AGENCY:

Department of Veterans Affairs.

ACTION:

Final rule; correction.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is correcting a final rule regarding its claims adjudication, appeals, and Rules of Practice of the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) regulations. This correction addresses minor technical errors in the published final rule.

DATES:

Effective February 19, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Veterans Benefits Administration information, Jennifer Williams, Senior Management and Program Analyst, Appeals Management Office, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, (202) 530-9124 (this is not a toll-free number). Board of Veterans' Appeals information, parts 19 and 20: Rachel Sauter, Counsel for Legislation, Regulations, and Policy, Board of Veterans' Appeals. Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, (202) 632-5555 (this is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Due to technical errors and dropped amendments in editing, VA is correcting its final rule, VA Claims and Appeals Modernization, that published January 18, 2019, in the Federal Register at 84 FR 138.

Corrections

In FR Rule Doc. No. 2018-28350, beginning on page 138 in the issue of January 18, 2019, make the following corrections.

1. On page 139, second column, third paragraph under “B. Comments Concerning § 3.103—Procedural Due Process and Other Rights,” in last sentence (line 21), remove “to § 3.103(d)(2)”.

2. On page 146, first column, in line 22, correct “§ 3.351(c)” to read “§ 3.151(c)”, and in line 24, correct “admistrative” to read “administrative”.

3. On page 168, second column, correct instruction 8 to read as follows:

“8. In § 3.114, remove the word “reopened” and add in its place the word “supplemental”.”

4. On page 169, first column, in the amendment to § 3.156, add introductory text, per instruction 11b, and correct the third sentence in paragraph (a) to read as follows:

New evidence is evidence not previously part of the actual record before agency adjudicators.

(a) * * * New evidence is evidence not previously part of the actual record before agency adjudicators. * * *

5. On page 171, second column, in paragraph (d) of added § 3.2400, add the word “only” between the words “applicable” and “to”.

6. On page 171, third column, in paragraph (b) of added § 3.2500, add a period at the end of the first sentence ending with “option”.

7. On page 172, third column, correct instruction 31 and add text for revised paragraph (c) to read as follows:

31. Amend § 3.2600 by revising the section heading, adding introductory text, revising paragraph (c), and removing paragraph (g).

The revisions and addition read as follows:

8. On page 177, in the second column, in the second table, add the entry “20.304. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19.54” at the end of the table.

9. On page 180, first column, before instruction 95, add instruction 94a and its corresponding regulatory text to read as follows:

94a. Amend newly redesignated § 20.101 by revising the section heading and paragraph (b) to read as follows:

10. On page 180, second column, before instruction 96, add instruction 95a and its corresponding regulatory text to read as follows:

95a. Amend newly redesignated § 20.103 by revising the section heading to read as follows:

11. On page 180, third column, before instruction 97, add instructions 96a through 96e and their corresponding regulatory text to read as follows:

96a. Revise newly redesignated § 20.105 to read as follows:

96b. Amend newly redesignated § 20.106 by revising the section heading to read as follows:

96c. Amend newly redesignated § 20.107 by:

a. Revising the section heading;

b. Removing paragraph (b) and the authority citation following paragraph (b);

c. Redesignating paragraph (c) as paragraph (b); and d. In newly redesignated paragraph (b), removing the text “paragraphs (a) and (b)” and adding in its place the text “paragraph (a)”.

The revision reads as follows:

96d. Amend newly redesignated § 20.108 by revising the section heading to read as follows:

96e. Revise newly redesignated § 20.109 to read as follows:

12. On page 183, in the second column, above the Subpart F heading, correct “§§ 20.404-20.499 [Reserved] ” to read “§§ 20.408-20.499 [Reserved]”.

13. On page 184, in the first column, in § 20.6, in line 14 of paragraph (a)(1), remove the quotation mark before “§ 14.630”.

14. On page 184, in the second column, correct the heading and instruction 120 to read as follows:

120. Add reserved §§ 20.606-20.611.

15. On page 187, in the third column, correct the section heading of the newly redesignated § 20.709 to read as follows:

16. On page 188, in the third column, under the heading “ § 20.800 [Redesignated as § 20.901]”, remove “153.” from the end of the instruction.

17. On page 190, before instruction 162, add instructions 161a through 161c and their corresponding regulatory text to read as follows:

161a. Amend newly redesignated § 20.903:

a. By revising the section heading;

b. In the second sentence of paragraph (b), by removing the words “separately stated”;

c. By removing the authority citation at the end of paragraph (b); and

d. By adding an authority citation at the end of the section.

The revision and addition read as follows:

161b. Amend newly redesignated § 20.904:

a. By revising the section heading;

b. In paragraph (c), by removing the text “subpart B of this part” and adding in its place the text “part 19, subpart B of this chapter”;

c. In paragraph (c), by removing the text “§ 20.204” and adding in its place the text “§ 19.55”;

d. In paragraph (d)(3), by removing the text “§ 20.1304(c) of this chapter” and adding in its place the text “Rule 1305 (§ 20.1305(c) of this part)”;

e. In paragraph (d)(4), by removing the text “§ 20.901 of this chapter” and adding in its place the text “Rule 906 (§ 20.906 of this part)”; and

f. By revising the authority citation at the end of the section.

The revisions read as follows:

161c. Amend newly redesignated § 20.905 by revising the section heading to read as follows:

18. On page 191, in the first column, in § 20.1000, in paragraph (a)(3), correct “app7al” to read “appeal”.

19. On page 191, in the second column, before instruction 170, add instruction 169a and its corresponding regulatory text to read as follows:

169a. Amend newly redesignated § 20.1004 by:

a. Revising the section heading; and

b. Removing the word “heard” in paragraph (b) and adding in its place the word “decided” both places it appears.

The revision reads as follows: