Legislative & Regulatory Process (Ch. 1)

Question 1

What is the difference between a preamble to a rule and the staff commentary?

Answer 1

Preamble - prefatory language, found in the official proposed rule or final rule issued by the Federal Register. Can indicate what an agency’s response might be to a specific question if posed directly to that agency.

Staff Commentary - Provides explanations and examples of the rules in plain English; often found in the appendix or supplement to a rule. It’s what should be read if you are unclear as to the application of the rule after reading it.

Question 2

What is the difference between a final rule and an interim final rule?

Answer 2

Final Rule - Issued after agency receives public comments after publishing a proposed rule in the Federal Register

Interim Rule - Effective while the agency receives comments; often done when the rule is an emergency type of rule or if the agency has little flexibility pursuant to a statute.

Question 3

What is a self-effectuating law?

Answer 3

Regulations are not needed to interpret the act or “bring it into effect.”
- ESIGN is an example of a self-effectuating law. All requirements a credit union must follow are found directly in the act itself.

Question 4

Where are federal regulations codified?

Answer 4

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) - Regulations are indexed by titles, chapters, parts, and sections. Titles are categorized by subject matter.

NCUA rules and regulations codified in the Code of Federal Regulations at 12 CFR Parts 700-799.

Question 5

Besides the rules and regulations, what other kinds of guidance are available? What are the purposes for these other kinds of guidance?

Answer 5

Legal Opinion/Staff Opinion Letters - Written by an agency that has authority to interpret the regulation to a specific set of facts. Letters can be superseded by subsequent opinion letters or regulations.

Interpretive Rulings & Policy Statements - NCUA’s official interpretation of the Federal Credit Union Act as it relatese to a particular issue.

Letters to Credit Unions and Federal Credit Unions - Letters address policy issues and are frequently used to clarify NFCU exam expectations or other operational issues for federally insured credit unions and federal credit unions.

Regulatory Alerts - Notifies credit unions of changes to regulations. Typically issued when a law or regulation issued by another regulator would impact credit unions.

Risk Alert - Notifies credit unions of a particular risk that could impact a credit union’s operation.