(a) Any interested person who may be adversely affected by an
exemption which the Department proposes to grant from the restrictions
of section 406(b) of ERISA, section 4975(c)(1)(E) or (F) of the Code, or
section 8477(c)(2) of FERSA may request a hearing before the Department
within the period of time specified in the Federal Register notice of
the proposed exemption. Any such request must state:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the person making the
request;
(2) The nature of the person's interest in the exemption and the
manner in
which the person would be adversely affected by the exemption; and
(3) A statement of the issues to be addressed and a general
description of the evidence to be presented at the hearing.
(b) The Department will grant a request for a hearing made in
accordance with paragraph (a) of this section where a hearing is
necessary to fully explore material factual issues identified by the
person requesting the hearing. However, the Department may decline to
hold a hearing where:
(1) The request for the hearing does not meet the requirements of
paragraph (a);
(2) The only issues identified for exploration at the hearing are
matters of law; or
(3) The factual issues identified can be fully explored through the
submission of evidence in written form.
(c) An applicant for an exemption must notify interested persons in
the event that the Department schedules a hearing on the exemption. Such
notification must be given in the form, time, and manner prescribed by
the Department. Ordinarily, however, adequate notification can be given
by providing to interested persons a copy of the notice of hearing
published by the Department in the Federal Register within 10 days of
its publication, using any of the methods approved in Sec. 2570.43(c) of
this part.
(d) After furnishing the notice required by paragraph (c) of this
section, an applicant must submit a statement confirming that notice was
given in the form, manner, and time prescribed. This statement must be
accompanied by a declaration under penalty of perjury attesting to the
truth of the information provided in the statement, which is signed by a
person qualified under Sec. 2570.34(b)(5) of these procedures to sign
such a declaration.
