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Proposed Rule2023-14540

Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions-Spring 2023

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Published

July 27, 2023

Issuing agencies

Regulatory Information Service Center

Abstract

Publication of the Spring 2023 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions represents a key component of the regulatory planning mechanism prescribed in Executive Order ("E.O.") 12866, "Regulatory Planning and Review," (58 FR 51735, as amended) and reaffirmed in E.O. 13563, "Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review," (76 FR 3821) and E.O. 14094, "Modernizing Regulatory Review," (88 FR 21879). The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies publish semiannual regulatory agendas in the Federal Register describing regulatory actions they are developing that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities (5 U.S.C. 602). The Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda), published in the fall and spring, helps agencies fulfill all of these requirements. All federal regulatory agencies have chosen to publish their regulatory agendas as part of this publication. The complete publication of the Spring 2023 Unified Agenda containing the regulatory agendas for 67 Federal agencies is available to the public at www.reginfo.gov. The Spring 2023 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the Federal Register includes agency regulatory flexibility agendas, in accordance with the publication requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Agency regulatory flexibility agendas contain only those Agenda entries for rules that are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities and entries that have been selected for periodic review under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.

Full Text

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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 143 (Thursday, July 27, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48508-48513]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14540]

[[Page 48507]]

Vol. 88

Thursday,

No. 143

July 27, 2023

Part II

Regulatory Information Service Center

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Semiannual Regulatory Agenda

Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 143 / Thursday, July 27, 2023 / UA:
Reg Flex Agenda

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REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE CENTER

Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and
Deregulatory Actions--Spring 2023

AGENCY: Regulatory Information Service Center.

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

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SUMMARY: Publication of the Spring 2023 Unified Agenda of Federal
Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions represents a key component of the
regulatory planning mechanism prescribed in Executive Order (``E.O.'')
12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' (58 FR 51735, as amended)
and reaffirmed in E.O. 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory
Review,'' (76 FR 3821) and E.O. 14094, ``Modernizing Regulatory
Review,'' (88 FR 21879). The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that
agencies publish semiannual regulatory agendas in the Federal Register
describing regulatory actions they are developing that may have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
(5 U.S.C. 602).
The Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
(Unified Agenda), published in the fall and spring, helps agencies
fulfill all of these requirements. All federal regulatory agencies have
chosen to publish their regulatory agendas as part of this publication.
The complete publication of the Spring 2023 Unified Agenda containing
the regulatory agendas for 67 Federal agencies is available to the
public at <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>.
The Spring 2023 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the Federal
Register includes agency regulatory flexibility agendas, in accordance
with the publication requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
Agency regulatory flexibility agendas contain only those Agenda entries
for rules that are likely to have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities and entries that have been
selected for periodic review under section 610 of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act.

ADDRESSES: Regulatory Information Service Center (MV), General Services
Administration, 1800 F Street NW, 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: Boris Arratia, Director, Regulatory
Information Service Center (MV), General Services Administration, 1800
F Street NW, Washington, DC 20405, 703-795-0816. You may also send
comments to us by email at: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#62302b3121220511034c050d14"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f1a3b8a2b2b1968290df969e87">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and
Deregulatory Actions

I. What is the Unified Agenda?
II. Why is the Unified Agenda published?
III. How is the Unified Agenda organized?
IV. What information appears for each entry?
V. Abbreviations
VI. How can users get copies of the Plan and the Agenda?

Agency Agendas

Cabinet Departments

Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Education
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Department of the Interior
Department of Justice
Department of Labor
Department of Transportation
Department of the Treasury

Other Executive Agencies

Environmental Protection Agency
General Services Administration
Small Business Administration

Joint Authority

Department of Defense/General Services Administration/National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (Federal Acquisition Regulation)

Independent Regulatory Agencies

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Reserve System
National Labor Relations Board
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Securities and Exchange Commission
Surface Transportation Board

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and
Deregulatory Actions

I. What is the Unified Agenda?
II. Why is Unified Agenda published?
III. How is the Unified Agenda organized?
IV. What information appears for each entry?
V. Abbreviations
VI. How can users get copies of the Agenda?

Regulatory Flexibility Agendas

Cabinet Departments

Other Executive Agencies

Environmental Protection Agency
General Services Administration
Small Business Administration

Joint Authority

Department of Defense/General Services Administration/National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (Federal Acquisition Regulation)

Independent Regulatory Agencies

Introduction to the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and
Deregulatory Actions

I. What is the Unified Agenda?

The Unified Agenda provides information about regulations that the
Government is considering or reviewing. The Unified Agenda has appeared
in the Federal Register twice each year since 1983 and has been
available online since 1995. The complete Unified Agenda is available
to the public at <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>. The online Unified Agenda offers
flexible search tools and access to the historic Unified Agenda
database dating back to 1995. The complete online edition of the
Unified Agenda includes regulatory agendas from 65 Federal agencies.
Agencies of the United States Congress are not included.
The Spring 2023 Unified Agenda publication appearing in the Federal

[[Page 48509]]

Register consists of the regulatory flexibility agendas, in accordance
with the publication requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
Agency Regulatory Flexibility Agendas contain only those Agenda entries
for rules that are likely to have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities and entries that have been
selected for periodic review under section 610 of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act. Printed entries display only the fields required by
the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Complete Unified Agenda information for
those entries appears online in a uniform format at <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>.
The regulatory agendas for agencies not publishing Regulatory
Flexibility Agendas are listed below and are available to the public at
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>.

Cabinet Departments

Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of State
Department of Veterans Affairs

Other Executive Agencies

Agency for International Development
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
Corporation for National and Community Service
Council on Environmental Quality
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of
Columbia
Federal Mediation Conciliation Service
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Inter-American Foundation
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Archives and Records Administration
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Humanities
National Mediation Board
National Science Foundation
Office of Government Ethics
Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator
Office of Management and Budget
Office of Personnel Management
Peace Corps
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Railroad Retirement Board
Selective Service System
Social Security Administration
U.S. Agency for Global Media

Independent Agencies

Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Farm Credit Administration
Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Federal Maritime Commission
Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council
Federal Trade Commission
National Credit Union Administration
National Indian Gaming Commission
National Transportation Safety Board
Postal Regulatory Commission
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

The Regulatory Information Service Center compiles 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
Executive Order 12866, as amended (incorporated in Executive Order
13563). The Center also provides information about Federal regulatory
activity to the President and his Executive Office, the Congress,
agency officials, 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
choose to include activities that will have a longer timeframe than 12
months. Agency agendas also show actions or reviews completed or
withdrawn since the last Unified Agenda. Executive Order 12866, as
amended, does not require agencies to include regulations concerning
military or foreign affairs functions or regulations related to agency
organization, management, or personnel matters.
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 Unified Agenda does not create a
legal obligation on agencies to adhere to schedules in this publication
or to confine their regulatory activities to those regulations that
appear within it.

II. Why is the Unified Agenda published?

The Unified Agenda helps 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). Executive Order 13272,
``Proper Consideration of Small Entities in Agency Rulemaking,'' signed
August 13, 2002 (67 FR 53461), provides additional guidance on
compliance with the Act.

Executive Order 12866

Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,''
September 30, 1993 (58 FR 51735), as amended, 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 fall Unified Agenda. Executive
Order 13497, signed January 30, 2009 (74 FR 6113), revoked the
amendments to Executive Order 12866 that were contained in Executive
Order 13258 and Executive Order 13422.

Executive Order 14094

Executive Order (E.O.) 14094, ``Modernizing Regulatory Review,''
April 6, 2023 (88 FR 21879) sets forth specific actions for Federal
agencies and OIRA designed to modernize the regulatory process in order
to advance policies that promote the public interest and address
national priorities. E.O. 14094, among other things, amends Section
3(f)(1) of E.O. 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) to increase the
monetary threshold for significance under that provision, amends
Section 3(f)(4) to clarify what is significant under that provision,
and encourages greater public participation during all stages of the
regulatory process.

Executive Order 13563

Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory
Review,'' January 18, 2011 (76 FR 3821) supplements and reaffirms the
principles, structures, and definitions

[[Page 48510]]

governing contemporary regulatory review that were established in
Executive Order 12866, which includes the general principles of
regulation and public participation, and orders integration and
innovation in coordination across agencies; flexible approaches where
relevant, feasible, and consistent with regulatory approaches;
scientific integrity in any scientific or technological information and
processes used to support the agencies' regulatory actions; and
retrospective analysis of existing regulations.

Executive Order 13132

Executive Order 13132, ``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 a regulation with federalism implications, which either
preempt State law or impose non-statutory 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 a regulation, 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 (Pub. 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.

Executive Order 13211

Executive Order 13211, ``Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use,'' May 18,
2001 (66 FR 28355), directs agencies to provide, to the extent
possible, information regarding the adverse effects that agency actions
may have on the supply, distribution, and use of energy. Under the
Order, the agency must prepare and submit a Statement of Energy Effects
to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, for ``those matters
identified as significant energy actions.'' As part of this effort,
agencies may optionally include in their submissions for the Unified
Agenda information on whether they have prepared or plan to prepare a
Statement of Energy Effects for their regulatory actions.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act

The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (Pub. 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. The Act provides that the
Administrator of OIRA will make the final determination as to whether a
rule is major.

III. How is the Unified Agenda organized?

Agency regulatory flexibility agendas are printed in a single daily
edition of the Federal Register. A regulatory flexibility agenda is
printed for each agency whose agenda includes entries for rules which
are likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities or rules that have been selected for periodic
review under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Each
printed agenda appears as a separate part. The parts are organized
alphabetically in four groups: Cabinet departments; other executive
agencies; the Federal Acquisition Regulation, a joint authority; and
independent regulatory agencies. Agencies may in turn be divided into
sub-agencies. Each agency's part of the Agenda contains a preamble
providing information specific to that agency. Each printed agency
agenda has a table of contents listing the agency's printed entries
that follow.
The online, complete Unified Agenda contains the preambles of all
participating agencies. Unlike the printed edition, the online Agenda
has no fixed ordering. In the online Agenda, users can select the
particular agencies' agendas they want to see. Users have broad
flexibility to specify the characteristics of the entries of interest
to them by choosing the desired responses to individual data fields. To
see a listing of all of an agency's entries, a user can select the
agency without specifying any particular characteristics of entries.
Each entry in the Agenda is associated with one of five rulemaking
stages. The rulemaking 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.
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.
Long-Term Actions are rulemakings reported during the publication
cycle that are outside of the required 12-month reporting period for
which the Agenda was intended. Completed Actions in the publication
cycle are rulemakings that are ending their lifecycle either by
Withdrawal or completion of the rulemaking process. Therefore, the
Long-Term and Completed RINs do not represent the ongoing, forward-
looking nature intended for reporting developing rulemakings in the
Agenda pursuant to Executive Order 12866, section 4(b) and 4(c). To
further differentiate these two stages of rulemaking in the Unified

[[Page 48511]]

Agenda from active rulemakings, Long-Term and Completed Actions are
reported separately from active rulemakings, which can be any of the
first three stages of rulemaking listed above. A separate search
function is provided on <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a> to search for Completed and
Long-Term Actions apart from each other and active RINs.
A bullet (<bullet>) preceding the title of an entry indicates that
the entry is appearing in the Unified Agenda for the first time.
In the printed edition, all entries are numbered sequentially from
the beginning to the end of the publication. The sequence number
preceding the title of each entry identifies the location of the entry
in this edition. The sequence number is used as the reference in the
printed table of contents. Sequence numbers are not used in the online
Unified Agenda because the unique Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) is
able to provide this cross-reference capability.
Editions of the Unified Agenda prior to fall 2007 contained several
indexes, which identified entries with various characteristics. These
included regulatory actions for which agencies believe that the
Regulatory Flexibility Act may require a Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis, actions selected for periodic review under section 610(c) of
the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and actions that may have federalism
implications as defined in Executive Order 13132 or other effects on
levels of government. These indexes are no longer compiled, because
users of the online Unified Agenda have the flexibility to search for
entries with any combination of desired characteristics. The online
edition retains the Unified Agenda's subject index based on the Federal
Register Thesaurus of Indexing Terms. In addition, online users have
the option of searching Agenda text fields for words or phrases.

IV. What information appears for each entry?

All entries in the online 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. In the printed edition, 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. In the online edition, these notations appear in a
separate field.
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 and Section 3(f)(1) Significant

On April 6, 2023, the President issued E.O. 14904 entitled
``Modernizing Regulatory Review.'' E.O 14904 amends Section 3(f)(1) of
E.O. 12866 to increase the monetary threshold for significance under
this provision from $100 million to $200 million in annual effects and
directs that it be adjusted for GDP growth every three years. Given
that the Spring Agenda was in development prior to the issuance of E.O.
14904, the Agenda largely uses the previous nomenclature of
``economically significant'' to indicate rulemaking actions expected to
have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, the
threshold in E.O. 12866 prior to April 6, 2023. For rulemaking actions
which were submitted for OIRA review after the issuance of the E.O.
14904 on April 6, 2023 and are expected to have an annual effect on the
economy of $200 million or more, the term ``Section 3(f)(1)
Significant'' is used and will continue to be used in future unified
agendas. The amended definition of ``Section 3(f)(1) Significant''
under Executive Order 12866 is a rulemaking action that will ``have an
annual effect on the economy of $200 million or more (adjusted every 3
years by the Administrator of OIRA for changes in gross domestic
product); 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.''

(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 Executive Order 12866, as amended,
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.
Major--whether the rule is ``major'' under 5 U.S.C. 801 (Pub. 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 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 (Pub. 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.
Legal Authority--the section(s) of the United States Code (U.S.C.)
or Public Law (Pub. 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 displayed in the form 12/00/19 means the
agency is predicting the month and

[[Page 48512]]

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.
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.
International Impacts--whether the regulation is expected to have
international trade and investment effects, or otherwise may be of
interest to the Nation's international trading partners.
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.''
Independent regulatory agencies are not required to supply this
information.
Included in the Regulatory Plan--whether the rulemaking was
included in the agency's current regulatory plan published in the fall
2022.
Agency Contact--the name and phone number of at least one person in
the agency who is knowledgeable about the rulemaking action. The agency
may also provide the title, address, fax number, email address, and TDD
for each agency contact.
Some agencies have provided the following optional information:
RIN Information URL--the internet address of a site that provides
more information about the entry.
Public Comment URL--the internet address of a site that will accept
public comments on the entry.
Alternatively, timely public comments may be submitted at the
Governmentwide e-rulemaking site, <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Additional Information--any information an agency wishes to include
that does not have a specific corresponding data element.
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.
Energy Effects--an indication of whether the agency has prepared or
plans to prepare a Statement of Energy Effects for the action, as
required by Executive Order 13211 ``Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use,'' signed May
18, 2001 (66 FR 28355).
Related RINs--one or more past or current RIN(s) associated with
activity related to this action, such as merged RINs, split RINs, new
activity for previously completed RINs, or duplicate RINs.
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
Executive Order 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. An agency may issue an ANPRM before it
develops a detailed proposed rule. An 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 agencies of the Federal Government. The Code is divided into 50
titles, each title covering 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.
E.O.--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 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;
Legal Authority--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.
Pub. L.--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, Public Law
112-4 is the fourth public law of the 112th 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

[[Page 48513]]

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 Executive
Order 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 the printed edition of the Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda.
Note that a specific regulatory action will have the same RIN
throughout its development but will generally have different sequence
numbers if it appears in different printed editions of the Unified
Agenda. Sequence numbers are not used in the online Unified Agenda.
U.S.C.--The United States Code is a consolidation and codification
of all general and permanent laws of the United States. The U.S.C. is
divided into 50 titles, each title covering a broad area of Federal
law.

VI. How can users get copies of the Unified Agenda?

Copies of the Federal Register issue containing the printed edition
of the Unified Agenda (agency regulatory flexibility agendas) are
available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Publishing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954.
Telephone: (202) 512-1800 or 1-866-512-1800 (toll-free). Copies of
individual agency materials may be available directly from the agency
or may be found on the agency's website. Please contact the particular
agency for further information. All editions of The Regulatory Plan and
the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions since
fall 1995 are available in electronic form at <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>, along
with flexible search tools. The Government Publishing Office's GPO
GovInfo website contains copies of the Agendas and Regulatory Plans
that have been printed in the Federal Register. These documents are
available at <a href="http://www.govinfo.gov">www.govinfo.gov</a>.

Boris Arratia,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2023-14540 Filed 7-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-27-P

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This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.