(a) Any State, political subdivision, or other interested person may request an advisory opinion from the Commissioner with respect to any general matter concerning preemption of State or local device requirements or with respect to whether the Food and Drug Administration regards particular State or local requirements, or proposed requirements, as preempted.

(1) Such an advisory opinion may be requested and may be granted in accordance with §10.85 of this chapter.

(2) The Food and Drug Administration, in its discretion and after consultation with the State or political subdivision, may treat a request by a State or political subdivision for an advisory opinion as an application for exemption from preemption under §808.20.

(b) The Commissioner may issue an advisory opinion relating to a State or local requirement on his own initiative when he makes one of the following determinations:

(1) A requirement with respect to a device for which an application for exemption from preemption has been submitted under §808.20 is not preempted by section 521(a) of the act because it is: (i) Equal to or substantially identical to a requirement under the act applicable to the device, or (ii) is not a requirement within the meaning of section 521 of the act and therefore is not preempted;

(2) A proposed State or local requirement with respect to a device is not eligible for exemption from preemption because the State or local requirement has not been issued in final form. In such a case, the advisory opinion may indicate whether the proposed requirement would be preempted and, if it would be preempted, whether the Food and Drug Administration would propose to grant an exemption from preemption;

(3) Issuance of such an advisory opinion is in the public interest.