[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 8 (Thursday, January 11, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1832-1833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00446]



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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

41 CFR Part 105-70

[FPMR Case 2024-01; Docket No. GSA-FPMR-2023-0027; Sequence No. 1]
RIN 3090-AK77


Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation Adjustment

AGENCY: The Office of the General Counsel, General Services 
Administration.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 
Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Debt Collection Improvement 
Act of 1996, and further amended by the Federal Civil Penalties 
Inflation Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 2015, this final rule 
applies the inflation adjustments for GSA's civil monetary penalties.

DATES: Effective January 15, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Aaron Pound, Assistant General 
Counsel, General Law Division (LG), General Services Administration, 
1800 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20405. Telephone Number 202-501-1460.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. The Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996

    To maintain the remedial impact of civil monetary penalties (CMPs) 
and to promote compliance with the law, the Federal Civil Penalties 
Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-410) was amended by the 
Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-134) and the 
Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 
2015 (Sec. 701 of Pub. L. 114-74) to require Federal agencies to 
regularly adjust certain CMPs for inflation. As amended, the law 
requires each agency to make an initial inflationary adjustment for all 
applicable CMPs, and to make further adjustments at least once every 
year thereafter for these penalty amounts. The Debt Collection 
Improvement Act of 1996 further stipulates that any resulting increases 
in a CMP due to the calculated inflation adjustments shall apply only 
to violations which occur after the date the increase takes effect, 
i.e., thirty (30) days after date of publication in the Federal 
Register. Pursuant to the 2015 Act, agencies are required to adjust the 
level of the CMP with an initial ``fix``, and make subsequent annual 
adjustments for inflation. Catch up adjustments are based on the 
percent change between the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers 
(CPI-U) for the month of October for the year of the previous 
adjustment, and the October 2015 CPI-U. Annual inflation adjustments 
will be based on the percent change between the October CPI-U preceding 
the date of adjustment and the prior year's October CPI-U.

II. The Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986

    Sections 6103 and 6104 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
1986 (Pub. L. 99-509) set forth the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 
1986 (PFCRA). Specifically, this statute imposes a CMP and an 
assessment against any person who, with knowledge or reason to know, 
makes, submits, or presents a false, fictitious, or fraudulent claim or 
statement to the Government. The General Services Administration's 
regulations, published in the Federal Register (61 FR 246, December 20, 
1996) and codified at 41 CFR part 105-70, currently set forth a CMP of 
up to $13,000 for each false claim or statement made to the agency. 
Based on the penalty amount inflation factor calculation, derived from 
originally dividing the October 2022 CPI by the October 2023 CPI and 
making the CPI-based annual adjustment thereafter, after rounding, we 
are adjusting the maximum penalty amount for this CMP to $13,400 for 
each false claim or statement made to the agency.

III. Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    In developing this final rule, we are waiving the usual notice of 
proposed rulemaking, public comment, and effective date procedures set 
forth in the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553 (APA). The APA, 
at 5 U.S.C. 559, provides that a subsequent statute may supersede the 
APA if it does so expressly. This rulemaking effectuates the statutory 
requirements set forth in section 4(b)(2) of the 2015 Act, which 
provides that each agency shall make the annual inflation adjustments 
``notwithstanding section 553'' of the APA. Furthermore, the APA 
provides an exception to the usual notice of proposed rulemaking, 
public comment, and effective date procedures when an agency finds 
there is good cause for dispensing with such procedures on the basis 
that they are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public 
interest. We have determined that, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) and 
553(d)(3), good cause exists for dispensing with these procedures. The 
2015 Act provides a non-discretionary cost-of-living formula for making 
the annual adjustment to the civil monetary penalties. GSA merely 
performs the ministerial task of calculating the amount of the 
adjustments. Therefore, under the clear terms of the APA and the 
language of the 2015 Act, this rule is not subject to notice, an 
opportunity for public comment, or a delayed effective date, and will 
be final and effective on January 15, 2024.

IV. 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. 
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has reviewed this final rule 
in accordance with the provisions of E.O. 12866 and has determined that 
it does not meet the criteria for a significant regulatory action and 
thus was not subject to review under Section 6(b) of E.O. 12866. As 
indicated above, the provisions contained in this final rulemaking set 
forth the inflation adjustments in compliance with the Federal Civil 
Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended, for specific 
applicable CMPs. The great majority of individuals, organizations and 
entities addressed through these regulations do not engage in such 
prohibited conduct, and as a result, we believe that any aggregate 
economic impact of these revised regulations will be minimal, affecting 
only those limited few who may engage in prohibited conduct in 
violation of the statute. As such, this final rule and the inflation 
adjustment contained therein should have no effect on Federal or state 
expenditures.

V. Congressional Review Act

    The agency and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
OMB have determined that this 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. GSA will 
submit a report

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containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, 
the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the 
United States.

VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires an agency to prepare 
a regulatory flexibility analysis for rules unless the agency certifies 
that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The RFA applies only to rules for 
which an agency is required to first publish a proposed rule. See 5 
U.S.C. 603(a) and 604(a). As explained above, GSA is not required to 
first publish a proposed rule here. Thus, the RFA does not apply to 
this final rule.

VII. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule imposes no new reporting or recordkeeping 
requirements necessitating clearance by OMB.

List of Subjects in 41 CFR Part 105-70

    Administrative hearing, Claims, Program fraud.

Robin Carnahan,
Administrator.

    Accordingly, 41 CFR part 105-70 is amended as set forth below:

PART 105-70--IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL REMEDIES ACT 
OF 1986

0
1. The authority citation for part 105-70 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  40 U.S.C. 121(c); 31 U.S.C. 3809.


Sec.  105-70.003  [Amended]

0
2. Amend Sec.  105-70.003 by--
0
a. Removing from paragraph (a)(1)(iv) the amount ``13,000'' and adding 
``13,400'' in its place; and
0
b. Removing from paragraph (b)(1)(ii) the amount ``13,000'' and adding 
``13,400'' in its place.

[FR Doc. 2024-00446 Filed 1-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-81-P