[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 94 (Wednesday, May 15, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21732-21733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-09813]
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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION
12 CFR Chapter X
[Docket No. CFPB-2019-0024]
Plan for the Review of Bureau Rules for Purposes of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act
AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
ACTION: Plan for periodic review of rules and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is
publishing a plan for the review of rules which have or will have a
significant economic impact upon a substantial number of small
entities, pursuant to section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
DATES: Comments must be received by July 15, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit responsive information and other comments,
identified by Docket No. CFPB-2019-0024, by any of the following
methods:
Electronic: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Email: like [email protected]. Include
Docket No. CFPB-2019-0024 in the subject line of the message.
Mail: Comment Intake, Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552.
Hand Delivery/Courier: Comment Intake, Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552.
Instructions: The Bureau encourages the early submission of
comments. All submissions must include the document title and docket
number. Please note the specific rule or topic on which you are
commenting at the top of each response (you do not need to address all
rules or topics). Because paper mail in the Washington, DC area and at
the Bureau is subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit
comments electronically. In general, all comments received will be
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov. In addition,
comments will be available for public inspection and copying at 1700 G
Street NW, Washington, DC 20552, on official business days between the
hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. eastern time. You can make an appointment
to inspect the documents by telephoning 202-435-7275.
All submissions in response to this request for information,
including attachments and other supporting materials, will become part
of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Proprietary
information or sensitive personal information, such as account numbers
or Social Security numbers, or names of other individuals, should not
be included. Submissions will not be edited to remove any identifying
or contact information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Baressi and Gregory Evans,
Senior Counsels, Office of Regulations, at 202-435-7700. If you require
this document in an alternative electronic format, please contact
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Regulatory Flexibility Act \1\ (RFA)
requires each agency to consider the effect on small entities for
certain rules it promulgates.\2\ Specifically, section 610(a) of the
RFA \3\ provides that each agency shall publish in the Federal Register
a plan for the periodic review of the rules issued by the agency which
have a significant economic impact upon a substantial number of small
entities. An agency may amend a plan at any time by publishing the
revision in the Federal Register. Congress specified that the purpose
of the review shall be to determine whether such rules should be
continued without change, or should be amended or rescinded, consistent
with the stated objectives of applicable statutes, to minimize any
significant economic
[[Page 21733]]
impact of the rules upon a substantial number of such small entities.
Congress further provided that the plan shall provide for review of the
relevant rules within ten years of their publication as final rules.\4\
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\1\ Public Law 96-354, 94 Stat. 1164.
\2\ The terms ``small entity'' and ``rule'' are defined in the
RFA. See 5 U.S.C. 601.
\3\ 5 U.S.C. 610(a).
\4\ The statute also contains certain additional requirements
for rules that existed on the effective date of the RFA, which was
January 1, 1981. Id. Those requirements are not applicable to the
Bureau's reviews.
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In 2010, Congress established the Bureau through the Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act).\5\ The
Bureau is now publishing this plan because it anticipates performing
reviews in the coming years to comply with section 610 of the RFA
(herein ``610 reviews''). Although the Bureau is not required to do so,
it is also requesting comment on its 610 review plan.\6\
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\5\ Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 2081 (2010).
\6\ Notice and comment is not required because the RFA provides
that a plan may be amended by the agency at any time by publishing
the revision in the Federal Register. 5 U.S.C. 610(a). Furthermore,
the plan is a procedural rule under the Administrative Procedure
Act, 5 U.S.C. 553, and therefore it is exempt from its notice and
comment requirements.
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The Bureau's 610 reviews will generally be separate from and in
addition to other Bureau reviews of its regulations. In March 2018, the
Bureau issued a request for information (RFI) to seek public input
regarding the substance of inherited regulations (those transferred to
the Bureau), and issued another RFI for adopted regulations (those
issued by the Bureau), including whether the Bureau should issue
additional rules.\7\ The Bureau also conducts an assessment, pursuant
to section 1022(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act, of each significant rule or
order adopted by the Bureau under Federal consumer financial law and
publishes a report of each assessment not later than five years after
the effective date of the subject rule or order.\8\ The Bureau has also
announced as part of the semi-annual Unified Agenda of Federal
Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions a long-term action to review
inherited regulations for the purpose of ensuring that outdated,
unnecessary, or unduly burdensome regulations are regularly identified
and addressed and stated that it expects to focus its initial review on
subparts B and G of Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending
Act.\9\
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\7\ 83 FR 12281 (March 21, 2018), 83 FR 12286 (March 21, 2018).
\8\ To date, the Bureau has published three such assessment
reports concerning, respectively, the Bureau's rules for remittance
transfers, mortgage servicing, and ability to repay and qualified
mortgage standards. These reports are available at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/.
\9\ See https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201810&RIN=3170-AA73.
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I. Review Plan
Each year, the Bureau plans to initiate 610 reviews of final rules.
The Bureau intends to commence the review roughly nine years after each
rule's publication.\10\ For each rule, the Bureau will first assess
whether it is having a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities and so is subject to 610 review. The Bureau
may also decide to exercise its discretion to review rules issued by
the Bureau or by the Bureau's predecessor agencies that may not
otherwise be subject to 610 review. The Bureau will then publish in the
Federal Register a list of rules which the Bureau plans to review
within the upcoming plan year. In addition to this list, the Bureau
will publish, consistent with section 610(c) of the RFA,\11\ a notice
for each rule to be reviewed that will include a brief description of
the rule, as well as the need for and legal basis of, the rule. Each of
these notices will invite public comment on the rule, and the public
may submit relevant data and other information to support any submitted
positions.
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\10\ As permitted by section 605(c) of the RFA, the Bureau may
consider a series of closely related rules as one rule for the
purposes of section 610. 5 U.S.C. 605(c).
\11\ 5 U.S.C. 610(c).
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For each rule, the Bureau intends to conduct a review based on
information on hand, relevant literature, and information submitted by
the public in response to the Bureau's request for comment. As
circumstances warrant, the Bureau may exercise its discretion to
request additional data from relevant parties on a voluntary basis or
otherwise obtain data from other sources, for example, by purchasing
data from a third-party vendor.
Consistent with section 610(a) of the RFA, the purpose of the
review will be to determine whether the rule should be continued
without change, or should be amended or rescinded, consistent with the
stated objectives of any applicable statutes, to minimize any
significant economic impact of the rules upon a substantial number of
small entities.\12\
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\12\ 5 U.S.C. 610(a).
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As set forth in section 610(b) of the RFA, the Bureau will consider
several factors:
1. The continued need for the rule;
2. The nature of public complaints or comments on the rule;
3. The complexity of the rule;
4. The extent to which the rule overlaps, duplicates, or conflicts
with Federal, state, or other rules; and
5. The time since the rule was evaluated or the degree to which
technology, market conditions, or other factors have changed the
relevant market.\13\
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\13\ 5 U.S.C. 610(b).
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The Bureau will complete each review within ten years of the
publication of the relevant rule as a final rule. The Bureau intends to
subsequently announce the determinations made as to follow-on
rulemaking activities in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and
Deregulatory Actions or through other appropriate methods.
The Bureau may amend this review plan at any time by publishing the
revision in the Federal Register.
Dated: May 6, 2019.
Kathleen L. Kraninger,
Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2019-09813 Filed 5-14-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P