InfoBytes Blog
CFPB Releases Updates to Rulemaking Ex Parte Policy
On April 18, the CFPB issued a release revising its Policy on Ex Parte Presentations in Rulemaking Proceedings. The Policy, originally posted on the Bureau’s website on August 16, 2011, generally requires public disclosure of ex parte communications made to the CFPB’s decision-making staff about pending rules. Per the release, the Bureau asserts that the updates are based on feedback from the public as well as the Bureau’s experiences in implementation and are intended to ensure “fairness and transparency in [the Bureau’s] rulemaking proceedings while also encouraging candid input from state entities.” The majority of the revisions are non-substantive and serve to “clarify the Policy’s provisions and requirements, ensure consistency in terminology . . ., make technical amendments, and facilitate compliance with the procedures in the Policy.” However, the revision includes two key updates. First, it adds an exemption for state entities, similar to the exemption that exists for Federal agencies. These state entities include state attorneys general or their equivalents, state bank regulators, and “state agencies that license, supervise, or examine consumer financial products or services.” The Bureau states that due to the sometimes sensitive nature of the communications from the entities, it “believes that these entities are likely to provide more frank and robust feedback if communications are not subject to the disclosure requirements of the Policy.” A second key update to the Policy specifies that outside parties no longer bear responsibility for both sending ex parte communications to the Bureau and posting them to regulations.gov. Rather, stakeholders are instructed to send communications directly to the Bureau, and Bureau staff will post the communications to the public docket. The updated Policy also extends the time period for outside parties to summarize meetings and presentations from three to ten business days.