Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/993758
67 2017 REPORT OF COUNSEL PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION (PBGC) In late 2017, the PBGC's September 30, 2017 Fiscal Year Annual Re- port advised that its multiemployer-insurance program had a deficit of $65.1 billion, compared with $58.8 billion at last fiscal year-end. The larger deficit is due to the ongoing financial decline of several large multiemployer plans that are expected to run out of money within the next ten years. In FY 2017, the PBGC paid $141 million in financial assistance to seventy-two insolvent multiemployer pension plans, com- pared with $113 million paid to sixty-five plans in FY 2016. The PBGC estimates that it will run out of money by 2025. PORT SECURITY/TRANSPORTATION WORKER IDENTIFICATION CREDENTIAL (TWIC) TWIC-Reader Rule The Final TWIC-Reader Rule that was published on August 23, 2016, requires higher-risk vessels and facilities regulated by the Mari me Transporta on Security Act of 2002 (Risk Group A) to conduct electronic TWIC inspections for access to secure areas or to board vessels. Risk Group A includes vessels or facilities that carry or handle "Certain Dan- gerous Cargo (CDC)" in bulk or facilities that receive vessels carrying more than 1,000 passengers. Approximately 525 facilities have been designated as being in Risk Group A. Container terminals are in Group B, which is exempt from the Rule. On May 15, 2017, three industry associations representing entities that transport and store chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, and other bulk liquids filed a petition for rulemaking with the United States Coast Guard seeking modification of the August 23, 2016 TWIC- Reader Rule (Docket No. USCG-2017-0447). The petition requests that the Rule be amended to conform its coverage of facilities that handle CDCs in bulk to those portions of facilities where the transfer to or from a vessel of CDCs in bulk occurs or is capable of occurring. The petition estimates that the number of facilities now required to conduct electronic verification of TWICs and to install TWIC readers or modify their physical-access-control systems has quadrupled under the Final Rule. The petition seeks to restore the scope of the requirement to verify TWICs electronically to the facilities and operations that were originally outlined in the proposed rule. The petition also seeks to extend the compliance date of the Final Rule for CDC facilities until two (2) years after issuance of a Final Revised Rule. Enrollment At year-end there were 4.655 million TWIC enrollments since inception in 2007 with 2.204 million active TWIC cards in use. The OneVisit Enroll- ment Program, which was implemented in June 2014 to streamline the TWIC-enrollment process and to eliminate the need for a second visit to an enrollment center to pick up an issued TWIC, has been a success. At year-end there were 1.205 million OneVisit enrollments, which consti- tuted 73% of all enrollments. ABOUT THE FIRM The Lambos Firm, LLP, is a full-service law firm concentra ng in the areas of labor and employment, ERISA, administra ve, business, and insurance law. The Firm's clients span a broad spectrum of industries and include: mari me en es; employer associa ons; foreign and domes c insurers; transporta on com-panies; manufacturing concerns; healthcare organiza ons; real estate developers, and contractors involved in market rate, affordable, and suppor ve housing. The Firm has close es to the mari me community that are manifested through ac ve par cipa on in longstanding mari- me associa ons and support of charitable causes important to the industry. Our a orneys are dedicated and fully commi ed to serve the interests of the mari me community.

