[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 198 (Thursday, October 15, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52914-52915]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-24730]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 198 / Thursday, October 15, 2009 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 52914]]



FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 310


Telemarketing Sales Rule; Extension of Comment Period in the 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

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

ACTION:  Extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: In a Federal Register document announced on July 30, 2009,\1\ 
and published in the Federal Register on August 19, 2009 (``Notice),\2\ 
the Federal Trade Commission requested comment on its Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking (``NPRM'') in connection with proposed debt relief 
amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (``TSR''). The NPRM stated 
that comments must be received on or before October 9, 2009. In 
response to a request to extend the comment period received on 
September 17, 2009, the Commission has determined to extend the comment 
period until October 26, 2009.
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    \1\ The Notice was announced in a press release on July 30, 
2009, available at: (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/07/tsr.shtm).
    \2\ 74 FR 41988 (Aug. 19, 2009).

DATES: Written comments addressing the debt relief amendments to the 
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TSR must be received on or before October 26, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments 
electronically or in paper form. For important information concerning 
the comments you file, please review the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section below. Comments in electronic form should be filed at the 
following electronic address: (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-TSRDebtRelief) (following the instructions on the web-based form). 
Comments in paper form should be mailed or delivered to the following 
address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-135 
(Annex T), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580, in the 
manner detailed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Brown, Division of Financial 
Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-3224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 19, 2009, the Commission published 
an NPRM proposing amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR 
part 310) to address concerns about debt relief services. In that 
Notice, the Commission solicited comment regarding the proposed Rule 
and provided for a 60-day comment period. Thus, the comment period for 
the NPRM would close October 9, 2009.
    On September 17, 2009, U.S. Congressman Dan Burton sent a letter to 
FTC Chairman Jon D. Leibowitz requesting a 120-day extension of the 
comment period, and on October 2, 2009, U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions 
and nine other Members of Congress\4\ sent a letter to Chairman 
Leibowitz similarly requesting a 120-day extension of the comment 
period. In their letters, Congressman Burton and the other Members of 
Congress state that the NPRM involves issues that are important to many 
Members of Congress, who were unable to give the issues proper 
consideration due to the August recess and ensuing and pressing 
Congressional business. They also state that many members of the public 
will be unable to participate in the comment process given the current 
comment deadline.
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    \4\ The other signatories are Rep. John Sullivan, Rep. Steve 
Scalise, Rep. Lynne Westmoreland, Rep. Sam Johnson, Rep. Sue Myrick, 
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Rep. Mike Coffman, Rep. Tom Price, and Rep. 
Mary Fallin.
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    The Commission concludes that although an extension is warranted, 
an extension of 120 days is unnecessary to ensure that interested 
parties have an adequate opportunity to prepare and submit comments and 
would cause undue delay. In addition, the FTC staff is holding a public 
forum on November 4, 2009 to discuss the comments received on the 
proposed rule and allow members of the public to express views about 
the proposed rule. The public forum provides another opportunity to 
provide information to the Commission. Requests to participate in the 
public forum are due on October 9, 2009.\5\
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    \5\ Additional information about the public forum is available 
at (http://www1.ftc.gov/opa/2009/08/tsrforum.shtm).
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    Accordingly, the Commission has decided to extend the comment 
period from October 9, 2009 to October 26, 2009. Interested parties are 
invited to submit written comments electronically or in paper form. 
Comments should refer to ``Telemarketing Sales Rule - Debt Relief 
Amendments, R411001'' to facilitate the organization of comments. 
Please note that your comment--including your name and your state--will 
be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including on the 
publicly accessible FTC Website at (http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm).
    Because comments will be made public, they should not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as any individual's: Social 
Security Number; date of birth; driver's license number, other state 
identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; 
financial account number; or credit or debit card number. Comments also 
should not include any sensitive health information, such as medical 
records or other individually identifiable health information. In 
addition, comments should not include any ``[t]rade secret or any 
commercial or financial information which is obtained from any person 
and which is privileged orconfidential,'' as provided in Section 6(f) 
of the Federal Trade Commission Act (``FTC Act''), 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and 
FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). Comments containing material 
for which confidential treatment is requested must be filed in paper 
form, must be clearly labeled ``Confidential,'' and must comply with 
FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\6\
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    \6\ 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 FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 
4.9(c).
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    Because paper mail addressed to the FTC is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening, please consider submitting your comments 
in electronic form. Comments filed in electronic form should be 
submitted by using the following weblink: (https://

[[Page 52915]]

secure.commentworks.com/ftc-TSRDebtRelief) (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 weblink (https://secure.commentworks.com/ftc-TSRDebtRelief). If 
this Notice appears at (http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/
home.htmlhome), you may also file an electronic comment 
through that website. The Commission will consider all comments that 
regulations.gov forwards to it. You may also visit the FTC website at 
(http://www.ftc.gov) to read the Notice and the news release describing 
it.
    A comment filed in paper form should include the ``Telemarketing 
Sales Rule - Debt Relief Amendments - R411001'' reference both in the 
text and on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the 
following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 
Room H-135 (Annex T), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 
20580. The FTC requests that any comment filed in paper form be sent by 
courier or overnight service, if possible, to avoid security related 
delays.
    Comments on any proposed filing, recordkeeping, or disclosure 
requirements that are subject to paperwork burden review under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act should additionally be submitted to: Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget 
(``OMB''), Attention: Desk Officer for Federal Trade Commission. 
Comments should be submitted via facsimile to (202) 395-5167 because 
U.S. postal mail at the OMB is subject to delays due to heightened 
security precautions.
    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive 
public comments that it receives, whether filed in paper or electronic 
form. Comments received will be available to the public on the FTC 
website, to the extent practicable, at (http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm). As a matter of discretion, the Commission 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 policy, at (http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.shtm).
    By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-24730 Filed 10-14-09: 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S