[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 117 (Friday, June 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34166-34167]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13849]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC or ``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Fair and Accurate Transactions Act of 2003 (``FACTA'' or 
``the Act''), which was enacted on December 4, 2003, imposes a number 
of rulemaking requirements on the FTC. The FTC intends to conduct 
consumer research to examine the comprehensibility of various forms, 
disclosures, and notices, required by the Act. This research will 
inform the Commission's decisions during the rulemaking process.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before August 17, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. 
Comments should refer to ``FACTA: Paperwork Comment, [P044804]'' to 
facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed in paper form 
should include this 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-159 (Annex P), 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. If the comment contains 
any material for which confidential treatment is requested, it must be 
filed in paper (rather than electronic) form, and the first page of the 
document must be clearly labeled ``Confidential.'' \1\ 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.
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    \1\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). 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 Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments, whether filed 
in paper or electronic form, will be considered by the Commission, and 
will be available to the public on the FTC Web site, to the extent 
practicable, at www.ftc.gov. 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 Web site. 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.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be addressed to Lisa M. Harrison, (202) 326-3204, or William P. 
Golden, (202) 326-2494, Federal Trade Commission, Office of the General 
Counsel, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 28, 2004, the FTC submitted a 
request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for generic 
clearance of a proposed group of consumer surveys that will examine the 
comprehensibility of various forms, disclosures, and notices required 
by FACTA. The FTC asked for expedited processing of the clearance 
request because of the short deadline for completing the rulemakings 
mandated by FACTA. The FTC intends to use the consumer surveys in order 
to inform these rulemakings. The methodologies that may be employed for 
the surveys include personal interviews and/or focus groups, telephone 
interviews, and mall intercepts. The Commission's staff estimated that 
the total burden for all FACTA-related surveys would be approximately 
4000 hours.
    On May 12, 2004, OMB granted an expedited clearance for the 
request, and permitted the FTC to provide opportunity for public 
comment white the clearance was in effect. OMB has approved the 
collection of information through October 28, 2004 and has assigned OMB 
control number 3084-0130. The FTC is also seeking public comments on 
its proposal to extend the clearance through October 28, 2007. In 
accordance with the terms of the clearance, the FTC will submit each 
survey instrument to OMB for review prior to conducting the survey.
    The FTC invites comments on: (1) 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; (2) 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; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to 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 
submission of responses.
    Description of the collection of information and proposed use: The 
FTC intends to use consumer survey research to develop and test the 
comprehensibility of disclosures regarding consumer rights and options 
that are mandated by various provisions in FACTA. The consumer surveys 
will involve individual interviews by telephone or focus groups and 
mall intercepts. For most of the surveys, the

[[Page 34167]]

FTC is seeking consumers with open credit card accounts. Recent 
statistics indicate that 75% of adult consumers have credit cards. The 
FTC therefore estimates that, for example, a survey using 650 
respondents will require roughly 870 consumers to be screened. The FTC 
will ensure that the selected contractors screen potential respondents 
on a set of demographic characteristics that will result in a 
representative sample.
    The FTC will contract with a research firm for each of the surveys 
that will utilize mall intercept and telephone surveys (including 
screening). For mall intercepts, the contractor will screen consumers 
in up to 15 shopping malls that represent diverse geographic areas of 
the United States. Respondents may be shown sample solicitations and 
ask a series of questions about the disclosures contained in the 
solicitations. The results will allow the FTC to examine the 
comprehensibility of the disclosures. In addition, some of the surveys 
will utilize personal interviews or focus groups to assist the FTC in 
developing the disclosures to be tested.

Burden Statement

    Estimated annual hours burden: The surveys that the FTC proposes to 
conduct will use mall intercepts, telephone surveys (including 
screening), and, in some cases, personal interviews or focus groups. 
The telephone and mall intercepts will involve between 650 and 1,300 
respondents and will take between one minute (for screening purposes) 
and 30 minutes per respondent; the focus groups and personal interviews 
will involve approximately 150 respondents and will take up to one hour 
per respondent. The annual burden imposed by each survey would range 
from approximately 90 hours to 900 hours for a cumulative total 
estimated burden of approximately 3,500 hours.
    Estimated annual cost burden: The cost per respondent should be 
neglible. Participation is voluntary and will not require start-up, 
capital, or labor expenditures by respondents. The contractors retained 
by the FTC may pay respondents a token honorarium. The honorarium is 
provided as an incentive to encourage participation and to increase the 
survey response rate. The amount offered will be established at a level 
consistent with the contractor's usual practice. For shorter interviews 
(15 to 30 minutes), the amount will not exceed $10. For longer 
interviews, any fees will not exceed $40.
    For each survey, staff estimates that obtaining the services of a 
contractor to screen potential respondents, administer the survey, and 
tabulate the results will cost approximately $40,000. Also, each survey 
will require 400 attorney, economist and research analyst hours valued 
at approximately $25,000. Therefore, the expected cost to the Federal 
Government for each survey will be approximately $65,000.

John D. Graubert,
Acting General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 04-13849 Filed 6-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-M