Browse regulations

USPTO regulation establishing procedures for handling legal demands, subpoenas, and employee testimony in legal proceedings. It routes all such requests through the General Counsel, limits expert testimony by employees, protects confidential information, provides indemnification for employees sued for official acts, and sets service of process requirements.

Deletion would risk unauthorized disclosure of confidential patent/trademark information, inconsistent agency responses to legal demands, and leave employees personally exposed when performing official duties. Centralized review through General Counsel is essential to protect trade secrets, ensure compliance with 35 U.S.C. 122, and maintain government control over legal positions. The indemnification provision is vital to allow employees to perform their functions without fear of personal liability, which would otherwise deter qualified individuals from federal service.

Establishes FOIA procedures for the Morris K. Udall Foundation, including request submission, processing, fee structures, exemptions, and appeal rights.

Federal agencies should not impose complex FOIA procedures that create bureaucratic barriers to transparency. The FOIA already provides the statutory framework for public access to government records - this subpart adds unnecessary regulatory layers that increase compliance costs without improving transparency.

Privacy Act regulations governing NARA's handling of operational records and records of defunct agencies, covering collection, use, maintenance, access, amendment, and disclosure procedures for personal information in systems of records.

Americans would be worse off if deleted because this provides essential privacy protections for personal records held by federal agencies, ensuring individuals can access and correct their information while establishing safeguards against unauthorized disclosure.

Regulation governs leasing of federally owned property within national park units, requiring competitive bidding or RFP processes, fair market value rent, and protections for park resources and historic properties.

Deletion would eliminate required competitive processes and FMV safeguards, risking undervalued leases, park degradation, and opaque decision-making that invites political favoritism rather than market discipline.

Regulation establishes mandatory tolls and incentive rebates for vessels transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway. It defines cargo classifications, sets per-transit charges, and administers rebate programs for new business, volume increases, liner services, and gateway diversions.

Government-administered pricing and incentives distort market outcomes, misallocate shipping routes via central planning, impose compliance costs, and create regulatory capture risks. The Seaway should be privatized to allow market-determined pricing that efficiently reflects user demand.

Defines maritime jurisdictional terms used by the Coast Guard, including territorial sea, inland waters, navigable waters, high seas, and exclusive economic zone, based on international law and statutory frameworks.

Clear, binding definitions constrain arbitrary agency action and ensure predictable enforcement; without them, the Coast Guard could expansively interpret its jurisdiction, creating legal uncertainty and potential overreach that would harm businesses and individuals relying on stable jurisdictional boundaries.

This DoD regulation governs the establishment and operation of banks and credit unions on military installations worldwide. It sets policies for which financial institutions can operate on base, requires operating agreements with installation commanders, imposes advertising restrictions favoring on-base institutions, mandates financial education programs, controls ATM services, and restricts off-base competition. It also requires military personnel to include on-base financial institutions in departure clearances and prohibits them from serving as directors of those institutions. The regulation creates a complex bureaucratic framework with multiple DoD entities (USD(C), DFAS, Military Departments, installation commanders) overseeing various aspects.

This regulation creates government-sponsored monopolies on military bases by protecting incumbent on-base financial institutions from competition. It restricts service members' freedom to choose financial providers, imposes paternalistic mandates that waste military personnel time, and adds significant bureaucratic overhead with no compelling national security justification. The unseen costs include higher fees due to lack of competition, reduced consumer choice, and the diversion of commander and staff attention to regulate banking services that should be handled by the private sector.

This regulation establishes policies for financial institutions serving DoD personnel on military installations, limiting competition to one bank and one credit union per base, requiring federal insurance, and standardizing service arrangements to protect military members from predatory lending and ensure consistent access to financial services worldwide.

Americans would be worse off if deleted because military personnel would face increased risk of predatory lending, inconsistent service quality across installations, and reduced protections in financial transactions while serving away from their home communities.

This rule implements 10 U.S.C. 2371 'other transactions' (OT) authority, allowing DoD to bypass the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) for defense prototype projects. It requires either participation from nontraditional defense contractors or at least one-third non-federal cost share. The rule governs audit access, record retention, and provides for potential follow-on production contracts without full competition under specified conditions.

This OT authority reduces the massive compliance burden of FAR (which contributes to the $2 trillion regulatory cost) while maintaining accountability through targeted audit provisions. It expands participation to nontraditional contractors—disproportionately benefiting small businesses deterred by FAR's complexity—and requires private cost-sharing, aligning incentives with market discipline. The limited competition waiver for follow-on production is constrained by specific conditions set during initial competitive prototype award, balancing innovation speed with competition safeguards. Repealing would force all defense R&D through FAR's labyrinth, increasing costs, reducing innovation velocity, and excluding smaller firms.

Requires employers to record and report work-related fatalities, injuries, and illnesses, with specific criteria for what constitutes a recordable case and exemptions based on company size and industry classification.

This regulation provides essential data for workplace safety monitoring and helps identify patterns that prevent future injuries. Without it, employers would have less incentive to maintain safe working conditions, and OSHA would lack the information needed to target interventions where they're most needed.

This regulation implements the Trafficking Victims Protection Act by establishing procedures for protecting victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons while in federal custody. It mandates appropriate housing, medical care, translation services, witness protection, and continued presence for alien victims. It requires training for DOJ and DOS personnel to identify victims and provide necessary services and protections.

Americans would be worse off because trafficking victims would be deported before testifying, allowing slave traders to operate with impunity. This regulation achieves its desired outcome through uniform national standards and cross-agency coordination necessary for crimes that cross international and state boundaries—something states cannot accomplish independently.

Federal regulation establishing supervision protocols for offenders in DC, including accountability contracts, substance abuse monitoring, non-criminal violations, administrative sanctions, and supervision level adjustments.

This regulation provides essential public safety mechanisms for monitoring offenders post-release, ensuring accountability through structured supervision, substance abuse prevention, and graduated sanctions that protect communities while offering rehabilitation pathways.

Establishes CSOSA and PSA as federal agencies to supervise offenders and provide pretrial services in DC, including sex offender registry, intermediate sanctions programs, and community supervision for DC code violations.

Creates a duplicative federal layer for criminal justice functions that properly belong to DC and states, imposing federal overhead and bureaucratic complexity on local criminal justice operations without clear constitutional justification.

This regulation outlines procedures for tax refunds/credits on tobacco products and imposes special occupational taxes on manufacturers of tobacco products, cigarette papers/tubes, and export warehouses. It establishes detailed claim requirements, bonding rules, disaster loss provisions, and annual registration/tax return mandates through TTB Form 5630.5t.

The regulation imposes substantial administrative burdens—complex refund procedures, bonding requirements, extensive documentation, and annual occupational taxes—on tobacco-related businesses. These costs are passed to consumers and create barriers to entry that protect incumbents. The benefits (administrative convenience for revenue collection) are outweighed by unseen costs: reduced competition, higher prices, and regulatory complexity with no clear justification beyond standard tax administration.

Regulations governing tax-free removal of tobacco products, cigarette papers, and tubes for use by the United States government, including detailed definitions, packaging requirements, record-keeping, and administrative procedures.

Eliminates a special tax exemption for tobacco products distributed to federal agencies, ending a costly subsidy that distorts markets and creates regulatory complexity. The government should pay taxes like other entities, reducing the hidden cost to taxpayers who ultimately bear both the subsidy and compliance burden. Removing this regulation would simplify the tax code, eliminate regulatory capture opportunities, and align with free enterprise principles by treating government purchases equally with private sector transactions.