[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