[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 11, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 11659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-03799]



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Rules and Regulations
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

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.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 46 / Tuesday, March 11, 2025 / Rules 
and Regulations

[[Page 11659]]



OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 900

RIN: 3206-ZA03


Certifying the Use of a Merit Personnel System as Required by the 
Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Guidance.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is revising guidance 
issued on June 10, 2024, regarding the available range of staffing 
options for federally funded and state-administered low-income programs 
that are required to comply with the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 
1970 (IPA) and its implementing regulations.

DATES: March 11, 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions, please contact Latonia 
Page, Deputy Associate Director, Workforce Policy and Innovation, 
Talent Acquisition, Classification, and Veterans Programs at 
[email protected] or 202-936-3459.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to 5 CFR 900.604(b)(3), OPM is 
tasked with responding to requests for guidance regarding compliance 
with the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 (IPA) and its 
implementing regulations. When a federally funded program requires 
state and local agencies to establish a merit personnel system to 
receive funds, the IPA and the regulations in 5 CFR part 900, subpart 
F, are applicable. These regulations establish the standards that must 
be included in a merit personnel system when it is certified by a state 
or local agency. OPM's current guidance issued at 89 FR 48821 (June 10, 
2024) states that ``state and local government agencies that receive 
Federal grants [are] limited to utilizing state and local government 
personnel in the administration of the grant-aided program.'' The 
current guidance reversed prior OPM guidance that authorized greater 
flexibility in staffing arrangements for these programs. See at 84 FR 
16381 (April 19, 2019).
    On January 31, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14192 
entitled ``Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation'' (Unleashing 
Prosperity). 90 FR 9065 (Feb. 6, 2025). That order made it the policy 
of the executive branch to ``alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens 
placed on the American people.''
    OPM has reviewed its 2024 guidance and is updating it in light of 
the Unleashing Prosperity executive order. The 2024 guidance imposed 
extra-statutory obligations on state and local governments that 
administer federally funded programs covered by the IPA. The IPA and 
its implementing regulations do not prescribe the use of a particular 
staffing method such as utilizing state employees or contract 
employees. Accordingly, in the absence of any other statutory or 
regulatory requirement to use a specific staffing method, OPM advises 
that the state or local agency has the discretion to determine the most 
appropriate staffing method to best and most efficiently carry out its 
services for the American people. Regardless of the staffing method 
chosen, the state or local agency must certify that it is using a merit 
personnel system that meets the standards outlined in 5 CFR 900.603. 
Because these extra-statutory obligations will no longer be imposed on 
affected state and local governments, this action is considered an 
Executive Order 14192 deregulatory action.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Jerson Matias,
Federal Register Liaison.
[FR Doc. 2025-03799 Filed 3-10-25; 8:45 am]
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