⚒️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📄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.
Learn More💵Proposed Changes to Hennepin NAF Wage Area and Business Impacts
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a rule to abolish the Hennepin, Minnesota, nonappropriated fund (NAF) Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area and define most of its counties to the nearest NAF FWS wage areas. Those counties without NAF FWS employment would no longer be defined to a NAF wage area. These changes are necessary because NAF FWS employment in the survey area has been declining, and the local activities no longer have the capability to conduct local wage surveys.
Learn More🌍Congressional Review Act Revocation of Waste Emissions Charge
Congress has passed and the President has signed a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) final rule titled, "Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Procedures for Facilitating Compliance, Including Netting and Exemptions" (2024 WEC Final Rule). The 2024 WEC Final Rule implemented and facilitated compliance with the requirements of the Waste Emissions Charge in the Clean Air Act's (CAA) Methane Emissions Reduction Program. Under the joint resolution and by operation of the CRA, the 2024 WEC Final Rule now has no legal force or effect. Because the rule has been nullified, the EPA is removing it from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). This action is exempt from notice-and-comment rulemaking because it is ministerial in nature.
Learn More⚖️Corrections to Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Regulations
On December 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) revised the annexes of the trade remedy regulations to modernize the administration of the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) laws. This amendment corrects inadvertent errors in dates and regulatory language.
Learn More🌊Implications of Proposed Submarine Cable Landing License Rules
The Federal Communications Commission ("FCC" or "Commission") takes another important step to protect the Nation's submarine cable infrastructure from threats in an evolving national security and law enforcement landscape by undertaking the first major comprehensive review of the Commission's submarine cable rules since 2001. This review seeks to develop forward-looking rules to better protect submarine cables, identify and mitigate harms affecting national security and law enforcement, and facilitate the deployment of submarine cables and capacity to the market. Among other things, the Commission proposes to adopt a three-year periodic reporting requirement for submarine cable landing licenses; in the alternative, the Commission seeks comment on shortening the current 25-year submarine cable license term or adopting a shorter license term in combination with periodic reporting. The Commission also proposes or seeks comment on codifying the Commission's legal jurisdiction and other legal requirements in its rules to provide regulatory certainty to submarine cable owners and operators. Additionally, the Commission proposes and seeks comment on appropriate applicant and application requirements to account for the evolution of technologies and facilities and changes in the national security landscape over the last two decades and to ensure the Commission has targeted and granular information regarding the ownership, control, use of a submarine cable system, and other things, which are critical to the Commission's review to assess potential national security risks and other important public interest factors. Further, the Commission seeks comment on improving the quality of the circuit capacity data and facilitating the sharing of such information with other Federal agencies. Through these proposals, the Commission seeks to ensure that the Commission is exercising appropriate oversight of submarine cables to safeguard U.S. communications networks.
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