[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