[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54715-54716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19317]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration

[Application No. D-12022]
Z-RIN 1210 ZA07


Comment Period Extension and Hearing Notice for Proposed 
Amendment to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (the QPAM 
Exemption)

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of 
Labor.

ACTION: Notice of extension of comment period; hearing notice and 
subsequent reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department) is extending the 
comment period for a proposed amendment to prohibited transaction class 
exemption 84-14 (the Proposed QPAM Amendment). Additionally, the 
Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) 
will hold a virtual public hearing regarding the Proposed QPAM 
Amendment. EBSA welcomes comments and requests to testify at the 
hearing from the general public. As discussed in the DATES section 
below, the Department also will reopen the comment period for the 
Proposed QPAM Amendment in connection with the hearing.

DATES: Written comments on the Proposed QPAM Amendment and requests to 
testify at the hearing must be submitted to the Department on or before 
October 11, 2022. The public hearing will be held on November 17, 2022, 
and November 18, 2022 (if necessary), via WebEx beginning at 9 a.m. 
EST. The Department will reopen the comment period for the Proposed 
QPAM Amendment for a supplemental comment period beginning on the 
hearing date (November 17, 2022) and publish a Federal Register notice 
announcing that the hearing transcript is available on EBSA's web page 
and when the supplemental comment period ends.

ADDRESSES: Please submit all written comments and requests to testify 
at the hearing to the Office of Exemption Determinations through the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov using Docket ID 
number: EBSA-2022-0008. Instructions are provided at the end of this 
notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Scott Hesse, Office of Exemption 
Determinations, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor. Telephone: (202) 693-8546 (this is not a toll-free 
number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Department published the Proposed QPAM Amendment on July 27, 
2022, with a 60-day comment period that is scheduled to expire on 
September 26, 2022. Since the publication of the Proposed QPAM 
Amendment, the Department received a request from interested persons 
for the Department to extend its comment period for at least an 
additional 60 days. After carefully considering the extension request, 
the Department has decided that it is appropriate to extend the initial 
comment period for an additional 15 days until October 11, 2022 (a 
total of 75 days) to provide interested parties with additional time to 
prepare and submit comments, as well as to provide a supplemental 
comment period following a public hearing.

Hearing and Supplementary Comment Period

    On its own motion, the Department also has decided to hold a 
virtual public hearing to provide an opportunity for all interested 
parties to testify on material information and issues regarding the 
Proposed QPAM Amendment. The hearing will be held via WebEx on November 
17, 2022, and November 18, 2022 (if necessary), beginning at 9 a.m. EDT 
and will be transcribed. Registration information to access and view 
the hearing will be available on EBSA's website: www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa.
    The Department will reopen the comment period on the Proposed QPAM

[[Page 54716]]

amendment for a supplemental comment period beginning on the hearing 
date (November 17, 2022) and closing approximately 14 days after the 
Department publishes the hearing transcript on EBSA's web page. The 
Department will publish a Federal Register notice announcing that the 
hearing transcript is available on EBSA's web page and when the 
supplemental comment period will close. Due to the time required to 
process and publish the hearing transcript, the supplemental comment 
period should provide interested parties with at least 30 additional 
days to comment on the Proposed QPAM Amendment.

Requests To Testify at the Hearing

    Individuals and organizations interested in testifying at the 
public hearing must submit a written request to testify and a summary 
of their testimony by October 11, 2022. Requests to testify must 
include:
    (1) the name, title, organization, address, email address, and 
telephone number of the individual who would testify;
    (2) if applicable, the name of the organization(s) whose views 
would be represented;
    (3) the date of the requestor's written comment on the Rule (if 
applicable); and
    (4) a concise summary of the testimony that would be presented.
    Any requestors with disabilities requiring special accommodations 
for their testimony should contact Erin Scott Hesse at (202) 693-8546 
after submitting their request (this is not a toll-free number).
    The Department will organize the hearing into several moderated 
panels. Each individual or organization will be given 10 minutes to 
testify and should be prepared to answer questions regarding the 
testimony. EBSA will post an agenda containing the panel compositions 
and presentation times on www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa no later than 
November 15, 2022.
    EBSA may limit the number of presenters based on how many testimony 
requests it receives. In that event, EBSA will ensure that the broadest 
array of viewpoints on all aspects of the Proposed QPAM Amendment is 
represented and will include in the public record all testimony 
summaries it receives.

Instructions for Submitting Comments and Requests To Testify

    All written comments and requests to testify at the hearing should 
be sent to the Office of Exemption Determinations through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov using Docket ID number: EBSA-
2022-0008 on or before October 11, 2022. Individuals and Organizations 
are encouraged to submit all comments and requests to testify 
electronically and not to follow such submission with paper copies. 
Comments and requests to testify will also be available to the public, 
without charge, online at www.regulations.gov, at Docket ID number: 
EBSA-2022-0008 and www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa. They also 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 for all or a portion of the 
comment period due to circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic 
caused by the novel coronavirus.
    Warning to Commenters and Requestors: All comments, requests to 
testify, and testimony summaries will be included in the public record 
without change and will be made available online at 
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment, request to testify, or testimony summary includes 
information claimed to be confidential or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. If you submit a comment, request 
to testify, or testimony summary, the Employee Benefits Security 
Administration (EBSA) recommends that you 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 on your comment, request to testify, 
or testimony summary. However, if EBSA cannot read your comment, 
request to testify, or testimony summary due to technical difficulties 
and cannot contact you for clarification, EBSA might not be able to 
consider your comment or schedule you to testify. 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. If you send an email directly to EBSA without going 
through www.regulations.gov, your email address will be automatically 
captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the 
public record and made available on the internet.
    Customer Service Information: Individuals interested in obtaining 
information from the Department concerning ERISA and employee benefit 
plans may call the Employee Benefits Security Administration's Toll-
Free Hotline, at 1-866-444-3272 or visit EBSA's website (www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa).

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 1st day of September, 2022.
Ali Khawar,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration, 
U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2022-19317 Filed 9-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P