The Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services (“CMS”) proposes a rule that establishes the Basic Health Program required by Section 1331 of the Affordable Care Act.  States, under the Basic Health Program, are provided with “flexibility” to set up a “health benefits coverage program” to help “low-income individuals” who are not eligible for Medicaid and who […]

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (“Board”), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) (collectively,  the “Agencies”) invite public comment on enhanced supplementary leverage ratio standards for certain Bank Holding Companies (“BHCs”).  The Agencies propose to create a “well capitalized” threshold of 6% […]

The National Archives and Records Administration (“NARA”) seeks comment on proposed amendments regulating the process for incorporated by reference (“IBR”) materials into the Code of Federal Regulations (“CFR”).  This notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) is in response to a petition to amend these regulations received by the Office of the Federal Register (“OFR”) on February […]

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (“BJS”) of the Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (“NIOSH”) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), and the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) are joining together to request input to improve BJS’s data […]

The American Bar Association recently sent a letter to members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs endorsing S. 1173, the Independent Agency Regulatory Analysis Act of 2013 by Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio).  The bill would affirm the authority of the President to issue an executive order requiring independent regulatory agencies to […]

The Secretary of the Department of Education (“ED”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) proposing to amend regulations under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (“IDEA”).  The Assistance to States for the Education of Children with Disabilities program is governed by these regulations.  The ED seeks public comment to help clarify current […]

The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) announces proposed rule changes to the Surety Bond Guarantee Program (“Bond Program”).  Under the Bond Program, the SBA “guarantees bid, payment and performance bonds” for small contractors who are unable to acquire surety bonds “through regular commercial channels.”  The SBA agrees to “assume a certain percentage of the Surety’s loss” […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a notice soliciting comments on a proposed Fourth Amendment to the Plan to Address Extraordinary Market Volatility (“Plan”).  Specifically, the Plan is calculated to prevent the kind of “sudden price movements” in the market that occurred “on the afternoon of May 6, 2010.”  The Plan creates “market-wide limit […]

Registration is open for the 2013 Administrative Law Fall Conference. The Conference will be held November 7 and 8 at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. There will be CLE programming on such topics as Statutory Interpretation, Rulemaking 101, Developments in Administrative Law Technology, and Rulemaking in Comparative Perspective. Award and Scholarship recipients will also be […]

Privacy of the individual is a “fundamental legal right” that must be defended.  The Department of Defense (“DoD”) seeks public comment on a proposed rule to update its privacy policy.  The purpose of the DoD’s proposed rule is to balance the DoD’s statutory obligation to “collect, use, maintain, or disseminate personally identifiable information . . […]

EDIT: This event has been postponed due to concerns about traffic surrounding the commemoration of Dr. King’s March on Washington. The Mix & Mingle will take place on September 19, 2013. More information will be forthcoming in the next week. Meet other members of the Section this Wednesday at the Membership Mix & Mingle. The […]

The International Trade Commission (“ITC”) seeks public comment on a draft digital trade questionnaire.  The ITC plans to submit a request for approval of the questionnaire to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”).  According to a 2013 ITC report, digital trade is “commerce in products and services delivered via the Internet.”  The Internet has […]