2023-20184: Disclosure of Interests in Commission Proceedings

Summary

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission ("Commission" or "CPSC") is issuing this notice of proposed rulemaking ("NPR") to establish disclosure requirements for persons seeking to make certain appearances before the Commission. Specifically, the proposed requirements provide for disclosure of whether: any person other than the submitter authored, in whole or in part, an oral presentation, adjudicative testimony, or petition for rulemaking submitted to the Commission; any person other than the submitter made or has agreed to make a monetary contribution to fund the oral presentation, adjudicative testimony, or petition for rulemaking; and the submitter of a request to provide oral testimony before the Commission has an existing business relationship by which the submitter expects to receive direct or indirect financial benefit in connection with the oral presentation or the Commission activity that is the subject of the oral presentation. The Commission similarly proposes to require that any person seeking to participate as an intervenor or other participant in any adjudicative proceeding before the Commission shall disclose whether a party in the proceeding or a party's counsel authored the petition to intervene or request to participate, as well as the identity of each person who has made or has agreed to make a monetary contribution to fund the request to participate or proposed participation. Additionally, the Commission proposes disclosure of certain corporate affiliations in these contexts. Finally, the Commission proposes technical revisions to its regulations establishing procedures for filing petitions for rulemaking and requests for oral presentation.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 5 parts of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 16 CFR 1000 Commission Organization and Functions
• 16 CFR 1025 Rules of Practice for Adjudicative Proceedings
• 16 CFR 1051 Procedure for Petitioning for Rulemaking
• 16 CFR 1052 Procedural Regulations for Informal Oral Presentations in Proceedings Before the Consumer Product Safety Commission
• 16 CFR 1502 Procedures for Formal Evidentiary Public Hearing