[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 99 (Thursday, May 21, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30890-30891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10966]
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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION
12 CFR Part 1006
[Docket No. CFPB-2020-0010]
RIN 3170-AA41
Debt Collection Practices (Regulation F); Extension of Comment
Period
AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking; extension of
comment period.
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SUMMARY: On March 3, 2020, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
(Bureau) published in the Federal Register a Supplemental Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) requesting comment on the Bureau's proposal
to amend Regulation F, which implements the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act (FDCPA), to require debt collectors to make certain
disclosures when collecting time-barred debts. The SNPRM provided a 60-
day comment period that was set to close on May 4, 2020. In a document
published in the Federal Register on March 27, 2020, the Bureau
extended the comment period until June 5, 2020. To allow interested
persons more time to consider and submit their comments, the Bureau has
determined that a further extension of the comment period until August
4, 2020, is appropriate.
DATES: The comment period for the debt collection SNPRM published March
3, 2020, at 85 FR 12672, is extended. Responses to the SNPRM must now
be received on or before August 4, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CFPB-2020-
0010 or RIN 3170-AA41, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Email: [email protected]. Include Docket
No. CFPB-2020-0010 or RIN 3170-AA41 in the subject line of the email.
Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Comment Intake, Bureau of
Consumer Financial Protection, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552.
Please note that due to circumstances associated with the COVID-19
pandemic, the Bureau discourages the submission of comments by mail,
hand delivery, or courier.
Instructions: The Bureau encourages the early submission of
comments. All submissions should include the agency name and docket
number or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) for this rulemaking.
Because paper mail in the Washington, DC area and at the Bureau is
subject to delay, and in light of difficulties associated with mail and
hand deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic, commenters are encouraged
to submit comments electronically. In general, all comments received
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov. In
addition, once the CFPB's headquarters reopens, comments will be
available for public inspection and copying at 1700 G Street NW,
Washington, DC 20552, on official business days between the hours of 10
a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time. At that time, you can make an appointment
to inspect the documents by telephoning 202-435-9169.
All comments, including attachments and other supporting materials,
will become part of the public record and subject to public disclosure.
Proprietary or sensitive personal information, such as account numbers,
Social Security numbers, or names of other individuals, should not be
included. Comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or
contact information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seth Caffrey or Kristin McPartland,
Senior Counsels, Office of Regulations, at 202-435-7700. If you require
this document in an alternative electronic format, please contact
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 21, 2020, the Bureau issued an
SNPRM proposing to amend Regulation F, 12 CFR part 1006, to prescribe
Federal rules governing the activities of debt collectors, as that term
is defined in the FDCPA. The SNPRM was published in the Federal
Register on March 3, 2020.\1\ The SNPRM proposed to require debt
collectors to make certain disclosures when collecting time-barred
debts.
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\1\ 85 FR 12672 (Mar. 3, 2020).
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The SNPRM provided a 60-day public comment period that was set to
close on May 4, 2020. In light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19
pandemic, and in response to requests from stakeholders to give
interested parties more time to conduct outreach to relevant
constituencies and to properly address the many questions presented in
the SNPRM, the Bureau extended the comment period until June 5,
2020.\2\ Since extending the comment period, the Bureau has received
requests from a consumer advocacy group, a debt collection trade
association, and three State Attorneys General to extend the comment
period for an additional 60-
[[Page 30891]]
day period. These stakeholders state that the COVID-19 pandemic
continues to make it difficult to respond to the SNPRM thoroughly. The
Bureau agrees that the pandemic makes it difficult to respond to the
SNPRM thoroughly and to determine when stakeholders will be able to do
so. To ensure that stakeholders have the time they need to provide such
responses, the Bureau concludes that an extension of the SNPRM comment
period to August 4, 2020, is appropriate. This extension should allow
interested parties more time to prepare responses to the SNPRM without
delaying the rulemaking on this topic. The SNPRM comment period will
now close on August 4, 2020.
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\2\ 85 FR 17299 (Mar. 27, 2020).
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Signing Authority
The Director of the Bureau, having reviewed and approved this
document, is delegating the authority to electronically sign this
document to Laura Galban, a Bureau Federal Register Liaison, for
purposes of publication in the Federal Register.
Dated: May 15, 2020.
Laura Galban,
Federal Register Liaison, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2020-10966 Filed 5-20-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P