Hearing on Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees

CourtEmployee Benefits Security Administration
Citation85 FR 52292
Record Number2020-18716
Published date25 August 2020
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 165 (Tuesday, August 25, 2020)
[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
                

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