The CFPB final arbitration rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register today, July 19.
The rule’s effective date will be the 60th day after publication and the compliance date will be March 19, 2018. Based on our calculation, the effective date will be Monday, September 18, 2017 (since the 60th calendar day is Sunday, September 17).
The final rule’s publication in the Federal Register is a trigger for the filing of a petition with the Federal Stability Oversight Council to set aside the rule. The Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) provides that such a petition must be filed “not later than 10 days” after a regulation has been published in the Federal Register. The 10th calendar day after publication would be Saturday, July 29. Since the DFA does not specify whether the term “day” means a “calendar” or a “business” day, it is uncertain whether the deadline for filing a petition with the FSOC will be July 29 or Monday, July 31.
A resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) is another potential route for overturning the arbitration rule. According to a report prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the receipt of a final rule by Congress begins a period of 60 “days-of-continuous-session” during which a member of either chamber can submit a joint resolution disapproving a rule under the CRA.
For purposes of the CRA, a rule is considered to have been “received by Congress” on the later of the date it is received in the Office of the Speaker of the House and the date of its referral to the appropriate Senate committee. The arbitration rule was received by the Speaker of the House on July 10 and referred to the Senate Banking Committee on July 13.
In calculating “days of continuous session,” every calendar day is counted, including weekends and holidays. However, because the count is suspended for periods when either chamber (or both) is gone for more than three days (i.e. pursuant to an adjournment resolution), the deadline for when a CRA resolution to disapprove the arbitration rule would have to be submitted cannot be calculated with certainty. Assuming no adjournment of the House or Senate, the 60th calendar day after the arbitration rule’s receipt by Congress would be September 11, 2017.
In order to be eligible for the special Senate procedure that allows a CRA disapproval resolution to be passed with only a simple majority, the Senate must act on the resolution during a period of 60 days of Senate session which begins when the rule is received by Congress and published in the Federal Register. That deadline would appear to be either September 17 or 18, 2017. (The CRS report indicates that if the House passes a joint resolution of disapproval, the Senate might only be able to use its special procedure if there is a companion Senate resolution.)
