Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 3 / Monday, January 6, 2025 / Notices 671 

Issued: December 31, 2024. 

Sharon Bellamy, 

Supervisory Hearings and Information 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31726 Filed 1–3–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7020–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Notice of Proposed Settlement 

Agreement Under the Clean Air Act 

On December 31, 2024, the 

Department of Justice lodged a proposed 

Consent Decree in the civil action 

United States v. White’s Diesel 

Performance In. [sic] d/b/a White’s 

Diesel Performance Inc. and White’s 

Diesel, Civ. No. 8:24–cv–01791–SDM– 

SPF (M.D. Fla.). The complaint alleged 

that those defendants sold or installed 

illegal devices intended to defeat 

factory-installed pollution control 

devices, in violation of the Clean Air 

Act. The Consent Decree prohibits the 

defendants from selling or installing 

such devices in the future and requires 

the settling defendants to pay a civil 

penalty of $10,000, based on the 

defendants’ limited financial ability to 

pay a larger sum. 

The publication of this notice opens 

a period for public comment on the 

Settlement Agreement. Comments 

should be addressed to the Assistant 

Attorney General, Environment and 

Natural Resources Division, and should 

refer to Settlement Agreement among 

the United States and White’s Diesel 

Performance, Inc., D.J. Ref. No. 90–5–2– 

1–12438. All comments must be 

submitted no later than thirty (30) days 

after the publication date of this notice. 

Comments may be submitted either by 

email or by mail: 

To submit 

comments: Send them to: 

By email ....... pubcomment-ees.enrd@

usdoj.gov. 

By mail ......... Assistant Attorney General, 

U.S. DOJ—ENRD, P.O. 

Box 7611, Washington, DC 

20044–7611. 

Any comments submitted in writing 

may be filed in whole or in part on the 

public court docket without notice to 

the commenter. 

During the public comment period, 

the Consent Decree may be examined at 

and downloaded from this Justice 

Department website: https://

www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. 

If you require assistance accessing the 

Consent Decree you may request 

assistance by email or by mail to the 

addresses provided above for submitting 

comments. 

Scott Bauer, 

Assistant Section Chief, Environmental 

Enforcement Section, Environment and 

Natural Resources Division. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31760 Filed 1–3–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Request for Public 

Comment 

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration (EBSA), Department of 

Labor. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the 

Department), in accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act, provides the 

general public and Federal agencies 

with an opportunity to comment on 

proposed and continuing collections of 

information. This helps the Department 

assess the impact of its information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. It also 

helps the public understand the 

Department’s information collection 

requirements and provide the requested 

data in the desired format. The 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration (EBSA) is soliciting 

comments on the extension of the 

information collection requests (ICRs) 

contained in the documents described 

below. A copy of the ICRs may be 

obtained by contacting the office listed 

in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. 

ICRs also are available at reginfo.gov 

(https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted to the office shown in the 

ADDRESSES section on or before March 7, 

2025. 

ADDRESSES: U.S. Department of Labor, 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Office of Research and 

Analysis, Attention: PRA Officer, 200 

Constitution Avenue NW, Room N– 

5718, Washington, DC 20210, or 

ebsa.opr@dol.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Current Actions 

This notice requests public comment 

on the Department’s request for 

extension of the Office of Management 

and Budget’s (OMB) approval of ICRs 

contained in the rules and prohibited 

transaction exemptions described 

below. This action is not related to any 

pending rulemakings and the 

Department is not proposing any 

changes to the existing ICRs at this time. 

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, 

and a person is not required to respond 

to, an information collection unless it 

displays a valid OMB control number. A 

summary of the ICRs and the burden 

estimates follows: 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: Notice of Special Enrollment 

Rights under Group Health Plans. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

OMB Number: 1210–0101. 

Affected Public: Private sector, 

Businesses or other for-profits, Not-forprofit institutions. 

Respondents: 2,007,298. 

Responses: 8,618,763. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 552. 

Estimated Total Burden Cost 

(Operating and Maintenance): $430,938. 

Description: 

Section 701(f) of the Employee 

Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) 

provides special enrollment rights to 

individuals who have previously 

declined health coverage offered to 

them to enroll in health coverage upon 

the occurrence of specified events, 

including when they lose other 

coverage, when employer contributions 

to the cost of other coverage cease, and 

when they marry, have a child or adopt 

a child (‘‘special enrollment events’’). 

Plans and issuers are required to 

provide for 30-day special enrollment 

periods following any of these events 

during which individuals who are 

eligible but not enrolled have a right to 

enroll without being denied enrollment 

or having to wait for a late enrollment 

opportunity (often called ‘‘open 

enrollment’’). 

A group health plan may require, as 

a pre-condition to having a special 

enrollment right to enroll in group 

health coverage after losing eligibility 

under other coverage, that an employee 

or beneficiary who declines coverage 

provide the plan a written statement 

declaring whether he or she is declining 

coverage because of having other 

coverage. Failure to provide such a 

written statement can then be treated as 

eliminating the individual’s right to 

special enrollment upon losing 

eligibility for such other coverage. The 

regulations further establish that the 

right to special enroll can be denied in 

such circumstances only if employees 

are given notice of the requirement for 

a written statement and the 

consequences of failing to provide the 


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672 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 3 / Monday, January 6, 2025 / Notices 

written statement at the time an 

employee declines enrollment. As part 

of the special enrollment notice, it must 

be given at or before the time the 

employee is initially offered the 

opportunity to enroll. 

This information collection request 

covers the requirement in the 

implementing regulations under section 

701(f) for a special enrollment notice. 

This information collection implements 

the disclosure obligation of a plan to 

inform all employees, at or before the 

time they are initially offered the 

opportunity to enroll in the plan, of the 

plan’s special enrollment rules. The 

regulations require plans and their 

issuers to provide all employees with a 

notice describing their special 

enrollment rights, whether or not they 

enroll. 

The Department has received 

approval from OMB for this ICR under 

OMB Control No. 1210–0101. The 

current approval is scheduled to expire 

on August 31, 2025. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: Annual Report for Multiple 

Employer Welfare Arrangements Form 

M–1. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

OMB Number: 1210–0116. 

Affected Public: Private sector, 

Business or other for profits, Not-forprofit institutions. 

Respondents: 719. 

Responses: 719. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,839. 

Estimated Total Burden Cost 

(Operating and Maintenance): $0. 

Description: 

The Health Insurance Portability and 

Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), 

codified as part 7 of title I of the 

Employee Retirement Security Act of 

1974 (ERISA), was enacted to improve 

the portability and continuity of health 

care coverage for participants and 

beneficiaries of group health plans. 

HIPAA also added section 101(g) to 

ERISA, providing the Secretary of Labor 

(Secretary) with authority to require, by 

regulation, multiple employer welfare 

arrangements (MEWAs) as defined in 

section 3(40) of ERISA, that offer or 

provide coverage for medical benefits 

but which are not group health plans 

(non-plan MEWAs), to report annually 

for the purpose of determining 

compliance with part 7 requirements. 

While the statutory authority was 

directed at non-plan MEWAs, based on 

the authority in ERISA sections 101(g), 

505, and 734, the Department of Labor 

(Department) in 2003 promulgated a 

regulation at 29 CFR 2520.101–2 that 

required the administrators of both plan 

MEWAs and non-plan MEWAs that 

offer or provide coverage for medical 

benefits, as well certain entities that 

claim not to be a MEWA solely due to 

the exception in section 3(40)(A)(i) of 

ERISA (referred to as ‘‘Entities Claiming 

Exception’’ or ‘‘ECEs’’), to file the Form 

M–1 on an annual basis (Form M–1 

annual report). 

The Patient Protection and Affordable 

Care Act and the Health Care and 

Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 

(these are collectively known as the 

‘‘Affordable Care Act’’ or ‘‘ACA’’) 

amended section 101(g) of ERISA to 

require non-plan MEWAs that provide 

benefits consisting of medical care to 

register with the Secretary before 

operating in a State. In 2011, the 

Department amended the Form M–1 

reporting regulations to enact the ACA 

required provisions by requiring all 

MEWAs (plan and non-plan MEWAs) 

that offer or provide coverage for 

medical benefits and ECEs to register 

with the Secretary upon occurrence of 

certain registration events, such as prior 

to operating in a State, in addition to 

continued reporting on an annual basis 

regarding compliance with part 7 of 

ERISA. 

The Department has received 

approval from OMB for this ICR under 

OMB Control No. 1210–0116. The 

current approval is scheduled to expire 

on August 31, 2025. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: Employee Retirement Income 

Security Act of 1974 Investment 

Manager Electronic Registration. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

OMB Number: 1210–0125. 

Affected Public: Private sector, 

Business or other for profits, Not-forprofit institutions. 

Respondents: 3. 

Responses: 3. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 3. 

Estimated Total Burden Cost 

(Operating and Maintenance): $230. 

Description: 

Section 203A(a) of the Investment 

Advisers Act of 1940 (and the 

implementing SEC regulations) provides 

thresholds for when investment advisers 

must register with the SEC or with one 

or more states 

To qualify as investment manager 

under ERISA, investment advisers that 

register with a state, rather than with the 

SEC, must satisfy ERISA’s section 3(38) 

requirement to file a copy of the State 

registration with the Department by 

electronically registering through the 

Investment Adviser Registration 

Depository (IARD). This is a centralized 

electronic filing system operated by the 

SEC in conjunction with State securities 

regulation authorities. Because the IARD 

was established by the SEC and the 

states, and made mandatory for advisers 

required to file with SEC, and because 

all States permit filing through IARD 

even for advisers who do not file with 

SEC, the Department determined that 

use of the IARD would eliminate the 

duplication of filing paper copies of 

State registration forms with the 

Department and facilitate creation of a 

uniform and efficient ‘‘one-stop’’ filing 

system for state-registered filings by 

advisers who wished to meet the 

‘‘investment manager’’ definition of 

ERISA section 3(38). 

The Department has received 

approval from OMB for this ICR under 

OMB Control No. 1210–0125. The 

current approval is scheduled to expire 

on August 31, 2025. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: Multiple Employer Welfare 

Arrangement Administrative Law Judge 

Administrative Hearing Procedures. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

OMB Number: 1210–0148. 

Affected Public: Private sector, 

Business or other for profits, Not-forprofit institutions. 

Respondents: 10. 

Responses: 10. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 20. 

Estimated Total Burden Cost 

(Operating and Maintenance): $686,900. 

Description: 

Section 521 of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. 1151, 

provides that the Secretary of Labor may 

issue ex parte cease and desist orders 

when it appears to the Secretary that the 

alleged conduct of a multiple employer 

welfare arrangement (MEWA) under 

section 3(40) of the Act, 29 U.S.C. 

1002(40), is fraudulent, or creates an 

immediate danger to the public safety or 

welfare, or is causing or can be 

reasonably expected to cause 

significant, imminent, and irreparable 

public injury. Section 521(b) provides 

that a person that is adversely affected 

by the issuance of a cease and desist 

order may request an administrative 

hearing regarding the order. The 

Department has promulgated a final 

regulation that is the subject of this 

information collection request, which 

describes the procedures before an 

administrative law judge (ALJ) when a 

person seeks an administrative hearing 

for review of such an order. 

Under section 2571.3 of the rule, the 

party that is subject to a cease and desist 

order issued under ERISA section 521 


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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 3 / Monday, January 6, 2025 / Notices 673 

has the burden to initiate an 

adjudicatory proceeding before an ALJ. 

Section 2571.3 governs the service of 

documents necessary to initiate ALJ 

proceedings by such a party on the 

Secretary of Labor and the ALJ. The 

Department has received approval from 

OMB for this ICR under OMB Control 

No. 1210–0148. The current approval is 

scheduled to expire on August 31, 2025. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: Alternative Reporting Methods 

for Apprenticeship and Training Plans 

and Top Hat Plans. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

OMB Number: 1210–0153. 

Affected Public: Private sector, 

Business or other for profits, Not-forprofit institutions. 

Respondents: 1,800. 

Responses: 1,800. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 300. 

Estimated Total Burden Cost 

(Operating and Maintenance): $0. 

Description: 

Section 2520.104–22 provides an 

exemption to the reporting and 

provision of part 1 of title I of ERISA for 

employee welfare benefit plans that 

provide exclusively apprenticeship and 

training benefits if the plan 

administrator meets the following 

requirements: (1) Files a notice with the 

Secretary that provides the name of the 

plan, the plan sponsor’s Employer 

Identification Number, the plan 

administrator’s name, and the name and 

location of an office or person from 

whom interested individuals can obtain 

certain info about courses offered by the 

plan; and (2) takes steps reasonably 

designed to ensure that the information 

required to be contained in the notice is 

disclosed to employees of employers 

contribution to the plan who may be 

eligible to enroll in any course of study 

sponsored or establish by the plan; (3) 

and makes the notice available to 

employees upon request. 

Under 2520.14–23, the Department 

provides an alternative method of 

compliance with the reporting and 

disclosure of Title I of ERISA for 

unfunded or insured plan established 

for a select group of management of 

highly compensated employees (i.e., top 

hat plans). In order to satisfy the 

alternative method of compliance, the 

plan administrator must file a statement 

with the Secretary of Labor that 

includes the name and address of the 

employer, the employer EIN, a 

declaration that the employer maintains 

a plan or plans primarily for the 

purpose of providing deferred 

compensation for a select group of 

management or highly compensated 

employees, and a statement of the 

number of such plans and the 

employees covered by each. Plan 

documents must be made available to 

the Secretary upon request, and only 

one statement needs to be filed for each 

employer maintaining one or more of 

the plans. The 2019 final rule requires 

electronic filing with the Secretary 

through EBSA’s website in accordance 

with instructions published by the 

Department. 

The Department has received 

approval from OMB for this ICR under 

OMB Control No. 1210–0153. The 

current approval is scheduled to expire 

on August 31, 2025. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: Securities Lending by Employee 

Benefit Plans, Prohibited Transaction 

Exemption 2006–16. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

OMB Number: 1210–0065. 

Affected Public: Private sector, 

Business or other for profits. 

Respondents: 182. 

Responses: 1,820. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 349. 

Estimated Total Burden Cost 

(Operating and Maintenance): $18,191. 

Description: 

In 2006, the Department promulgated 

a final class exemption, PTE 2006–16, 

which amended and replaced the 

exemptions previously provided under 

PTE 81–6 and PTE 82–63. The final 

exemption incorporates the exemptions 

into one renumbered exemption and 

expands the categories of exempted 

transactions to include securities 

lending to foreign banks and foreign 

broker-dealers that are domiciled in 

specified countries and to allow the use 

of additional forms of collateral, all 

subject to specified conditions outlined 

in the exemption. 

Among other conditions, the class 

exemption requires a bank or brokerdealer that borrows securities from a 

plan to provide the lending fiduciary 

with its most recent audited financial 

statement and its most recent unaudited 

statement if the unaudited statement is 

more recent than the audited financial 

statement. The borrower must also 

represent, at the time the loan is 

negotiated, that there has been no 

material adverse change in its financial 

condition since the date of the most 

recent financial statement provided to 

the plan that has not been disclosed to 

the lending fiduciary. The exemption 

also requires the loan be made pursuant 

to a written loan agreement. Individual 

agreements are not required for each 

transaction; rather the compensation 

agreement may be made in the form of 

a master agreement covering a series of 

transactions. 

The Department has received 

approval from OMB for this ICR under 

OMB Control No. 1210–0065. The 

current approval is scheduled to expire 

on October 31, 2025. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: Prohibited Transaction Class 

Exemption 1988–59, Residential 

Mortgage Financing Arrangements 

Involving Employee Benefit Plans. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

OMB Number: 1210–0095. 

Affected Public: Private sector, 

Business or other for profits, Not-forprofit institutions. 

Respondents: 2,289. 

Responses: 11,445. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 7,630. 

Estimated Total Burden Cost 

(Operating and Maintenance): $10,816. 

Description: 

Prohibited Transaction Class 

Exemption (PTE) 88–59, which 

amended and replaced PTE 82–87, 

allows employee benefit plans to 

participate in several different types of 

residential mortgage financing 

transactions, provided certain 

conditions are met. The five categories 

of transactions permitted under the 

exemption are: (1) issuance of 

commitments for the provision of 

mortgage financing to purchasers of 

residential dwelling units; (2) receipt by 

a plan of a fee for the issuance of the 

commitments; (3) the actual making or 

purchase of a mortgage loan or 

participation interest therein pursuant 

to the commitment; (4) the direct 

making or purchase of an mortgage loan 

or participation interest therein without 

the precondition of a commitment; and 

(5) the sale, exchange or transfer of a 

mortgage loan or participation interest 

therein prior to the maturity date of the 

instrument, provided that the 

ownership interest sold, exchanged, or 

transferred represents the plan’s entire 

interest in such investment. 

Among other conditions, the 

exemption requires a plan to maintain 

for the duration of any loan made 

pursuant to this exemption all records 

necessary to determine whether 

conditions of the exemption have been 

met and to make such records available 

for examination on request by any 

trustee, investment manager, participant 

or beneficiary of the plan, or agents of 

the Department or the IRS. 

The Department has received 

approval from OMB for this ICR under 


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OMB Control No. 1210–0095. The 

current approval is scheduled to expire 

on October 31, 2025. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: Access to Multiemployer Plan 

Information. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

OMB Number: 1210–0131. 

Affected Public: Private sector, 

Business or other for profits, Not-forprofit institutions. 

Respondents: 2,450. 

Responses: 221,478. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 

32,220. 

Estimated Total Burden Cost 

(Operating and Maintenance): $0. 

Description: 

Section 101(k)(1) of ERISA requires 

multiemployer plan administrators to 

furnish certain documents to any plan 

participant, beneficiary, employee 

representative, or any employer that has 

an obligation to contribute to the plan 

upon written request. The Department 

issued a final rule that implements the 

disclosure requirements of ERISA 

section 101(k) on March 2, 2010 (75 FR 

9334). The documents that may be 

requested are: (1) A copy of any periodic 

actuarial report (including sensitivity 

testing) received by the plan for any 

plan year which has been in the plan’s 

possession for at least 30 days; (2) a 

copy of any quarterly, semi-annual, or 

annual financial report prepared for the 

plan by any plan investment manager or 

advisor or other fiduciary that has been 

in the plan’s possession for at least 30 

days; and (3) a copy of any application 

filed with the Secretary of the Treasury 

requesting an extension under section 

304 of ERISA (or section 431(d) of the 

Internal Revenue Code of 1986) and the 

determination of such Secretary 

pursuant to such application. 

The information collection provisions 

of this final regulation are found in 29 

CFR 2520.101–6(a), which requires 

multiemployer defined benefit and 

defined contribution pension plan 

administrators to furnish copies of 

certain actuarial and financial 

documents to plan participants, 

beneficiaries, employee representatives, 

and contributing employers upon 

request. 

This information constitutes a thirdparty disclosure from the administrator 

to participants, beneficiaries, employee 

representatives, and contributing 

employers for purposes of the PRA. 

Pursuant to § 2520.101–6(d)(5), the 

documents required to be disclosed 

shall not contain any information that 

the plan administrator reasonably 

determines to be either: (i) Individually 

identifiable information regarding any 

plan participant, beneficiary, employee, 

fiduciary, or contributing employer, 

except that such limitation shall not 

apply to an investment manager or 

adviser, or with respect to any other 

person (other than an employee of the 

plan) preparing a financial report 

described in paragraph § 2520.101– 

6(c)(2); or (ii) proprietary information 

regarding the plan, any contributing 

employer, or entity providing services to 

the plan. The plan administrator must 

inform the requester if any such 

information is withheld. 

The Department has received 

approval from OMB for this ICR under 

OMB Control No. 1210–0131. The 

current approval is scheduled to expire 

on October 31, 2025. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: National Medical Support 

Notice—Part B. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

OMB Number: 1210–0113. 

Affected Public: Private sector, 

Businesses or other for-profits. 

Respondents: 381,290. 

Responses: 19,352,287. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 

1,215,658. 

Estimated Total Burden Cost 

(Operating and Maintenance): 

$6,400,769. 

Description: 

Pursuant to section 401(a) of the 

CSPIA, the Department of Labor (the 

Department) and HHS jointly 

promulgated the National Medical 

Support Notice Final Rule on December 

27, 2000 (65 FR 82128) (NMSN 

Regulation). The NMSN Regulation 

simplifies the issuance and processing 

of medical child support orders; 

standardizes communication between 

State agencies, employers, and Plan 

Administrators; and creates a uniform 

and streamlined process for 

enforcement of medical child support to 

ensure that all eligible children receive 

the health care coverage to which they 

are entitled. 

The NMSN Regulation, codified at 29 

CFR 2590.609–2, includes a model 

National Medical Support Notice 

(NMSN) that is comprised of two parts: 

part A is a notice from the State agency 

to the employer, entitled: ‘‘Notice to 

Withhold for Health Care Coverage;’’ 

and part B is a notice from the employer 

to the Plan Administrator, entitled: 

‘‘Medical Support Notice to Plan 

Administrator.’’ Both parts have 

detailed instructions informing the 

recipient to whom responses are due 

depending on varying circumstances. 

This ICR addresses the Plan 

Administrator’s responsibilities under 

NMSN Regulation to complete part B of 

the NMSN, the ‘‘Plan Administrator 

Response,’’ pursuant to the CSPIA and 

section 609(a)(5)(C) of title I of ERISA. 

The ‘‘Plan Administrator Response’’ 

in part B of the NMSN requires the Plan 

Administrator to provide information 

verifying whether the child is or will be 

receiving health care coverage from the 

group health plan. If enrollment has 

already occurred or can begin 

immediately, the Plan Administrator’s 

response in part B serves as notice to the 

State agency, the participant (parent), 

the child, their non-participant parent 

or guardian and the employer that the 

child is or will begin receiving 

dependent health care coverage 

pursuant to the group health plan. 

When the child is eligible for more than 

one coverage option, the Administrator 

must first send the part B response to 

the State agency so that the agency may 

choose one option. The Plan 

Administrator must also use the part B 

response to notify all of the aboveaffected persons of any waiting period 

before enrollment of the child can 

occur. 

The Department has received 

approval from OMB for this ICR under 

OMB Control No. 1210–0113. The 

current approval is scheduled to expire 

on November 30, 2025. 

Agency: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

Title: No Surprises Act: IDR Process. 

Type of Review: Extension of a 

currently approved collection of 

information. 

OMB Number: 1210–0169. 

Affected Public: Private sector, 

Business or other for profits, Not-forprofit institutions. 

Respondents: 22,828. 

Responses: 163,546. 

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 

89,520. 

Estimated Total Burden Cost 

(Operating and Maintenance): $556,147. 

Description: 

On December 27, 2020, the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 

(CAA), which includes the No Surprises 

Act, was signed into law. The No 

Surprises Act provides Federal 

protections against surprise billing and 

limits out-of-network cost sharing under 

many of the circumstances in which 

surprise bills arise most frequently. The 

CAA added provisions applicable to 

group health plans and health insurance 

issuers in the group and individual 

markets in a new part D of title XXVII 

of the Public Health Service Act (PHS 

Act) and also added new provisions to 


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1The procedures for requesting an exemption are 

set forth in 29 CFR part 2570, subpart B (76 FR 

66637, 66644, October 27, 2011). Effective 

December 31, 1978, section 102 of the 

Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978, 5 U.S.C. app. 1 

(1996), transferred the authority of the Secretary of 

the Treasury to issue administrative exemptions 

under the Code section 4975(c)(2) to the Secretary 

of Labor. Accordingly, the Department grants this 

exemption under its sole authority. 

2 89 FR 59161. 

3This determination is set forth in the 

Independent Appraiser’s written report, dated 

December 16, 2021. 

part 7 of the Employee Retirement 

Income Security Act (ERISA), and 

subchapter B of chapter 100 of the 

Internal Revenue Code (Code). 

Section 102 of the No Surprises Act 

added Code section 9816, ERISA section 

716, and PHS Act section 2799A–1, 

which contain limitations on cost 

sharing and requirements for initial 

payments for emergency services and 

for nonemergency items and services 

furnished by nonparticipating providers 

at participating health care facilities. In 

addition, section 103 of the No 

Surprises Act amended Code section 

9816, ERISA section 716, and PHS Act 

section 2799A–1 to establish a Federal 

independent dispute resolution (Federal 

IDR) process that nonparticipating 

providers or facilities and group health 

plans and health insurance issuers in 

the group and individual market may 

use following the end of an 

unsuccessful open negotiation period to 

determine the out-of-network rate for 

certain services. More specifically, the 

Federal IDR provisions may be used to 

determine the out-of-network rate for 

certain emergency services, 

nonemergency items and services 

furnished by nonparticipating providers 

at participating health care facilities, 

where an All-Payer Model Agreement or 

specified State law does not apply. 

Finally, section 105 of the No Surprises 

Act created Code section 9817, ERISA 

section 717, and PHS Act section 

2799A–2 which contain limitations on 

cost sharing and requirements for initial 

payments for air ambulance services, 

and allow plans and issuers and 

providers of air ambulance services to 

access the Federal IDR process. 

The Federal IDR process requires a 

number of disclosures from plans, 

issuers, FEHB carriers, and 

nonparticipating providers or 

nonparticipating emergency facilities. 

The Department has received approval 

from OMB for this ICR under OMB 

Control No. 1210–0169. The current 

approval is scheduled to expire on 

November 30, 2025. 

II. Focus of Comments 

The Department is particularly 

interested in comments that: 

• Evaluate whether the collections of 

information are necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

• Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the collections of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

• Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

• Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., by permitting electronic 

submissions of responses. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and/or 

included in the ICR for OMB approval 

of the information collection; they will 

also become a matter of public record. 

Signed at Washington, DC, this 26th day of 

December 2024. 

Lisa M. Gomez, 

Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits 

Security Administration, U.S. Department of 

Labor. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31607 Filed 1–3–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration 

[Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2024– 

05; Application No. L–12006] 

Exemption for Associated General 

Contractors of America, San Diego 

Chapter, Inc. Apprenticeship and 

Training Fund, Located in San Diego, 

CA 

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice of exemption. 

SUMMARY: This document gives notice of 

an individual exemption from certain 

prohibited transaction restrictions of the 

Employee Retirement Income Security 

Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA or the 

Act). The exemption permits the 

Associated General Contractors of 

America, San Diego Chapter, Inc. (the 

Chapter) to lease certain improved real 

property (the Property) located in San 

Diego, California to the Associated 

General Contractors of America, San 

Diego Chapter, Inc. Apprenticeship and 

Training Fund (the Plan or the 

Applicant). 

DATES: Exemption date: This final 

exemption is in effect as of October 1, 

2020. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Frank Gonzalez, Office of Exemption 

Determinations, Employee Benefits 

Security Administration, U.S. 

Department of Labor, (202) 693–8553 

(this is not a toll-free number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Plan 

requested an exemption pursuant to 

ERISA section 408(a) and supplemented 

the request with certain additional 

information (that is collectively, referred 

to as the ‘‘Application’’).1 On July 22, 

2024, the Department published a notice 

of proposed exemption in the Federal 

Register (the Proposed Exemption).2

Based on the Applicant’s 

representations in the Application and 

the administrative record, the 

Department has determined to grant the 

Proposed Exemption. This exemption 

provides only the relief specified herein 

and does not provide relief from 

violations of any law other than the 

prohibited transaction provisions of 

ERISA. 

Benefits of the Exemption: The 

Department is granting retroactive and 

prospective relief based in part on the 

Applicant’s representations that, among 

other things, the lease has permitted the 

Plan to provide benefits more efficiently 

to its participants during the COVID–19 

pandemic and thereafter at a monthly 

rental rate that saved the Plan $4,359 

per month in 2020 and $6,311 per 

month in 2021, respectively, based on 

the Property’s appraised monthly fair 

market rental value of $46,938 on 

October 1, 2020 and $48,890 on October 

1, 2021.3 The Plan’s monthly savings 

will continue to increase if the 

appraised rental value increases subject 

to escalation terms of the lease that are 

described below. The transaction will be 

subject to further protection, because an 

independent fiduciary will be 

responsible for ensuring that the Plan 

does not pay more than fair market 

value rent under the Lease. 

As discussed below, the Department 

makes the requisite findings under 

ERISA section 408(a) based on the 

Applicant’s adherence to all the 

exemption’s conditions at all times. 

Accordingly, affected parties should be 

aware that the Applicant’s adherence to 

all conditions incorporated in this 

exemption is necessary for the 

Department to grant the relief that the 

Applicant requested. Absent these 

conditions, the Department would not 

have granted this exemption. 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES