[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 114 (Tuesday, June 15, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 33734-33735]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14465]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 114 / Tuesday, June 15, 2010 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 33734]]
ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE OF THE FEDERAL REGISTER
1 CFR Parts 9, 11, and 12
Regulations Affecting Publication of the United States Government
Manual
AGENCY: Administrative Committee of the Federal Register.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The Administrative Committee of the Federal Register proposes
to update its regulations for the Federal Register system to remove
from its regulations the requirement that the United States Government
Manual (Manual) be published and distributed in a soft bound edition.
This proposal would also eliminate the requirement to make soft bound
print copies available to officials of the United States government
without charge. The general public and United States government
officials will have access to a redesigned online version of the
Manual. Soft bound printed copies of the Manual may still be issued and
would be available from the U.S. Government Bookstore. This action does
not represent an increase in the burdens on agencies or the public.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 15, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Docket materials are available at the Office of the Federal
Register, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., Suite 700, Washington, DC
20001, 202-741-6030. Please contact the persons listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to schedule your inspection of
docket materials. The Office of the Federal Register's official hours
of business are Monday through Friday, 8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.,
excluding Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy P. Bunk, Director of Legal Affairs
and Policy, Office of the Federal Register, at [email protected],
or 202-741-6030.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose
Under the Federal Register Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 15), the
Administrative Committee of the Federal Register (Administrative
Committee) is responsible for issuing regulations governing Federal
Register publications. The Administrative Committee has general
authority under 44 U.S.C. 1506 to determine the manner and form for
publishing the Federal Register and its special editions, including the
United States Government Manual (Manual).
Title 1 part 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations regulates the
publication of the United States Government Manual. This publication
has been issued as a special edition of the Federal Register since the
publication was transferred to the Office of the Federal Register from
the Office of Government Reports within the Bureau of Budget when that
Office was abolished on June 30, 1948. The first manual, the United
States Government Organization Manual, produced under the authority of
regulations of the Administrative Committee, was issued on August 4,
1949, and sold for $1.00 per copy. Now known as the United States
Government Manual (Manual), it continued to be one of the Government
Printing Office's (GPO) ``best sellers'' until public demand for
printed editions began to decline in favor of more current information
found on the Internet.
Under the Government Printing Office Electronic Information Access
Enhancement Act of 1993 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 41), the OFR/GPO partnership
developed an online edition of the Manual in both text-only files and
PDF files. At present, the online version is a direct output of the
printed edition. The files begin with documents from the 1995-1996
edition of the Manual and continue through the present. In its present
form, as an annual-only publication, some agency information published
in the Manual may be out of date as soon as purchasers receive their
copy. This proposed rule addresses the declining demand for the printed
version and the timeliness of publication by establishing a new
electronic format for the publication. The proposed rule addresses the
rising costs of print production by discontinuing the requirement that
OFR/GPO print and make official distribution of the annual edition of
the Manual. Under this proposal, the Manual would be published and
officially distributed as a currently updated online database. The new
online version of the Manual would contain the same information as has
appeared in the printed edition. OFR editors would continue to review
all material submitted for publication in the Manual to assure the
accuracy and integrity of the Manual. The database structure of the new
electronic version of the Manual would enable Federal agencies to
submit updated information on an ongoing basis, as new officials take
office, and agency programs undergo changes.
OFR/GPO would still have the flexibility to produce a printed
product based on the strength of customer demand. In the near term,
OFR/GPO expect that there will be sufficient demand from individuals
and organizations to produce a printed edition of the Manual, which
will continue to be available to individual patrons and institutions
through the U.S. Government Bookstore, and to libraries through the
Federal Depository Library Program. However, government agencies would
no longer receive free copies of the printed edition. GPO will provide
agencies an opportunity to order copies before printing at the rider
rate. (A rider rate is available before the start of printing
production and represents the minimal cost of producing additional
copies as a continuation of the initial printing run.) In the long
term, the annual printed edition of the Manual may be discontinued
entirely if customer demand significantly decreases. The proposed
changes to this publication would not expand any regulated community or
impose any additional regulatory burden.
With the advent of the Internet, the printed soft bound copies of
the Manual became outdated in many cases before the official copies
were mailed to Federal officials. In addition, the soft bound print
publication has lost a majority of its sales making the cost of
publishing the soft bound editions of the Manual cost prohibitive.
Currently, the Manual has the same publication dilemma faced by the
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents before the Administrative
Committee issued its January 2009 rule to discontinue printing that
publication. The Manual is presently mailed
[[Page 33735]]
annually via United States Post Office bulk rate postage to Federal
officials for official use. As mentioned above, by the time these
officials receive their copy of the Manual, the information published
in it is, or may be, out of date. These officials can obtain much of
the same information from other sources, but without the guaranty of
accuracy and integrity provided by the OFR editors. The new online
version of the Manual will increase access to the information regarding
the Federal government and allow for more frequent updating.
In this proposal, the Administrative Committee proposes non-
substantive formatting changes to Sec. 11.4 and substantive changes to
part 12 to remove Sec. 12.3. Under the FRA, the Administrative
Committee is responsible for setting the number of official use copies
of Federal Register publications distributed free of charge to various
offices within the Federal government. See, 44 U.S.C. 1506(4). To
fulfill the requirements of the FRA, the 1 CFR part 12, entitled
``Official Distribution within Federal Government'' sets out the number
of official copies of Federal Register publications that various
Federal government entities are entitled to receive. Specifically,
Sec. 12.3 addresses the number of printed copies of the Manual
available to Federal entities without charge. Because the Manual has
been published in a soft bound edition that may not adequately serve
the needs of Federal officials, the Administrative Committee believes
that distributing the Manual in an electronic-only format to Federal
officials for their official use would meet the intent of the FRA to
distribute Federal Register publications for official use without
charge. Thus, the Administrative Committee would remove this section.
Regulatory Analysis
We developed this proposed rule after considering numerous statutes
and executive orders related to rulemaking. Below we summarize our
analyses based on these statutes and executive orders.
Executive Order 12866
The proposed rule has been drafted in accordance with Executive
Order 12866, section 1(b), ``Principles of Regulation.'' The
Administrative Committee has determined that this proposed rule is not
a significant regulatory action as defined under section 3(f) of
Executive Order 12866. The proposed rule has not been submitted to the
Office of Management and Budget under section 6(a)(3)(E) of Executive
Order 12866.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
This proposed rule will not have a significant impact on small
entities since it imposes no requirements. Members of the public can
access Federal Register publications free through GPO's Web site.
Federalism
This proposed rule has no federalism implications under Executive
Order 13132. It does not impose compliance costs on state or local
governments or preempt state law.
Congressional Review
This proposed rule is not a major rule as defined by 5 U.S.C.
804(2). The Administrative Committee will submit a rule report,
including a copy of this proposed rule, to each House of the Congress
and to the Comptroller General of the United States as required under
the congressional review provisions of the Small Business Regulatory
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1986.
List of Subjects
1 CFR Part 9
Government publications, United States Government Manual.
1 CFR Part 11
Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, Government
publications, Public Papers of Presidents of United States, United
States Government Manual, Daily Compilation of.
1 CFR Part 12
Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, Government
publications, Public Papers of Presidents of United States, United
States Government Manual, Daily Compilation of.
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, under the authority at
44 U.S.C. 1506 and 1510, the Administrative Committee of the Federal
Register, proposes to amend parts 9, 11, and 12 of chapter I of title 1
of the Code of Federal Regulations as set forth below:
1. Revise part 9 to read as follows:
PART 9--THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT MANUAL
Sec.
9.1 Publication required.
9.2 Scope.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 1506; sec. 6, E.O. 10530, 19 FR 2709; 3
CFR, 1954-1958 Comp., p. 189.
Sec. 9.1 Publication required.
(a) The Director publishes a special edition of the Federal
Register called ``The United States Government Manual'' as authorized
by the Administrative Committee.
(b) The Director may update the Manual when such supplementation is
considered to be in the public interest.
Sec. 9.2 Scope.
(a) The Manual will contain appropriate information about the
Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the Federal
Government, which for the major Executive agencies will include--
(1) Descriptions of the agency's legal authorities, public
purposes, programs and functions;
(2) Established places and methods whereby the public may obtain
information and make submittals or requests; and
(3) Lists of officials heading major operating units.
(b) Brief information about quasi-official agencies and
supplemental information that in the opinion of the Director is of
enough public interest to warrant inclusion will also be included in
the Manual.
PART 11--[AMENDED]
2. The authority citation for part 11 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 1506; sec. 6, E.O. 10530, 19 FR 2709, 3
CFR, 1954-1958 Comp., p. 189.
3. Revise Sec. 11.4 as follows:
Sec. 11.4 The United States Government Manual.
(a) Copies of a bound, paper edition of the Manual may be sold at a
price determined by the Superintendent of Documents under the general
direction of the Administrative Committee.
(b) The online edition of the Manual, issued under the authority of
the Administrative Committee, is available through the Government
Printing Office's Web site.
PART 12--[AMENDED]
4. The authority citation for part 12 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 1506; sec. 6, E.O. 10530, 19 FR 2709; 3
CFR, 1954-1958 Comp., p. 189.
Sec. 12.3 [Removed]
5. Remove Sec. 12.3.
By order of the Committee.
Raymond A. Mosley,
Secretary, Administrative Committee of the Federal Register.
[FR Doc. 2010-14465 Filed 6-14-10; 8:45 am]
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