NASA’s Civil Penalties as Adjusted for Inflation

On June 26, 2016, NASA released an interim final rule and request for public comments to adjust its civil monetary penalties to account for inflation.  Its new penalties apply to false claims, use of appropriated funds for lobbying or influencing certain contracts, and failures to report certain lobbying transactions.

Effective date:  August 25, 2017.

Comment deadline:  although the notice purports to request public comment, it does not provide a comment deadline.  Section V of the preamble invites comment. Because this is an interim final rule, an agency may change its rule in response to comments.  As the Federal Register explains:

Interim Final Rule: When an agency finds that it has good cause to issue a final rule without first publishing a proposed rule, it often characterizes the rule as an “interim final rule,” or “interim rule.” This type of rule becomes effective immediately upon publication. In most cases, the agency stipulates that it will alter the interim rule if warranted by public comments.  If the agency decides not to make changes to the interim rule, it generally will publish a brief final rule in the Federal Register confirming that decision.