Inflation Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties

• Citation: 87 FR 2350
• Record Number: 2022-00712
• Published date: 14 January 2022
• Section: Rules and Regulations
• Court: Federal Maritime Commission

2350

Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2022 / Rules and Regulations

1

Office of Management and Budget, M–22–07,

Implementation of Penalty Inflation Adjustments

for 2022, Pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties

Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of

2015, at 1 (Dec. 15, 2021) (M–22–07).

procedures set forth in the

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C.

553 (APA). The APA provides an

exception to the notice and comment

procedures when an agency finds there

is good cause for dispensing with such

procedures on the basis that they are

impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary

to the public interest. We have

determined that under 5 U.S.C.

553(b)(3)(B) good cause exists for

dispensing with the notice of proposed

rulemaking and public comment

procedures for this rule. Specifically,

this rulemaking comports and is

consistent with the statutory authority

set forth in the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996, with no

issues of policy discretion. Accordingly,

we believe that opportunity for prior

comment is unnecessary and contrary to

the public interest, and we are issuing

these revised regulations as a final rule

that will apply to all future cases under

this authority.

IV. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563

Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and

13563 direct agencies to assess all costs

and benefits of available regulatory

alternatives and, if regulation is

necessary, to select regulatory

approaches that maximize net benefits

(including potential economic,

environmental, public health and safety

effects, distributive impacts, and

equity). E.O. 13563 emphasizes the

importance of quantifying both costs

and benefits, of reducing costs, of

harmonizing rules, and of promoting

flexibility. This is a not significant

regulatory action and, therefore, was not

subject to review under Section 6(b) of

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and

Review, dated September 30, 1993.

The Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) has reviewed this final rule in

accordance with the provisions of E.O.

12866 and has determined that it does

not meet the criteria for a significant

regulatory action. As indicated above,

the provisions contained in this final

rulemaking set forth the inflation

adjustments in compliance with the

Debt Collection Improvement Act of

1996 for specific applicable CMPs. The

great majority of individuals,

organizations and entities addressed

through these regulations do not engage

in such prohibited conduct, and as a

result, we believe that any aggregate

economic impact of these revised

regulations will be minimal, affecting

only those limited few who may engage

in prohibited conduct in violation of the

statute. As such, this final rule and the

inflation adjustment contained therein

should have no effect on Federal or state

expenditures.

V. Congressional Review Act

This rule is not a major rule under 5

U.S.C. 804(2). Subtitle E of the Small

Business Regulatory Enforcement

Fairness Act of 1996 (codified at 5

U.S.C. 801–808), also known as the

Congressional Review Act or CRA,

generally provides that before a rule

may take effect, the agency

promulgating the rule must submit a

rule report, which includes a copy of

the rule, to each House of the Congress

and to the Comptroller General of the

United States. GSA will submit a report

containing this rule and other required

information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S.

House of Representatives, and the

Comptroller General of the United

States. A major rule under the CRA

cannot take effect until 60 days after it

is published in the Federal Register.

OIRA has determined that this is not a

‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C.

804(2).

VI. Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Administrator of General Services

certifies that this final rule will not have

a significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small business

entities. While some penalties may have

an impact on small business entities, it

is the nature of the violation and not the

size of the entity that will result in an

action by the agency, and the aggregate

economic impact of this rulemaking on

small business entities should be

minimal, affecting only those few who

have engaged in prohibited conduct in

violation of statutory intent.

VII. Paperwork Reduction Act

This final rule imposes no new

reporting or recordkeeping requirements

necessitating clearance by OMB.

List of Subject in 41 CFR Part 105–70

Administrative hearing, Claims,

Program fraud.

Robin Carnahan,

Administrator.

Accordingly, 41 CFR part 105–70 is

amended as set forth below:

PART 105–70—IMPLEMENTATION OF

THE PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL

REMEDIES ACT OF 1986

■1. The authority citation for part 105–

70 is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 31 U.S.C.

3809.

* * * * *

§ 105–70.003 [Amended]

■2. Amend § 105–70.003 by—

■a. Removing from paragraph (a)(1)(iv)

the amount ‘‘11,400’’ and adding

‘‘12,100’’ in its place; and

■b. Removing from paragraph (b)(1)(ii)

the amount ‘‘11,400’’ and adding

‘‘12,100’’ in its place.

[FR Doc. 2022–00732 Filed 1–13–22; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6820–81–P

FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION

46 CFR Part 506

[Docket No. 22–02]

RIN 3072–AC89

Inflation Adjustment of Civil Monetary

Penalties

AGENCY

: Federal Maritime Commission.

ACTION

: Final rule.

SUMMARY

: The Federal Maritime

Commission (Commission) is publishing

this final rule to adjust for inflation the

civil monetary penalties assessed or

enforced by the Commission, 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

new civil penalties by January 15 each

year.

DATES

: This rule is effective January 15,

2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

:

William Cody, Secretary; Phone: (202)

523–5725; Email: secretary@fmc.gov.

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.

Public Law 114–74, section 701. 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 civil monetary penalties under

their jurisdiction by January 15 each

year, based on changes in the consumer

price index (CPI–U) for the month of

October in the previous calendar year.

On December 15, 2021, the Office of

Management and Budget published

guidance stating that the CPI–U

multiplier for October 2021 is 1.06222.

1

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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2022 / Rules and Regulations

2

FCPIAA section 4(b)(2); M–22–07 at 3–4.

In order to complete the annual

adjustment, the Commission must

multiply the most recent civil penalty

amounts in 46 CFR part 506 by the

multiplier, 1.06222.

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.

2

As noted

above, the 2015 Act requires that the

Commission adjust its civil monetary

penalties no later than January 15 of

each year.

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 describing the impact of the

rule on small entities or the head of the

agency must certify that the rule will

not have a significant economic impact

on a substantial number of small

entities. 5 U.S.C. 604–605. As indicated

above, this final rule is not subject to the

APA’s notice and comment

requirements, and the Commission is

not required to either conduct a

regulatory flexibility analysis or certify

that the final rule would not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

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 collection 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. The

public 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, Claims, Penalties.

For the reasons stated in the

preamble, 46 CFR part 506 is amended

as follows:

PART 506—CIVIL MONETARY

PENALTY INFLATION ADJUSTMENT

■1. The authority citation for part 506

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 28 U.S.C. 2461.

■2. Amend § 506.4 by revising

paragraph (d) to read as follows:

§ 506.4 Cost of living adjustments of civil

monetary penalties.

* * * * *

(d) Inflation adjustment. Maximum

civil monetary penalties within the

jurisdiction of the Federal Maritime

Commission are adjusted for inflation as

follows:

T

ABLE

1

TO

P

ARAGRAPH

(d)

United States code citation Civil monetary penalty description Maximum

penalty as of

January 15, 2021

Maximum

penalty as of

January 15, 2022

46 U.S.C. 42304 .......................... Adverse impact on U.S. carriers by foreign shipping practices ....... $2,166,279 $2,301,065

46 U.S.C. 41107(a) ...................... Knowing and Willful violation/Shipping Act of 1984, or Commission

regulation or order. 61,820 65,666

46 U.S.C. 41107(a) ...................... Violation of Shipping Act of 1984, Commission regulation or order,

not knowing and willful. 12,363 13,132

46 U.S.C. 41108(b) ...................... Operating in foreign commerce after tariff suspension .................... 123,641 131,334

46 U.S.C. 42104 .......................... Failure to provide required reports, etc./Merchant Marine Act of

1920. 9,753 10,360

46 U.S.C. 42106 .......................... Adverse shipping conditions/Merchant Marine Act of 1920 ............. 1,950,461 2,071,819

46 U.S.C. 42108 .......................... Operating after tariff or service contract suspension/Merchant Ma-

rine Act of 1920. 97,523 103,591

46 U.S.C. 44102, 44104 .............. Failure to establish financial responsibility for non-performance of

transportation. 24,634

822 26,167

873

46 U.S.C. 44103, 44104 .............. Failure to establish financial responsibility for death or injury .......... 24,634

822 26,167

873

31 U.S.C. 3802(a)(1) ................... Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act/making false claim ................... 11,803 12,537

31 U.S.C. 3802(a)(2) ................... Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act/giving false statement .............. 11,803 12,537

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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2022 / Rules and Regulations

By the Commission.

William Cody,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 2022–00712 Filed 1–13–22; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6730–02–P

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION

SAFETY BOARD

49 CFR Part 831

[Docket No.: NTSB–2022–0001]

RIN 3147–AA24

Civil Monetary Penalty Annual Inflation

Adjustment

AGENCY

: National Transportation Safety

Board (NTSB).

ACTION

: Final rule.

SUMMARY

: Pursuant to the Federal Civil

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act

Improvements Act of 2015, this final

rule provides the 2022 adjustment to the

civil penalties that the agency may

assess against a person for violating

certain NTSB statutes and regulations.

DATES

: This final rule is effective on

January 14, 2022.

ADDRESSES

: A copy of this final rule,

published in the Federal Register (FR),

is available at https://

www.regulations.gov (Docket ID Number

NTSB–2022–0001).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

:

Kathleen Silbaugh, General Counsel,

(202) 314–6080 or rulemaking@ntsb.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

:

I. Background

The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of

2015 (the 2015 Act) requires, in

pertinent part, agencies to make an

annual adjustment for inflation by

January 15th every year. OMB, M–16–

06, Implementation of the Federal Civil

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act

Improvements Act of 2015 (Feb. 24,

2016). The Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) annually publishes

guidance on the adjustment multiplier

to assist agencies in calculating the

mandatory annual adjustments for

inflation.

The NTSB’s most recent adjustment

was for fiscal year (FY) 2021, allowing

the agency to impose a civil penalty up

to $1,742, effective January 15, 2021, on

a person who violates 49 U.S.C. 1132

(Civil aircraft accident investigations),

1134(b) (Inspection, testing,

preservation, and moving of aircraft and

parts), 1134(f)(1) (Autopsies), or 1136(g)

(Prohibited actions when providing

assistance to families of passengers

involved in aircraft accidents). Civil

Monetary Penalty Annual Inflation

Adjustment, 86 FR 1809 (Jan. 11, 2021).

OMB has since published updated

guidance for FY 2022. OMB, M–22–07,

Implementation of Penalty Inflation

Adjustments for 2022, Pursuant to the

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of

2015 (Dec. 15, 2021). Accordingly, this

final rule reflects the NTSB’s 2022

annual inflation adjustment and updates

the maximum civil penalty from $1,742

to $1,850.

II. The 2022 Annual Adjustment

The 2022 annual adjustment is

calculated by multiplying the applicable

maximum civil penalty amount by the

cost-of-living adjustment multiplier,

which is based on the Consumer Price

Index and rounding to the nearest

dollar. OMB, M–22–07, Implementation

of Penalty Inflation Adjustments for

2022, Pursuant to the Federal Civil

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act

Improvements Act of 2015 (Dec. 15,

2021). For FY 2022, OMB’s guidance

states that the cost-of-living adjustment

multiplier is 1.06222.

Accordingly, multiplying the current

penalty of $1,742 by 1.06222 equals

$1,850.38724, which rounded to the

nearest dollar equals $1,850. This

updated maximum penalty for the

upcoming fiscal year applies only to

civil penalties assessed after the

effective date of this final rule. The next

civil penalty adjustment for inflation

will be calculated by January 15, 2023.

III. Regulatory Analysis

The Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs Administrator has

determined agency regulations that

exclusively implement the annual

adjustment are consistent with OMB’s

annual guidance, and have an annual

impact of less than $100 million are

generally not significant regulatory

actions under Executive Order (E.O.)

12866. OMB, M–22–07, Implementation

of Penalty Inflation Adjustments for

2022, Pursuant to the Federal Civil

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act

Improvements Act of 2015 (Dec. 15,

2021). An assessment of its potential

costs and benefits under E.O. 12866,

Regulatory Planning and Review and

E.O. 13563, Improving Regulation and

Regulatory Review is not required

because this final rule is not a

‘‘significant regulatory action.’’

Likewise, this rule does not require

analyses under the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995 because this final

rule is not significant.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5

U.S.C. 801 et seq.) requires each agency

to review its rulemaking to assess the

potential impact on small entities,

unless the agency determines a rule is

not expected to have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities. In accordance

with 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the NTSB certifies

that the final rule will not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities;

only those entities that are determined

to have violated Federal law and

regulations would be affected by the

increase in penalties made by this rule.

This final rule complies with all

applicable standards in sections 3(a)

and 3(b)(2) of E.O. 12988 ‘‘Civil Justice

Reform,’’ to minimize litigation,

eliminate ambiguity, and reduce

burden. In addition, the NTSB has

evaluated this rule under E.O. 12630,

‘‘Governmental Actions and Interference

with Constitutionally Protected Property

Rights’’; and E.O. 13045, ‘‘Protection of

Children from Environmental Health

Risks and Safety Risks.’’

The NTSB does not anticipate this

rule will have a substantial direct effect

on state government or will preempt

state law. Accordingly, this rule does

not have implications for federalism

under E.O. 13132, Federalism.

The NTSB also evaluated this rule

under E.O. 13175, Consultation and

Coordination with Indian Tribal

Governments. The agency has

concluded that this final rule will not

have a substantial direct effect on one or

more Indian tribes, on the relationship

between the Federal Government and

Indian tribes, or on the distribution of

power and responsibilities between the

Federal Government and Indian tribes.

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

is inapplicable because the final rule

imposes no new information reporting

or recordkeeping necessitating clearance

by OMB.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980

does not apply because, as a final rule,

this action is not subject to prior notice

and comment. See 5 U.S.C. 604(a).

The NTSB has concluded that this

final rule neither violates nor requires

further consideration under the

aforementioned Executive orders and

acts.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 831

Aircraft accidents, Aircraft incidents,

Aviation safety, Hazardous materials

transportation, Highway safety,

Investigations, Marine safety, Pipeline

safety, Railroad safety.

Accordingly, for the reasons stated in

the Preamble, the NTSB amends 49 CFR

part 831 as follows:

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