[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 126 (Thursday, July 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38097-38099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16048]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

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

ACTION: Notice.

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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 December 
31, 2013, the current PRA clearance for information collection 
requirements contained in its Consumer Product Warranty Rule. Those 
clearances expire on December 31, 2010.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 30, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are invited to submit written comments 
electronically or in paper form, by following the instructions in the 
Request for Comments to 60-Day Notice part of the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section below. Comments in electronic form should be 
submitted by using the following Web link: (https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/consumerwarrantypra) (and 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 J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, 
NW, Washington, DC 20580, in the manner detailed in the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for copies of the collection 
of information and supporting documentation should be addressed to 
Allyson Himelfarb, Investigator, Division of Marketing Practices, 
Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Room H-286, 
600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2505.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Information Collection Activities

    Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, federal agencies must obtain 
approval

[[Page 38098]]

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. Sec.  3502(3), 5 CFR Sec.  
1320.3(c). Because the number of entities affected by the Commission's 
requests will exceed ten, the Commission plans to seek OMB clearance 
under the PRA. As required by Sec.  3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, the 
Commission is providing this opportunity for public comment before 
requesting that OMB extend the existing paperwork clearance for the 
information collection requirements associated with the Commission's 
regulations under the FTC's Rule Concerning Disclosure of Written 
Consumer Product Warranty Terms and Conditions (the ``Warranty Rule'') 
(OMB Control Number 3084-0111), 16 CFR 701.
    The Warranty Rule is one of three rules\1\ that the FTC implemented 
pursuant to requirements of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. 
2301 et seq. (``Warranty Act'' or ``Act'').\2\ The Warranty Rule 
specifies the information that must appear in a written warranty on a 
consumer product costing more than $15. The Rule tracks Section 102(a) 
of the Warranty Act,\3\ specifying information that must appear in the 
written warranty and, for certain disclosures, mandates the exact 
language that must be used.\4\ Neither the Warranty Rule nor the Act 
requires that a manufacturer or retailer warrant a consumer product in 
writing, but if they choose to do so, the warranty must comply with the 
Rule.
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    \1\ The other two rules relate to the pre-sale availability of 
warranty terms and minimum standards for informal dispute settlement 
mechanisms that are incorporated into a written warranty.
    \2\ 40 FR 60168 (Dec. 31, 1975).
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 2302(a).
    \4\ 40 FR 60168, 60169-60170.
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Request for Comments

    The FTC invites comments on: (1) 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; (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. All comments should be filed as prescribed 
below, and must be received on or before August 30, 2010.
    Because comments will be made public, they should not include any 
sensitive personal information, such as an individual's Social Security 
Number; date of birth; driver's license number or 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 or confidential'' 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).\5\
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    \5\ 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 web link: (https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/consumerwarrantypra) (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 web link: (https://public.commentworks.com/ftc/consumerwarrantypra). If this Notice appears at (http://www.regulations.gov/search/index.jsp), 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 ``Warranty Rules: 
Paperwork Comment, FTC File No. P044403'' 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 J), 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.
    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).

Warranty Rule Burden Statement:

    Total annual hours burden: 127,000 hours, rounded to the nearest 
thousand.

    In its 2007 submission to OMB, the FTC estimated that the 
information collection burden of including the disclosures required by 
the Warranty Rule was approximately 107,000 hours per year. Although 
the Rule's information collection requirements have not changed, this 
estimate increases the number of manufacturers subject to the Rule 
based on recent Census data. Nevertheless, because most warrantors 
would now disclose this information even if there were no statute or 
rule requiring them to do so, staff's estimates likely overstate the 
PRA-related burden attributable to the Rule. Moreover, the Warranty 
Rule has been in effect since 1976, and warrantors have long since 
modified their warranties to include the information the Rule requires.
    Based on conversations with various warrantors' representatives 
over the years, staff has concluded that eight hours per year is a 
reasonable estimate of warrantors' PRA-related burden

[[Page 38099]]

attributable to the Warranty Rule. This estimate takes into account 
ensuring that new warranties and changes to existing warranties comply 
with the Rule. Based on recent Census data, staff now estimates that 
there are 15,922 manufacturers covered by the Rule. \6\ This results in 
an annual burden estimate of approximately 127,376 hours (15,922 
manufacturers x 8 hours of burden per year).
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    \6\ Because some manufacturers likely make products that are not 
priced above $15 or not intended for household use--and thus would 
not be subject to the Rule--this figure is likely an overstatement.

    Total annual labor costs: $16,941,000, rounded to the nearest 
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thousand.

    Labor costs are derived by applying appropriate hourly cost figures 
to the burden hours described above. The work required to comply with 
the Warranty Rule--ensuring that new warranties and changes to existing 
warranties comply with the Rule--requires a mix of legal analysis and 
clerical support. Staff estimates that half of the total burden hours 
(63,688 hours) requires legal analysis at an average hourly wage of 
$250 for legal professionals, \7\ resulting in a labor cost of 
$15,922,000. Assuming that the remaining half of the total burden hours 
requires clerical work at an average hourly wage of $16, the resulting 
labor cost is approximately $1,019,008. Thus, the total annual labor 
cost is approximately $16,941,008 ($15,922,000 for legal professionals 
+ $1,019,008 for clerical workers).
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    \7\ Staff has derived an hourly wage rate for legal 
professionals based upon industry knowledge. The clerical wage rate 
used in this Notice is based on recent data from the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics National Compensation Survey.

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    Total annual capital or other nonlabor costs: $0.

    The Rule imposes no appreciable current capital or start-up costs. 
As stated above, warrantors have already modified their warranties to 
include the information the Rule requires. Rule compliance does not 
require the use of any capital goods, other than ordinary office 
equipment, which providers would already have available for general 
business use.

Willard Tom,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2010-16048 Filed 6-30-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-S