[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 143 (Thursday, July 24, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43235-43237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16898]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


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

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

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The information collection requirements described below will 
be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') for 
review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (``PRA''). The FTC 
is seeking public comments on its proposal to extend through October 
31, 2011, the current PRA clearance for information collection 
requirements contained in the FTC rule on ``Labeling and Advertising of 
Home Insulation'' (``R-value Rule'' or ``Rule''). The current clearance 
expires on October 31, 2008.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 22, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments. 
Comments should refer to ``16 CFR Part 460: Paperwork Comment, FTC File 
No. R811001'' 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, Room H-135 (Annex J), 600 
Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The Commission 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 FTC is subject to delay due to heightened 
security precautions. Moreover, because paper mail in the Washington 
area and at the FTC is subject to delay, please consider submitting 
your comments in electronic form, as prescribed below. If, however, the 
comment contains any material for which confidential treatment is 
requested, it must be filed in paper form, and the first page of the 
document must be clearly labeled ``Confidential.''\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Comments filed in electronic form should be submitted by following 
the instructions on the web-based form at (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-rvaluePRA) 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: (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-rvaluePRA). If this notice appears at 
www.regulations.gov, you may also file an electronic comment through 
that website. The Commission will consider all comments that 
www.regulations.gov forwards to it.
    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 will be 
considered by the Commission and will be available to the public on the 
FTC website, 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 website. More information, including 
routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's 
privacy

[[Page 43236]]

policy at (http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.shtm).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hampton Newsome, Attorney, Bureau of 
Consumer Protection, (202) 326-2889, Federal Trade Commission, 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, federal 
agencies must obtain approval from OMB for each collection of 
information they conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information'' 
means agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit 
reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. 44 
U.S.C. 3502(3), 5 CFR 1320.3(c). As required by section 3506(c)(2)(A) 
of the PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment 
before requesting that OMB extend the existing PRA clearance for the R-
value Rule, 16 CFR Part 460 (OMB Control Number 3084-0109).
    The FTC invites comments on: (1) whether the proposed collection of 
information required by the Rule 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.
    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 hours burden: 117,000 hours, rounded

    The Rule's requirements include product testing, recordkeeping, and 
third-party disclosures on labels, fact sheets, advertisements, and 
other promotional materials. Based on information provided by members 
of the insulation industry, staff estimates that the Rule affects: (1) 
150 insulation manufacturers and their testing laboratories; (2) 1,615 
installers who sell home insulation; (3) 125,000 new home builders/
sellers of site-built homes and approximately 5,500 dealers who sell 
manufactured housing; and (4) 25,000 retail sellers who sell home 
insulation for installation by consumers.
    Under the Rule's testing requirements, manufacturers must test each 
insulation product for its R-value. Based on past industry input, staff 
estimates that the test takes approximately 2 hours. Approximately 15 
of the 150 insulation manufacturers in existence introduce one new 
product each year. Their total annual testing burden is therefore 
approximately 30 hours.
    Staff further estimates that most manufacturers require an average 
of approximately 20 hours per year regarding third-party disclosure 
requirements in advertising and other promotional materials. 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 their testing-related 
records in the ordinary course of business. Staff estimates 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 are required to show the manufacturers' insulation fact 
sheet to retail consumers before purchase. They must also disclose 
information in contracts or receipts concerning the R-value and the 
amount of insulation to install. Staff estimates that two minutes per 
sales transaction is sufficient to comply with these requirements. 
Approximately 1,520,000 retrofit insulations (an industry source's 
estimate) are installed by approximately 1,615 installers per year, 
and, thus, the related annual burden total is approximately 50,667 
hours (1,520,000 sales transactions x 2 minutes). Staff anticipates 
that one hour per year per installer is sufficient to cover required 
disclosures in advertisements and other promotional materials. Thus, 
the burden for this requirement is approximately 1,615 hours per year. 
In addition, installers must keep records that indicate the 
substantiation relied upon for savings claims. The additional time to 
comply with this requirement is minimal -- approximately 5 minutes per 
year per installer -- for a total of approximately 135 hours.
    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 estimates that no more than 30 seconds per 
sales transaction is required to comply with this requirement, for a 
total annual burden of approximately 10,833 hours (an estimated 1.3 
million new home sales\2\ x 30 seconds). 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 regardless of the R-value Rule, staff believes that the 30 
seconds covering disclosures would also encompass this recordkeeping 
element.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Based on U.S. census data from 2007. See (http://www.census.gov/const/www/quarterly_starts_completions.pdf.) 
Figures for new housing starts show a continuing decline from 2005, 
when the Commission last sought PRA clearance for the Rule, through 
2007. See id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Rule requires that the approximately 25,000 retailers who sell 
home insulation make fact sheets available to consumers before 
purchase. This can be accomplished by, for example, 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 should 
require no more than approximately one hour per year per retailer, for 
a total of 25,000 annual hours, industry-wide.
    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 very minimal 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 should suffice to meet 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

[[Page 43237]]

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 
116,790 burden hours, as follows: 150 recordkeeping and 3,390 testing 
and disclosure hours for manufacturers; 135 recordkeeping and 52,282 
disclosure hours for installers; 10,833 disclosure hours for new home 
sellers; and 50,000 disclosure hours for retailers. Rounded to the 
nearest thousand, the total burden is 117,000 burden hours.

Estimated annual cost burden: $2,650,000, rounded to the nearest 
thousand (solely related to labor costs)

    The total annual labor cost for the Rule's information collection 
requirements is $2,649,720, derived as follows: $690 for testing, based 
on 30 hours for manufacturers (30 hours x $23 per hour for skilled 
technical personnel); $3,705 for manufacturers' and installers' 
compliance with the Rule's recordkeeping requirements, based on 285 
hours (285 hours x $13 per hour for clerical personnel); $43,680 for 
manufacturers' compliance with third-party disclosure requirements, 
based on 3,360 hours (3,360 hours x $13 per hour for clerical 
personnel); and $2,601,645 for disclosure compliance by installers, new 
home sellers, and retailers (113,115 hours x $23 per hour for sales 
persons).
    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.

William Blumenthal
General Counsel
[FR Doc. E8-16898 Filed 7-23-08: 8:45 am]
Billing Code: 6750-01-S