submit such comments 
separately and should cite 5 U.S.C. 610 (FTR Case 2021-301-01), in 
correspondence.

V. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply because the changes to 
the FTR do not impose recordkeeping or information collection 
requirements, or the collection of information from offerors, 
contractors, or members of the public that require the approval of the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.

List of Subjects in 41 CFR Parts 300-90 and 301-74, and Appendix E 
to Chapter 301

    Government employees, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Travel and transportation expenses.

Krystal J. Brumfield,
Associate Administrator, Office of Government-wide Policy.

    Under 5 U.S.C. 5707 and 5711 and discussed in the preamble, GSA 
proposes to amend 41 CFR parts 300-90, 301-74, and Appendix E to part 
301 as set forth below:

PART 300-90--TELEWORK EXPENSES TEST PROGRAMS [REMOVED AND RESERVED]

0
1. Remove and reserve part 300-90.

PART 301-74--CONFERENCE PLANNING

0
2. The authority citation for 41 CFR 301-74 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 5707.


Sec.  301-74.4  [Amended]

0
3. Amend Sec.  301-74.4 by removing the last sentence.

Appendix E to Chapter 301 [Removed and Reserved]

0
4. Remove and reserve appendix E to Chapter 301.

[FR Doc. 2021-09303 Filed 5-13-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P