Notice2021-27621
Civil Penalty Adjustments for 2022
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 21, 2021
Issuing agencies
National Foundation on the Arts and the HumanitiesNational Endowment for the Humanities
Abstract
The National Endowment for the Humanities is giving notice of the adjusted maximum and minimum civil monetary penalties that it may impose, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, for violations of its New Restrictions on Lobbying and Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act regulations. The updated penalty amounts are adjusted for inflation and are effective from January 15, 2022, through January 14, 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 242 (Tuesday, December 21, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 21, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72284-72285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27621]
[[Page 72284]]
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NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES
National Endowment for the Humanities
Civil Penalty Adjustments for 2022
AGENCY: National Endowment for the Humanities; National Foundation on
the Arts and the Humanities.
ACTION: Notice of civil penalty adjustments for 2022.
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SUMMARY: The National Endowment for the Humanities is giving notice of
the adjusted maximum and minimum civil monetary penalties that it may
impose, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment
Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation
Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, for violations of its New
Restrictions on Lobbying and Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act
regulations. The updated penalty amounts are adjusted for inflation and
are effective from January 15, 2022, through January 14, 2023.
DATES: The updated civil penalties in this notice are applicable to
penalties assessed on or after January 15, 2022, if the associated
violations occurred after November 2, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Voyatzis, Deputy General
Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, National Endowment for the
Humanities, 400 7th Street SW, Room 4060, Washington, DC 20506; (202)
606-8322; <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ec8b89828f8399829f8980ac828984c28b839a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a5c2c0cbc6cad0cbd6c0c9e5cbc0cd8bc2cad3">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as
amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act
Improvements Act of 2015 (the Inflation Adjustment Act),\1\ directs
each Executive agency to make an annual inflation adjustment for each
civil monetary penalty provided by law within the jurisdiction of the
agency, and to publish notice of each such adjustment in the Federal
Register. An agency adjusts a civil monetary penalty by increasing the
maximum amount of such penalty (or the range of minimum and maximum
amounts, as applicable) by the percentage by which the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the month of October
preceding the date of adjustment (in this case, October 2021) exceeds
the CPI-U for the October one year prior to the October immediately
preceding the date of the adjustment (in this case, October 2020), then
rounding each amount to the nearest dollar.
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\1\ 28 U.S.C. 2461 note.
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The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) administers two
civil monetary penalties subject to adjustment pursuant to the
Inflation Adjustment Act: A civil monetary penalty that NEH may impose
for violation of its New Restrictions on Lobbying regulation (the
Lobbying Civil Monetary Penalty) \2\ and a civil monetary penalty that
NEH may impose under its Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act Regulations
(the PFCRA Civil Monetary Penalty).\3\ Each regulation provides for
adjustment of its respective civil monetary penalty by notice in the
Federal Register.\4\
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\2\ 45 CFR 1168.400(a), (b), (e).
\3\ 45 CFR 1174.3(a), (b).
\4\ 45 CFR 1168.400(g), 1174.3(f).
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2. 2022 Adjustments for Inflation
The CPI-U for October 2021 was 276.589, and the CPI-U for October
2020 was 260.388. Between October 2020 and October 2021, the CPI-U
increased by 6.222 percent.\5\ Therefore, NEH will adjust each civil
monetary penalty amount by multiplying it by 1.06222 and rounding to
the nearest dollar.
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\5\ OMB Memorandum M-22-07 (December 15, 2021).
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A. 2022 Adjustment to Lobbying Civil Monetary Penalty
For 2021, the Lobbying Civil Monetary Penalty had a minimum amount
of $20,731 and a maximum amount of $207,314.\6\ Therefore, the adjusted
minimum Lobbying Civil Monetary Penalty for 2022 is $22,021 ($20,731
multiplied by 1.06222) and the adjusted maximum Lobbying Civil Monetary
Penalty for 2022 is $220,213 ($207,314 multiplied by 1.06222).
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\6\ Table 1 details the annual adjustments to the Lobbying Civil
Monetary Penalty for years 2016-2022. NEH made the adjustments for
years 2016-2020 when it amended its New Restrictions on Lobbying
regulation on April 21, 2020. 85 FR 22025.
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Thus, the Lobbying Civil Monetary Penalty, following the 2022
adjustment, has a minimum amount of $22,021 and a maximum amount of
$220,213.
Table 1--Annual Adjustments to Lobbying Civil Monetary Penalty, 2016-2022
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Applicable multiplier
Year Baseline penalty range based on percent New baseline penalty
increase in CPI-U range
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2016................................. $10,000-$100,000 \7\ 1.89361 $18,936-$189,361
2017................................. 18,936-189,361 \8\ 1.01636 19,246-192,459
2018................................. 19,246-192,459 \9\ 1.02041 19,639-196,387
2019................................. 19,639-196,387 \10\ 1.02522 20,134-201,340
2020................................. 20,134-201,340 \11\ 1.01764 20,489-204,892
2021................................. 20,489-204,892 \12\ 1.01182 20,731-207,314
2022................................. 20,731-207,314 \13\ 1.06222 22,021-220,213
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B. 2022 Adjustment to PFCRA Civil Monetary Penalty
For 2021, the PFCRA Civil Monetary Penalty had a maximum amount of
$11,803.\14\ Therefore, the new, post-adjustment minimum penalty for
2022 under NEH's PFCRA regulation is $12,537 ($11,803 multiplied by
1.06222).
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\7\ OMB Memorandum M-16-06 (February 24, 2016).
\8\ OMB Memorandum M-17-11 (December 16, 2016).
\9\ OMB Memorandum M-18-03 (December 15, 2017).
\10\ OMB Memorandum M-19-04 (December 14, 2018).
\11\ OMB Memorandum M-20-05 (December 16, 2019).
\12\ OMB Memorandum M-21-10 (December 23, 2020).
\13\ OMB Memorandum M-22-07 (December 15, 2021).
\14\ Table 2 details the annual adjustments to PFCRA Civil
Monetary Penalties for years 2016-2022. NEH made the adjustments for
2016-2021 when it adopted its Program Fraud Civil Monetary Penalties
Act Regulations. 86 FR 44626.
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Table 2--Annual Adjustments to PFCRA Civil Monetary Penalties, 2016-2022
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Applicable
multiplier
Baseline based on New baseline
Year maximum percent maximum
penalty increase in penalty
CPI-U
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2016............................................................ $5,000 \15\ 2.15628 $10,781
2017............................................................ 10,781 \16\ 1.01636 10,957
2018............................................................ 10,957 \17\ 1.02041 11,181
2019............................................................ 11,181 \18\ 1.02522 11,463
2020............................................................ 11,463 \19\ 1.01764 11,665
2021............................................................ 11,665 \20\ 1.01182 11,803
2021............................................................ 11,803 \21\ 1.06222 12,537
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\15\ OMB Memorandum M-16-06 (February 24, 2016).
\16\ OMB Memorandum M-17-11 (December 16, 2016).
\17\ OMB Memorandum M-18-03 (December 15, 2017).
\18\ OMB Memorandum M-19-04 (December 14, 2018).
\19\ OMB Memorandum M-20-05 (December 16, 2019).
\20\ OMB Memorandum M-21-10 (December 23, 2020).
\21\ OMB Memorandum M-22-07 (December 15, 2021).
Dated: December 16, 2021.
Samuel Roth,
Attorney-Advisor, National Endowment for the Humanities.
[FR Doc. 2021-27621 Filed 12-20-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7536-01-P
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