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Regulation Digest

October 4, 2023
Vol. 12, No. 40
Editor: Nate Thompson
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Agency Rulemaking Highlights

Notable Actions

Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is proposing to update regulations relating to the placement, care, and services provided to unaccompanied children referred to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The proposal would codify the general principles that apply to the care and placement of unaccompanied children in ORR care. The proposal would also codify guidelines for emergency or influx facilities. Comments due December 4.

Expand the Definition of a Public Assistance Household
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is proposing to expand the definition of a public assistance household for purposes of its programs to include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as an additional means-tested public income maintenance program. The proposal also seeks comment on expanding the definition to include households in which any other, as opposed to every other, member receives public assistance. SSA expects the proposed rule would decrease the number of recipients charged with in-kind support and maintenance, reducing administrative burden for SSA and for low-income households. Comments due November 28.

Strengthening TANF as a Safety Net and Work Program
HHS is proposing to amend the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program regulations to strengthen the safety net and reduce administrative burden. The proposal encompasses a package of reforms to ensure TANF programs are designed and funds are used in accordance with the statute. In addition, the package includes provisions that are more technical in nature and are designed to reduce administrative burden and increase program effectiveness. Comments due December 1.

Energy Conservation Standards: Pool Pump Motors and Metal Halide Lamp Fixtures
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) issued a final rule adopting amended energy conservation standards for dedicated purpose pool pump motors which it determined would result in significant conservation of energy, and are technologically feasible and economically justified. Effective November 27.

EERE is also requesting comment on its proposed determination that found more stringent energy conservation standards for metal halide lamp fixtures would not be cost effective. Comments due December 4.

Medical Devices; Laboratory Developed Tests
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to amend its regulations to make explicit that in vitro diagnostic products (IVDs) are devices under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act including when the manufacturer of the IVD is a laboratory. The proposal would also implement policy under which FDA intends to phase out its general enforcement discretion approach for laboratory developed tests so that IVDs manufactured by a laboratory would generally fall under the same enforcement approach as other IVDs. Comments due December 4.

Foster Care: Updates to Licensing Standards and Legal Representation
HHS is proposing to allow agencies to claim federal financial participation (cost sharing) for the administrative cost of an attorney providing legal representation in foster care proceedings. Comments due November 27.

In another action, HHS issued a final rule revising the definition of “foster family home” establishing separate licensing and approval standards for relative or kinship foster family homes. The rule requires that foster care maintenance payments made to kinship foster family homes are in line with payments made to non kinship homes. Effective November 27.

Updates to FEMA’s Federal Flood Risk Management Standard
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) seeks comments on the proposed Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) and the processes and responsibilities for its implementation. In a related action, FEMA is proposing a supplemental policy that would clarify how FEMA would apply the FFRMS and update the agency's 8-step decision-making process for floodplain reviews. For both items, the deadline for comments is December 1.

Federal Acquisition Regulation: Cyber Threat and Incident Reporting
The Department of Defense is proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to partially implement an executive order on cyber threats and incident reporting and information sharing for federal contractors and to implement related cybersecurity policies. Comments due December 4.

The Opinion Section

WSJ Editorial Board: The 1930s Called and Rosenworcel Answered | High Noon for the CFPB at the Supreme Court

Adam J. White: A Ruling Against the CFPB Wouldn’t Harm the Fed

Bloomberg Editorial Board: Congress Should Fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Brian Johnson: How the Supreme Court Could Move to Rein in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Clyde Wayne Crews: A New Shot at Enlisting the Office of Management and Budget in Regulatory Streamlining

Mark Jamison: Google’s Antitrust Trial Is a Misguided Crusade Threatening Innovation and Consumer Choice

Tyler Cowen: Too Much Misinformation? The Issue Is Demand, Not Supply

Clay Calvert: What Was Behind the Fifth Circuit’s Sudden Reversal on Social Media Censorship?

Emily Birnbaum: US Supreme Court Set to Hear Cases From Conservative Groups

Craig Rucker: A New Study Zaps Biden’s Plan to Transform the Electrical Grid

Jeremy Straub: Blumenthal, Hawley AI Framework Could Damage AI Industry, Violate First Amendment

In the News

Governance & Politics

Supreme Court in New Term Looks at Curbing Power of Federal Agencies, Wall Street Journal
Supreme Court’s New Term to Take On Federal Agency Powers in Earnest, The Hill
Federal Regulators are in the Supreme Court's Crosshairs, Axios
Congress Temporarily Averts Shutdown, but Agencies Still Feel the Pain, Government Executive
Government Shutdown Averted, but Federal Employees Still Wary as Congress Shifts Deadline to Holiday Season, Federal News Network
Some Federal Agencies Utilize 25% or Less of their Headquarters Office Space, GAO Says, Government Executive
OPM Tells Agencies to Prepare to Implement Continuous Vetting Procedures for More Feds, Federal News Network

Financial Markets & Housing

Wall Street’s Most Hated Regulator Faces a Fundamental Threat, New York Times
The Fate of a Financial Watchdog Rests in the Supreme Court's Hands, Axios
The Supreme Court Seems Likely to Side With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Washington Post
Private Equity Blasts Antitrust Agencies’ Efforts to Slow Mergers, Wall Street Journal
Lankford Wants Tax Regulations Subject to OIRA Review, Press Release
Audit Firms Face Stiffer Mandate to Verify Client Details Under New Rule, Wall Street Journal
Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX Collapse: What to Know Before the Trial, Wall Street Journal
Who’s Rooting Hardest for a Sam Bankman-Fried Conviction? The Crypto Industry, New York Times
US Crypto Industry Leaders Paradigm, Circle Say SEC Overstepped on Binance, Bloomberg

Energy & Environment

A New Nimbyism Blocks Carbon Pipelines, Wall Street Journal
PG&E’s $6 Billion Plan to Prevent Wildfires Is in Peril, Wall Street Journal
Texas Sues EPA Over Emissions Standards, Axios
How EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism Works, and What the Critics Say, Bloomberg

Business and Technology

Supreme Court Takes Case on Social-Media Content Moderation, Wall Street Journal
The Supreme Court Will Decide if State Laws Limiting Social Media Platforms Violate the Constitution, Associated Press
Microsoft CEO Testifies that Google’s Power in Search Is Ubiquitous, New York Times
EU Lawmakers Back Tougher Safeguards for Media on Tech Platforms, Bloomberg

Artificial Intelligence

Biden Teases Forthcoming Executive Order on AI, CNN
Elon Musk’s Wish: Fewer Rules, Except for Robots, Wall Street Journal

Health & Safety

FDA Moves to Regulate Lab Tests That It Says Put Patients ‘at Risk’, New York Times
FDA Wants to Regulate Thousands of Lab Tests that have Long Skirted Oversight, Associated Press
‘My Body Was Poisoned’: Biden’s Lead Pipe Removal Plan Faces Hurdles, New York Times

Transportation & Infrastructure

Education

Feds Offer Students New Protections Against Programs that Lead to High Debt, Low Pay, NPR

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Agency Rulemaking Highlights

Notable Actions