Congress steps into DOL/ERISA fiduciary controversy that's keeping many appraisers away from ESOP valuations

The 2012 fiscal year appropriations bill in Congress boosts funding levels for the Department of Labor (DOL)—but comes with several constraints on the DOL’s most controversial regulatory proposals, says an update from the Washington D.C. Employment Law blog. Of particular interest to BV appraisers, the current appropriations package includes a provision that would:

Prevent the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) from using appropriations funds to promulgate a proposed rule issued in 2010 that revises the definition of “fiduciary” for the purposes of rendering investment advice under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In September 2011, the EBSA announced that it had decided to re-propose this rule. The Manager’s Statement explains that this section shall not be construed as preventing the agency from publishing a new or revised [rulemaking] relating to the definition of a fiduciary, provided that interested parties and stakeholders are afforded a sufficient opportunity to review and comment on the proposed rulemaking.