[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 127 (Thursday, July 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36268-36269]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17571]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration


Proposed Extension of Information Collection Request Submitted 
for Public Comment and Recommendations; Prohibited Transaction 
Exemption 85-68 To Permit Employee Benefit Plans To Invest in Customer 
Notes of Employers

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, provides the general public and 
Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or 
continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program 
helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired 
format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, 
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of 
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. 
Currently, the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration is 
soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of a currently 
approved collection of information, Prohibited Transaction Exemption 
85-68. A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can 
be obtained by contacting the individual listed below in the contact 
section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before August 31, 1998.
    The Department of Labor (Department) is particularly interested in 
comments which:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.

ADDRESSES: Gerald B. Lindrew, Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare 
Benefits Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 
20210, (202) 219-4782 (not a toll-free number), FAX (202) 219-4745.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Pursuant to section 408 of ERISA, the Department has authority to 
grant an exemption from the prohibitions of sections 406 and 407(a) if 
it can determine that the exemption is administratively feasible, in 
the interest of participants and beneficiaries, and protective of the 
rights of participants and beneficiaries of the plan. Prohibited 
Transaction Class Exemption 85-68 describes the conditions under which 
a plan is permitted to acquire customer notes accepted by an employer 
of employees covered by the plan in the ordinary course of the 
employer's primary business activity. The exemptions covers sales as 
well as contributions of customer notes by an employer to its plan.

II. Current Actions

    The ICR included in this exemption is intended to ensure that the 
conditions of ERISA section 408 have been satisfied with respect to 
transactions involving customer notes. Specifically, the exemption 
requires that the employer provide a written guarantee to repurchase a 
note which becomes more than 60 days delinquent, that such notes be 
secured by a perfected security interest in the property financed by 
the note, and that the collateral be insured. Because this ICR ensures 
that the transactions are protective of the rights of participants and 
beneficiaries, the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration intends 
to request an extension of this ICR beyond its September 30, 1998 
expiration date.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Agency: Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits 
Administration.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 85-68.
    OMB Number: 1210-0094.

[[Page 36269]]

    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, Not-for-profit 
institutions, Individuals.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Total Responses: 1.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request; they will also become a 
matter of public record.

    Dated: June 26, 1998.
Gerald B. Lindrew,
Deputy Director, Office of Policy and Research, Pension and Welfare 
Benefits Administration.
[FR Doc. 98-17571 Filed 7-1-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-M