Musicians know they've created a hit when thirty-somethings
have known all the song's words since middle school. Likewise,
most consumer finance lawyers recall verbatim Regulation Z's
guidance to lenders that, "The annual percentage rate is a
measure of the cost of credit, expressed as a yearly rate."
Pure genius.
But like great music, time-tested regulations do not happen by
accident; they require the thoughtful input of industry experts
— ergo, the Notice and Comment feature of informal
rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act. When agencies
make substantive rules, they often allow the public to provide
letters with "comments" on the proposed rule. The comment
period varies — for major rules it may be months, minor rules
may have the minimum 30-day timeframe. Each comment is read. And
these comments matter—particularly in complicated industries
like banking and consumer finance.
