⚖️FTC Petition for Impersonation Regulation Clarification and Comments
Please take notice that the Federal Trade Commission ("Commission") received a petition for rulemaking from the Central Office of Reform and Efficiency and has published that petition online at https://www.regulations.gov. This petition requests to clarify and remove vague terms for precise enforcement of the plan regulations and the inclusion of a scienter requirement to safeguard consumers and businesses. The Commission invites written comments concerning the petition. Publication of this petition is pursuant to the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure and does not affect the legal status of the petition or its final disposition.
Learn More🛡️Updated Safety Standards for Play Yards Effective April 2025
In August 2012, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) published a consumer product safety standard for play yards pursuant to section 104 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). The Commission's mandatory standard incorporates by reference ASTM F406, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs/Play Yards, with modifications that exclude sections of ASTM F406 that apply to non- full-size (NFS) cribs exclusively. The CPSIA sets forth a process for updating mandatory standards for durable infant or toddler products that are based on a voluntary standard, when a voluntary standards organization revises the standard. In September 2024, ASTM published a revised voluntary standard, and this direct final rule updates the mandatory standard for play yards to incorporate by reference the 2024 version of ASTM F406.
Learn More📉New Margin Requirements for Futures Commission Merchants Effective March 2025
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Commission or CFTC) is amending its regulations, adopted under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA), to require a futures commission merchant (FCM) to ensure a customer does not withdraw funds from its account with the FCM if the balance in the account after the withdrawal would be insufficient to meet the customer's initial margin requirements; and relatedly, to permit an FCM, subject to certain requirements, to treat the separate accounts of a single customer as accounts of separate entities for purposes of certain Commission regulations.
Learn More📈CFTC Final Rule on Customer Funds Investment Regulations
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("Commission" or "CFTC") is amending its regulations governing the types of investments that futures commission merchants and derivatives clearing organizations may make with funds held for the benefit of customers engaging in futures, foreign futures, and cleared swaps transactions. The Commission is also revising asset-based and issuer-based concentration limits for the investment of customer funds. The Commission is also specifying market risk capital charges that a futures commission merchant must take on new investments added to the list of permitted investments in computing the firm's adjusted net capital. The amendments also revise regulations that require each futures commission merchant to report to the Commission, and to the firm's designated self-regulatory organization, the name, location, and amount of customer funds held by each depository, including any investments of customer funds held by the depository. Lastly, the Commission is eliminating the requirement that each depository holding customer funds must provide the Commission with read-only electronic access to such accounts for the futures commission merchant to treat the funds as customer segregated funds.
Learn More⚖️2025 Civil Monetary Penalties Adjustment Regulations Summary
The Department of Education (Department) issues these final regulations to adjust the Department's civil monetary penalties (CMPs) for inflation. This adjustment is required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act), which amended the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Inflation Adjustment Act). These final regulations provide the 2025 annual inflation adjustments being made to the penalty amounts in the Department's final regulations published in the Federal Register on January 25, 2024 (2024 final rule).
Learn More📦FMCSA Notice on Information Collection for Household Goods Transport
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and approval and invites public comment. FMCSA requests OMB's renewed approval of the ICR titled "Transportation of Household Goods; Consumer Protection," which applies to household goods motor carriers who are procured by the public (household goods shippers) to transport their household goods. This renewal revises the previous information collection's number of respondents, total respondent hours, and cost burden.
Learn More🚫New CFPB Rule Prohibits Medical Debt in Credit Decisions
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is issuing a final rule amending Regulation V, which implements the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), concerning medical information. The FCRA prohibits creditors from considering medical information in credit eligibility determinations. The CFPB is removing a regulatory exception that had permitted creditors to obtain and use information on medical debts notwithstanding this statutory limitation. The final rule also provides that a consumer reporting agency generally may not furnish to a creditor a consumer report containing information on medical debt that the creditor is prohibited from using.
Learn More📜CFPB Proposes Rule to Ban Unfair Contract Terms in Financial Services
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is proposing to prohibit certain contractual provisions in agreements for consumer financial products or services. The proposal would prohibit covered persons from including in their contracts any provisions purporting to waive substantive consumer legal rights and protections (or their remedies) granted by State or Federal law. The proposal would also prohibit contract terms that limit free expression, including with threats of account closure, fines, or breach of contract claims, as well as other contract terms. The proposal would also codify certain longstanding prohibitions under the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Credit Practices Rule.
Learn More📜New FTC Rule on Unfair Fees
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC" or "Commission") is issuing a final trade regulation rule entitled "Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees" ("rule" or "final rule") and Statement of Basis and Purpose addressing certain unfair or deceptive practices involving fees or charges for live-event tickets and short-term lodging: bait- and-switch pricing that hides the total price by omitting mandatory fees and charges from advertised prices; and misrepresenting the nature, purpose, amount, and refundability of fees or charges. The final rule specifies that it is an unfair and deceptive practice for businesses to offer, display, or advertise any price of live-event tickets or short-term lodging without clearly, conspicuously and prominently disclosing the total price. The rule also requires businesses to clearly and conspicuously make certain disclosures before a consumer consents to pay. The rule further specifies that it is an unfair and deceptive practice for businesses to misrepresent any fee or charge in any offer, display, or advertisement for live-event tickets or short-term lodging.
Learn More🌱CFPB Releases Environmental Assessment on PACE Loan Regulations
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is issuing this finding of no significant impact and accompanying environmental assessment regarding the CFPB's consideration of a proposed rule to implement a Congressional mandate to establish consumer protections for residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing. Based on the environmental assessment, the CFPB has concluded that there will be no significant effects on the human environment from the proposed PACE rule, and therefore, a finding of no significant impact is appropriate.
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