📄SEC Mandates Electronic Filing for Regulatory Compliance
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission" or "SEC") is amending its rules to require electronic filing or submission of certain forms and other filings or submissions that are required to be filed with or submitted to the Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and the rules and regulations under the Exchange Act. The amendments require the electronic filing or submission on the Commission's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval ("EDGAR") system, using structured data where appropriate, for certain forms filed or submitted by self- regulatory organizations ("SROs"). The amendments require the information currently contained in Form 19b-4(e) to be publicly posted on the SRO's website and remove the manual signature requirements for SRO proposed rule change filings. The Commission is also requiring that a clearing agency post supplemental material to its website. In addition, the Commission is amending rules under the Exchange Act and the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") to require the electronic filing or submission on EDGAR, using structured data where appropriate, of certain forms, reports, and notices provided by broker- dealers, security-based swap dealers, and major security-based swap participants. The amendments also require withdrawal in certain circumstances of notices filed in connection with an exception to counting certain dealing transactions toward determining whether a person is a security-based swap dealer. Finally, the Commission is allowing electronic signatures in certain broker-dealer filings, and amending the Financial and Operational Combined Uniform Single Report ("FOCUS Report") to harmonize with other rules, make technical corrections, and provide clarifications.
Learn More🐾New Animal Drug Regulations Affecting Compliance and Approval Processes
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is amending the animal drug regulations to reflect application-related actions for new animal drug applications (NADAs) and abbreviated new animal drug applications (ANADAs) during October, November, and December 2024. The animal drug regulations are also being amended to improve their accuracy and readability.
Learn More💼Proposed PBGC Rule on Premium Rates and Reporting Changes
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) proposes miscellaneous technical corrections, clarifications, and improvements to its regulations, including its regulations on premium rates, premium due dates, and termination of single-employer plans. These changes are a result of PBGC's ongoing retrospective review of the effectiveness and clarity of its rules and of statutory changes.
Learn More💼Proposed Updates to Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program
The Office for Victims of Crime ("OVC") of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs ("OJP"), proposes this rule to amend the program regulations for the International Terrorism Victim Expense Reimbursement Program ("ITVERP"), to streamline program operation, more expressly reflect certain policy and procedures adopted by OVC since it began administering the program in 2006, and to adjust cost category caps.
Learn More⚡Updates on Energy Conservation Standards and Compliance Requirements
The U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") is publishing a final rule to amend and correct certain energy conservation standards and test procedures of consumer products and commercial and industrial equipment, as described in sections I and II of this document. The changes addressed in this document are technical in nature, and neither the errors nor the corrections in this document affect the substance of any rulemaking or any conclusions reached in support of any final rule.
Learn More📜Clarifying Changes to Paper Packaging Promotion Regulation
This final rule implements clarifying amendments to the Paper and Paper-Based Packaging Promotion, Research and Information Order (Order). The amendments include an added definition for partnership; clarification of the nominations process; clarification about in person and electronic voting for any Board meetings; an update of the timing of financial reporting; and a revision of requirements for when exemptions can be requested. This final rule brings language in the Order up to date with current industry practices.
Learn More💼New Energy Conservation Standards for Commercial Refrigeration Equipment
The Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended ("EPCA"), prescribes energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including commercial refrigerators, freezers, and refrigerator-freezers ("commercial refrigeration equipment" or "CRE"). EPCA also requires the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") to periodically review its existing standards to determine whether more-stringent standards would be technologically feasible and economically justified and would result in significant energy savings. In this final rule, DOE is adopting new and amended energy conservation standards for CRE. It has determined that the new and amended energy conservation standards for this equipment would result in significant conservation of energy and are technologically feasible and economically justified.
Learn More⚖️2025 Civil Monetary Penalties Adjustment Regulations Summary
The Department of Education (Department) issues these final regulations to adjust the Department's civil monetary penalties (CMPs) for inflation. This adjustment is required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act), which amended the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Inflation Adjustment Act). These final regulations provide the 2025 annual inflation adjustments being made to the penalty amounts in the Department's final regulations published in the Federal Register on January 25, 2024 (2024 final rule).
Learn More📜DOJ Finalizes Guidance Document Regulations Effective January 2025
This rule finalizes without change an interim final rule by which the Department of Justice ("Department") removed amendments to its regulations that were made during 2020 pursuant to the now-revoked Executive Order 13891, which had imposed limitations on the use of Department guidance documents in criminal and civil enforcement actions brought by the Department.
Learn More💼Changes to Federal Wage System Impacting Wage Areas Announced
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule to change the regulatory criteria used to define Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area boundaries and make changes in certain wage areas. The purpose of this change, which will affect around ten percent of the FWS workforce, is to make the FWS wage area criteria more similar to the General Schedule (GS) locality pay area criteria. This change is based on a December 2023 majority recommendation of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the statutory national-level labor-management committee that advises OPM on the administration of the FWS.
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