On March 18, 2022, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2022-20, making permanent the ability to conduct TEFRA hearings “virtually” for purposes of Code Section 147(f)(2)(B)(i), by means of toll-free telephonic access to the hearing for members of the public interested in commenting on a proposed tax-exempt bond issuance or on the assets and facilities to be financed or refinanced by such bonds. This guidance follows a succession of Revenue Procedures released in 2020 and 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that permitted TEFRA hearings to be conducted on the same kind of “virtual” basis, but only temporarily. The most recent predecessor release, Revenue Procedure 2021-39, had set an expiration date of March 31, 2022, and accordingly the release of Revenue Procedure 2022-20 is very timely.

Going forward, many governmental authorities and agencies that regularly conduct TEFRA hearings may wish to continue to offer toll-free telephonic access to the public, even as they return post-pandemic to offering in-person access to these hearings. Moreover, provided that they are offering access to TEFRA hearings in one or both of these ways, there is nothing in federal tax law to prevent these authorities and agencies from using other technology to facilitate public participation at TEFRA hearings, such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams videoconference services.

The TEFRA hearing guidance set forth in Revenue Procedure 2022-20 follows the release of comprehensive final TEFRA regulations regarding the public approval process, and the conduct of TEFRA hearings prior to securing public approval, which apply to certain categories of tax-exempt obligations under federal tax law. The final TEFRA regulations became effective in April 2019; you can find a copy of Hinckley Allen’s client alert describing the regulations here.

Please contact Antonio Martini at (617) 378-4136 or any other member of Hinckley Allen’s Public Finance Group if you would like more information about Revenue Procedure 2022-20 or the 2019 TEFRA regulations, or if you have any other tax-exempt bond compliance matter you would like to discuss.