🏦Proposed Amendments to Community Reinvestment Act Regulations
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (collectively, the agencies) propose to amend their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations by rescinding the final rule titled "Community Reinvestment Act" published in the Federal Register on February 1, 2024, and replacing it with the agencies' CRA regulations in effect on March 29, 2024, with certain conforming and technical amendments. The agencies are also proposing technical amendments to their regulations implementing the CRA sunshine requirements of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, and the OCC is proposing technical amendments to its Public Welfare Investments regulation.
Learn More📈Increase in Annual Limit for Prioritized Patent Examination Requests
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) includes provisions for prioritized examination of patent applications. Those provisions have been implemented by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in previous rulemakings. The AIA provides that the USPTO may not accept more than 10,000 requests for prioritization in any fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) until regulations setting another limit are prescribed. In 2019 and 2021, the USPTO published interim rules that expanded the limit on the number of requests to 12,000 and 15,000, respectively. The current final rule further expands the availability of prioritized examination by increasing the limit on the number of prioritized examination requests that may be accepted in a fiscal year to 20,000.
Learn More⚡DOE Revises NEPA Procedures
This interim final rule substantially revises Department of Energy's (DOE) regulations containing its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing procedures, which were promulgated to supplement now-rescinded Council on Environmental Quality regulations. Mindful that the Supreme Court recently clarified NEPA is a "purely procedural statute," DOE will henceforth maintain the remainder of its procedures in a procedural guidance document separate from the Code of Federal Regulations (DOE NEPA implementing procedures). Thus, DOE is revising 10 CFR part 1021 to contain only administrative and routine actions excepted from NEPA review in appendix A, its existing categorical exclusions in appendix B, related requirements, and a provision for emergency circumstances. DOE is revising appendix A in 10 CFR part 1021 to align with DOE's new NEPA implementing procedures that it is publishing separate from the Code of Federal Regulations. Appendix A in 10 CFR part 1021 (formerly categorical exclusions) are now administrative and routine actions that do not require NEPA review. DOE is also revising 10 CFR part 205, subpart W, to remove the NEPA procedures from its Presidential permit regulations.
Learn More⚒️OSHA Revokes Certain Construction Safety Regulations to Streamline Processes
This final rule revokes 29 CFR 1911.10, which required the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health (Assistant Secretary), who heads OSHA, to consult with the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) in the formulation of rules to promulgate, modify, or revoke standards applicable to construction work, and 29 CFR 1912.3, the general OSHA regulations governing ACCSH. This final rule also makes corresponding changes to 29 CFR 1911.11, 29 CFR 1911.15, 29 CFR 1912.8, and 29 CFR 1912.9. OSHA is revoking 29 CFR 1911.10 and 29 CFR 1912.3 because these regulations impose requirements on the Assistant Secretary that are more burdensome than those mandated by statute, and compliance with these regulations would needlessly delay the Secretary of Labor's (Secretary) regulatory agenda. These changes will ensure that ACCSH is able to advise the Secretary on potential regulatory actions without adversely affecting the agency's regulatory timeline.
Learn More🚍FTA Regulatory Updates
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is revising its regulations on the agency's organization, functions, and procedures to update outdated information and increase clarity.
Learn More📄Amtrak FOIA Program Updates
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation ("Amtrak") needs to update the addresses, increase the fees on the fee schedule, and update methodology for filing FOIA requests.
Learn More📜Discontinuation of Accelerated Examination Program for Utilities
In order to efficiently allocate examination-related resources to address pendency, and in view of the low number of requests for Accelerated Examination and the availability of a statutory program to expedite the prosecution of applications (Track One, prioritized examination), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is discontinuing the Accelerated Examination program for utility applications. The USPTO is also modifying the rules of practice to clarify the grounds for which a petition to make special may be granted and when a fee is required for such petition.
Learn More🚚Surface Transportation Board Removes Final Offer Rate Review Rule
The Surface Transportation Board (Board) is removing its final rule concerning Final Offer Rate Review because the final rule was vacated upon judicial review. The Board is also terminating the proceeding in Docket No. EP 665 (Sub-No. 2).
Learn More🌊Amendments to Rename Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is amending its regulations that implement the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) to revise language reading "Gulf of Mexico" or the associated acronym "GOM" to read "Gulf of America" or the associated acronym "GOA." Executive Order 14172 directs agencies to make this change. This final rule ensures that these regulations comply with this order.
Learn More📞FCC Proposes New Rules for Next Generation 911 Services
In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (the FCC or Commission) proposes rules that would help ensure that emerging Next Generation 911 (NG911) networks are reliable and interoperable. NG911 is replacing legacy 911 technology across the country with Internet Protocol (IP)-based infrastructure that will support new 911 capabilities, including text, video, and data. However, for NG911 to be fully effective, NG911 networks must safeguard the reliability of critical components and support the interoperability needed to seamlessly transfer 911 calls and data from one network to another. When the Commission first adopted 911 reliability rules in 2013, the transition to NG911 was in its very early stages. Since then, many state and local 911 Authorities have made significant progress in deploying NG911 capabilities in their jurisdictions. This Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) is the next step in fulfilling the Commission's commitment to facilitate the NG911 transition and to ensure that the transition does not inadvertently create vulnerabilities in the nation's critical public safety networks. The FNPRM proposes to update the definition of "covered 911 service provider" in the Commission's existing 911 reliability rules to ensure that the rules apply to service providers that control or operate critical pathways and components in NG911 networks. It also proposes to update the reliability standards for providers of critical NG911 functions to ensure the reliable delivery of 911 traffic to NG911 delivery points, and proposes to establish NG911 interoperability requirements for interstate transfer of 911 traffic between Emergency Services IP Networks (ESInets). In addition, the FNPRM proposes to modify the certification and oversight mechanisms in the current 911 reliability rules to improve reliability and interoperability in NG911 systems while minimizing burdens on service providers, and proposes to empower state and local 911 Authorities to obtain reliability and interoperability certifications directly from covered 911 service providers.
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