The bill signed into law by President Biden on June 17, 2021 to create the Juneteenth National Independence Day results in an important change under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Regulation Z.

Under TILA and Regulation Z, there are two definitions of “business day.”  One definition is “a day on which the creditor’s offices are open to the public for carrying on substantially all of its business functions.”  There is a specific definition for certain purposes, including the waiting periods that apply to the TRID rule disclosures and right of rescission, the date that private education loan disclosures mailed to the consumer are deemed to be received, and the date that the right to cancel a private education loan expires.  Under the specific definition, a “business day” is “all calendar days except Sundays and the legal public holidays specified in 5 U.S.C. 6103(a), such as New Year’s Day, the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.”

The Juneteenth bill amends 5 U.S.C. 6103(a) to add “Juneteenth National Independence Day, June 19” as a specified legal public holiday.  As a result, without further action, under the specific definition of “business day” in amended 5 U.S.C. 6103(a), Saturday June 19 is not a business day.  Although the federal government will be closed on Friday June 18 in observance of the new legal public holiday, under the specific definition of “business day” in amended 5 U.S.C. 6103(a), June 18 is a business day.

Apparently, the CFPB will be providing guidance to the industry on how to address this development.