[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 222 (Monday, November 20, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 80648-80649]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25522]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
29 CFR Parts 2510 and 2550
RIN 1210-AC02; ZRINs 1210-ZA32, 1210-ZA33, 1210-ZA34
Hearing on Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment
Advice Fiduciary and Associated Prohibited Transaction Exemption
Amendments
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration.
ACTION: Announcement of hearing.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security
Administration (EBSA) will hold a virtual public hearing on December 12
through December 13, 2023, continuing (if necessary) on December 14,
2023, for the public to provide input on the Department's proposed
Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary,
proposed amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2020-02,
proposed amendments to PTE 84-24, and proposed amendments to several
other existing administrative PTEs that are available to investment
advice fiduciaries. EBSA welcomes requests from the general public to
testify at the hearing.
DATES: The public hearing will be held on December 12 through December
13, 2023, and will continue (if necessary) on December 14, 2023, via
WebEx, beginning each day at 9 a.m. EST.
[[Page 80649]]
Requests to testify at the hearing must be submitted on or before
November 29, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit all requests to testify through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov at Docket ID EBSA-
2023-0014. Follow the instructions for submitting requests to testify
provided below. Warning: Do not include any personally identifiable
information or confidential business information that you do not want
publicly disclosed. Requests to testify are public records posted on
the internet as received and can be retrieved by most internet search
engines.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Ness, Office of Regulations and
Interpretations, EBSA, 202-693-8510 (not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On November 3, 2023, the Department published in the Federal
Register a proposed rule entitled Retirement Security Rule: Definition
of an Investment Advice Fiduciary.\1\ If adopted as proposed, the rule
would amend the Department's current regulation that defines who is a
``fiduciary'' of an employee benefit plan for purposes of Title I of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) as a result
of providing investment advice to a plan or its participants or
beneficiaries for a fee or other compensation, direct or indirect. The
proposed rule also would amend a parallel regulation defining who is a
``fiduciary'' of a plan described in Internal Revenue Code section
4975, including an individual retirement account, for purposes of Title
II of ERISA.
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\1\ 88 FR 75890.
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In the same edition of the Federal Register, the Department also
published proposed amendments to PTE 2020-02 (entitled ``Improving
Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees''), proposed amendments to PTE
84-24, and proposed amendments to several other existing administrative
PTEs that are available to investment advice fiduciaries.\2\ The full
text and other information regarding the rule and PTE amendments is
available on EBSA's website: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/laws/erisa/retirement-security.
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\2\ See proposed amendment to PTE 2020-02 (88 FR 75979),
proposed amendment to PTE 84-24 (88 FR 76004), and proposed
amendment to PTEs 75-1, 80-83, 83-1, and 86-128 (88 FR 76032).
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In the Federal Register documents, the Department announced that it
anticipated holding a public hearing approximately 45 days following
publication, and that it would publish specific information regarding
the date, location, and submission of requests to testify in the
Federal Register. The Department is hereby notifying the public that it
will hold a virtual public hearing on the proposed rule and associated
proposed amendments to the prohibited transaction exemptions on
December 12 through December 13, 2023, continuing on December 14, 2023
(if necessary), beginning each day at 9 a.m. EST, via WebEx.
Registration information to access and view the hearing on WebEx will
be available within a reasonable time before the hearing on EBSA's
website: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa.
Instructions for Submitting Requests To Testify
Individuals and organizations interested in testifying at the
public hearing must submit a written request to testify by November 29,
2023. 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; and
(3) the date of the requester's written comment on the proposed
rule or exemption proposals (if already submitted).
Any requestors with disabilities requiring special accommodations
for their testimony should contact Scott Ness at the phone number
listed above after submitting their written request, no later than five
business days in advance of the hearing. To request ASL Interpreting or
captioning services for this event, please contact
[email protected] at least five business days in advance of
the hearing.
The Department will organize the hearing into several moderated
panels. Presenters will be given 10 minutes to testify, and they should
be prepared to answer questions regarding their testimony. 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 proposals are represented and will
include in the public record all testimony requests it receives. EBSA
encourages submission of written comments from all interested parties,
regardless as to whether any entity provides oral testimony during the
hearing.
EBSA will post a hearing agenda containing the panel compositions
and presentation times no later than the close of business on December
7, 2023, on its website: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa.
Important note: In the event that a lapse in appropriations occurs,
EBSA may not be able to post the hearing agenda on its website by close
of business on December 7, 2023, as stated above. If the agenda is not
posted by the close of business on December 7, 2023, the hearing is
postponed. EBSA will publish a subsequent notice in the Federal
Register announcing the updated date and time for the hearing within a
reasonable time after any lapse in appropriations ends.
The hearing will be transcribed, and the Department will notify the
public when the hearing transcript is available on EBSA's website at:
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 14th day of November, 2023.
Lisa M. Gomez,
Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2023-25522 Filed 11-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P