[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 10 (Friday, January 14, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 2350-2352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00712]


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FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION

46 CFR Part 506

[Docket No. 22-02]
RIN 3072-AC89


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 new civil 
penalties by January 15 each year.

DATES: This rule is effective January 15, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Cody, Secretary; Phone: (202) 
523-5725; Email: [email protected].

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. Public Law 114-74, section 
701. 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 15, 2021, the Office of Management 
and Budget published guidance stating that the CPI-U multiplier for 
October 2021 is 1.06222.\1\

[[Page 2351]]

In order to complete the annual adjustment, the Commission must 
multiply the most recent civil penalty amounts in 46 CFR part 506 by 
the multiplier, 1.06222.
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    \1\ Office of Management and Budget, M-22-07, Implementation of 
Penalty Inflation Adjustments for 2022, Pursuant to the Federal 
Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, 
at 1 (Dec. 15, 2021) (M-22-07).
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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-22-07 at 3-4.
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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.

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 penalty    Maximum penalty
       United States code citation             Civil monetary penalty       as of January 15,  as of January 15,
                                                     description                   2021               2022
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46 U.S.C. 42304.........................  Adverse impact on U.S. carriers          $2,166,279         $2,301,065
                                           by foreign shipping practices.
46 U.S.C. 41107(a)......................  Knowing and Willful violation/               61,820             65,666
                                           Shipping Act of 1984, or
                                           Commission regulation or order.
46 U.S.C. 41107(a)......................  Violation of Shipping Act of                 12,363             13,132
                                           1984, Commission regulation or
                                           order, not knowing and willful.
46 U.S.C. 41108(b)......................  Operating in foreign commerce               123,641            131,334
                                           after tariff suspension.
46 U.S.C. 42104.........................  Failure to provide required                   9,753             10,360
                                           reports, etc./Merchant Marine
                                           Act of 1920.
46 U.S.C. 42106.........................  Adverse shipping conditions/              1,950,461          2,071,819
                                           Merchant Marine Act of 1920.
46 U.S.C. 42108.........................  Operating after tariff or                    97,523            103,591
                                           service contract suspension/
                                           Merchant Marine Act of 1920.
46 U.S.C. 44102, 44104..................  Failure to establish financial               24,634             26,167
                                           responsibility for non-                        822                873
                                           performance of transportation.
46 U.S.C. 44103, 44104..................  Failure to establish financial               24,634             26,167
                                           responsibility for death or                    822                873
                                           injury.
31 U.S.C. 3802(a)(1)....................  Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act/            11,803             12,537
                                           making false claim.
31 U.S.C. 3802(a)(2)....................  Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act/            11,803             12,537
                                           giving false statement.
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[[Page 2352]]

    By the Commission.
William Cody,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-00712 Filed 1-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6730-02-P