(a) Any person who may be materially affected by an exemption which the Department proposes to grant from the restrictions of ERISA section 406(b), Code section 4975(c)(1)(E) or (F), or FERSA section 8477(c)(2) may request a hearing before the Department within the time period specified in the Federal Register notice of the proposed exemption. Any such request must state:

(1) The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the person making the request;

(2) The nature of the person's interest in the exemption and how the person would be materially affected by the exemption; and

(3) A statement of the issues to be addressed and a general description of the evidence to be presented at the hearing.

(b) The Department will grant a request for a hearing made in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section if a hearing is necessary to fully explore material factual issues with respect to the proposed exemption identified by the person requesting the hearing. The Department will publish a notice of such hearing in the Federal Register. The Department may decline to hold a hearing if:

(1) The request for the hearing is not timely, or otherwise fails to include the information required by paragraph (a) of this section;

(2) The only issues identified for exploration at the hearing are matters of law; or

(3) The factual issues identified can be fully explored through the submission of evidence in written (including electronic) form.

(c) An applicant for an exemption must notify interested persons if the Department schedules a hearing on the exemption. Such notification must be provided in the form, time, and manner prescribed by the Department. Ordinarily, however, adequate notification can be given by providing to interested persons a copy of the notice of hearing published by the Department in the Federal Register within 10 days after its publication, using any of the methods approved in § 2570.43(b).

(d) After furnishing the notice required by paragraph (c) of this section, an applicant must submit a statement confirming that notice was given in the form, manner, and time prescribed. This statement must be accompanied by a certification that the information provided in the statement is true and correct, which is signed by a person qualified under § 2570.34(b)(6) to sign a certification.