[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 70544]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20519]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request; 
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 75-1; Employee Benefit Plan 
Security Transactions With Broker-Dealers, Reporting Dealers and Banks

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This 
program helps the Department assess the impact of its information 
collection requirements and minimize the reporting burden on the public 
and helps the public understand the Department's information collection 
requirements 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 current approval of 
information collection provisions incorporated in the Prohibited 
Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 75-1, pertaining to securities and 
other related transactions with broker-dealers, reporting dealers and 
banks. A copy of the information collection request (ICR) can be 
obtained by contacting the office shown in the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
Addresses section on or before February 5, 2007.

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 75-1 provides exemptions from certain prohibited transaction 
provisions of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
(ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code) for specified 
types of transactions between employee benefit plans and broker-
dealers, reporting dealers and banks relating to securities purchases 
and sales, provided specified conditions are met. The exempted 
transactions include an employee benefit plan's purchase of securities 
from broker-dealers' inventories of stocks, from underwriting 
syndicates in which a plan fiduciary is a member, from banks, from 
reporting dealers, and from a market-maker even if a market-maker is a 
plan fiduciary. The exempted transactions also include, under certain 
conditions, a plan's accepting an extension of credit from a broker-
dealer for the purpose of facilitating settlement of a securities 
transaction. Among other conditions, PTE 75-1 requires that a party 
seeking to rely on the exemption with respect to a transaction maintain 
adequate records of the transaction for a period of six years. The 
Department has obtained approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for this information collection under OMB Control No. 
1210-0092. This approval is currently scheduled to expire on March 30, 
2007.

II. Current Actions

    This notice requests public comment pertaining to the Department's 
request for extension of OMB approval of the information collection 
contained in PTE 75-1. After considering comments received in response 
to this notice, the Department intends to submit an ICR to OMB for 
continuing approval of the information collection contained in PTE 75-
1. No change to the existing ICR is proposed or made at this time. An 
agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB 
control number. A summary of the ICR and the current burden estimates 
follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 75-1; Employee 
Benefit Plan Security Transactions with Broker-Dealers, Reporting 
Dealers and Banks.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0092.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Respondents: 9750.
    Responses: 9750.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1625.
    Estimate Total Burden Cost: $86,125.

III. 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 submissions of responses.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the ICR submitted to OMB; they will also become a 
matter of public record.

Joseph A. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration
 [FR Doc. E6-20519 Filed 12-4-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P