[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 165 (Tuesday, August 25, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52292-52294]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18716]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
29 CFR Part 2550
RIN 1210-ZA29
Hearing on Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Announcement of hearing.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Employee Benefits Security
Administration (EBSA) will hold a public hearing to consider issues
attendant to adopting a proposed prohibited transaction exemption on
Improving Investment Advice for Workers and Retirees. Testimony will be
limited to individuals or parties who submitted, in accordance with the
instructions included in the proposed prohibited transaction exemption,
a comment or hearing request on the proposed exemption before the close
of the comment period. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hearing will
be held virtually and there will be no in-person testimony.
DATES: The hearing will be held on September 3 and (if necessary)
September 4, 2020, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT. Requests to testify at the
hearing on the proposed exemption should be submitted to the Department
on or before August 28, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Requests to testify, including an outline of the issues you
propose to address in your testimony, must be submitted through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov at Docket ID number:
EBSA-2020-0003. Follow instructions for submitting comments.
[[Page 52293]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Connor, (202) 693-8337, Employee
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). This is not a toll-free
number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Instructions for Submitting Requests To Testify
In light of the current circumstances surrounding the COVID-19
pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus which may result in disruption
to the receipt of requests to testify by U.S. Mail or hand delivery/
courier, persons are encouraged to submit all requests to testify
electronically and not to follow with paper copies. Requests to
testify, including outlines, will be available for public inspection in
the Public Disclosure Room of the Employee Benefits Security
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-1513, 200 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210; however, the Public Disclosure Room
may be closed due to circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic
caused by the novel coronavirus. Requests to testify, including
outlines, will also be available online at www.regulations.gov, at
Docket ID number: EBSA-2020-0003 and www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa, at no
charge.
Warning: All submissions received will be included in the public
record without change and will be made available online at
www.regulations.gov and www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa, including any
personal information provided, unless the submission includes
information claimed to be confidential or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. If you submit a request to
testify, you should include your name and other contact information,
but DO NOT submit information that you consider to be confidential, or
otherwise protected (such as Social Security number or an unlisted
phone number), or confidential business information that you do not
want publicly disclosed. However, if EBSA cannot read your submission
due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification,
EBSA might not be able to consider your request. Additionally, the
www.regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means EBSA will not know your identity or contact information unless
you provide it.
Background
On July 7, 2020, the Department published in the Federal Register a
proposed prohibited transaction exemption for investment advice
fiduciaries that would provide relief that is broader and more flexible
than the Department's existing exemptions. The proposed exemption would
also provide regulatory certainty and streamline regulatory
requirements as investment advice fiduciaries could comply with one
exemption for a variety of different types of transactions.
Since publication in the Federal Register, there has been
considerable interest expressed regarding the proposed prohibited
transaction exemption, as well as several public comments requesting a
hearing. The Department has decided to hold a public hearing on this
proposed prohibited transaction exemption to provide commenters an
opportunity to present material factual issues that cannot be fully
explored through written submission. The hearing will be held on
September 3 and (if necessary) September 4, 2020, beginning each day at
9 a.m. EDT, via WebEx. The hearing will be transcribed. Persons
interested in presenting testimony and answering questions at this
public hearing must submit, by 11:59 p.m. EDT, August 28, 2020, a
written request to testify and an outline of the issues they would like
to address at the hearing. Testimony will be limited to individuals or
parties who submitted, in accordance with the instructions included
with the proposed exemption, a comment or hearing request on the
proposed exemption before the close of the comment period.
Outlines should present material factual issues and demonstrate
that the proposed testimony is both germane to factual issues needing
exploration at the hearing that could not have been submitted in
writing, and not duplicative of arguments and factual material
previously included in the requestor's comment letter. In addition to
the outline, all requests to testify must clearly identify: (1) The
name of the person desiring to serve as a witness; (2) the organization
or organizations represented, if any; (3) contact information (address,
telephone, and email); and (4) the date of the comment letter or
hearing request submitted by the person or organization concerning the
proposed exemption. Any individuals with disabilities who need special
accommodations in order to testify should contact EBSA after submitting
their written request concerning the scheduling of their testimony. The
hearing will be open for viewing to the general public, and
registration information for those who wish to view the hearing will be
available at www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa.
Depending upon the number and nature of the requests to testify,
and in light of the limited time available for the public hearing, EBSA
may need to further limit the number of those testifying in order to
provide an opportunity for the presentation of the broadest array of
points of view on all aspects of the proposed exemption during the
period allotted for the hearing and to curtail testimony that is only
cumulative or not germane to the factual issues being explored. The
Department expects to organize the hearing into panels of witnesses
with several witnesses on each panel. The Department will assign panel
slots only to those persons or organizations whose outline indicates
that they will present material factual issues that cannot be fully
explored through written submission. The Department will not assign
panel slots to those persons or organizations whose outlines identify
only issues of law. The Department will also give preference, to the
extent feasible, to parties with similar interests who select a common
representative to testify on their behalf, and to parties who requested
a hearing (or to participate in a hearing if held) in their written
submissions during the comment period.
EBSA will prepare an agenda indicating the order of presentation of
oral testimony. In the absence of special circumstances, each presenter
will be allotted a minimum of ten minutes in which to complete his or
her presentation. Those individuals who make oral comments and present
testimony at the hearing should be prepared to answer clarifying
questions, if necessary, regarding their information and comments.
Those requesting to testify also should be prepared to participate as
part of a panel. Information about the agenda for the hearing and
further directions for hearing participants will be posted on
www.regulations.gov and www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa no later than August
31, 2020.
Notice of Public Hearing
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held on
September 3 and (if necessary) September 4, 2020 concerning the
proposed prohibited transaction exemption on Improving Investment
Advice for Workers and Retirees published in the Federal Register on
July 7, 2020 (85 FR 40834). The hearing will be held beginning at 9
a.m. EDT and will be held virtually. Registration information for those
who wish to view the hearing will be available at www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa.
All requests to testify and outlines of testimony will be available
to the public, without charge, online at
[[Page 52294]]
www.regulations.gov and www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa or at the Public
Disclosure Room, N-1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20210. Warning: Do not include any personally identifiable information
(such as Social Security Number or an unlisted phone number) or
confidential business information that you do not want publicly
disclosed. All requests to testify and outlines of testimony may be
posted on the internet and can be retrieved by most internet search
engines.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 21st day of August, 2020.
Jeanne Klinefelter Wilson,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2020-18716 Filed 8-21-20; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P