[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 4, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 26267-26268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09563]



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 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
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 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.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 4, 2022 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 26267]]



ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE OF THE FEDERAL REGISTER

1 CFR Part 12


Official Subscriptions to the Print Edition of the Federal 
Register

AGENCY: Administrative Committee of the Federal Register.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Administrative Committee of the Federal Register is 
updating its regulations for official requests for specific issues or 
subscriptions to the print edition of the Federal Register as required 
by the Federal Register Printing Savings Act of 2017.

DATES: Effective May 4, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Docket materials are available for review at the Office of 
the Federal Register, 7 G Street NW, Suite A-734, Washington, DC 20401, 
202-741-6030. Please contact the persons listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection of docket 
materials. The Office of the Federal Register's official hours of 
business are Monday through Friday, 8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., excluding 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katerina Horska, Director of Legal 
Affairs and Policy, or Miriam Vincent, Staff Attorney, Office of the 
Federal Register, at [email protected], or 202-741-6030.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Purpose

    Under the Federal Register Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 15), the 
Administrative Committee of the Federal Register (Administrative 
Committee, Committee, ACFR, or we) is responsible for issuing 
regulations governing Federal Register publications. This includes 
establishing the number of official print copies of the Federal 
Register that can be distributed to Members of Congress, officers and 
employees of the United States, or Federal agencies (44 U.S.C. 1506). 
The ACFR sets out the number of official copies that Members of 
Congress and any other office of the United States are entitled to 
receive without charge in 1 CFR 12.1. This section also establishes how 
Federal offices of the United States request subscriptions to print 
copies of the Federal Register.
    In January of 2018, the Federal Register Printing Savings Act of 
2017 (Pub. L. 115-120) (the Act) updated 44 U.S.C. 1506 by changing 
subscription terms to yearly and placing other requirements on requests 
for official print copies of the Federal Register. Specifically, the 
Act prohibits the Government Publishing Office (GPO) from distributing 
the Federal Register without charge to Members of Congress or any other 
office of the United States unless they request a specific issue of the 
Federal Register or a subscription to the print edition of the Federal 
Register for that year. The Act also limits subscriptions to single-
year terms. In addition, the Act requires the ACFR to issue regulations 
that notify Members of Congress and any other office of the United 
States of these restrictions and provide information on requesting 
official copies or subscriptions.
    On December 30, 2020, we published a notice of proposed rulemaking 
(85 FR 86514), proposing to revise 1 CFR 12.1 to meet the requirements 
of the Act by setting out how Members of Congress and any other office 
of the United States may request an official copy or a subscription to 
the print edition of the Federal Register.
    We received no comments.

Other Actions Taken To Implement the Act

    Since the effective date of the Act, GPO has issued two Circular 
Letters related to its implementation. The first, GPO Circular Letter 
1001, announced to official subscribers that GPO was creating a 
database to help implement the requirements of the Act (Gov't Publ'g 
Office, Circular Letter No. 1001 (2018), www.gpo.gov/how-to-work-with-us/agency/circular-letters/federal-register-printing-savings-act-of-2017). The second, GPO Circular Letter 1021, announced GPO's new online 
subscription portal for official distribution of the print edition of 
the Federal Register located at www.gpo.gov/frsubs (Gov't Publ'g 
Office, Circular Letter No. 1021 (2018), www.gpo.gov/how-to-work-with-us/agency/circular-letters/federal-register-printing-savings-act-of-2017-2). On the portal's form, an office of the United States may sign 
up for a yearly subscription to the print edition of the Federal 
Register, with an option for the delivery of multiple copies to the 
office. The subscription will be valid for one calendar year, but must 
be renewed each January regardless of when initially requested. GPO 
will send subscribers a reminder that they will need to sign up for the 
next calendar year if they wish to continue to receive print copies of 
the daily Federal Register. If official subscribers do not use the 
portal to sign up, they will not receive print copies of the Federal 
Register at the start of the new calendar year. Currently, the portal 
also provides Members of Congress and other offices of the United 
States an email address ([email protected]) for requesting specific issues 
of the daily Federal Register. However, future versions of the portal's 
form will allow Members of Congress and other offices of the United 
States to request specific issues of the daily Federal Register, in 
addition to subscriptions, directly through the portal.
    To highlight these developments, GPO placed a direct link to the 
subscription portal on its homepage menu (Who We Are > Our Agency > 
Official Federal Register Subscription Form). We will also provide 
updates on any changes to the official distribution of print copies of 
the Federal Register on www.federalregister.gov and in the front matter 
of Federal Register issues.
    We did not propose any changes to the process for requesting 
quantity overruns or extra copies. The paragraphs of Sec.  12.1 
governing those processes are re-designated as paragraphs (d) through 
(f) instead of paragraphs (b) through (d), but the processes themselves 
will remain the same. We also did not propose to change the paid 
subscription process in part 11. The Act did not affect the process for 
paid subscriptions, so this rule applies only to requests for 
distribution of the Federal Register without charge.

Regulatory Analysis

    The Administrative Committee developed this rule after considering 
numerous statutes and Executive orders

[[Page 26268]]

related to rulemaking. Below is a summary of the Committee's 
determinations after analysis of these statutes and Executive orders 
with respect to this rulemaking.

Administrative Procedure Act

    The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) requires a 30-day delay in 
the effective date of a rule unless the promulgating agency finds 
``good cause'' for dispensing with the delay or another exception 
applies. 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). The Administrative Committee has 
determined that the good-cause exception applies to this rule.
    The ``primary purpose'' for deferring the effective date of a rule 
is ``to afford persons affected a reasonable time to prepare for the 
effective date of a rule or rules or to take other action which the 
issuance may prompt.'' N. Arapahoe Tribe v. Hodel, 808 F.2d 741, 752 
(10th Cir. 1987) (quotation marks omitted); Am. Fed'n of Gov't Emp., 
AFL-CIO v. Block, 655 F.2d 1153, 1156 (D.C. Cir. 1981) (noting that a 
delay in the effective date ``serve[s] the laudable purpose of 
informing affected parties and affording them a reasonable time to 
adjust to the new regulation''). The regulatory changes at issue in 
this rulemaking will not require any significant time for affected 
parties to alter their behavior because Members of Congress or other 
offices will immediately be able to use the online portal at 
www.gpo.gov/frsubs to request print subscriptions to the Federal 
Register. In addition, this rule has no effect on paid subscriptions, 
and it does not affect public access to the Federal Register, as the 
publication will remain freely available online at www.GovInfo.gov and 
www.federalregister.gov. Because the rule will have no significant 
effect on either requesting offices or the public more generally, 
regulated parties will not need time to come into compliance with the 
rule, and the good-cause exception under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) applies.

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

    This rule has been drafted in accordance with Executive Order 
12866, section 1(b), ``The Principles of Regulation,'' and Executive 
Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.'' The 
Administrative Committee has determined that this rule is not a 
significant regulatory action as defined under section 3(f) of 
Executive Order 12866. Thus, this rule has not been reviewed by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This rule will not have a significant impact on small entities 
because it imposes no requirements on the public. Members of the public 
can access Federal Register publications for free through GPO's 
website, www.govinfo.gov/.

Federalism

    This rule has no federalism implications under Executive Order 
13132. It does not impose compliance costs on State or local 
governments or preempt State law.

Congressional Review

    This rule is not a major rule as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). The 
Administrative Committee will submit a rule report, including a copy of 
this final rule, to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller 
General of the United States as required under the congressional review 
provisions of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 
1986. 5 U.S.C. 801(a).

List of Subjects in 1 CFR Part 12

    Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, Government 
publications, Public Papers of Presidents of U.S., U.S. Government 
Manual, Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents.

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, under the authority at 
44 U.S.C. 1506, the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register 
amends 1 CFR part 12 as follows:

PART 12--OFFICIAL DISTRIBUTION WITHIN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

0
1. The authority citation for part 12 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 1506; sec. 6, E.O. 10530, 19 FR 2709; 3 
CFR, 1954-1958 Comp., p. 189.

0
2. Amend Sec.  12.1 by:
0
a. Revising paragraph (a);
0
b. Redesignating paragraphs (b) through (e) as (d) through (g); and
0
c. Adding new paragraphs (b) and (c).
    The revision and additions read as follows:


Sec.  12.1  Federal Register.

    (a) The Federal Register, issued under the authority of the 
Administrative Committee, is officially maintained online and is 
available on at least one Government Publishing Office website.
    (b) Requests for subscriptions to the Federal Register may be made 
as follows:
    (1) Requests from a Member of Congress or any other office of the 
United States for a specific issue or a subscription may be submitted 
via a Government Publishing Office website or by email to an email 
address provided on that website.
    (2) Official subscription requests:
    (i) May be made in the current year for that year or for the 
upcoming year;
    (ii) Will expire at the end of each calendar year; and
    (iii) Will not automatically continue into a new calendar year.
    (c) Notifications regarding procedures for requesting official 
copies of specific issues or print subscriptions are available:
    (1) On a Government Publishing Office website dedicated to official 
subscriptions;
    (2) On www.federalregister.gov; and
    (3) In the front matter of the Federal Register, which is the text 
that precedes the main text of the daily issue of the Federal Register.
* * * * *

David S. Ferriero,
Chairperson, Administrative Committee of the Federal Register.
Hugh N. Halpern,
Member, Administrative Committee of the Federal Register.
Rosemary Hart,
Member, Administrative Committee of the Federal Register.
    Approved:
Merrick B. Garland,
Attorney General.
David S. Ferriero,
Archivist of the United States.
[FR Doc. 2022-09563 Filed 5-3-22; 8:45 am]
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