The CFPB issued a notice and request for comment for its proposed
Advisory Opinion (AO) Program. AOs issued under the program would be interpretive rules under the Administrative Procedure Act that respond to a specific request for clarity on an interpretive question regarding a Bureau-administered regulation or statute. The Federal Register notice inviting public comment on the proposed program lays out the process for submitting a request by an AO. Under the program, parties would be able to request Interpretive guidance, in the form of an AO, to resolve regulatory uncertainty. The Bureau would have discretion to decide which AOs to respond to. The Bureau intends to publish AOs as well as a description of the incoming request. The requests for an AO, and thus the information collection, may be submitted by persons, primarily business or other forprofit entities. The information collected will be used by the Bureau to determine whether to pursue the issuance of an AO responsive to the request.
Eric J. Ellman is Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Legal Affairs at the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) in Washington, DC. He also served for eight months as Interim President and CEO of the Association. More