PHMSA has published the 2022 Maximum Civil Penalty amounts, found under §190.223 Maximum Penalties, with a 1.06222% increase to maximum civil penalties.
This authority was granted to PHMSA under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (herein referred to as the 2015 Act). Section 4(b)(2) of the 2015 Act specifically directs that the annual adjustment be accomplished “through final rule without notice and comment.”
This rule is effective immediately.
The 2015 Act directed the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance on implementing the required annual adjustment. To derive the 2022 adjustment, the DOT was required to multiply the maximum penalty amount by the percent change between the October 2021 CPI-U (Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers) and the October 2020 CPI-U.
In this case, the change between the October 2021 CPI-U and the October 2020 CPI-U was 1.06222%.
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