[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 130 (Thursday, July 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36877-36882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17313]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The FTC has submitted the information collection requirements 
contained in five Commission rules and one administrative category to 
OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 USC 
3501 et seq.) (PRA). On January 8, 1999, the FTC solicited comment 
concerning these information collection requirements, providing the 
information specified in 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(iv). 64 FR 1203. The FTC 
received no comments. The current OMB clearances for four of the five 
rules and the one administrative category expire on September 30, 1999. 
The current OMB clearance for the HSR Form and Rules expires on August 
31, 1999. The FTC has requested that OMB extend these paperwork 
clearances for a period of three years.

DATES: Comments must be filed on or before August 9, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office 
Building, Room 3228, Washington, DC 20503, ATTN: Desk Officer for the 
Federal Trade Commission, and to Elaine W. Crockett, Attorney, Office 
of the General

[[Page 36878]]

Counsel, Room 598, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 20580. Telephone: (202) 
326-2453. Fax: (202) 326-2477. E-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the proposed extensions of the information requirements 
should be addressed to Elaine W. Crockett at the address listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Title: FTC Hart-Scott-Rodino (``Permerger Notification'') Rules 
and form, 16 CFR Parts 801-803--(OMB Control Number 3084-0005)--
Extension

    The Antitrust Improvements Act Notification and Report Form 
(``Report Form'' or ``Form'') implements the notification requirements 
contained in the Premerger Notification Rules, 16 CFR 801-803 (1998) 
and Section 7A of the Clayton Act, 15 USC 18a. Under the Act and its 
associated rules, certain parties contemplating acquisitions of a 
specified size must notify the FTC and the Antitrust Division of the 
Department of Justice (``the enforcement agencies'') and wait for 30 
days (or, in the case of cash tender offer, 15 days) before 
consummating the transaction. The FTC has established the Report Form 
as the means for accomplishing the notification mandated by the Act. 
The Report Form provides the enforcement agencies with the information 
needed to make prompt, preliminary determinations of the antitrust 
implications of the reported transactions.
    On June 14, 1994, the FTC published a Federal Register Notice in 
which it proposed certain changes to the Report Form. 59 FR 30545. At 
that time, the FTC requested comments on any paperwork burdens imposed 
by those changes. Id. at 30588. Based on comments received in response 
to the Notice, as well as other input from interested parties, the 
enforcement agencies are continuing their review of the Report Form. 
Any future proposal to change the Form as a result of this review will 
include a request for comments on any paperwork burdens imposed by the 
proposal.
    This request is for an extension of the Rules and the Form as they 
currently exist. This notice proposes no amendments or changes to the 
Rules or the Form, nor does it address any of the changes proposed in 
1994. The purpose of this notice is simply to comply with those PRA 
requirements that will allow the Report Form to be used in its current 
format pending any amendments to the Rules or Form.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours

    The total estimated burden associated with completing and filing 
the Form is 260,443 hours (based on fiscal year 1997 figures). We have 
estimated that, depending on a number of different factors, it takes 
anywhere from 8 to 160 hours to complete and file the Form.\1\ The 
average, based on historical experience, is approximately 39 hours. In 
certain circumstances, only an index or copies of filings made with 
another regulatory agency are required to be submitted to the FTC in 
lieu of the Form (``index filing''). We have estimated that 2 hours is 
needed to comply with the filing requirements in these instances. The 
enforcement agencies received notice of 3622 transactions in 1997, of 
which 59 were reported to other regulatory agencies. Thus the total 
1997 burden was (3517 transactions  x  39 hours) + (59 transactions  x  
2 hours), or 260,443 hours. The increase from the 1994 estimated burden 
of 107,985 hours (when last calculated for OMB clearance) is solely a 
function of the increase in filing since 1994. Although the number of 
reported transactions totaled 3,622 in 1997, because of variations in 
the number of fillings received for these transactions is approximately 
6,734.\2\
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    \1\ These factors include the extent of the filing person's 
United States operations; the number of different industries in 
which the filing person is engaged; the firm's prior experience and 
familiarity with the premerger notification program; the existence 
of horizontal overlays or vertical relationships in the businesses 
in which the parties to the transaction derive revenue, and the 
organizational structure and recordkeeping system of the reporting 
entities.
    \2\ For example, of the 3622 transactions reported, 164 were 
joint ventures, (c)(6) transactions or (c)(8) transactions; only one 
filing is required for each transaction. If the remaining 3458, 
approximately 80 percent, or 2766, require two filings per 
transaction: one each from the acquiring person and the acquired 
person. The other 20 percent (692) represent certain transactions 
for which the consideration given is voting stock. A typical example 
of these transactions is the acquisition of company B's voting stock 
by company A. As payment for the B stock, A will give the B 
shareholders certain shares of company A stock. A shareholder of B 
will acquire an amount of company A stock that will require the B 
shareholder to submit a separate filing as an acquiring person. For 
HSR purposes, the company A/company B filings make up transactions, 
and the B shareholder/company A filings comprise a second 
transaction. However, company A generally needs to submit only one 
filing for the two transactions. Therefore the two transactions 
require three filings, computed as 1.5 filings per transaction. (The 
1.5 figure is a slight overestimation, since in some cases more than 
one shareholder of company B has a fling obligation as an acquiring 
person. Each shareholder's notification is treated as a separate 
transactions, and company A's filing as an acquiring person serves 
as the acquired party's filing for each of the shareholder 
transactions. Thus, for example, four transactions--a primary 
transaction with three related shareholder transactions--may have a 
total of only five filings.)
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Estimated Labor Costs

    Using the burden hours estimated above, the total cost associated 
with the Rule and Form would be approximately $78,132,000 (260433 hours 
 x  $300 hour). To verify this cost estimate, staff conducted an 
informal survey of actual billings by several antitrust practitioners 
for preparation of the Form.\3\ These estimates, based on the type and 
complexity of each filing \4\ closely approximated our estimate, based 
on burden hours. This information is summarized below. Only the first 
category, the index filing, has been terminated on an hourly fee basis. 
The remaining figures are calculated on the following basis:
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    \3\ The $45,000 Hart-Scott-Rodino filing fee is not included in 
these cost estimates because the fee does not fall within either of 
the two cost categories defined by OMB: (1) Total hour burden and 
annualized costs of hour burden (labor), and (2) non-labor costs, 
consisting of total capital and start-up costs and total operation 
and maintenance costs. See OMB Instructions for Completing OMB Form 
83-I.
    \4\ The survey was based on number of filings because each side 
to transaction is represented by a different law firm. Therefore, 
practitioners do not have cost information relating to an entire 
transaction.

6734 filings minus 59 index filings = 6675
Index filing: 59  x  $600 (2 hours @ $3.00/hr) + $35400
Simple filings ([35%  x  6675]  x  $2000) + 4,672,000
Moderately complex filings ([60%  x  6675]  x  $15,000) = 60,075,000
Very complex filings ([5%  x  6675]  x  $50,000) = 16,700.000
Total = $81,482,400

    This estimate is comparable to, although slightly higher than, our 
estimate of $78,132,000. We conservatively have adopted the $81,482.400 
estimate as the total annual labor cost.

Esimated Capital or Other Non-Labor Costs

    The Rule imposes no current start-up costs and minimal capital 
costs. The rule first took effect in 1979, so law firms and companies 
already have incurred any necessary start-up costs associated with 
filing the Form. Moreover, law firms already have access, for other 
business purposes, to the ordinary office equipment needed for 
compliance, and the Rule has no consequential effect on the cost of 
operating and maintaining that equipment.

[[Page 36879]]

2. Title--Negative Option Plans by Sellers in Commerce (``Negative 
Option Rule'') 16 CFR Part 425--(OMB Control Number 3084-0104)--
Extension

    The Negative Option Rule protects consumers who participate in 
negative option plus (e.g., record or book ``clubs''), contractual 
arrangements whereby a seller periodically ships merchandise to 
subscribers without an affirmative order by the subscriber. The Rule 
requires sellers to send an advance notice to subscribers describing 
merchandise offered for sale. The subscriber may instruct the seller, 
in accordance with the terms of the plan, to refrain from shipping the 
merchandise. The Rule also requires that promotional materials disclose 
the terms of membership clearly and conspicuously, and establish 
procedures for the administration of such ``negative option'' plans.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours

    The Rules's estimated annual burden is approximately 14,375 hours 
per day. We estimate that approximately 175 existing clubs spend about 
75 hours each to comply with the Rule's disclosure requirements, for a 
total of 13,125 per year (175 clubs  x  75 hours).
    We have revised the number of hours from 125 to 75 hours per year 
for each existing club to comply with the information collection 
requirements contained in the Rule. These clubs should be familiar with 
the Rule, which has been in effect since 1974, so their ``burden'' of 
compliance has diminished over the years. Also, comments provided to 
the FTC indicate that a substantial portion of the existing clubs 
likely would not make these disclosures absent any regulatory 
requirement because the Rule has assisted in fostering long-term 
relationships with consumers.
    In addition, approximately 10 new clubs come into existence each 
year. These clubs spend about 125 hours complying with the Rule, making 
the total hours that new clubs spend per year 1,250 (10 new clubs  x  
125 hours). For new clubs, we have retained the estimate of 
approximately 125 hours to comply with the rule (including start up-
time). The total of 14,375 hours per year for both existing and new 
clubs is a reduction from 15,000 burden hours that the FTC estimated in 
1995.

Estimated Labor Costs

    Total labor costs are approximately $367,697 per year. According to 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average compensation for 
advertising managers is $27.88 per hour. Compensation for clerical 
personnel is approximately $10.00 per hours. Assuming that managers 
perform the bulk of the work, while electric personnel perform some 
associated tasks, such as placing advertisements and responding to 
inquiries about offering or prices, the total cost to the industry for 
the Rule's paperwork requirements would be approximately $367,497 (65 
hours managerial time  x  175 existing negative option plans  x  $27.88 
per hour = $317,135) plus (10 hours clerical time  x  175 existing 
negative option plans  x  $10.00 per hour - $17,500) plus (115 hours 
managerial time  x  10 new negative option plans  x  $27.88 per hour = 
$32,062) plus (10 hour clerical time  x  10 new negative option plans 
x  $10.00 = $1,000).

Estimated Capital or Other Non-Labor Costs

    Because the Rule has been in effect since 1974, the vast majority 
of the negative option clubs have no current start-up costs. For the 
few new clubs that enter the market each year, the capital and start-up 
costs. For the few new clubs that enter the market each year, the 
capital and start-up costs associated with the Rule's disclosure 
requirements, beyond the additional labor costs discussed above, are de 
minimis. Negative option clubs already have access to the ordinary 
office equipment necessary for compliance with the Rule.
    Similarly, the Rule imposes few, if any, printing and distribution 
costs. the required disclosures generally constitute only a small 
addition to the materials that a prospective subscriber sends to the 
seller to solicit enrollment in a negative option plan. Because 
printing and distribution costs are incurred anyway to market the 
product, inserting the required disclosures constitutes only a de 
minimis incremental expense.

3. Title: Power Output Claims for Amplifiers Utilized in Home 
Entertainment Products, 16 CFR part 432--(OMB Control Number 4084-
0105)--Extension

    The Amplifier Rule assists consumers by requiring disclosure of 
four performance characteristics whenever representations are made 
concerning power output, power band or power frequency, and distortion 
characteristics of home audio equipment. The Rule also specifies the 
test conditions to be used to obtain the FTC disclosures.

Estimated Burden Hours

    The annual burden is approximately 1,500 hours. the Rule's 
provisions require affected entities to test the power output of 
amplifiers in accordance with specified FTC protocol. Approximately 300 
new amplifiers and receivers come on the market each year. Since high 
fidelity manufacturers routinely conduct performance tests as part of 
any new product development, the Rule imposes incremental costs only to 
the extent that the FTC protocol is more time-consuming than 
alternative testing procedures. Specifically, a warm up 
(``precondition'') period that the Rule requires before measurements 
are taken may add approximately one hour to the time testing entails. 
Thus, we estimate that the Rule imposes approximately 300 hours (1 hour 
 x  300 new products) of added testing burden annually.
    The Rule requires disclosures if an advertisement makes a power 
output claim. Assuming that ten advertisements per magazine are placed 
each month in ten existing magazines carrying audio equipment 
advertisements, we estimate that approximately 1,200 magazine 
advertisements annually would be required to carry the FTC disclosures. 
The cost of these disclosures is limited to the time needed to draft 
and review the language pertaining to power output specifications.
    Because this Rule became effective in 1974, and because members of 
the industry are familiar with its requirements, compliance is less 
burdensome today. Accordingly, we estimate the time involved for this 
task to be a maximum of 1 hour per advertisement, for a total burden of 
1,200 hours. The total annual burden impose by the Rule is therefore 
approximately 1,500 burden hours. (300 testing hours + 1,200 disclosure 
hours). This is a reduction from 2,700 burden hours estimated in 1995.

Estimated Labor Costs

    According to staff at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average 
hourly compensation for electronics engineers in the industry is 
$28.73, and the average hourly compensation for marketing, advertising 
and public relations managers is $27.88. Generally, electronics 
engineers perform the testing of amplifiers and receivers (300 hours 
x  $28.73 = $8,619.00), and marketing, advertising or public relations 
managers prepare advertisements (including required disclosures) (1,200 
hours  x  $27.88 = $33,456.00). Based on this information, we estimate 
the cost to the industry for the Rule's paperwork requirements to be 
$42,075.00 per year ($33,456.00 + $8,619.00).

[[Page 36880]]

Estimated Capital or Other Non-Labor Costs

    The Rule imposes no capital or other non labor costs because its 
requirements are incidental to testing and advertising done in the 
ordinary course of business.

4. Title: Disclosure Requirements and Prohibitions Concerning 
Franchising and Business Opportunity Ventures (``Franchise Rule''), 
16 CFR Part 436--(OMB Control Number 3084-0107)--Extension

    The Franchise Rule requires franchisors and franchise brokers to 
furnish to prospective investors a disclosure document that provides 
information relating to the franchisor, the franchisor's business, and 
the nature of the proposed franchise relationship, as well as 
additional information about any claims concerning actual or potential 
sales, income, or profits for a prospective franchisee (``earnings 
claims''). Franchisors must also preserve the information that forms a 
reasonable basis for such claims. The Rule is designed to help protect 
potential investors from fraudulent claims.

Estimatd Annual Burden Hours

    The current public disclosure and recordkeeping burden for 
collections of information contained in the Rule is 36,200 hours. This 
figure may change depending upon Commission action on the Advance 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (``ANPR'') in the Federal Register, 
announcing the Commission's intention to consider amending the Rule. 
See 62 Fed. Reg. 9115 (February 28, 1997).
    A review of the trade publications and information from state 
regulatory authorities shows that approximately 5,000 American 
franchise systems, consisting of 2,500 business format franchises and 
2,500 business opportunity sellers, currently exist.\5\ We have 
calculated burden based on this estimate, although some of these 
franchisors, for a variety of reasons, are not covered by the Rule in 
certain situations (e.g., when a franchisee buys bona fide inventory 
but pays no franchisor fees).
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    \5\ These figures have been revised since the notice published 
January 8, 1999, requesting an OMB extension of this Rule. See 64 FR 
1203. The new figures reflect calculations more recently prepared by 
staff.
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Estimated Annual Costs

Labor Costs
    The Rule's required disclosure document provides franchisees with 
information on twenty broad-ranging subjects that affect the 
franchisors, the franchisors's business, and the nature of the proposed 
franchise relationship. This includes not only generally available 
information, such as the official name and address and principal place 
of business of the franchisor, but also less commonly available 
information such as, among other things, the previous 5 years business 
experience of each of the franchisors's current directors and executive 
officers and whether any of these individuals has been convicted of a 
felony or embezzlement, or has filed in bankruptcy or been adjudged 
bankrupt during the previous 7 years. All information in the disclosure 
statement must be updated and revised according to the express time 
requirements set forth in the Rule.
    An attorney likely would prepare or update this disclosure 
document. Accordingly, we estimate the attorney-related labor costs of 
complying with the Rule's requirements as follows: 500 new franchisors 
each incur attorney's fees of approximately $250 per hour for 30 hours 
to develop the disclosure document, and 4,500 current franchisors each 
incur attorney's fees of approximately $250 per hour of 3 hours to 
update the disclosure document, for a total burden of 28,500 hours and 
a total cost of $7,125,000.
Printing the Disclosure Document
    To comply specifically with the Rule, franchisors must incur costs 
to print and distribute the disclosure document. These costs vary based 
upon the length of the disclosures and the number of copies produced to 
meet the expected demand. We estimate, however, that 2,500 business 
format and product franchisors print and mail 100 disclosure documents 
per year at a cost of $35.00 per document. Further, we estimate that 
another 2,500 business opportunity sellers print and mail 100 documents 
per year at a cost of $15.00 per document, for a total cost of 
$12,500.000.
Cover Sheet
    The franchisor also must provide and disseminate an FTC cover sheet 
that identifies the franchisor, the date the document is issued, a 
table of contents, and a notice that tracks the language specifically 
provided in the Rule. Some of the language in the cover sheet is 
supplied by the government for the purpose of disclosure to the public, 
and is thus excluded from the definition of ``collection of 
information'' under the PRA. 5 CFR 1320.3(c)(2). Nonetheless, 
franchisors must spend some time in providing the rest of the required 
information. Further, there are reproduction and mailing costs. 
Accordingly, we estimate that 5,000 franchisors complete and 
disseminate 100 cover sheets per year at a cost of approximately $.55 
per cover sheet, or a total cost of approximately $277,000.
Recordkeeping Costs
    The franchisor may require additional recordkeeping of information 
pertaining to the sale of franchise in non-registration states. At 
most, franchisors would spend an additional hour each year at a cost of 
$10 per hour to save material to show potential franchisees. This would 
result in a total of 5,000 hours per year for all affected entities at 
a total cost of $50,000.

Estimate of Capital and Other Non-Labor Costs

    There are no significant current capital or other non-labor costs 
associated with this Rule.

5. Title: Labeling and Advertising of Home Insulation (``R-Value 
Rule''), 16 CFR Part 460--(OMB Control Number 3084-0109)--Extension

    The R-Value Rule establishes uniform standards for the 
substantiation and disclosure of accurate, material product information 
about the thermal performance characteristics of home insulation 
products. The R-value of an insulation signifies the insulation's 
degree of resistance to the flow of heat. This information tells 
consumers how well a product is likely to perform as an insulator and 
allows consumers to determine whether the cost of the insulation is 
justified.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours

    The Rule's requirements include product testing, recordkeeping, and 
third-party disclosure's on labels, fact sheets, advertisements and 
other promotional materials. These requirements apply to certain 
manufacturers and their testing laboratories; home insulation 
installers; new home sellers who make energy savings claims; and 
retailers who sell home insulation for do-it-yourself installation by 
consumers.
    Based on information provided by members of the insulation 
industry, staff estimate that the Rule affects: (1) 150 insulation 
manufacturers and their testing laboratories; (2) 1,500 installers who 
sell home insulation; (3) 130,000 new home builders/sellers of site-
built home and approximately 7,000 dealers who sell manufactured 
housing; and (4) 25,000 retail sellers who sell home insulation for 
installation by consumers.
    Manufacturers and Testing Laboratories: Under the Rule's testing

[[Page 36881]]

requirements, manufacturers must test each insulation product for its 
R-value. The test takes approximately 2 hours. Approximately 15 of the 
150 insulation manufacturers in existence introduce one new product 
each year. The total annual testing burden is therefore approximately 
30 hours (15 manufacturers  x  2 hours per test).
    As for third-party disclosure requirements in advertising and other 
promotional materials, staff estimate that most manufacturers spend an 
average of approximately 20 hours per year to comply with this 
requirement. Only the five or six largest manufacturers require 
additional time (approximately 80 hours each). Thus, the annual third-
party disclosure burden for manufacturers is approximately 3,360 hours 
(144 manufacturers  x  20 hours + 6 manufacturers  x  80 hours).
    While the Rule imposes recordkeeping requirements, most 
manufacturers and their testing laboratories keep these records of 
testing in the ordinary course of business. Staff estimate that no more 
than one additional hour per year per manufacturer is necessary to 
comply with this requirement, for an annual recordkeeping burden of 
approximately 150 hours (150 manufacturers  x  1 hour).
    Installers: Installers are required to show the manufacturers' 
insulation fact sheet to retail consumers prior to purchase. Installers 
must also disclose information in contracts or receipts concerning the 
R-value and the amount of insulation to be installed. Staff estimate 
that two minutes per sales transaction is sufficient for complying with 
these requirements. Approximately 835,000 retrofit insulations are 
installed by approximately 1,500 installers per year, and therefore, 
the annual burden is approximately 27,833 hours (835,000 sales 
transactions  x  2 minutes). Staff also estimate that one hour per year 
per installer is sufficient for including required disclosures in 
advertisements and other promotional materials. The burden for this 
requirement is approximately 1,500 hours per year (1,500 installers  x  
1 hour).
    Also, installers must keep records that indicate the substantiation 
relied upon for savings claims. The addition time for complying with 
this requirement is minimal, approximately 5 minutes per year per 
installer, for a total of approximately 125 hours (1,500 installers  x  
5 minutes).
    New Home Sellers: New home sellers must make contract disclosures 
concerning the type, thickness and R-value of the insulation they 
install in each part of a new home. Staff estimate that no more than 
one minute per sales transaction is required to comply with this 
requirement, for a total annual burden of approximately 283,333 hours 
(1.7 million new home sales  x  1 minute).
    New home sellers who make energy savings claims must also keep 
records regarding the substantiation relied upon for those claims. 
Because few new home sellers make these claims, and the ones that do 
would likely keep these records anyway in the ordinary course of 
business, staff estimate that the one minute burden for disclosures 
would be more than adequate to cover this recordkeeping requirement, as 
well.
    Retailers: The Rule requires that the approximately 25,000 
retailers who sell home insulation make fact sheets available to 
consumers prior to purchase. This can be accomplished by, e.g., placing 
copies in a display rack, or keeping copies in a binder on a service 
desk with an appropriate notice. Replenishing or replacing fact sheets 
takes approximately one hour per year per retailer, for a burden 
estimate of approximately 25,000 annual hours (25,000 retailers  x  1 
hour).
    The Rule also requires specific disclosures in advertisements or 
other promotional materials to ensure that the claims are fair and not 
deceptive. This burden is extremely small because retailers typically 
use advertising copy provided by the insulation manufacturer, and even 
when retailers prepare their own advertising copy, the Rule provides 
some of the language to be used. Accordingly, approximately one hour 
per year per retailer is sufficient for compliance with this 
requirement, for a total annual burden of approximately 25,000 hours.
    Retailers who make energy savings claims in advertisements or other 
promotional materials must keep records that indicate the 
substantiation they are relying upon. Because few retailers make these 
types of promotional claims and because the Rule permits retailers to 
rely on the insulation manufacturer's substantiation data for any 
claims that are made, the additional recordkeeping burden is de 
minimis. The time calculated for disclosures, above, would be more than 
adequate to cover any burden imposed by this recordkeeping requirement.
    To summarize, staff estimates that the Rule imposes a total of 
366,331 burden hours, as follows: 150 recordkeeping and 3,390 testing 
and disclosure hours for manufacturers; 125 recordkeeping and 29,333 
disclosure hours for installers; 283,333 disclosure hours for new home 
sellers; and 50,000 disclosure hours for retailers. This figure has 
been rounded to 366,400 burden hours.

Estimated Annual Labor Costs:

    The total annual labor costs for the Rule's information collection 
requirements is $7,290,030, derived as follows: $600 for testing, based 
on 30 hours for manufacturers (30 hours  x  $20 per hour for skilled 
technical personnel); $2,750 for complying with the recordkeeping 
requirements of the Rule, based on 275 hours (275 hours  x  $10 per 
hour for clerical personnel); $33,360 for manufacturers' compliance 
with third-party disclosure requirements, based on 3,360 hours (3,360 
hours  x  $10 per hour for clerical personnel); and 47,253,320 for 
compliance by installers, new home (362,666 hours  x  $20 per hour for 
sales persons).

Estimate of Capital and Other Non-Labor Costs

    There are no significant current capital or other non-labor costs 
associated with this Rule. Because the Rule has been in effect since 
1980, members of the industry are familiar with its requirements and 
already have in place the equipment for conducting tests and storing 
records. New products are introduced infrequently. Because the required 
disclosures are placed on packaging or on the product itself, the 
Rule's additional disclosure requirements do not cause industry members 
to incur any significant additional non-labor associated costs.

6. Title: FTC Administrative Activities (OMB Control Number 3084-
0047)--Extension

    Currently, the FTC has OMB clearance for certain administrative 
and/or procedural activities relating to: (1) FTC procurement 
activities; (2) the document order form used by the FTC public 
reference branch; (3) applications to the Commission, including 
applications and notices contained in the Commission's Rules of 
Practice (primarily Parts I, II, and IV); and (4) rules governing 
claims against the FTC under the Equal Access to Justice Act.
    The FTC seeks to delete items (1), (2), and (4). With respect to 
item (1), OMB has advised the FTC that it must seek clearance only for 
any agency-unique information collections that have been published as a 
supplement to the Federal Acquisition Regulations. The FTC has no such 
supplement and accordingly, there is no requirement to obtain OMB 
approval. Deleting this item eliminates 1,000 of 2,300 hours estimated 
in the FTC's 1995 submission for OMB Control No. 3084-0047.

[[Page 36882]]

    With respect to item (2), FTC Form 14 is excluded from the PRA's 
definition of ``information'' because the form asks only for the 
respondent's name, address, a description of the records and the number 
of copies requested. See 5 CFR 3(h)(1) (the definition of 
``information'' excludes an ``affidavit'' or ``certification'' that 
merely asks the respondent for identifying information such as his or 
her name, address, the date, and the nature of the instrument), OMB 
Implementing Guidance to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(Preliminary Draft), February 3, 1997. Deleting this item eliminates 
another 1,000 of 2,300 hours.
    With respect to item (4), the ``law enforcement'' exception of the 
PRA excludes this category, because it involves collecting information 
during the conduct of a Federal investigation, civil action, 
administrative action, investigation, or audit with respect to a 
specific party, or subsequent adjudicative or judicial proceedings 
designed to determine fines or other penalties See 5 CFR 1320.4(a)(1)-
(3). Deleting this item eliminates another 200 hours of the 2,300 hours 
previously estimated for this submission.
    With respect to item (3), the FTC is requesting an extension for 
those provisions covered by that category. Several of the Commission's 
rules contain provisions that allow certain modifications to, or 
exemptions from, a rule. For example, Part 901 of the Commission's 
Rules, 16 CFR Part 901, implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices 
Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692, sets forth the procedures and standards for 
approving petitions received from a state that is requesting permission 
to apply state law in lieu of federal standards.
    Also, the Commission recently amended Rule 4.11(e), 16 CFR 4.11(e), 
which establishes procedures for agency review of compulsory process 
issued to the Commission or its employees in matters to which the 
agency is not a party. The revised rule requires requesters who seek 
voluntary testimony by Commission employees to submit a statement in 
support of their requests. This amendment increases the burden imposed 
by ``FTC Administrative Activities'' by 24 hours and $6,000 per year. 
On June 11, 1999, the FTC filed an OMB Form 83-C, Paperwork Reduction 
Act Change Worksheet that reflected those increases.
    The FTC also recently received approval from the Office of 
Government Ethics (``OGE'') to use an alternative form (instead of OGE 
Form 450, OMB clearance No. 3209-0006) for Commission consultants to 
report financial and other conflicts of interest. This alternative 
form, which requires a simple certification instead of a detailed 
listing of the reporter's financial interests, is appropriate for FTC 
consultants, most of whom work only on specific projects for short 
periods of time, and many of whom serve without pay. While this form 
will save FTC consultants several hours per year in complying with 
financial disclosure and conflict of interest requirements, it also 
will increase the burden attributed to the FTC by approximately 2 hours 
per year because it replaces hours attributable to OGE. There is no 
significant cost associated with completing the form.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours

    Most applications to the Commission generally fall within the ``law 
enforcement exception'' discussed above, and those that are not are 
rare and any burden associated with them is de minimis. For example, 
over the last decade, the Commission has received only one application 
for an exemption under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 
provisions. Staff has estimated that such a submission can be completed 
well within 50 hours. Applications and notices to the Commission 
contained in other rules (generally in Parts I, II, and IV of the 
Commission's Rule of Practice) are also infrequent and difficult to 
quantify. An example is a request for a waiver of costs for obtaining 
Commission records. See 16 CFR 4.8(e). Nonetheless, in order to cover 
any potential'' collections of information'' for which we have not 
otherwise requested clearance, we are requesting a total of 100 burden 
hours as an estimate of the time needed to submit any relevant 
responses.

Estimated Annual Labor Costs

    Based on 124 burden hours, and an hourly rate of $250 for attorney 
time, we estimate the annual cost burden to be no more than $31,000. 
There is no cost associated with the alternative financial reporting 
form.

Estimated Capital and Start-Up Costs/Operation and Maintenance

    Not applicable
John D. Graubert,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 99-17313 Filed 7-7-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M