[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 94 (Monday, May 17, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27558-27560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-11701]
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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Extension
AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (``FTC'' or ``Commission'').
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for
review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''). The FTC
is seeking public comments on its proposal to extend through May 31,
2013, the current PRA clearance for information collection requirements
contained its Antitrust Improvements Act Rules (``HSR Rules'') and
corresponding Notification and Report Form for Certain Mergers and
Acquisitions (``Notification and Report Form''). That clearance expires
on May 31, 2010.
DATES: Comments must be filed by June 16, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments
electronically or in paper form by following the instructions in the
Request for Comments part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below. Comments in electronic form should be submitted by using the
following weblink: (https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/hsrpra2) and
following the instructions on the web-based form). Comments filed in
paper form should refer to ``HSR Rules: FTC File No. P989316,'' both in
the text and on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary,
Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC
20580, in the manner detailed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
below.
All comments should additionally be submitted to: Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget,
Attention: Desk Officer for Federal Trade Commission. Comments should
be submitted via facsimile to (202) 395-5167 because U.S. postal mail
at the OMB is subject to delays due to heightened security precautions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of the proposed information requirements should be addressed to
Sheila Clark-Coleman, Compliance Specialist, 600 Pennsylvania Ave.,
N.W., Room 301, Washington, D.C. 20580. Telephone: (202) 326-3100.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Request for Comments:
Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. Comments
should refer to ``HSR Rules: FTC File No. P989316'' to facilitate the
organization of comments. Please note that your comment - including
your name and your state - will be placed on the public record of this
proceeding, including on the publicly accessible FTC website, at
(http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm).
Because comments will be made public, they should not include any
sensitive personal information, such as any individual's Social
Security Number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number;
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. Comments also
should not include any
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sensitive health information, such as medical records or other
individually identifiable health information. In addition, comments
should not include ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial
information which is obtained from any person and which is privileged
or confidential'' as provided in Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (``FTC Act''), 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2),
16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). Comments containing matter for which confidential
treatment is requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly
labeled ``Confidential,'' and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c).\1\
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\1\ The comment must be accompanied by an explicit request for
confidential treatment, including the factual and legal basis for
the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment
to be withheld from the public record. The request will be granted
or denied by the Commission's General Counsel, consistent with
applicable law and the public interest. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR
4.9(c).
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Because paper mail addressed to the FTC is subject to delay due to
heightened security screening, please consider submitting your comments
in electronic form. Comments filed in electronic form should be
submitted using the following weblink (https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/hsrpra2) (and following the instructions on the web-based form). To
ensure that the Commission considers an electronic comment, you must
file it on the web-based form at the weblink (https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/hsrpra2). If this Notice appears at
(www.regulations.gov/search/index.jsp), you may also file an electronic
comment through that website. The Commission will consider all comments
that regulations.gov forwards to it.
A comment filed in paper form should include the ``HSR Rules: FTC
File No. P989316'' reference both in the text and on the envelope, and
should be mailed or delivered to the following address: Federal Trade
Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. The FTC is requesting
that any comment filed in paper form be sent by courier or overnight
service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the Washington area
and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security
precautions.
The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit
the collection of public comments to consider and use in this
proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and
responsive public comments that it receives, whether filed in paper or
electronic form. Comments received will be available to the public on
the FTC website, to the extent practicable, at (http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm). As a matter of discretion, the FTC makes every
effort to remove home contact information for individuals from the
public comments it receives before placing those comments on the FTC
website. More information, including routine uses permitted by the
Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's privacy policy, at (http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.shtm).
Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, federal agencies must obtain
approval from OMB for each collection of information they conduct or
sponsor. ``Collection of information'' means agency requests or
requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records,
or provide information to a third party. 44 U.S.C. 3502(3); 5 CFR
1320.3(c). On February 26 2010, the FTC sought comment on the
information collection requirements associated with the HSR Rules, 16
CFR Parts 801 - 803 (Control Number: 3084-0005). 75 FR 8991. No
comments were received. Pursuant to the OMB regulations, 5 CFR Part
1320, that implement the PRA, the FTC is providing this second
opportunity for public comment before requesting that OMB extend the
existing paperwork clearance for the HSR Rules and the corresponding
Notification and Report Form, 16 CFR. Parts 801-803.
Background Information:
Section 7A of the Clayton Act (``Act''), 15 U.S.C. 18a, as amended
by the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, Pub. L.
94-435, 90 Stat. 1390, requires all persons contemplating certain
mergers or acquisitions to file notification with the Commission and
the Assistant Attorney General and to wait a designated period of time
before consummating such transactions. Congress empowered the
Commission, with the concurrence of the Assistant Attorney General, to
require ``that the notification . . . be in such form and contain such
documentary material and information . . . as is necessary and
appropriate'' to enable the agencies ``to determine whether such
acquisitions may, if consummated, violate the antitrust laws.'' 15
U.S.C. 18a(d). Congress similarly granted rulemaking authority to,
inter alia, ``prescribe such other rules as may be necessary and
appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section.'' Id.
Pursuant to that section, the Commission, with the concurrence of
the Assistant Attorney General, developed the HSR Rules and the
corresponding Notification and Report Form. The following discussion
presents the FTC's PRA burden analysis regarding completion of the
Notification and Report Form.
Burden statement:
Estimated total annual hours burden: 33,298 hours
The following burden estimates are primarily based on FTC data
concerning the number of HSR filings and staff's informal consultations
with leading HSR counsel.
In the FTC's 2007 PRA submission to OMB regarding the HSR Rules and
the Notification and Report Form, FTC staff estimated that there were
32 ``index filings'' under Clayton Act Sections 7A(c)(6) and 7A(c)(8)
\2\ that required 2 hours per filing, and 3,966 non-index filings that
required, on average, approximately 39 hours per filing.\3\ Moreover,
staff estimated that approximately 91 non-index transactions would
require an additional 40 hours of burden due to the need for a more
precise valuation of transactions that are near a filing fee
threshold.\4\
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\2\ Clayton Act Sections 7A(c)(6) and (c)(8) exempt from the
requirements of the premerger notification program certain
transactions that are subject to the approval of other agencies (the
so-called ``index filings''), but only if copies of the information
submitted to these other agencies are also submitted to the FTC and
the Assistant Attorney General. Thus, parties must submit copies of
these filings, which are included in the totals shown, but
completing the task requires significantly less time than non-exempt
transactions.
\3\ These are long-standing estimates that have been repeatedly
vetted through the PRA comment process. See, e.g., 59 FR 30588 (June
14, 1994); 69 FR 7225, 7226 (Feb. 13, 2004); 72 FR 18251, 18252
(Apr. 11, 2007).
\4\ See 72 FR 18252.
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In fiscal year 2009 there were 1,411 non-index filings and 24 index
filings. Based on an average decrease of 40.4% in fiscal year 2007 -
fiscal year 2009 in the number of non-index filings, staff projects a
total of 841 non-index filings for fiscal year 2010. Likewise, based on
an average decrease of 18.4% in index filings over the same time
period, staff projects a total of 20 index filings for fiscal year
2010. Retaining the FTC's prior assumptions, staff estimates that non-
index filings require approximately 39 burden hours per filing and
index filings require an average of 2 hours per filing. Moreover, staff
estimates that for fiscal year 2010 approximately 22 non-index
transactions will require an additional 40 hours of burden due to the
need for more precise valuation of transactions that are near a filing
fee threshold.\5\ Thus, the total estimated
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hours burden before adjustments is 33,719 hours [(841 non-index filings
x 39 hours) + (20 index filings x 2 hours) + (22 acquiring person non-
index filings requiring more precise valuation\6\ x 40 hours)].
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\5\ This number is based on the volume of fiscal year 2009 non-
index transactions, 716, reduced by transactions involving an
acquisition of 50% or more of an entity's assets or voting
securities. The rationale for this exclusion is that the remainder,
38 transactions, reflects incremental acquisitions that fell between
notification and filing fee thresholds and thus would likely need
more precise valuation to determine which side of a threshold the
transaction falls upon. The resulting fiscal year 2009 total, 38, is
then used to project the fiscal year 2010 volume of such
transactions. To do this, we first calculated the proportion this
net figure represents in relation to the total fiscal year 2009 non-
index transactions: 38 / 716 = 5.3%.
This percentage is then applied to the projected number of
fiscal year 2010 non-index transactions in order to estimate the
proportion of them that will require more precise valuation.
Assuming that half the projected number of fiscal year 2010 non-
index filings will constitute the number of associated transactions,
that would result in approximately 421 non-index transactions (841 /
2). To this we then carry over and apply the above 5.3%
apportionment to arrive at an estimate of 22 non-index transactions
in fiscal year 2010 that will require more precise measurement.
\6\ Only the acquiring person is subject to a filing fee; thus,
this specific focus.
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As in the past, however, staff further estimates that half of those
submitting non-index filings will incorporate Item 4(a) and Item 4(b)
documents by reference to an Internet link, and that doing so will
reduce individual burden by one hour. Accordingly, the cumulative
reduction to the above total would be 421 hours (841 non-index filings
x [frac12] [ap]421, multiplied by 1 hour), resulting in net estimated
burden for fiscal year 2010 of 33,298 hours.
This estimate is conservative. In estimating PRA burden, staff
considered ``the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide information
to or for a Federal agency.'' 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(1). This includes
``developing, acquiring, installing, and utilizing technology and
systems for the purpose of disclosing and providing information.'' 5
CFR 1320.3(b)(1)(iv). Although not expressly stated in the OMB
definitions regulation implementing the PRA, the definition of burden
arguably includes upgrading and maintaining computer and other systems
used to comply with a rule's requirements. Conversely, to the extent
that these systems are customarily used in the ordinary course of
business independent of the Rule, their associated upkeep would fall
outside the realm of PRA ``burden.'' See 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2).
Industry has been subject to the basic provisions of the HSR Rules
since 1978. Thus, businesses have had several years (and some have had
decades) to integrate compliance systems into their business
procedures. Accordingly, most companies now maintain records and
provide updated order information of the kind required by the HSR Rules
in their ordinary course of business. Nevertheless, staff
conservatively assumes that the time devoted to compliance with the
Rule by existing and new companies remains unchanged from its preceding
estimate.
Estimated labor costs: $15,317,080
Using the burden hours estimated above and applying an estimated
average of $460/hour for executive and attorney wages,\7\ staff
estimates that the total labor cost associated with the HSR Rules and
the Notification and Report Form is approximately $15,317,080 (33,298
hours x $460/hour).
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\7\ The FTC's previous estimate of $425 per hour has been
increased by the Social Security COLA percentage for fiscal years
2007 - fiscal year 2009 (fiscal year 2007(2.3%), fiscal year 2008
(5.8%)), fiscal year 2009 (0%)).
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Estimated annual non-labor cost burden: $0 or minimal
The applicable requirements impose minimal start-up costs, as
businesses subject to the HSR Rules generally have or obtain necessary
equipment for other business purposes. Staff believes that the above
requirements necessitate ongoing, regular training so that covered
entities stay current and have a clear understanding of federal
mandates, but that this would be a small portion of and subsumed within
the ordinary training that employees receive apart from that associated
with the information collected under the HSR Rules and the
corresponding Notification and Report Form.
David C. Shonka
Acting General Counsel
[FR Doc. 2010-11701 Filed 5-14-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S