Inflation Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties
Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 30 (Wednesday, February 15, 2017)
Federal Register Volume 82, Number 30 (Wednesday, February 15, 2017)
Rules and Regulations
Pages 10719-10720
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2017-00271
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FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION
46 CFR Part 506
Docket No. 17-01
RIN 3072-4C67
Inflation Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties
AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Commission is publishing its adjustments to inflation annually, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act). The 2015 Act requires that agencies adjust and publish their civil penalties by January 15th each year.
DATES: This rule is effective on February 15, 2017, and is applicable beginning January 15, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tyler Wood, General Counsel, Federal Maritime Commission, 800 North Capitol Street NW., Room 1018, Washington, DC 20573, (202) 523-5740.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule adjusts the civil monetary penalties assessable by the Commission in accordance with the 2015 Act, which became effective on November 2, 2015. The 2015 Act further amended the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (FCPIAA), Public Law 101-410, 104 Stat. 890 (codified as amended at 28 U.S.C. 2461 note), in order to improve the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties and to maintain their deterrent effect.
The 2015 Act requires agencies to adjust CMPs under their jurisdiction by January 15, 2017, based on changes in the consumer price index (CPI-U) using data from October in the previous calendar year. On December 16, 2016, Office of Management and Budget published guidance stating that the CPI-U multiplier for October 2016 is 1.01636.\1\ In order to complete the adjustment for January 2017, agencies must multiply the most recent civil penalty amounts in 46 CFR part 506, i.e., those that include the catch-up adjustment required by the 2015 Act by 1.01636.\2\ For the Commission, this means applying the multiplier to the penalty amounts set forth in the Commission's June 30, 2016 interim final rule, which went into effect on August 1, 2016.\3\
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\1\ Office of Management and Budget, M-17-11, Implementation of the 2017 annual adjustment pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, at 1 (Dec. 16, 2016) (M-17-11).
\2\ Id. at 2-3.
\3\ 81 FR 42552.
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Rulemaking Analyses and Notices
Notice and Effective Date
Adjustments under the FCPIAA, as amended by the 2015 Act, are not subject to the procedural rulemaking requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), including the requirements for prior notice, an opportunity for comment, and a delay between the issuance of a final rule and its effective date.\4\ As noted above, the 2015 Act requires that the Commission adjust its CMPs no later than January 15 of each year.
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\4\ FCPIAA Sec. 4(b)(2); M-17-11 at 2.
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Congressional Review Act
The rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by the Congressional Review Act, codified at 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq. The rule will not result in: (1) An annual effect on the economy of $100,000,000 or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of United States-based companies to compete with foreign-
based companies. 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (codified as amended at 5 U.S.C. 601-612) provides that whenever an agency promulgates a final rule after being required to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking under the APA (5 U.S.C. 553), the agency must prepare and make available a final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) describing the impact of the rule on small entities. 5 U.S.C. 604. As indicated above, this final rule is not subject to the APA's notice and comment requirements, and the Commission is not required to prepare an FRFA in conjunction with this final rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521) requires an agency to seek and receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) before collecting information from the public. 44 U.S.C. 3507. The agency must submit collections of information in rules to OMB in conjunction with the publication of the notice of proposed rulemaking. 5 CFR 1320.11. This final rule does not contain any collections of information, as defined by 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c).
Regulation Identifier Number
The Commission assigns a regulation identifier number (RIN) to each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda). The Regulatory Information Service Center publishes the Unified Agenda in April and October of each year. You may use the RIN contained in the heading at the beginning of this document to find this action in the Unified Agenda, available at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaMain.
List of Subjects in 46 CFR Part 506
Administrative practice and procedure, Penalties.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, Part 506 of title 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:
Page 10720
PART 506--CIVIL MONETARY PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT
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The authority citation for part 506 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 28 U.S.C. 2461.
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Amend Sec. 506.4 by revising paragraph (d) to read as follows:
Sec. 506.4 Cost of living adjustments of civil monetary penalties.
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(d) Inflation adjustment. Maximum Civil Monetary Penalties within the jurisdiction of the Federal Maritime Commission are adjusted for inflation as follows:
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Maximum
penalty amount Maximum
United States code citation Civil monetary penalty description prior to penalty as of
January 15, January 15,
2017 2017
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46 U.S.C. 42304............................ Adverse impact on U.S. carriers by 1,978,690 2,011,061
foreign shipping practices.
46 U.S.C. 41107(a)......................... Knowing and Willful violation/ 56,467 57,391
Shipping Act of 1984, or
Commission regulation or order.
46 U.S.C. 41107(b)......................... Violation of Shipping Act of 1984, 11,293 11,478
Commission regulation or order,
not knowing and willful.
46 U.S.C. 41108(b)......................... Operating in foreign commerce after 112,934 114,782
tariff suspension.
46 U.S.C. 42104............................ Failure to provide required 8,908 9,054
reports, etc./Merchant Marine Act
of 1920.
46 U.S.C. 42106............................ Adverse shipping conditions/ 1,781,560 1,810,706
Merchant Marine Act of 1920.
46 U.S.C. 42108............................ Operating after tariff or service 89,078 90,535
contract suspension/Merchant
Marine Act of 1920.
46 U.S.C. 44102............................ Failure to establish financial 22,500 22,868
responsibility for non-performance 750 762
of transportation.
46 U.S.C. 44103............................ Failure to establish financial 22,500 22,868
responsibility for death or injury. 750 762
31 U.S.C. 3802(a)(1)....................... Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act/ 10,781 10,957
makes false claim.
31 U.S.C. 3802(a)(2)....................... Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act/ 10,781 10,957
giving false statement.
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By the Commission.
Rachel E. Dickon,
Assistant Secretary.
FR Doc. 2017-00271 Filed 2-14-17; 8:45 am
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