New regs for Thursday: Visa programs, transfer agents and organic growers

In Thursday’s edition of the Federal Register, the Department of Homeland Security proposes improvements to its immigrant and nonimmigrant work visa programs, the Securities and Exchange Commission considers new rules for transfer agents and the Department of Agriculture expands and exemption for organic growers.

Here’s what to look for:

Work visas: The Department of Homeland Security is moving forward with a proposed rule to improve certain employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant visa programs.

The proposed rule would improve processes for U.S. employers who are looking to sponsor and retain immigrant and nonimmigrant workers, create greater stability and job flexibility for those workers and increase transparency and consistency in the application process.

“These changes are primarily intended to better enable U.S. employers to employ and retain high-skilled workers who are beneficiaries of employment-based immigrant visa petitions, while increasing the ability of such workers to further their careers by accepting promotions, changing positions with current employers, changing employers, and pursuing other employment opportunities,” the agency said in its proposed rulemaking.

The public has 60 day to comment.

Transfer Agency: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is asking the public to weigh on whether it should update its regulations for transfer agents.

As agents for issuers, transfer agents track, record and maintain official record of ownership of each issuer’s securities; cancel old certificates, issue new ones; and perform other processing and recordkeeping functions that facilitate the issuance, cancellation and transfer of those securities.

The SEC said the first transfer agent rules were adopted in 1977 and remain essentially unchanged though transfer agents now operate in a market structure that bears little resemblance to the structure back then.

The public has 60 days to comment on the agency’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

Organic: The Department of Agriculture will issue a final rule to expand an exemption that now applies exclusively to organic growers. Under the Agricultural Act of 2014, organic growers are exempt from paying assessments associated with commodity promotional activities, including paid advertising, conducted by the Agricultural Marketing Service.

The final rule would expand that exemption to “organic” and “100 percent organic” products certified under the National Organic Program even if the person requesting the exemption also produces, handles, markets, processes, manufactures, feeds or imports conventional or nonorganic products.

The rule will take effect in 60 days

Meetings: The Energy Department will announce when the Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps Working Group will hold public a meeting and webinar. The advisory committee, which has been assembled to help the agency decide whether to create energy efficiency standards for air conditioners and heat pumps, will meet on Jan. 11 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Energy Department’s forrestal building in Washington, D.C. If their work is not completed on the first day, the group will meet again on Jan. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.