Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Allowance Rates; 2007 Interim Adjustments: Puerto Rico

74 FR 7777Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Allowance Rates; 2007 Interim Adjustments: Puerto Rico

74 FR 7777U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

74 FR 7777The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is increasing the cost-of-living allowance (COLA) rate received by certain white-collar Federal and U.S. Postal Service employees in Puerto Rico. The increase is the result of interim adjustments OPM calculated based on relative Consumer Price Index differences between Puerto Rico and the Washington, DC, area. This increase raises the COLA rate for Puerto Rico from 13 percent to 14 percent.

74 FR 7777Effective date: March 23, 2009. Implementation date: First day of the first pay period beginning on or after March 23, 2009.

74 FR 7777J. Stanley Austin, (202) 606-2838; fax: (202) 606-4264; or e-mail: COLA@opm.gov.

74 FR 7777Section 5941 of title 5, United States Code, authorizes Federal agencies to pay cost-of-living allowances (COLAs) to white-collar Federal and U.S. Postal Service employees stationed in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Executive Order 10000, as amended, delegates to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management the authority to administer nonforeign area COLAs and prescribes certain operational features of the program. We conduct living-cost surveys in each allowance area and in the Washington, DC, area to determine whether, and to what degree, COLA area living costs are higher than those in the DC area. As required by section 591.223 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, we survey the Alaska, Pacific, and Caribbean COLA areas on a 3-year rotating basis, and the Washington, DC, area on an annual basis. We set COLA rates based on the results of these surveys. For areas not surveyed during a particular year, we compute interim adjustments to COLA rates based on the relative change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the COLA area compared with the Washington, DC, area. (See 5 CFR 591.224-226.)

74 FR 7777On August 25, 2008, at 73 FR 50174, we published a proposed rule for notice and comment in the Federal Register on our intention to increase the COLA rate for Puerto Rico and reduce the COLA rates for Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, Alaska, based on the 2007 interim adjustment calculations. Because 5 CFR 591.228(c) limits COLA rate reductions to 1 percentage point in a 12-month period, and we have a prior rate reduction scheduled for Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, we are implementing only the Puerto Rico rate increase at this time. We will address the Alaska area rate reductions, and comments received on these reductions, in a future Federal Register publication. We received three comments in response to our proposed rule on the rate increase for Puerto Rico. Two of the commenters supported the rate increase. The third commenter wrote regarding locality pay for Puerto Rico. This issue is beyond the scope of these regulations.

74 FR 7777This rule has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget in accordance with Executive Order 12866.

74 FR 7777This document does not provide for a new collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521).

74 FR 7777I certify that this regulation will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because the regulation will affect only Federal agencies and employees.

74 FR 7777Government employees, Travel and transportation expenses, Wages. Office of Personnel Management.

74 FR 7777Accordingly, OPM amends subpart B of 5 CFR part 591 as follows:

74 FR 77771. The authority citation for subpart B of 5 CFR part 591 continues to read as follows:

74 FR 77775 U.S.C. 5941; E.O. 10000, 3 CFR, 1943-1948 Comp., p. 792; and E.O. 12510, 3 CFR, 1985 Comp., p. 338.

74 FR 77772. Revise appendix A of subpart B to read as follows:

74 FR 7777This appendix lists the places approved for a cost-of-living allowance and shows the authorized allowance rate for each area. The allowance rate shown is paid as a percentage of an employee's rate of basic pay. The rates are subject to change based on the results of future surveys. (percent) State of Alaska: City of Anchorage and 80-kilometer (50-mile) radius by road 23 City of Fairbanks and 80-kilometer (50-mile) radius by road 23 City of Juneau and 80-kilometer (50-mile) radius by road 23 Rest of the State 25 State of Hawaii: City and County of Honolulu 25 Hawaii County, Hawaii 18 County of Kauai 25 County of Maui and County of Kalawao 25 Territory of Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 25 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 14 U.S. Virgin Islands 25