The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday it will disclose correspondence with the public about pending rules even if it is made outside the comment-letter process.
Typically, regulators will designate a period for the public to weigh in about a proposed regulation with formal submitted letters. But the consumer bureau's policy will go beyond that. The bureau will now require public disclosure of most other types of interactions, which are typically known as "ex parte" presentations.
Any person who communicates directly with senior CFPB staff, either in person or writing, about a published rule will need to summarize the communication and post the summary on the public docket, the bureau said.
"This policy recognizes that ex parte communications can be a valuable source of information that can improve the quality of CFPB's rulemaking," Leonard Kennedy, the bureau's general counsel, said in a blog post Monday describing the new policy.
"At the same time, the policy recognizes the need for disclosure to promote openness and fairness."
The exceptions include presentations by other federal agencies or members of the public seeking judicial review of a CFPB decision. Presentations made by members of Congress are also exempt, "unless such presentations are of major significance, contain information or arguments not already reflected in the rulemaking docket, and [are] plainly intended to affect the ultimate outcome of the rulemaking."
The policy also excludes public statements, casual comments, procedural questions or communications that occur as part of the supervisory process.
