[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 105 (Thursday, June 1, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31124-31125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8546]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 437


Business Opportunity Rule

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Extension of period to submit comments in response to the 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: In a Federal Register notice published on April 12, 2006, 71 
FR 19054, the FTC requested comment on its Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking in connection with the Business Opportunity Rule. The Notice 
stated that comments must be submitted on or before June 16, 2006, and 
that rebuttal comments must be submitted on or before July 7, 2006. In 
response to a request for an extension of the comment period received 
on May 5, 2006, the Commission has extended the comment period for one 
additional month.

DATES: Comments addressing the Business Opportunity Rule Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking must be submitted on or before July 17, 2006. 
Rebuttal comments must be submitted on or before August 7, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. 
Comments should refer to ``Business Opportunity Rule, R511993'' 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, with two complete copies, to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, 
Room H-135 (Annex W), 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. Moreover, because paper mail in 
the Washington area and at the Agency is subject to delay, please 
consider submitting your comments in electronic form, as prescribed 
below. Comments containing confidential material, however, must be 
filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled ``Confidential,'' and must 
comply with Commission 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 Commission Rule 4.9(c), 
16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted by clicking 
on the following Web link: https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-bizopNPR/ 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 https://secure.commentworks.com/
ftc-

[[Page 31125]]

bizopNPR/ Web link. If this notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov, you may also file an electronic comment through 
that Web site. The Commission will consider all comments that 
regulations.gov forwards to it. You may also visit the FTC Web site at 
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/04/newbizopprule.htm to read the Notice of 
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Proposed Rulemaking and the news release describing this proposed Rule.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven Toporoff, (202) 326-3135, 
Division of Marketing Practices, Room 288, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 12, 2006, the Commission published 
a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in connection with a Business 
Opportunity Rule. In that Notice, the Commission solicited comment on a 
variety of topics including the proposed definitions, the scope of the 
proposed Rule, and the proposed disclosures and prohibitions. The 
Notice stated that the period for submitting initial comments would 
close on June 16, 2006, and that the period for submitting rebuttal 
comments would close on July 7, 2006.
    On May 5, 2006, the Commission received a letter from the Direct 
Selling Association (``DSA'') requesting that the Commission extend the 
comment period for 90 days. DSA asserts that the proposed Rule ``could 
have a dramatic negative impact on the direct selling community.'' DSA, 
however, does not identify any specific provision of the proposed Rule 
that might have such an effect, nor does it advance any other facts 
from which the Commission can assess DSA's claim that, in effect, it 
would need a total of five months to formulate its comment. Without a 
more detailed and persuasive explanation as to why the petitioner needs 
so much more time, the Commission is not persuaded that such an 
extension is justified in view of the need to avoid unnecessary delay 
in this proceeding.
    The Commission believes that a 30-day extension should be 
sufficient to enable DSA and all other commenters to prepare and submit 
comments in response to the proposed Rule. Accordingly, the Commission 
has determined to extend the comment period set forth in the Notice 
until July 17, 2006, for initial comments and until August 7, 2006, for 
rebuttal comments.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-8546 Filed 5-31-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P