📜HHS Revises Standards of Conduct for Employees and Ethics
The Department of Health and Human Services (Department or HHS) is revising and reissuing the Standards of Conduct, a set of substantive and procedural rules relating to conduct and employee responsibilities that augment the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Supplemental Financial Disclosure Requirements for Employees of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Employee Responsibilities and Conduct Regulation, and the Executive Branch Financial Disclosure regulations. The Department is removing provisions that have been superseded by these regulations or are otherwise obsolete or unnecessary to efficient administration. This final rule addresses conduct on Federal Government (Government) property and the use of Government funds or official information; restates existing standards for workplace courtesy; specifies rules for acceptance of gifts, travel, and employment from foreign governments and other non- Federal entities; provides notice of disciplinary actions available to address violations and prescribes the continuing employee obligation to report violations of rules or law to appropriate authorities. This revision adds a new section addressing Counter-Trafficking in Persons requirements in response to the Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022 (Pub. L. 117-348). The rule also continues and delineates restrictions on the political activity of commissioned officers of the United States Public Health Service, a category of employees not covered by the Hatch Act Reform Amendments of 1993, as amended.
Learn More📈Proposed Changes to Small Business Size Standards by SBA
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or the Agency) proposes to increase its monetary based small business size definitions (commonly referred to as "size standards") for 263 industries (259 receipts based and four assets based). SBA proposes to retain receipts based size standards for 237 industries and 12 subindustries ("exceptions") and remove one exception. SBA's proposal relied on its recently revised "Size Standards Methodology" (Revised Methodology). SBA seeks comments on its proposed changes to size standards and data sources it evaluated to develop the proposed size standards. SBA also invites comments on its proposed policy of not lowering any size standards, except for excluding dominant firms from qualifying as small. In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(4), a summary of this rule may be found at www.regulations.gov.
Learn More🏛️New Regulations for Protection of Federal Property
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) adopts this regulation to govern the protection of Federal property. DHS developed this regulation in consultation with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). Consistent with DHS' statutory authority, these regulations provide charging options for violations occurring on and adjacent to Federal property, update prohibited conduct to incorporate advancing technology, provide clearer public notice, and apply the regulations more uniformly to property owned, operated or secured by the Federal Government. This final rule makes no substantive changes from the proposed rule that was published in the Federal Register on January 15, 2025.
Learn More📄Government Property Compliance Requirements for Contractors
Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat Division has submitted to OMB a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding Government property.
Learn More🏢HUBZone Program Updates
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is correcting a final rule that was published in the Federal Register on December 17, 2024. The rule clarified and improved policies surrounding a comprehensive revision to the HUBZone Program regulations published in 2019, among other changes. This document is making several technical corrections to the final regulations.
Learn More🏛️Proposed Regulations for Federal Property Protection and Compliance
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), proposes to promulgate regulations for the protection of Federal property. Within DHS, Federal Protective Service (FPS) maintains responsibility for the protection of buildings, grounds, and property owned, occupied, or secured by the Federal government. The proposed rule would adopt and revise the language of related-GSA regulations, consistent with DHS' statutory authority, to provide charging options for violations occurring on and adjacent to Federal property, update prohibited conduct to incorporate advancing technology, provide clearer public notice, and apply the regulations uniformly to all Federal property.
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