[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 9, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 30535]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-12110]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 9, 2021 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 30535]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary

7 CFR Part 3

[Docket No. USDA-2020-0011]
RIN 0503-AA72


Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustments for 2021; Correction

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Correcting amendment.

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SUMMARY: On May 10, 2021, we published a final rule amending the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture's civil monetary penalty regulations by 
making inflation adjustments as mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties 
Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. We are correcting an 
error that appeared in that final rule.

DATES: Effective June 9, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen O'Neill, Office of Budget 
and Program Analysis, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW,Washington, DC 
20250-1400, (202) 720-0038.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a final rule published and effective on 
June 17, 2020 (85 FR 36670-36714), we amended the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's (USDA's) debt management regulations in 7 CFR part 3. As 
part of that final rule, we revised the regulations in Sec.  3.91 to 
update the amount of civil monetary penalties that may be levied by 
USDA agencies to reflect inflationary adjustments for 2020 as required 
by the 2015 Civil Penalties Act.
    In making those updates, we inadvertently introduced an error into 
paragraph (b)(2)(xiv) of Sec.  3.91. Prior to the effective date of the 
June 2020 final rule, that paragraph had specified that the civil 
penalty for a violation of the Commercial Transportation of Equine for 
Slaughter Act, 7 U.S.C. 1901 note, and its implementing regulations in 
9 CFR part 88, as set forth in 9 CFR 88.6, has a maximum of $5,000. The 
June 2020 final rule should have adjusted that maximum amount to $5,088 
consistent with the guidance contained in Office of Management and 
Budget memorandum M-20-05, which provided a cost-of-living adjustment 
multiplier for 2020 of 1.01764. However, due to a drafting error, the 
amount that appeared was $812.
    That error carried over into our 2021 adjustments, which were 
published and effective on May 10, 2021 (86 FR 24699-24703), in which 
we applied the 2021 cost-of-living adjustment multiplier (1.01182) to 
the incorrect $812 figure to arrive at an adjusted penalty of $822.
    To address these errors, we are amending 7 CFR 3.91(b)(2)(xiv) to 
replace the incorrect penalty amount with the correct amount, which is 
$5,148 (i.e., the correct 2020 figure of $5,088 times the 2021 
multiplier).

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 3

    Administrative practice and procedure, Claims, Government 
employees, Income taxes, Loan programs-agriculture, Penalties, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Wages.

    Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 3 as follows:

PART 3--DEBT MANAGEMENT

Subpart I--Adjusted Civil Monetary Penalties

0
1. The authority citation for part 3, subpart I, continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  28 U.S.C. 2461 note.


Sec.  3.91   [Amended]

0
2. In Sec.  3.91, paragraph (b)(2)(xiv) is amended by removing the 
amount ``$822'' and adding the amount ``$5,148'' in its place.

John Rapp,
Acting Director, Office of Budget and Program Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2021-12110 Filed 6-8-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-90-P