[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 219 (Monday, November 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70451-70452]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29216]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


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

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The FTC intends to ask the Office of Management and Budget 
(``OMB'') to extend through March 31, 2015, the current Paperwork 
Reduction Act (``PRA'') clearance for the information collection 
requirements in the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (``FPLA'') 
regulations. That clearance expires on March 31, 2012.

DATES: Comments must be filed by January 13, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``Fair Packaging & 
Labeling Regs, PRA Comments, P074200'' on your comment and file your 
comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/fplaPRA by 
following the instructions on the Web-based form. If you prefer to file 
your comment on paper, mail or deliver your comment to the following 
address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 
(Annex J), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ronald D. Lewis, Supervisory 
Investigator, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 
(202) 326-2985, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3521, Federal 
agencies must get OMB approval for each collection of information they 
conduct or sponsor. ``Collection of information'' includes agency 
requests or requirements to 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 the PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for public 
comment before requesting that OMB extend the existing paperwork 
clearance for the FPLA regulations. 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).
    The FTC invites comments on: (1) Whether the labeling requirements 
in the FPLA regulations are necessary, including whether the 
information will be practically useful; (2) the accuracy of our burden 
estimates, including whether the methodology and assumptions used are 
valid; (3) how to improve the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
labels; and (4) how to minimize the burden of providing the required 
information to consumers. All comments should be filed as prescribed in 
the ADDRESSES section above, and must be received on or before January 
13, 2012.
    The FPLA, 15 U.S.C. 1451-1461, was enacted to eliminate consumer 
deception concerning product size and package content. Section 4 of the 
FPLA specifically requires packages or labels to be marked with: (1) A 
statement of identity; (2) a net quantity of contents disclosure; and 
(3) the name and place of business of a company that is responsible for 
the product. The FPLA regulations, 16 CFR parts 500-503, specify how 
manufacturers, packagers, and distributors of ``consumer commodities'' 
\1\ must do this.
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    \1\ ``The term consumer commodity or commodity means any 
article, product, or commodity of any kind or class which is 
customarily produced or distributed for sale through retail sales 
agencies or instrumentalities for consumption by individuals, or use 
by individuals for purposes of personal care or in the performance 
of services ordinarily rendered within the household, and which 
usually is consumed or expended in the course of such consumption or 
use.'' 16 CFR 500.2(c). For the precise scope of the term's coverage 
see 16 CFR 500.2(c); 503.2; 503.5. See also http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fpla/outline.html.
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    Estimated annual hours burden: 8,574,900 total burden hours (solely 
relating to disclosure \2\).
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    \2\ To the extent that the FPLA-implementing regulations require 
sellers of consumer commodities to keep records that substantiate 
``cents off,'' ``introductory offer,'' and/or ``economy size'' 
claims, Commission staff believes that most, if not all, of the 
records that sellers maintain would be kept in the ordinary course 
of business, regardless of the legal mandates.
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    The number of companies used in the estimate is drawn from the most 
recent census available.\3\ Commission staff conservatively estimates 
that approximately 857,490 \4\ manufacturers, packagers, distributors, 
and retailers of consumer commodities make disclosures at an average 
burden of ten hours per entity, for a total disclosure burden of 
8,574,900 hours.
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    \3\ See http://www.census.gov/econ/census0 7. The 2007 Economic 
Census data is found at http://www.factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program+ECN&_tabId=ECN1&_submenuId=datasets_4&_lang=en&_ts=246366688395.
    \4\ Although this figure is not rounded, it is an estimate as it 
is the sum total of projected industry codes subject to the FPLA. 
But, even allowing for industries that may apply, the Census data do 
not separately break out non-household products from household use. 
Accordingly, the source information is over-inclusive and thus 
overstates what is actually subject to the FPLA.
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    Estimated annual cost burden: $186,932,820 (solely relating to 
labor costs)
    The estimated annual labor cost burden associated with the FPLA 
disclosure requirements consists of one hour of managerial and/or 
professional time per covered entity (at an hourly rate of $54), plus 
two hours of specialized clerical support \5\ (at an hourly rate of 
$26), and seven hours of clerical time per covered entity (at an hourly 
rate of $16), for a total of $186,932,820 ($218 blended labor cost per 
covered entity x 857,490 entities).\6\
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    \5\ ``Specialized clerical support'' consists of computer 
support personnel who design the appearance and layout of product 
packaging, including appropriate display of the disclosures required 
by the FPLA regulations.
    \6\ Based generally on the National Compensation Survey: 
Occupational Earnings in the United States, 2010, U.S. Department of 
Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2011) (``BLS National 
Compensation Survey'') (citing the mean hourly earnings for 
management occupations, legal occupations/lawyers, and assorted 
clerical positions), available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ncswage2010.html. Clerical estimates are derived from the above 
source data, applying roughly a mid-range of mean hourly rates for 
potentially applicable clerical types, e.g., computer operators, 
data entry and information processing workers.
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    Total capital and start-up costs are de minimis. For many years, 
covered businesses have done the packaging and labeling activities that 
require capital and start-up costs in the ordinary course of business 
independent of the FPLA regulations. Similarly, firms provide consumers 
the required information in the ordinary course of business.
    Request for Comment: You can file a comment online or on paper. For 
the Commission to consider your comment, we must receive it on or 
before January 13, 2012. Write ``Fair Packaging & Labeling Regs, PRA 
Comments, P074200'' on your comment. Your comment--including your name 
and

[[Page 70452]]

your state--will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, 
including to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, 
at http://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of 
discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals' home contact 
information from comments before placing them on the Commission Web 
site.
    Because you comment will be made public, you are solely responsible 
for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive 
personal information, like anyone'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. You are also solely responsible for 
making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health 
information, like medical records or other individually identifiable 
health information. In addition, do 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 FTC Act 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 
4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive 
information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, 
patterns devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.
    If you want the Commission to give you comment confidential 
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for 
confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained 
in FTC Rule 4.9(c)).\7\ Your comment will be kept confidential only if 
the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole discretion, grants your 
request in accordance with the law and the public interest.
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    \7\ In particular, the written request for confidential 
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and 
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions 
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 
4.9(c), CFR 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://www.ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/fplaPRA, by following the 
instructions on the Web-based form. In this Notice appears at 
http:www.regulations.gov/#!, you also may file a comment through that 
Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``Fair Packaging & 
Labeling Regs, PRA comments, P074200'' on your comment and on the 
envelope, and mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal 
Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex J) 600 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your 
paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Visit the Commission Web site at to read this Notice and the news 
release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws that 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 on or before 
January 13, 2012. You can find more information, including routine uses 
permitted by the Privacy Act, in the Commission's privacy policy, at 
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

Willard K. Tom,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2011-29216 Filed 11-10-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P