Unknown. Compliance bulletin

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--- schema: federal-register doc_type: fedreg source_file: FR-2022-02-24.xml --- 87 37 Thursday, February 24, 2022 Contents Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection RULES Compliance Bulletin: Electronic Fund Transfer Act's Compulsory Use Prohibition and Government Benefit Accounts, 10297-10299 2022-03587 NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals, 10343-10344 2022-03874 Safety Enviromental Enforcement Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement RULES Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf:

Civil Penalty Inflation Adjustment, 10306-10308 2022-03750 Centers Disease Centers for Disease Control and Prevention NOTICES Charter Amendments, Establishments, Renewals and Terminations: Lead Exposure and Prevention Advisory Committee, 10366 2022-03865 Meetings, 10367 2022-03870 Meetings: Board of Scientific Counselors, Center for Preparedness and Response, 10367 2022-03869 Disease, Disability, and Injury Prevention and Control Special Emphasis Panel; Research Grants for Preventing Violence and Violence Related Injury, 10366-10367 2022-03871 Centers Medicare Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities;

Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program, 10367-10369 2022-03936 Civil Rights Civil Rights Commission NOTICES Meetings: North Carolina Advisory Committee, 10332 2022-03860 Coast Guard Coast Guard RULES Drawbridge Operations: Willamette River, Portland, OR, 10309-10311 2022-03812 Commerce Commerce Department See Foreign-Trade Zones Board See International Trade Administration See National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration See Patent and Trademark Office Comptroller Comptroller of the Currency NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities;

Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Funding and Liquidity Risk Management, 10429-10430 2022-03906 Leveraged Lending, 10428-10429 2022-03898 Defense Department Defense Department PROPOSED RULES Acquisition Regulation: Small Business Program Amendments, 10327-10331 2022-03105 NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals, 10344-10347 2022-03932 2022-03934 2022-03935 2022-03944 2022-03945 2022-03947 Drug Drug Enforcement Administration NOTICES Importer, Manufacturer or Bulk Manufacturer of Controlled Substances;

Application, Registration, etc.: Benuvia Therapeutics, Inc., 10388-10389 2022-03897 Johnson Matthey Pharmaceutical Materials, Inc., 10389 2022-03901 Mylan, Inc., 10387-10388 2022-03907 Myonex, Inc., 10388 2022-03903 Noramco Coventry, LLC, 10389 2022-03902 Scottsdale Research Institute, 10387, 10390 2022-03900 2022-03904 Education Department Education Department NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: 2023-2024 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, 10347-10349 2022-03868 Employment and Training Employment and Training Administration NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities;

Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Post Enrollment Data for Job Corps Participants, 10391-10392 2022-03878 Energy Department Energy Department See Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Environmental Protection Environmental Protection Agency RULES Air Quality State Implementation Plans; Approvals and Promulgations: California; Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, 10311-10313 2022-03689 PROPOSED RULES Air Quality State Implementation Plans; Approvals and Promulgations:

District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia; 2017 Base Year Emissions Inventories for the Nonattainment Area for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard, 10318-10325 2022-03863 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Primary Copper Smelting Residual Risk and Technology Review and Primary Copper Smelting Area Source Technology Review, 10325-10327 2022-03987 NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Continuous Release Reporting Requirement Including Analysis for Use of Continuous Release Reporting Forms, 10361-10362 2022-03861 Pesticide Product Registration:

Requests to Voluntarily Cancel, 10360-10361 2022-03929 Proposed Settlement Agreement: Welch Group Environmental Fair Play Superfund Site, Fair Play, SC, 10360 2022-03857 Proposed Stipulated Partial Settlement Agreement: Endangered Species Act Claims, 10363-10364 2022-03927 Export Import Export-Import Bank NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals, 10364-10365 2022-03930 Federal Aviation Federal Aviation Administration RULES Airworthiness Criteria:

Special Class Airworthiness Criteria for the Amazon.com Services LLC MK27-2 Unmanned Aircraft; Correction, 10299 2022-03778 Airworthiness Directives: The Boeing Company Airplanes, 10299-10305 2022-03967 PROPOSED RULES Airworthiness Directives: Airbus SAS Airplanes, 10315-10317 2022-03849 NOTICES Meetings: Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force, 10427-10428 2022-03886 Federal Emergency Federal Emergency Management Agency NOTICES Flood Hazard Determinations, 10375-10378 2022-03856 Federal Energy Federal Energy Regulatory Commission NOTICES Combined Filings, 10354-10355, 10359-10360 2022-03909 2022-03913 Implementation of Dynamic Line Ratings, 10349-10354 2022-03911 Initial Market-Based Rate Filings Including Requests for Blanket Section 204 Authorizations:

Rabbitbrush Solar, LLC, 10354 2022-03908 Oil Pipeline Capacity Allocation Issues and Anomalous Conditions, 10355-10358 2022-03912 Petition for a Declaratory Order: CNG Holding 1, LLC, 10358-10359 2022-03910 Federal Highway Federal Highway Administration RULES Diversion of Highway Revenues: Removal of Obsolete Regulation, 10305 C1-2022-03173 Federal Reserve Federal Reserve System NOTICES Change in Bank Control: Acquisitions of Shares of a Bank or Bank Holding Company, 10365 2022-03952 Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies, 10365 2022-03948 Federal Trade Federal Trade Commission NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities;

Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals, 10365-10366 2022-03914 Fish Fish and Wildlife Service NOTICES Endangered and Threatened Species: Recovery Plan for 50 Hawaiian Archipelago Species, 10378-10381 2022-03614 Food and Drug Food and Drug Administration NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food, 10369-10371 2022-03916 Guidance: Nonclinical Considerations for Mitigating Nonhuman Primate Supply Constraints Arising from the COVID-19 Pandemic, 10373-10375 2022-03915 Meetings:

Final Assessment of the Program for Enhanced Review Transparency and Communication in the Biosimilar User Fee Act, 10371-10373 2022-03926 Foreign Trade Foreign-Trade Zones Board NOTICES Proposed Production Activity: AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, LP (Pharmaceutical Products), Foreign-Trade Zone 177, Mount Vernon, IN, 10332-10333 2022-03896 General Services General Services Administration RULES Acquisition Regulation: Extending Federal Supply Schedule Orders beyond the Contract Term, 10313-10314 2022-03808 PROPOSED RULES Acquisition Regulation:

Small Business Program Amendments, 10327-10331 2022-03105 Geological Geological Survey NOTICES 2022 Final List: Critical Minerals, 10381-10382 2022-04027 Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Industrial Minerals Surveys, 10382-10383 2022-03891 Health and Human Health and Human Services Department See Centers for Disease Control and Prevention See Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services See Food and Drug Administration See National Institutes of Health Homeland Homeland Security Department See Coast Guard See Federal Emergency Management Agency PROPOSED RULES Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility, 10570-10671 2022-03788 Interior Interior Department See Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement See Fish and Wildlife Service See Geological Survey See National Park Service Internal Revenue Internal Revenue Service RULES Guidance:

Determining Stock Ownership; Correction, 10305-10306 2022-03612 PROPOSED RULES Required Minimum Distributions, 10504-10567 2022-02522 NOTICES Charter Amendments, Establishments, Renewals and Terminations: Advisory Group to the Commissioner, 10430-10431 2022-03928 Request for Applicants: Taxpayer Advocacy Panel; Correction, 10431 2022-03852 International Trade Adm International Trade Administration NOTICES Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Large Residential Washers from Mexico, 10336-10337 2022-03895 Multilayered Wood Flooring from the People's Republic of China, 10333-10334 2022-03923 Stainless Steel Wire Rod from Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan, 10335-10336 2022-03894 Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from the Republic of Turkey;

Correction, 10334-10335 2022-03922 International Trade Com International Trade Commission NOTICES Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Certain Mobile Phones and Tablet Computers, All with Switchable Connectivity, 10386-10387 2022-03882 Certain Mobile Phones, Tablet Computers, Smart Watches, Smart Speakers, and Digital Media Players, and Products Containing Same, 10385-10386 2022-03881 Certain Mobile Telephones, Tablet Computers with Cellular Connectivity, and Smart Watches with Cellular Connectivity, Components Thereof, and Products Containing Same, 10384-10385 2022-03883 Justice Department Justice Department See Drug Enforcement Administration NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities;

Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Forensic Firearm Training Request for Non-Employees, 10391 2022-03940 Request for Temporary Eligibility to Hold a Sensitive Position, 10390 2022-03941 Labor Department Labor Department See Employment and Training Administration NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Settlement Agreements between a Plan and a Party in Interest, 10393 2022-03877 Order of Succession, 10392-10393 2022-03848 NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration PROPOSED RULES Acquisition Regulation:

Small Business Program Amendments, 10327-10331 2022-03105 National Institute National Institutes of Health NOTICES Meetings: Clinical Center, 10375 2022-03946 National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, 10375 2022-03888 National Oceanic National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOTICES Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Alabama Trustee Implementation Group Swift Tract Living Shoreline, 10339-10341 2022-03887 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Alabama Trustee Implementation Group Weeks Bay Land Acquisition (Lloyd Tract) Project:

Restoration Plan and Finding of No Significant Impact, 10341-10342 2022-03890 Permits; Applications, Issuances, etc.: Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries, 10338-10339 2022-03905 Marine Mammals; File No. 25843, 10337-10338 2022-03919 Marine Mammals; File No. 26269, 10337 2022-03893 Marine Mammals; File No. 26375, 10341 2022-03892 National Park National Park Service NOTICES Meetings: Cold War Advisory Committee;

Cancellation, 10384 2022-03931 National Register of Historic Places: Pending Nominations and Related Actions, 10383-10384 2022-03862 Patent Patent and Trademark Office NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Patent Review and Derivation Proceedings, 10343 2022-03943 Personnel Personnel Management Office NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Reemployment of Annuitants, 10394 2022-03855 Postal Service Postal Service NOTICES Product Change:

Priority Mail and First-Class Package Service Negotiated Service Agreement, 10394 2022-03949 Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail Negotiated Service Agreement, 10394 2022-03950 Presidential Documents Presidential Documents PROCLAMATIONS Special Observances: Day of Remembrance of Japanese American Incarceration During World War II (Proc. 10341), 10677-10679 2022-04103 National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (Proc. 10340), 10673-10676 2022-04096 ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS Libya;

Continuation of National Emergency (Notice of February 22, 2022), 10681-10682 2022-04104 Securities Securities and Exchange Commission PROPOSED RULES Shortening the Securities Transaction Settlement Cycle, 10436-10501 2022-03143 NOTICES Self-Regulatory Organizations; Proposed Rule Changes: BOX Exchange, LLC; BSTX, LLC, 10401-10411 2022-03873 Fixed Income Clearing Corp., 10411-10418 2022-03872 National Securities Clearing Corp., 10419-10426 2022-03879 The Depository Trust Co., 10395-10401 2022-03875 The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC, 10418-10419 2022-03876 Small Business Small Business Administration NOTICES Disaster Declaration:

Washington, 10426 2022-03847 State Department State Department NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals: Application for a U.S. Passport: Corrections, Name Change Within 1 Year of Passport Issuance, and Limited Passport Holders, 10426-10427 2022-03951 Transportation Department Transportation Department See Federal Aviation Administration See Federal Highway Administration Treasury Treasury Department See Comptroller of the Currency See Internal Revenue Service RULES Program Fraud Civil Remedies, 10308-10309 2022-03608 NOTICES Agreement:

Social Impact Partnership Project, 10431-10433 2022-03938 U.S. China U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission NOTICES Public Hearing: China's Energy Plans and Practices, 10433 2022-03925 Veteran Affairs Veterans Affairs Department RULES Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program: Name Change; Correction, 10311 2022-03838 Separate Parts In This Issue Part II Securities and Exchange Commission, 10436-10501 2022-03143 Part III Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service, 10504-10567 2022-02522 Part IV Homeland Security Department, 10570-10671 2022-03788 Part V Presidential Documents, 10673-10679, 10681-10682 2022-04103 2022-04096 2022-04104 Reader Aids Consult the Reader Aids section at the end of this issue for phone numbers, online resources, finding aids, and notice of recently enacted public laws.

To subscribe to the Federal Register Table of Contents electronic mailing list, go to https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USGPOOFR/subscriber/new, enter your e-mail address, then follow the instructions to join, leave, or manage your subscription. 87 37 Thursday, February 24, 2022 Rules and Regulations BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION 12 CFR Part 1005 Bulletin 2022-02: Compliance Bulletin on the Electronic Fund Transfer Act's Compulsory Use Prohibition and Government Benefit Accounts AGENCY:

Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. ACTION: Compliance bulletin. SUMMARY: The Electronic Fund Transfer Act

(EFTA)provides, among other things, that no person may require a consumer to establish an account for receipt of electronic fund transfers with a particular financial institution as a condition of receipt of a government benefit. The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this Compliance Bulletin to reiterate that this prohibition in EFTA applies to government benefit accounts. DATES: This bulletin is applicable on February 24, 2022. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eliott C. Ponte, Counsel, or Kristine M. Andreassen, Senior Counsel, Office of Regulations, at 202-435-7700. If you require this document in an alternative electronic format, please contact *CFPB_Accessibility@cfpb.gov.* SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Discussion Section 913 of EFTA provides, among other things, that no person may require a consumer to establish an account for receipt of electronic fund transfers

(EFTs)with a particular financial institution as a condition of employment or receipt of a government benefit. 1 This provision, often referred to as the compulsory use prohibition, is implemented in § 1005.10(e)(2) of Regulation E. The Bureau is issuing this Compliance Bulletin to reiterate that the compulsory use prohibition in EFTA applies to government benefit accounts. 1 15 U.S.C. 1693k. A. Background Congress enacted EFTA in 1978 with the purpose of “provid[ing] a basic framework establishing the rights, liabilities, and responsibilities of participants in electronic fund transfer systems.” 2 EFTA's primary objective is “the provision of individual consumer rights.” 3 Congress also empowered the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) to promulgate regulations implementing EFTA. With the adoption of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), authority to implement most of EFTA transferred to the Bureau. 4 2 Public Law 95-630, 92 Stat. 3728 (1978). 3 15 U.S.C. 1693b. 4 Public Law 111-203, tit. X, section 1084, 124 Stat. 1376, 2081

(2010)(codified at 15 U.S.C. 1693a *et seq.* ). *See also* Dodd-Frank Act section 1061(b), 124 Stat. 2036 (codified at 12 U.S.C. 5581(b)). The regulations first promulgated by the Board to implement EFTA now reside in subpart A of Regulation E. 5 These rules provide a broad suite of protections to consumers who make EFTs, and for accounts from which consumers can make EFTs. An EFT is any transfer of funds initiated through an electronic terminal, telephone, computer, or magnetic tape for the purpose of ordering, instructing, or authorizing a financial institution to debit or credit a consumer's account. 6 In its initial rulemaking to implement EFTA, the Board developed a broad definition of “account,” which closely mirrored the definition of “account” in EFTA. 7 The definition provides that, subject to certain specific exceptions, an account is a demand deposit (checking), savings, or other consumer asset account (other than an occasional or incidental credit balance in a credit plan) held directly or indirectly by a financial institution and established primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. 8 5 These provisions were originally adopted as 12 CFR part 205 but, upon transfer of authority in the Dodd-Frank Act to implement Regulation E to the Bureau, were renumbered as 12 CFR part 1005. 76 FR 81020 (Dec. 27, 2011). 6 12 CFR 1005.3(b)(1). 7 44 FR 18468, 18480 (Mar. 28, 1979). 8 12 CFR 1005.2(b)(1). In 1994, the Board amended Regulation E to extend Regulation E's protections to accounts used for the electronic distribution of government benefits (1994 EBT Rule). 9 After the Board finalized the 1994 EBT Rule, Congress amended EFTA to exempt “needs-tested” State and local electronic benefit transfer

(EBT)programs. 10 The Board subsequently adopted a rule exempting EBT programs established or administered by State or local government agencies from Regulation E. However, all accounts used to distribute benefits for federally administered programs (including Federal needs-tested programs) as well as non-needs tested State and local government benefit programs remained covered by Regulation E. 11 9 59 FR 10678 (Mar. 7, 1994). 10 Public Law 104-193, 110 Stat. 2105 (1996). 11 62 FR 43467 (Aug. 14, 1997). On October 5, 2016, the Bureau issued a final rule titled “Prepaid Accounts Under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E) and the Truth In Lending Act (Regulation Z)” (2016 Final Rule). 12 The 2016 Final Rule, as subsequently amended, 13 is referred to herein as the Prepaid Accounts Rule. The Prepaid Accounts Rule, among other things, extended Regulation E coverage to prepaid accounts and adopted provisions specific to such accounts. The definition of “prepaid account” in the Prepaid Accounts Rule includes government benefit accounts (as defined in § 1005.15(a)(2)), which were already covered by Regulation E since the mid-1990s. The Prepaid Accounts Rule generally maintained the existing provisions specific to government benefit accounts, while adding certain new requirements such as pre-acquisition disclosures. The Prepaid Accounts Rule did not change the compulsory use prohibition in § 1005.10(e) of Regulation E, but did add commentary to clarify the compulsory use prohibition's application to government benefits (comment 10(e)(2)-2), which is in line with pre-existing commentary regarding payroll card accounts (comment 10(e)(2)-1). 12 81 FR 83934 (Nov. 22, 2016). 13 *See* 82 FR 18975 (Apr. 25, 2017) and 83 FR 6364 (Feb. 13, 2018). These amendments, among other things, extended the effective date of the Prepaid Accounts Rule to April 1, 2019. B. Compulsory Use Prohibition As mentioned above, the compulsory use prohibition of EFTA, as implemented by Regulation E, provides that no person may require a consumer to establish an account for receipt of EFT with a particular financial institution as a condition of receipt of a government benefit. 14 Person, for the purposes of Regulation E and the compulsory use prohibition, means a natural person or an organization, including a corporation, government agency, estate, trust, partnership, proprietorship, cooperative, or association. 15 The compulsory use prohibition applies to all persons, not just financial institutions as defined in Regulation E. 16 The compulsory use prohibition applies to “government benefit accounts,” which is defined as an account established by a government agency for distributing government benefits to a consumer electronically. However, for purposes of Regulation E, including the compulsory use prohibition, a government benefit account does not include an account for distributing needs-tested benefits in a program established under State or local law or administered by a State or local agency. 17 14 12 CFR 1005.10(e). 15 12 CFR 1005.2(j). 16 12 CFR 1005.3(a). 17 12 CFR 1005.15(a)(2). The term “needs-tested” is not defined in EFTA or Regulation E. In the preamble to its 2016 Final Rule, the Bureau identified examples of needs-tested government benefit programs that *are not* “government benefit accounts” subject to the compulsory use prohibition, such as those used to distribute funds related to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 18 Accounts established under programs administered by State or local agencies for benefits that are not needs-tested *are* “government benefit accounts” subject to the compulsory use prohibition. Examples of government benefit accounts administered by State or local agencies that are subject to the compulsory use prohibition because they are not needs-tested include accounts used to distribute unemployment insurance, child support, certain prison and jail “gate money” benefits, and pension plan payments. 19 18 *See* 81 FR 83934, 83942 (Nov. 22, 2016). While these accounts do not constitute “government benefit accounts” as defined in § 1005.15(a)(2), the Bureau notes that they may still be “prepaid accounts” under one of the other prongs of that definition in § 1005.2(b)(3). To the extent that they are prepaid accounts, the requirements of the Prepaid Accounts Rule apply. 19 *See* 81 FR 83934, 83995 (Nov. 22, 2016); *In re JPay, LLC,* File No. 2021-CFPB-0006 (Oct. 19, 2021), *www.consumerfinance.gov/enforcement/actions/jpay-llc/.* In addition, all accounts used to distribute funds under federally administered benefits programs (even if those benefits are needs-tested) are “government benefit accounts” subject to the compulsory use prohibition; for example, accounts used to distribute Social Security, Social Security Disability Insurance, and Supplemental Security Income

(SSI)payments; or Federal tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit

(EITC)or the Child Tax Credit

(CTC)are subject to the compulsory use prohibition. 20 20 *See id.* at 83995, 84320. The compulsory use prohibition ensures that consumers receiving the government benefits described above have a choice with respect to how they receive their funds. Government agencies, financial institutions, and other persons have several options available to them to ensure consumers are provided a choice. 21 For example, a government agency that requires consumers to receive benefits through direct deposit will not violate the compulsory use prohibition if it allows consumers to choose the financial institution they want to use in receiving the direct deposit. 22 Alternatively, a government agency may give a consumer the choice of having their benefits deposited at a particular institution (designated by the government agency) so long as the consumer is able to receive their benefits by another means. 23 21 In 2013, the Bureau issued a Compliance Bulletin on Payroll Card Accounts (Payroll Card Bulletin) to, among other things, reiterate that the compulsory use provision of EFTA and Regulation E prohibits employers, financial institutions, and other persons from mandating that employees receive wages only on a payroll card at a particular institution. As explained in the Payroll Card Bulletin, payroll card accounts are accounts that are established directly or indirectly through an employer, and to which transfers of the consumer's salary, wages, or other employee compensation are made on a recurring basis. *See CFPB Bulletin 2013-10* (Sept. 12, 2013), *www.consumerfinance.gov/compliance/supervisory-guidance/bulletin-payroll-card-accounts/.* 22 12 CFR 1005.10(e)(2) and comment 10(e)(2)-2. 23 *See id.* As the Bureau explained in the 2016 Final Rule, the Bureau believes that consumers are not provided a choice when a consumer is required to receive the *first* payment of government benefits on a prepaid card (or otherwise at a particular institution), even if the consumer can later re-direct the payment to an account of their choice. 24 In such a scenario, the consumer does not have a choice with respect to how to receive the first payment of the government benefit; rather, with respect to that first payment, the consumer was required to establish an account with the financial institution that issued the prepaid card as a condition of receiving the funds. 25 24 81 FR 83934, 83985 (Nov. 22, 2016). 25 *Id.* In addition to having a choice with respect to how consumers receive their government benefits, Regulation E requires that a statement of the consumer's payment options be included in disclosures provided before a consumer acquires a government benefit account. Specifically, that statement must disclose that

(1)the consumer has several options to receive benefit payments, followed by a list of the options available to the consumer, and a statement directing the consumer to tell the agency which option the consumer chooses; or

(2)the consumer does not have to accept the government benefit account and directing the consumer to ask about other ways to receive government benefit payments. 26 As discussed more below, government benefit accounts are entitled to additional protections and disclosures under Regulation E. 26 12 CFR 1005.15(c)(2)(i). C. Additional Regulation E Protections for Government Benefit Accounts As mentioned above, government benefit accounts are entitled to the protections of EFTA generally, and Regulation E's provisions applicable to prepaid accounts specifically. The protections in Regulation E for consumers who receive government benefits include the following: • Disclosures. Under Regulation E, consumers are entitled to three types of disclosures for government benefit accounts: Pre-acquisition disclosures, disclosures on the access device or entry point, and initial disclosures. *Pre-acquisition disclosures* for a government benefit account must set forth key information about the account that includes, as mentioned above, a statement regarding the consumer's payment options. 27 A government agency must provide the consumer with pre-acquisition disclosures before the consumer acquires a government benefit account. 28 27 12 CFR 1005.15(c)(2). 28 12 CFR 1005.15(c)(1). *Disclosures on the access device or entry point* for a government benefit account must contain the name of the financial institution that directly holds the account or issues the access device as well as a website and phone number that the consumer can use to contact that financial institution about the government benefit account. 29 These disclosures must be included on the access device or, if there is no physical access device, on a website, mobile application, or other entry point a consumer must visit to access the government benefit account electronically. 30 29 12 CFR 1005.15(f), 1005.18(f). 30 12 CFR 1005.15(f), 1005.18(f)(3). *Initial disclosures* must set forth comprehensive fee information that may be imposed in connection with the account as well as the information required to be included in the initial disclosures for other accounts subject to Regulation E, which include, among other things, disclosures regarding a consumer's liability for unauthorized EFTs, an error resolution notice, contact information for the financial institution providing the account, the types of transfers a consumer may make and any limitations on the frequency and dollar amount of transfers, and the fees associated with making. 31 Initial disclosures must be made at account opening or before the first EFT occurs. 32 31 12 CFR 1005.15(e)(1) and (f), 1005.18(h)(2)(ii)(A) and (iv). *See generally* 12 CFR 1005.7(b). 32 12 CFR 1005.7(a). • Change-in-Terms Notices. Change-in-terms notices are required when a term or condition required to be disclosed in the initial disclosures changes or the change results in an increased fee, increased liability for the consumer, fewer types of available EFTs, or stricter limitations on the frequency or dollar amount of EFTs. 33 33 12 CFR 1005.8(a)(1); 1005.15(f); 1005.18(f), (h)(2)(ii)(A), (iii), and (iv). • Access to Account History. Government agencies must either provide a periodic statement as required by Regulation E generally, or must make available to the consumer

(1)the consumer's account balance, by telephone;

(2)an electronic history, such as through an website, of the consumer's account transactions covering at least 12 months preceding the date the consumer electronically accesses the account; and

(3)written account transaction histories provided upon request must cover at least the 24 months preceding the date on which the government agency receives the consumer's request for the account transaction history. 34 34 12 CFR 1005.9(b); 1005.15(d)(1); and 1005.18(h)(3)(i). • Limited Liability for Unauthorized Transfers and Error Resolution Rights. With limited modifications regarding the period within which an unauthorized transfer must be reported, Regulation E's limited liability protections and error resolution rights fully apply to government benefit accounts. II. Conclusion The Bureau is issuing this Compliance Bulletin to reiterate that the compulsory use prohibition in EFTA applies to government benefit accounts, as defined in Regulation E. The Bureau notes that it is authorized, subject to certain exceptions, to enforce EFTA and Regulation E against any person subject to EFTA and Regulation E, including financial institutions. 35 In addition, subject to certain exceptions, the Bureau has enforcement authority over covered persons offering or providing certain consumer financial products or services—including government benefit accounts—under the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. 36 35 15 U.S.C. 1693o(a)(5). 36 Public Law 111-203, tit. X, 124 Stat. 1955

(2010)(12 U.S.C. 5561 through 5567). Rohit Chopra, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. [FR Doc. 2022-03587 Filed 2-23-22; 8:45 am]

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