Proposed Rule2022-07785
Procedures Governing the Filing and Processing of Prohibited Transaction Exemption Applications
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 12, 2022
Issuing agencies
Labor DepartmentEmployee Benefits Security Administration
Abstract
The Department of Labor (the Department) is extending the comment period for a proposed rule that would update, clarify, and supersede the Department's current regulation governing the filing and processing of applications for administrative exemptions from the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code), and the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986 (FERSA). The Department published the proposed rule in the Federal Register on March 15, 2022, with a 30-day comment period that was scheduled to end on April 14, 2022. Since the proposed rule was published, the Department has received multiple requests from interested parties for the Department to provide additional time for them to develop and submit their comments on the proposal. In response to these requests, the Department is extending the comment period for an additional 45 days, through May 29, 2022.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 70 (Tuesday, April 12, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 12, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 21600-21601]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07785]
[[Page 21600]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
29 CFR Part 2570
RIN 1210-AC05
Procedures Governing the Filing and Processing of Prohibited
Transaction Exemption Applications
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department) is extending the
comment period for a proposed rule that would update, clarify, and
supersede the Department's current regulation governing the filing and
processing of applications for administrative exemptions from the
prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the
Code), and the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986
(FERSA). The Department published the proposed rule in the Federal
Register on March 15, 2022, with a 30-day comment period that was
scheduled to end on April 14, 2022. Since the proposed rule was
published, the Department has received multiple requests from
interested parties for the Department to provide additional time for
them to develop and submit their comments on the proposal. In response
to these requests, the Department is extending the comment period for
an additional 45 days, through May 29, 2022.
DATES: Written comments and requests for a public hearing on the
proposed rule must be submitted to the Department on or before May 29,
2022.
ADDRESSES: All written comments and requests for a hearing concerning
the proposed rule should be sent to the Office of Exemption
Determinations through the Federal eRulemaking Portal and identified by
RIN 1210-AC05.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> at Docket ID
number: EBSA-2022-0003.
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below for additional information
regarding comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Shiker, telephone: (202) 693-
8552, email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b7c4dfdedcd2c599d5c5ded6d9f7d3d8db99d0d8c1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a091213111f08541808131b143a1e1516541d150c">[email protected]</span></a>, Office of Exemption Determinations,
Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
(this is not a toll-free number).
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-EBSA (3272) or visit the Department's
website (<a href="http://www.dol.gov/ebsa">www.dol.gov/ebsa</a>).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Comment Instructions
All comments and requests for a hearing must be received by the end
of the comment period. Requests for a hearing must state the issues to
be addressed and include a general description of the evidence to be
presented at the hearing. Persons are encouraged to submit all comments
electronically and not to follow such submission with paper copies. The
comments and hearing requests 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. Comments and hearing requests will also be available to
the public, without charge, online at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, at Docket ID
number: EBSA-2022-0003 and <a href="http://www.dol.gov/ebsa">www.dol.gov/ebsa</a>.
Warning: All comments received will be included in the public
record without change and will be made available online at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal information provided,
unless the comment includes information claimed to be confidential or
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. If you
submit a comment, 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. However, if EBSA cannot read your comment due
to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification,
EBSA might not be able to consider your comment. Additionally, the
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> 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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, 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.
Background
The Secretary of Labor is authorized to grant administrative
exemptions from the prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA, the
Code, and FERSA and to establish an exemption procedure to grant such
exemptions. The Department's exemption procedure regulation was first
published in 1990 and most recently updated in 2011.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 29 CFR part 2570.30 through 2570.52 (55 FR 32847 (Aug. 10,
1990) and 76 FR 6637 (Oct. 27, 2011)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On March 15, 2022, the Department published a notice of proposed
rulemaking in the Federal Register entitled: Procedures Governing the
Filing and Processing of Prohibited Transaction Exemption Applications
(the Proposed Rule).\2\ The Proposed Rule would update, clarify, and
supersede the Department's existing regulation governing the filing and
processing of applications for administrative exemptions from the
prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA, the Code, and FERSA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ 87 FR 14722.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Proposed Rule contains a 30-day comment period, which was
scheduled to expire on April 14, 2022. Since the publication of the
Proposed Rule, the Department has received multiple letters from
interested persons expressing concern that the proposal's 30-day
comment period did not provide them with sufficient time to develop and
submit their comments regarding the proposed substantive changes to the
current exemption procedure regulation and requesting the Department to
extend the comment period by at least 30 days.
After carefully considering the extension requests, the Department
has decided that it is appropriate to extend the comment period in the
context of this proposed regulation for an additional 45 days (from 30
to 75 total days) to provide interested parties with additional time to
participate in this rulemaking process. The comment period, therefore,
will close on May 29, 2022.
[[Page 21601]]
Signed at Washington, DC, this 6th day of April 2022.
Ali Khawar,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2022-07785 Filed 4-11-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 12, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.