WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing a rule to lower the assessment rate for sweet onions grown in the Walla Walla Valley of Southeast Washington and Northeast Oregon. This action would implement a recommendation from the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee to decrease the assessment from $0.20 to $0.17 per 50-pound bag or equivalent. The proposed rate would apply to the 2025 and subsequent fiscal periods, remaining  more

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing a rule to increase the assessment rate for oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and pummelos grown in Florida. The proposed change would raise the rate from $0.02 to $0.025 per 0.8-bushel carton or equivalent for the 2024-2025 and subsequent fiscal periods. This action implements a recommendation from the Citrus Administrative Committee. The committee recommended the increase after experienci  more

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing amendments to the rules governing the marketing order for walnuts grown in California. The proposed rule would modify administrative requirements as recommended by the California Walnut Board to promote compliance and strengthen program oversight. The rule would enact three key changes to the Federal marketing order. First, it would establish a defined schedule for required handler asses  more

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing a rule to decrease the assessment rate for desert grapes grown in a specified area of southeastern California. This proposal would implement a recommendation from the California Desert Grape Administrative Committee to lower the rate for the 2025 and subsequent fiscal periods. The rule would reduce the assessment for grapes from $0.040 to $0.030 per 18-pound lug. This proposed rate is in  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security is amending the Export Administration Regulations to prevent the diversion of U.S. items to entities on its restricted lists. This interim final rule makes companies that are at least 50 percent owned by one or more listed entities automatically subject to the same export restrictions. This provision, which BIS refers to as the Affiliates rule, addresses concerns that entities on the Entity List, whi  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security is reversing many of the changes made to export controls on firearms, ammunition and related components that were put in place by an interim final rule published on April 30, 2024. This action rescinds the majority of the earlier rule, which American firearms manufacturers estimated would cost them hundreds of millions of dollars annually in lost sales. BIS determined that the prior rule should be re  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (TNSFR) -- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is proposing changes to business conduct and documentation rules for swap dealers and major swap participants. These proposed amendments would create exceptions to compliance with such requirements when executing swaps that are intended by the parties to be cleared contemporaneously with execution, or those subject to qualifying prime broker arrangements. The CFTC aims to address long-standing issues with its external busi  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation is temporarily delaying enforcement of four requirements within the "Ensuring Safe Accommodations for Air Travelers With Disabilities Using Wheelchairs" (Wheelchair Rule) while it begins a separate rulemaking process. This action applies to certain provisions of the Wheelchair Rule related to airline liability for mishandled wheelchairs, the frequency of refresher training, pre-departure notifications to passengers and reimbur  more

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation is issuing a supplemental proposal to amend its drug and alcohol testing procedures. This action updates terminology in the regulations to align with Executive Order 14168, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," by replacing the word "gender" with the word "sex" in several sections of Part 40. The supplemental proposal continues to address an interim issue rega  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (TNSFR) -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published a final rule adjusting the civil monetary penalty for failure to comply with employer notice-posting requirements to $698 per violation. This action is mandated by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, which requires the agency to annually increase the penalty amount to account for inflation. The penalty relates to the requirement that covered employers, employment agen  more

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing revisions to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for the Secondary Lead Smelting source category, as required under Clean Air Act section 112. The proposed rule addresses pollutants that were previously not regulated from this source category and resolves issues raised by outstanding petitions from the 2012 Secondary Lead Smelting Risk and Technology Review (RTR). In response to  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration is modifying the Class E airspace at Battle Mountain Airport, Nevada. This final rule modifies the Class E airspace designated as a surface area and the Class E airspace areas extending upward from 700 feet or more above the surface. The agency also updates the administrative elements of the airport's legal descriptions. These adjustments are being made to support the safety and management of in  more

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration is confirming the effectiveness of an order that amends color additive regulations. The original order provides for the safe use of gardenia (genipin) blue as a color additive in various food products. The additive is permitted for use at levels consistent with good manufacturing practice in several items, including sport drinks, flavored or enhanced non-carbonated water, fruit drinks and  more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations establishing recordkeeping and reporting requirements for the average income test used for the low-income housing credit. If a building is part of a residential rental project that meets the average income test, the building may qualify to earn these housing credits. These regulations affect owners of low-income housing projects and the state or local housing credit agencies   more

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of the Interior National Indian Gaming Commission is removing a requirement for tribes to submit a copy of their procedures for resolving disputes between the gaming public and the tribe or the management contractor. This direct final rule applies to submissions of tribal gaming ordinances or amendments. The commission determined that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) does not contain a directive for such dispute procedures for ordinance  more

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (TNSFR) -- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs proposes amending its Schedule for Rating Disabilities to remove the requirement that an endometriosis diagnosis be confirmed by laparoscopy for disability rating purposes. This action is intended to align the VA's criteria with current medical practice and hasten the process for granting service connection to veterans with the condition. Currently, the rule under diagnostic code 7629, Endometriosis, requires the diagnosis to  more