[The Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions]
[Introduction to The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]



Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 231 / Thursday, November 30, 2000 / 
The Regulatory Plan

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 231 / Thursday, November 30, 2000 / 
The Regulatory Plan

[[Page 73305]]





REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE CENTER



Introduction to The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal 
Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions



AGENCY: Regulatory Information Service Center.

ACTION: Introduction to The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of 
Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.

_______________________________________________________________________

SUMMARY: The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies publish 
semiannual regulatory agendas describing regulatory actions they are 
developing (5 U.S.C. 602). Executive Order 12866 ``Regulatory Planning 
and Review'' (58 FR 51735; October 4, 1993) and Office of Management 
and Budget memoranda implementing section 4 of that Order establish 
minimum standards for agencies' agendas, including specific types of 
information for each entry.

     The Unified Agenda helps agencies fulfill all of these 
requirements. All Federal regulatory agencies have chosen to publish 
their regulatory agendas as part of this publication.

     Section 4 of Executive Order 12866 also directs that, as part of 
their submissions to the October edition of the Unified Agenda, 
agencies prepare a regulatory plan of the most important significant 
regulatory actions that the agency reasonably expects to issue in 
proposed or final form during the upcoming fiscal year. The agency 
plans appear as the first section of this joint publication; the agency 
agendas follow.

     The Regulatory Plan begins with Vice President Gore's statement, 
followed by an introduction, and then The Regulatory Plans of 30 
Federal departments and agencies. Each of these agencies has also 
submitted a regulatory agenda describing its other regulatory actions. 
The regulatory agendas for these and 31 other Federal agencies appear 
in Parts III-LXIII of this issue of the Federal Register, followed by 
indexes to both Plan and Agenda entries.

ADDRESSES:  Regulatory Information Service Center (MI), General 
Services Administration, 1800 F Street NW., Suite 3039, Washington, DC 
20405.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  For further information about 
specific regulatory actions, please refer to the Agency Contact listed 
for each entry.

     To provide comment on or to obtain further information about this 
publication, contact: Cynthia M. Warner, Acting Executive Director, 
Regulatory Information Service Center (MI), General Services 
Administration, 1800 F Street NW., Suite 3039, Washington, DC 20405, 
(202) 482-7340. You may also send comments to us by e-mail at:

[email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:   

                            TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
                                                                   Page
 
Statement by the Vice President.................................   73303
 
  Introduction to The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal
                   Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
 
I. What Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda?.........   73306
  A. What Are the Limitations of the Information?...............   73306
II. Why Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda             73306
 Published?.....................................................
III. How Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda            73307
 Organized?.....................................................
IV. What Information Appears for Each Entry?....................   73308
V. Abbreviations................................................   73309
VI. How Can Users Get Copies of the Plan and the Agenda.........   73309
 
                         AGENCY REGULATORY PLANS
 
                           Cabinet Departments
 
Department of Agriculture.......................................   73311
Department of Commerce..........................................   73335
Department of Defense...........................................   73341
Department of Education.........................................   73346
Department of Energy............................................   73348
Department of Health and Human Services.........................   73354
Department of Housing and Urban Development.....................   73384
Department of the Interior......................................   73393
Department of Justice...........................................   73402
Department of Labor.............................................   73408
Department of Transportation....................................   73430
Department of the Treasury......................................   73445
Department of Veterans Affairs..................................   73452
 
                        Other Executive Agencies
 
Environmental Protection Agency.................................   73453
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.........................   73498
General Services Administration.................................   73501
National Aeronautics and Space Administration...................   73502
National Archives and Records Administration....................   73503
Office of Personnel Management..................................   73504
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation............................   73508
Small Business Administration...................................   73510
Social Security Administration..................................   73512
 
                     Independent Regulatory Agencies
 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission............................   73518
Consumer Product Safety Commission..............................   73522
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission............................   73525
Federal Housing Finance Board...................................   73528
Federal Maritime Commission.....................................   73530
Federal Trade Commission........................................   73531
National Indian Gaming Commission...............................   73534
Surface Transportation Board....................................   73536
 
                             AGENCY AGENDAS
 
                           Cabinet Departments
 
Department of Agriculture.......................................   73539
Department of Commerce..........................................   73625
Department of Defense...........................................   73717
Department of Education.........................................   73749
Department of Energy............................................   73759
Department of Health and Human Services.........................   73781
Department of Housing and Urban Development.....................   73869
Department of the Interior......................................   73903
Department of Justice...........................................   74003
Department of Labor.............................................   74071
Department of State.............................................   74125
Department of Transportation....................................   74133
Department of the Treasury......................................   74323
Department of Veterans Affairs..................................   74427
 
                        Other Executive Agencies
 
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.......................   74461
Agency for International Development............................   74463
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board......   74467
Commission on Civil Rights......................................   74471
Corporation for National and Community Service..................   74473
Environmental Protection Agency.................................   74477
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.........................   74637
Federal Emergency Management Agency.............................   74641
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service......................   74649
General Services Administration.................................   74651

[[Page 73306]]

 
Morris K. Udall Foundation-U.S. Institute for Environmental        74663
 Conflict Resolution............................................
National Aeronautics and Space Administration...................   74667
National Archives and Records Administration....................   74673
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities..............
  Institute of Museum and Library Services......................   74681
  National Endowment for the Arts...............................   74685
  National Endowment for the Humanities.........................   74689
National Science Foundation.....................................   74693
Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight..................   74697
Office of Government Ethics.....................................   74701
Office of Management and Budget.................................   74709
Office of Personnel Management..................................   74713
Office of Special Counsel.......................................   74739
Peace Corps.....................................................   74741
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation............................   74745
Presidio Trust..................................................   74751
Railroad Retirement Board.......................................   74755
Selective Service System........................................   74761
Small Business Administration...................................   74763
Social Security Administration..................................   74775
Tennessee Valley Authority......................................   74799
 
                             Joint Authority
 
Department of Defense/General Services Administration/National     74803
 Aeronautics and Space Administration (Federal Acquisition
 Regulation)....................................................
 
                     Independent Regulatory Agencies
 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission............................   74821
Consumer Product Safety Commission..............................   74829
Farm Credit Administration......................................   74841
Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation........................   74849
Federal Communications Commission...............................   74851
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation...........................   74903
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission............................   74913
Federal Housing Finance Board...................................   74919
Federal Maritime Commission.....................................   74925
Federal Reserve System..........................................   74931
Federal Trade Commission........................................   74947
National Credit Union Administration............................   74957
National Indian Gaming Commission...............................   74965
Nuclear Regulatory Commission...................................   74969
Securities and Exchange Commission..............................   74987
Surface Transportation Board....................................   75013
 
                    INDEXES TO UNIFIED AGENDA ENTRIES
 
A. Regulatory Flexibility Act Section 610 Review Index..........   75017
B. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Index........................   75019
C. Small Entities Index (Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Not       75031
 Required)......................................................
D. Government Levels Index......................................   75047
E. Federalism Index.............................................   75087
F. Subject Index................................................   75089
 



INTRODUCTION TO THE REGULATORY PLAN AND THE UNIFIED AGENDA OF 
FEDERAL REGULATORY AND DEREGULATORY ACTIONS



I. What Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda?

     The Regulatory Plan (Plan) serves as a defining statement of the 
Administration's regulatory and deregulatory policies and priorities. 
The Plan is part of the fall edition of the Unified Agenda. Each 
participating agency's regulatory plan contains: (1) A narrative 
statement of the agency's regulatory priorities and, for most agencies, 
(2) a description of the most important significant regulatory and 
deregulatory actions that the agency reasonably expects to issue in 
proposed or final form during the upcoming fiscal year. This edition 
includes the regulatory plans of 30 departments and agencies.

     The Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 
(Unified Agenda) provides information, in a uniform format, about 
regulations that the Government is considering or reviewing. The 
Unified Agenda has appeared in the Federal Register twice each year 
since 1983. This edition includes regulatory agendas from 61 Federal 
departments and agencies. Agencies of the United States Congress are 
not included.

     The Regulatory Information Service Center (the Center) compiles 
the Plan and the Unified Agenda for the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), part of the Office of Management and Budget. 
OIRA is responsible for overseeing the Federal Government's regulatory, 
paperwork, and information resource management activities, including 
implementation of E.O. 12866. The Center also provides information 
about Federal regulatory activity to the President and his Executive 
Office, the Congress, agency managers, and the public.

     The activities included in the Agenda are, in general, those that 
will have a regulatory action within the next 12 months. Agencies may 
include activities that will have a longer timeframe than 12 months. 
Agency agendas also show actions or reviews completed or withdrawn 
since the last agenda. The agendas do not contain regulations that were 
excluded under Executive Order 12866, such as those concerning military 
or foreign affairs functions or regulations related to agency 
organization, management, or personnel matters.



A. What Are the Limitations of the Information?

     Agencies prepared entries for this publication to give the public 
notice of their plans to review, propose, and issue regulations. They 
have tried to predict their activities over the next 12 months as 
accurately as possible, but dates and schedules are subject to change. 
Agencies may withdraw some of the regulations now under development, 
and they may issue or propose other regulations not included in their 
agendas. Agency actions in the rulemaking process may occur before or 
after the dates they have listed.

     The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda do not create a legal 
obligation on agencies to adhere to schedules within it or to confine 
their regulatory activities to those regulations that appear in this 
publication. The information in this edition is accurate as of October 
1, 2000, in the judgment of the submitting agencies, except as 
otherwise noted by the agencies. In addition, some agencies submitted 
updates after that date.

     Where applicable, individual actions will be subject to review for 
compliance with applicable Executive orders, the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act, and the Paperwork Reduction Act at appropriate points in the 
regulatory process.



II. Why Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda Published?

     The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda help agencies comply 
with their obligations under the Regulatory Flexibility Act and various 
Executive orders and other statutes.



Regulatory Flexibility Act

     The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to identify those 
rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities (5 U.S.C. 602). Agencies meet that requirement 
by including the information in their submissions for the Unified 
Agenda. Agencies may also indicate those regulations that they are 
reviewing as part of their periodic review of existing rules under the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 610).




[[Page 73307]]
Executive Order 12866

     Executive Order 12866 entitled ``Regulatory Planning and Review'' 
(September 30, 1993; 58 FR 51735) requires covered agencies to prepare 
an agenda of all regulations under development or review. The Order 
also requires that certain agencies prepare annually a regulatory plan 
of their ``most important significant regulatory actions,'' which 
appears as part of the October Unified Agenda.



Executive Order 13132

     Executive Order 13132 entitled ``Federalism'' (August 4, 1999; 64 
FR 43255) directs agencies to have an accountable process to ensure 
meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in the 
development of regulatory policies that have ``federalism 
implications'' as defined in the Order. Under the Order, an agency that 
is proposing regulations with federalism implications, which either 
preempt State law or impose nonstatutory unfunded substantial direct 
compliance costs on State and local governments, must consult with 
State and local officials early in the process of developing the 
regulation. In addition, the agency must provide to the Director of the 
Office of Management and Budget a federalism summary impact statement 
for such regulations, which consists of a description of the extent of 
the agency's prior consultation with State and local officials, a 
summary of their concerns and the agency's position supporting the need 
to issue the regulation, and a statement of the extent to which those 
concerns have been met. As part of this effort, agencies include in 
their submissions for the Unified Agenda information on whether their 
regulatory actions may have an effect on the various levels of 
government and whether those actions have federalism implications.



Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

     The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4, title II) 
requires agencies to prepare written assessments of the costs and 
benefits of significant regulatory actions ``that may result in the 
expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, 
or by the private sector, of $100,000,000 or more . . . in any 1 year . 
. . .'' The requirement does not apply to independent regulatory 
agencies, nor does it apply to certain subject areas excluded by 
section 4 of the Act. Affected agencies identify in the Unified Agenda 
those regulatory actions they believe are subject to title II of the 
Act.



Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

     The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (P.L. 104-
121, title II) established a procedure for congressional review of 
rules (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), which defers, unless exempted, the 
effective date of a ``major'' rule for at least 60 days from the 
publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. The Act 
specifies that a rule is ``major'' if it has resulted or is likely to 
result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 
meets other criteria specified in that Act. If the issuing agency 
believes that a rule may be major, it indicates this under the 
``Priority'' heading of the entry. The Act provides that the 
Administrator of OIRA will make the final determination as to whether a 
rule is major.



III. How Are The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda 
Organized?

     The Regulatory Plan appears in Part II of this edition of the 
Federal Register. Following the Plan, each agency's agenda appears as a 
separate part. The sections of the Plan and the parts of the Unified 
Agenda are organized alphabetically in four groups: Cabinet 
departments; other executive agencies; the Federal Acquisition 
Regulation, a joint authority (Agenda only); and independent regulatory 
agencies. Departments may in turn be divided into subagencies.

     Each department's or agency's section of the Plan contains a 
narrative statement of regulatory priorities followed by a description 
of the department's or agency's most important significant regulatory 
and deregulatory actions. Each part of the Agenda begins with a 
preamble providing information specific to that part. For each agency 
that requests it, the Center provides a table of contents that appears 
in the Agenda after the agency preamble.

     In the Agenda, each agency presents its entries under one of five 
headings according to the rulemaking stage of the entry. In the Plan, 
only the first three stages are applicable. The stages are:

1. Prerule Stage -- actions agencies will undertake to determine 
    whether or how to initiate rulemaking. Such actions occur prior to 
    a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and may include Advance 
    Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRMs) and reviews of existing 
    regulations.

2. Proposed Rule Stage -- actions for which agencies plan to publish a 
    Notice of Proposed Rulemaking as the next step in their rulemaking 
    process or for which the closing date of the NPRM Comment Period is 
    the next step.

3. Final Rule Stage -- actions for which agencies plan to publish a 
    final rule or an interim final rule or to take other final action 
    as the next step in their rulemaking process.

4. Long-Term Actions -- items under development but for which the 
    agency does not expect to have a regulatory action within the 12 
    months after publication of this edition of the Unified Agenda. 
    Some of the entries in this section may contain abbreviated 
    information.

5. Completed Actions -- actions or reviews the agency has completed or 
    withdrawn since publishing its last agenda. This section also 
    includes items the agency began and completed between issues of the 
    Agenda.

     An agency may use subheadings to identify regulations that it has 
grouped according to particular topics. When these subheadings are 
used, they appear above the title of the first regulation in each 
group.

     A bullet () preceding an entry indicates that the entry 
appears in this publication for the first time.

     All entries are numbered sequentially from the beginning to the 
end of the Unified Agenda. The sequence number preceding the title of 
each entry identifies the location of the entry in this edition. The 
same number is used in the indexes to enable readers to find entries on 
specific subjects.

     This publication contains six indexes. Index A lists entries for 
which agencies have indicated that they are conducting a periodic 
review under section 610(c) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Index B 
lists the regulatory actions for which agencies believe that the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act may require a Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis. Index C lists additional regulatory actions for which 
agencies have chosen to indicate that some impact on small entities is 
likely even though a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis may not be 
required. Index D lists entries that agencies believe may have effects 
on levels of government. Index E lists entries that agencies believe 
may have federalism implications as defined in Executive Order 13132. 
Index F is a subject index based on the Federal Register Thesaurus of 
Indexing Terms.




[[Page 73308]]
IV. What Information Appears for Each Entry?

     All entries in the Unified Agenda contain uniform data elements 
including, at a minimum, the following information:

     Title of the Regulation -- a brief description of the subject of 
the regulation, possibly including section 610 review designation. The 
notation ``Section 610 Review'' following the title indicates that the 
agency has selected the rule for its periodic review of existing rules 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 610(c)). Some agencies 
have indicated completions of section 610 reviews or rulemaking actions 
resulting from completed section 610 reviews

     Priority -- an indication of the significance of the regulation. 
Agencies assign each entry to one of the following five categories of 
significance.

(1) Economically Significant

  As defined in Executive Order 12866, a rulemaking action that will 
    have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 
    will adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of 
    the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, 
    public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or 
    communities. The definition of an ``economically significant'' rule 
    is similar but not identical to the definition of a ``major'' rule 
    under 5 U.S.C. 801 (P. L. 104-121). (See below.)

(2) Other Significant

  A rulemaking that is not economically significant but is considered 
    significant by the agency. This category includes rules that the 
    agency anticipates will be reviewed under E.O. 12866 or rules that 
    are a priority of the agency head. These rules may or may not be 
    included in the agency's regulatory plan.

(3) Substantive, Nonsignificant

  A rulemaking that has substantive impacts but is neither Significant, 
    nor Routine and Frequent, nor Informational/Administrative/Other.

(4) Routine and Frequent

  A rulemaking that is a specific case of a multiple recurring 
    application of a regulatory program in the Code of Federal 
    Regulations and that does not alter the body of the regulation.

(5) Informational/Administrative/Other

  A rulemaking that is primarily informational or pertains to agency 
    matters not central to accomplishing the agency's regulatory 
    mandate but that the agency places in the Unified Agenda to inform 
    the public of the activity.

     In addition, if an agency believes that a rule may be ``major'' 
under 5 U.S.C. 801 (P.L. 104-121) because it has resulted or is likely 
to result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 
meets other criteria specified in that Act, the agency indicates this 
under the ``Priority'' heading. (The Act provides that the 
Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs will 
make the final determination as to whether a rule is major.)

     Unfunded Mandates -- whether the rule is covered by section 202 of 
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-4). The Act requires 
that, before issuing an NPRM likely to result in a mandate that may 
result in expenditures by State, local, and tribal governments, in the 
aggregate, or by the private sector of more than $100 million in 1 
year, agencies, other than independent regulatory agencies, shall 
prepare a written statement containing an assessment of the anticipated 
costs and benefits of the Federal mandate. If the agency believes the 
entry is not subject to the Act, this data element will not be printed.

     Reinvention -- whether the action is part of the Administration's 
Reinventing Government effort and, if so, whether the result will be 
elimination of existing text in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
or revision of text in the CFR to reduce burden or duplication or to 
streamline requirements. If the action is not specifically part of this 
effort, the data element will not be printed.

     Legal Authority -- the section(s) of the United States Code 
(U.S.C.) or Public Law (P.L.) or the Executive order (E.O.) that 
authorize(s) the regulatory action. Agencies may provide popular name 
references to laws in addition to these citations.

     CFR Citation -- the section(s) of the Code of Federal Regulations 
that will be affected by the action.

     Legal Deadline -- whether the action is subject to a statutory or 
judicial deadline, the date of that deadline, and whether the deadline 
pertains to an NPRM, a Final Action, or some other action.

     Abstract -- a brief description of the problem the regulation will 
address; the need for a Federal solution; to the extent available, 
alternatives that the agency is considering to address the problem; and 
potential costs and benefits of the action.

     Timetable -- the dates and citations (if available) for all past 
steps and a projected date for at least the next step for the 
regulatory action. A date printed in the form 02/00/01 means the agency 
is predicting the month and year the action will take place but not the 
day it will occur. In some instances, agencies may indicate what the 
next action will be, but the date of that action is ``To Be 
Determined.'' ``Next Action Undetermined'' indicates the agency does 
not know what action it will take next. Dates after 1999 are printed in 
the same form as other dates, using the last two digits of the year.

     Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required -- whether an analysis is 
required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) 
because the rulemaking action is likely to have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities as defined by the Act.

     Small Entities Affected -- the types of small entities 
(businesses, governmental jurisdictions, or organizations) on which the 
rulemaking action is likely to have an impact as defined by the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act. Some agencies have chosen to indicate 
likely effects on small entities even though they believe that a 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis will not be required.

     Government Levels Affected -- whether the action is expected to 
affect levels of government and, if so, whether the governments are 
State, local, tribal, or Federal.

     Federalism -- whether the action has ``federalism implications'' 
as defined in Executive Order 13132. This term refers to actions ``that 
have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship 
between the national government and the States, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.'' 
If the action does not have federalism implications, this data element 
will not be printed.

[[Page 73309]]

Independent regulatory agencies are not required to supply this 
information.

     Agency Contact -- the name, title, address, and phone number of a 
person in the agency who is knowledgeable about the rulemaking action. 
If available, the agency may also provide the fax number, e-mail 
address, and TDD for the agency contact.

     Procurement -- whether the action is related to procurement and, 
if so, whether it is required by statute and whether it involves a 
paperwork burden. The Procurement heading appears only if the entry is 
related to procurement.

     Some agencies have provided the following optional information:

     Compliance Cost to the Public -- the estimated gross compliance 
cost of the action.

     Affected Sectors -- the industrial sectors that the action may 
most affect, either directly or indirectly. Affected Sectors are 
identified by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 
codes.

     Entries appearing in The Regulatory Plan should also include the 
following information:

     Statement of Need -- a description of the need for the regulatory 
action.

     Summary of the Legal Basis -- a description of the legal basis for 
the action, including whether any aspect of the action is required by 
statute or court order.

     Alternatives -- a description of the alternatives the agency has 
considered or will consider as required by section 4(c)(1)(B) of E.O. 
12866.

     Anticipated Costs and Benefits -- a description of preliminary 
estimates of the anticipated costs and benefits of the action.

     Risks -- a description of the magnitude of the risk the action 
addresses, the amount by which the agency expects the action to reduce 
this risk, and the relation of the risk and this risk reduction effort 
to other risks and risk reduction efforts within the agency's 
jurisdiction.



V. Abbreviations

     The following abbreviations appear throughout this publication:

     ANPRM -- An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is a preliminary 
notice, published in the Federal Register, announcing that an agency is 
considering a regulatory action. The agency issues an ANPRM before it 
develops a detailed proposed rule. The ANPRM describes the general area 
that may be subject to regulation and usually asks for public comment 
on the issues and options being discussed. An ANPRM is issued only when 
an agency believes it needs to gather more information before 
proceeding to a notice of proposed rulemaking.

     CFR -- The Code of Federal Regulations is an annual codification 
of the general and permanent regulations published in the Federal 
Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. The 
Code is divided into 50 titles, and each title covers a broad area 
subject to Federal regulation. The CFR is keyed to and kept up to date 
by the daily issues of the Federal Register.

     EO -- An Executive order is a directive from the President to 
executive agencies, issued under constitutional or statutory authority. 
Executive orders are published in the Federal Register and in title 3 
of the Code of Federal Regulations.

     FR -- The Federal Register is a daily Federal Government 
publication that provides a uniform system for publishing Presidential 
documents, all proposed and final regulations, notices of meetings, and 
other official documents issued by Federal departments and agencies.

     FY -- The Federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.

     NPRM -- A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is the document an agency 
issues and publishes in the Federal Register that describes and 
solicits public comments on a proposed regulatory action. Under the 
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), an NPRM must include, at a 
minimum:

 a statement of the time, place, and nature of the public 
    rulemaking proceeding;
 a reference to the legal authority under which the rule is 
    proposed; and
 either the terms or substance of the proposed rule or a 
    description of the subjects and issues involved.

     PL -- A Public Law is a law passed by Congress and signed by the 
President or enacted over his veto. It has general applicability, 
unlike a private law that applies only to those persons or entities 
specifically designated. Public laws are numbered in sequence 
throughout the 2-year life of each Congress; for example, PL 105-4 is 
the fourth public law of the 105th Congress.

     RFA -- A Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is a description and 
analysis of the impact of a rule on small entities, including small 
businesses, small governmental jurisdictions, and certain small not-
for-profit organizations. The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq.) requires each agency to prepare an initial RFA for public 
comment when it is required to publish an NPRM and to make available a 
final RFA when the final rule is published, unless the agency head 
certifies that the rule would not have a significant economic impact on 
a substantial number of small entities.

     RIN -- The Regulation Identifier Number is assigned by the 
Regulatory Information Service Center to identify each regulatory 
action listed in The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda, as 
directed by E.O. 12866 (section 4(b)). Additionally, OMB has asked 
agencies to include RINs in the headings of their Rule and Proposed 
Rule documents when publishing them in the Federal Register, to make it 
easier for the public and agency officials to track the publication 
history of regulatory actions throughout their development.

     Seq. No. -- The Sequence Number identifies the location of an 
entry in this publication. Note that a specific regulatory action will 
have the same RIN throughout its development but will generally have 
different sequence numbers in different editions of The Regulatory Plan 
and the Unified Agenda.

     USC -- The United States Code is a consolidation and codification 
of all general and permanent laws of the United States. The USC is 
divided into 50 titles, and each title covers a broad area of Federal 
law.



VI. How Can Users Get Copies of the Plan and the Agenda?

     Printed copies of this edition of the Federal Register are 
available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government 
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325, (202) 512-1800.

     Copies of individual agency materials may be available directly 
from the agency. Please contact the particular agency for further 
information.

[[Page 73310]]

     All editions of The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of 
Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions since October 1995 are also 
available in electronic form. You can search the Agenda and the Plan on 
the World Wide Web at:

http//reginfo.gov

     You may also search the Agenda and the Plan on the Government 
Printing Office's GPO Access, which is accessible through:

http//www.access.gpo.gov

Dated:  October 30, 2000.

 Cynthia M. Warner,
Acting Executive Director.

[FR Doc. 00-28231 Filed 11-29-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-27-S