[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 163 (Tuesday, August 25, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 42771-42772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20252]



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 Rules and Regulations
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 to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 163 / Tuesday, August 25, 2009 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 42771]]



FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

RIN 3084-AA98

16 CFR Part 310


Telemarketing Sales Rule Fees

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (the ``Commission'' or ``FTC'') 
is amending its Telemarketing Sales Rule (``TSR'') by updating the fees 
charged to entities accessing the National Do Not Call Registry (the 
``Registry'') as required by the Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act 
of 2007.

DATES: This amendment will become effective October 1, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of this document should be sent to: 
Public Reference Branch, Federal Trade Commission, Room 130, 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Copies of this 
document are also available on the Internet at the Commission's 
website: (http://www.ftc.gov).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelly A. Horne, (202) 326-3031, 
Division of Planning & Information, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 
Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 
20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To comply with the Do-Not-Call Registry Fee 
Extension Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-188, 122 Stat. 635) (``Act''), the 
Commission is amending the TSR by updating the fees entities are 
charged for accessing the Registry: The revised rule increases the 
annual fee for access to the Registry for each area code of data to $55 
per area code, or $27 per area code of data during the second six 
months of an entity's annual subscription period. The maximum amount 
that would be charged to any single entity for accessing area codes of 
data is increased to $15,058.
    This increase is in accordance with the Act, which specifies that 
beginning after fiscal year 2009, the dollar amounts charged shall be 
increased by an amount equal to the amounts specified in the Act, 
whichever fee is applicable, multiplied by the percentage (if any) by 
which the average of the monthly consumer price index (for all urban 
consumers published by the Department of Labor) (``CPI'') for the most 
recently ended 12-month period ending on June 30 exceeds the CPI for 
the 12-month period ending June 30, 2008. The Act also states that any 
increase shall be rounded to the nearest dollar and that there shall be 
no increase in the dollar amounts if the change in the CPI is less than 
1 percent. The adjustments to the applicable fees, if any, are to be 
published in the Federal Register no later than September 1 of each 
year.
    The Act specified that, for fiscal year 2009, the annual fee for 
access to the Registry for each area code of data would be $54 per area 
code, or $27 per area code of data during the second six months of an 
entity's annual subscription period, and that the maximum amount that 
would be charged to any single entity for accessing area codes of data 
would be $14,850. The average value of the CPI for July 1, 2007 to June 
30, 2008 was 211.702; the average value for July 1, 2008 to June 30, 
2009 was 214.658, an increase of 1.4 percent. Applying the 1.4 percent 
increase to the fiscal year 2009 amounts leads to an increase in the 
fee for access to a single area code for a full year to $54.76 (rounded 
to $55) and an increase in the maximum amount charged to $15,057.90 
(rounded to $15,058). The fee for accessing an additional area code for 
a half year remains $27 because the increase is $0.38, and, therefore, 
the new amount continues to round to $27.
    Administrative Procedure Act; Regulatory Flexibility Act; Paperwork 
Reduction Act. The revisions to the Fee Rule are technical in nature 
and merely incorporate statutory changes to the TSR. These statutory 
changes have been adopted without change or interpretation, making 
public comment unnecessary. Therefore, the Commission has determined 
that the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative 
Procedure Act do not apply. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b). For this reason, the 
requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act also do not apply. See 5 
U.S.C. 603, 604. Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 
3501-3521, the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') approved the 
information collection requirements in the Amended TSR and assigned the 
following existing OMB Control Number: 3084-0097. The amendments 
outlined in this Final Rule pertain only to the fee provision (sec. 
310.8) of the Amended TSR and will not establish or alter any record 
keeping, reporting, or third-party disclosure requirements elsewhere in 
the Amended TSR.

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 310

    Advertising, Consumer protection, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Telephone, Trade practices.

0
Accordingly, the Federal Trade Commission amends part 310 of title 16 
of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:

PART 310--TELEMARKETING SALES RULE

0
1. The authority citation for part 310 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 6101-6108; 15 U.S.C. 6151-6155.

0
2. Revise Sec. Sec.  310.8(c) and (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  310.8  Fee for access to the National Do Not Call Registry.

* * * * *
    (c) The annual fee, which must be paid by any person prior to 
obtaining access to the National Do Not Call Registry, is $55 for each 
area code of data accessed, up to a maximum of $15,058; provided, 
however, that there shall be no charge to any person for accessing the 
first five area codes of data, and provided further, that there shall 
be no charge to any person engaging in or causing others to engage in 
outbound telephone calls to consumers and who is accessing area codes 
of data in the National Do Not Call Registry if the person is permitted 
to access, but is not required to access, the National Do Not Call 
Registry under this Rule, 47 CFR 64.1200, or any other Federal 
regulation or law. Any person accessing the National Do Not Call

[[Page 42772]]

Registry may not participate in any arrangement to share the cost of 
accessing the registry, including any arrangement with any telemarketer 
or service provider to divide the costs to access the registry among 
various clients of that telemarketer or service provider.
    (d) Each person who pays, either directly or through another 
person, the annual fee set forth in Sec.  310.8(c), each person 
excepted under Sec.  310.8(c) from paying the annual fee, and each 
person excepted from paying an annual fee under Sec.  
310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B), will be provided a unique account number that will 
allow that person to access the registry data for the selected area 
codes at any time for the twelve month period beginning on the first 
day of the month in which the person paid the fee (``the annual 
period''). To obtain access to additional area codes of data during the 
first six months of the annual period, each person required to pay the 
fee under Sec.  310.8(c) must first pay $55 for each additional area 
code of data not initially selected. To obtain access to additional 
area codes of data during the second six months of the annual period, 
each person required to pay the fee under Sec.  310.8(c) must first pay 
$27 for each additional area code of data not initially selected. The 
payment of the additional fee will permit the person to access the 
additional area codes of data for the remainder of the annual period.
* * * * *
    By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-20252 Filed 8-24-09; 8:45 am]
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