12 U.S.C. § 43 — Interpretations concerning preemption of certain State laws

(a) Before a federal banking agency issues an opinion letter or interpretive rule saying that federal law overrides a state law on community reinvestment, consumer protection, fair lending, or letting a national bank open branches within a state, or before it makes a certain preemption determination under section 36(f)(1)(A)(ii), the agency must first: (1) publish a notice in the Federal Register describing the preemption issue it's considering, including a description of each state law involved; (2) give interested parties at least 30 days to submit written comments; and (3) actually consider those comments before finalizing its opinion, rule, or determination. (b) The agency must publish in the Federal Register: (1) any final opinion letter or interpretive rule that concludes federal law preempts a state law on those same topics — community reinvestment, consumer protection, fair lending, or intrastate branching — as applied to a national bank; and (2) any determination it makes under section 36(f)(1)(A)(ii). (c) These notice-and-comment requirements don't always apply. (1) They don't apply to an opinion letter or rule that either raises a preemption issue essentially identical to one courts have already resolved or the agency has already addressed, or that responds to a request lacking any real legal basis for a preemption ruling. (2) They also don't apply to materials prepared for use in a court case, for submission to Congress or a member of Congress, or for use only within the government. (3) The agency can also skip the requirements in an emergency — if it determines in writing that skipping them is necessary to prevent a serious, immediate threat to a national bank's safety and soundness, or if the opinion or rule relates to the acquisition of a bank that has failed or is in danger of failing, or an acquisition where the FDIC is providing assistance under section 1823(c) of this title.