[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 193 (Thursday, October 4, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60685-60686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24489]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2013-0004]


Proposed Extension of Approval of Information Collection; Comment 
Request--Electrically Operated Toys and Children's Articles

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 
35), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) 
requests comments on a proposed extension of approval of a collection 
of information from manufacturers and importers of certain electrically 
operated toys and children's articles. The collection of information 
consists of testing and recordkeeping requirements in regulations 
titled, ``Requirements for Electrically Operated Toys or Other 
Electrically Operated Articles Intended for Use by Children,'' codified 
at 16 CFR part 1505.
    The Commission will consider all comments received in response to 
this notice before requesting an extension of this collection of 
information from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

DATES: The Office of the Secretary must receive comments not later than 
December 3, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2013-
0004, by any of the following methods:

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    To ensure timely processing of comments, the Commission is no 
longer accepting comments submitted by electronic mail (email), except 
through www.regulations.gov.

Written Submissions

    Submit written submissions in the following way:
    Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for paper, disk, or CD-ROM 
submissions), preferably in five copies, to: Office of the Secretary, 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Room 502, 4330 East West Highway, 
Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 504-7923.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this notice. All comments received may be posted 
without change, including any personal identifiers, contact 
information, or other personal information provided, to http://www.regulations.gov. Do not submit confidential business information, 
trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information 
electronically. Such information should be submitted in writing.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact: 
Robert H. Squibb, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West 
Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 504-7815, or by email to: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1973, the Commission issued safety 
requirements for electrically operated toys and children's articles to 
protect children from unreasonable risks of injury from electric shock, 
electrical burns, and thermal burns. These regulations are codified at 
16 CFR part 1505 and were issued under the authority of sections 2 and 
3 of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261, 1262).

A. Requirements for Electrically Operated Toys

    These regulations are applicable to toys, games, and other articles 
intended for use by children that are powered by electrical current 
from a nominal 120

[[Page 60686]]

volt circuit. Video games and articles designed primarily for use by 
adults that may be used incidentally by children are not subject to 
these regulations.
    The regulations prescribe design, construction, performance, and 
labeling requirements for electrically operated toys and children's 
articles. The regulations also require manufacturers and importers of 
those products to develop and maintain a quality assurance program. 16 
CFR 1505.4(a)(2). Additionally, section 1505.4(a)(3) of the regulations 
require those firms to maintain records for 3 years, containing 
information about: (1) The material and production specifications and 
the description of the quality assurance program required by 16 CFR 
1505.4(a)(2); (2) the results of all inspections and tests conducted; 
and (3) records of sales and distribution.
    OMB approved the collection of information requirements in the 
regulations under control number 3041-0035. OMB's most recent extension 
of approval expires on December 31, 2012. The Commission now proposes 
to request an extension of approval for the information collection 
requirements in the regulations.
    The safety need for this collection of information remains. 
Specifically, if a manufacturer or importer distributes products that 
violate the requirements of the regulations, the records required by 
section 1505.4(a)(3) can be used by the firm and the Commission to: (i) 
identify specific lots or production lines of products that fail to 
comply with applicable requirements; and (ii) notify distributors and 
retailers in the event the products are subject to recall.

B. Estimated Burden

    The Commission staff estimates that about 40 firms are subject to 
the testing and recordkeeping requirements of the regulations. Each one 
may have an average of 10 products each year, for which testing and 
recordkeeping would be required, resulting in approximately 400 
records. Commission staff estimates that the tests required by the 
regulations can be performed on one product in 16 hours and that 
recordkeeping can be performed for one product in 4 hours. Thus, the 
estimated testing burden hours are 6,400 (16 hours x 400), and the 
estimated recordkeeping burden hours are 1,600 hours (400 records x 4 
hours).
    Commission staff estimates that each firm may spend 30 minutes or 
less per model on the labeling requirements. Assuming each firm 
produces 10 new models each year, the estimated labeling burden hours 
are 200 hours (40 firms x 10 models per firm x 0.5 hours per model = 
200 hours) per year. The estimated total burden hours for recordkeeping 
and labeling are 1,800 hours for all firms (1,600 hours for 
recordkeeping + 200 hours for labeling).
    CPSC staff estimates that the hourly wage for the time required to 
perform the required testing and recordkeeping is approximately $61.75 
(Bureau of Labor Statistics: total compensation for management, 
professional, and related workers in goods-producing private 
industries: http://www.bls.gov/ncs, and the hourly wage for the time 
required to maintain the labeling requirements is approximately $27.64 
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, total compensation for all sales and 
office workers in goods-producing, private industries: http://www.bls.gov/ncs). The annualized total cost to the industry is 
estimated to be $444,952 (6,400 x $61.75 + 1,800 x $27.64).
    Commission staff will expend less than one staff month reviewing 
records required to be maintained for electrically operated toys and 
children's articles. The annual cost to the federal government of the 
collection of information in these regulations is estimated to be less 
than $14,338. This estimate uses an annual total compensation of $ 
119,238 (the equivalent of a GS-14 step 5 employee, with an additional 
30.7 percent added for benefits.)

C. Request for Comments

    The Commission solicits written comments from all interested 
persons about the proposed collection of information. The Commission 
specifically solicits information relevant to the following topics:

--Whether the collection of information described above is necessary 
for the proper performance of the Commission's functions, including 
whether the information would have practical utility;
--Whether the estimated burden of the proposed collection of 
information is accurate;
--Whether the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected could be enhanced; and
--Whether the burden imposed by the collection of information could be 
minimized by use of automated, electronic, or other technological 
collection techniques, or other forms of information technology.

    Dated: October 1, 2012.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2012-24489 Filed 10-3-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P