[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 72 (Friday, April 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19547-19548]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-5569]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request 
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 2004-07, Transactions With Trust 
REIT Shares

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and 
Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and 
continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This helps to 
ensure that the Department can properly assess the impact of its 
information collection requirements on respondents and minimize the 
reporting burden (in both time and financial resources) on the public 
and that the public can clearly understand the Department's collection 
instruments and provide the requested data in the desired format. 
Currently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is 
soliciting comments on a proposed extension of the information 
collection provisions in Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 
2004-07, which concerns publicly traded shares of beneficial interest 
in real estate investment trusts structured under State law as business 
trusts. A copy of the information collection request (ICR) may be 
obtained by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 13, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Susan G. Lahne, Office of 
Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-5647, 
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-8410; Fax: (202) 219-4745. 
These are not toll-free numbers. Comments may also be submitted 
electronically to the following Internet e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    PTE 2004-07 exempts from certain prohibited transaction 
restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
(ERISA) and from certain taxes imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (the Code), the acquisition, holding, sale, and contribution in 
kind of publicly traded shares of beneficial interest in a real estate 
investment trust that is structured under State law as a business trust 
(Trust REIT), on behalf of and to individual account plans sponsored by 
the REIT or its affiliates, provided that certain conditions are met.
    The exemption allows individual account plans (Plans) established 
by Trust REITS to offer a beneficial interest in the Trust REIT in the 
form of Qualifying REIT Shares, as defined in the exemption, to 
participants in Plans sponsored by the REIT or its employer affiliates, 
to require that employer contributions be used to purchase such shares, 
and to permit ``contributions in kind'' of such shares to these Plans 
by employers.
    The exemption conditions relief on compliance with a number of 
information collection requirements. These information collections are 
to be provided or made available to plan participants and fiduciaries 
in order to inform them about investments in Qualifying REIT Shares and 
the conditions of the exemption permitting share transactions. Records 
sufficient to allow them to determine whether the exemption conditions 
are met must also be maintained, and made available to them upon 
request, for a period of six years. These records must also be made 
available on request to employers and employee organizations with 
employees and members covered by a Plan of the Trust REIT or one of its 
employer affiliates, and to authorized employees and representatives of 
the Department and the Internal Revenue Service. EBSA submitted an ICR 
for the information collections in PTE 2004-07 to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in connection with 
proposal of the class exemption, which was published in the Federal 
Register on June 3, 2003 (68 FR 33185). OMB approved the ICR under OMB 
control number 1210-0124. The ICR approval is currently scheduled to 
expire on July 31, 2006.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
     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., by 
permitting electronic submission of responses.

III. Current Action

    This notice requests comments on an extension of the information 
collections included in PTE 2004-07 The Department is not proposing or 
implementing changes to the existing ICR at this time. A summary of the 
ICR and the current burden estimates follows:
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2004-07, Transactions with 
Trust REIT Shares.
    OMB Number: 1210-0124.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
    Respondents: 42.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion; quarterly; annually.
    Responses: 42.
    Estimated Annual Costs (Operating and Maintenance): $6,400.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $6,400.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or

[[Page 19548]]

included in the request for OMB approval of the ICR; they will also 
become a matter of public record.

    Dated: April 10, 2006.
Susan G. Lahne,
Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-5569 Filed 4-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P