[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 98 (Tuesday, May 21, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29731-29732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12057]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2013-0020]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; CPSC National Awareness Survey

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) is 
announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection 
of certain information by the agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA), federal agencies are required to publish notice in the 
Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information and 
to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This 
notice solicits comments on a generic clearance to conduct national 
awareness surveys regarding the CPSC and CPSC activities.

DATES: Submit written or electronic comments on the collection of 
information by July 22, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2013-
0020, by any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. The Commission does not accept 
comments submitted by electronic mail (email), except through 
www.regulations.gov. The Commission encourages you to submit electronic 
comments by using the Federal eRulemaking Portal, as described above.
    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 820, 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 
that you do not want to be available to the public. If furnished at 
all, 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, and insert the 
docket number, CPSC-2013-0020, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts. A copy of the draft survey is available at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket No. CPSC-2013-0020, Supporting and 
Related Materials.

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: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), federal 
agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. 
``Collection of information'' is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 
1320.3(c) and includes agency requests or requirements that members of 
the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a 
third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) 
requires federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal 
Register concerning each proposed collection of information before 
submitting the collection to OMB for approval. Accordingly, the CPSC is 
publishing notice of the proposed collection of information set forth 
in this document.

A. National Awareness Survey

    The Commission is authorized under section 5(a) of the Consumer 
Product Safety Act (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 2054(a), to conduct studies and 
investigations relating to the causes and prevention of deaths, 
accidents, injuries, illnesses, other health impairments, and economic 
losses associated with consumer products. Section 5(b) of the CPSA, 15 
U.S.C. 2054(b), further provides that the Commission may conduct 
research, studies, and investigations on the safety of consumer 
products or test consumer products and develop product safety test 
methods and testing devices. To increase awareness about the CPSC and 
to communicate more effectively and

[[Page 29732]]

efficiently with the public regarding information related to consumer 
product safety, such as product recalls and the reporting of hazardous 
incidents, the Commission must evaluate current awareness and benchmark 
changes in public awareness brought about through agency efforts. Using 
a national awareness survey (NAS), the Commission will benchmark 
current levels of awareness and, through two proposed surveys each 
year, measure changes in awareness. As agency staff acquires data, the 
CPSC's Office of Communications will adjust its communications plans to 
increase the effectiveness of the Commission's efforts. The Commission 
is seeking a generic clearance approval from OMB to streamline the 
process for approval of subsequent surveys which may be need to be 
adjusted or modified to obtain the most relevant awareness data.
    The first two national awareness surveys will provide baseline data 
on the awareness of the agency, the CPSC's programs, and recalls--
information about which there currently is relatively little systematic 
data collection. Periodic surveys will be conducted with new 
respondents at intervals to be determined by agency resources and 
needs. Analysis of subsequent surveys will assess changes in awareness. 
Additional surveys also will provide assessment of the effects of 
temporal events, such as product recalls with wide media coverage, or 
seasonal use of fireworks or Christmas tree lights. To gauge the extent 
of the public's awareness of the agency and its activities, the NAS 
will measure awareness of sources for product safety information, 
awareness of procedures for hazardous incident reporting, and awareness 
of product recall enforcement activity. In addition, the CPSC will 
learn how awareness varies with key respondent characteristics, such as 
age, or whether there are children in the household.
    With the information obtained through the NAS, the CPSC intends to 
adjust its communications efforts to achieve a greater impact on 
consumer behavior. The CPSC's activities aim to serve a broad range of 
consumers with differing needs. Reaching all target audiences requires 
varying communications approaches. The survey is designed to assess 
which audiences are being reached and which messages are being 
communicated effectively. Results will indicate which messages and 
methods of communication require further development. For example, 
awareness in households with children ages 5 and younger is expected to 
be different from awareness in households comprising only seniors. The 
need to include diverse respondents necessitates contacting a large 
number of households to obtain adequate sample sizes for all key 
subpopulations.
    The first two survey data collections will be conducted with 
sufficient numbers and at different time points to establish baseline 
estimates of consumer awareness and use of CPSC services. The data also 
may be used to support other aspects of agency operations and 
communications programs.
    The survey will be administered using a computer-assisted telephone 
interview (CATI) system, in a secure location, to which only authorized 
personnel have access. The interview will be conducted using a random 
(cell and landline) telephone number dialing protocol. Interviewers 
will collect data from a randomly selected adult member of each 
household. Participation is voluntary, and all responses will be 
confidential. The operators dialing and conducting the survey are 
trained interviewers. The initial screening is short, taking less than 
a minute at the longest. The brevity of the screening will reduce the 
burden to nonparticipants. Respondents who are aware of the CPSC will 
be presented with 23 substantive questions. Those who are not familiar 
with the agency will be presented with 18 substantive questions. All 
participants will be asked 13 demographic questions and be invited to 
participate in a brief follow-up phone discussion to provide context 
and detail on the CPSC and product safety information awareness. No 
more than nine respondents will actually participate in follow-up 
discussions. Follow-up topics and questions will be based on baseline 
results. To minimize respondent burden, the CATI system will ensure 
that interviewers ask each respondent survey items appropriate for the 
respondent's level of awareness only. The system's automatic survey 
control also will produce status reports to allow ongoing monitoring of 
the survey's progress. The CATI scheduler will be used to route 
telephone numbers to interviewers, maintain a schedule of callback 
appointments, and reschedule unsuccessful contact attempts to an 
appropriate day and time.

B. Burden Hours

    The telephone interview will take approximately 15-20 minutes to 
complete. Each cognitive interview will take approximately 1 hour; and 
each usability test will also take approximately 1 hour. The survey 
will be administered twice a year with 640 respondents for each survey. 
Follow-up interviews with nine respondents for each round will take 
approximately 30 minutes (0.5 hours) each. The total annual burden 
hours for respondents is estimated to be 455.9 hours. The hourly cost 
is estimated to be $51.03 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ``Employer 
Costs for Employee Compensation,'' December 2012, Table 9, total 
compensation for all management, professional, and related workers in 
goods-producing private industries: http://www.bls.gov/ncs/). 
Accordingly, the estimated total annual cost burden to all respondents 
is $23,264.58 (455.9 hours x $51.03, or $23,264.58).
    The annual cost to the federal government is estimated to be the 
cost of administering the survey ($162,952), plus $3,976, based on 6 
days of staff time (3 days for each survey) at an average level of GS-
14 step 5 (($119,238/.692) / 2080 total hours per year) x 48 hours per 
year), using a 69.2 percent ratio of wages and salary to total 
compensation (from Table 1 of the September 2012 Employer Costs for 
Employee Compensation, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics). 
Therefore, total estimated cost to the government is $162,951.94 plus 
$3,976 in government labor costs for the first round of surveys and, 
without initial set-up costs in subsequent years, about $130,000, plus 
about $3,976 for two surveys per year in future years to be adjusted 
for inflation.

C. Request for Comments

    The CPSC invites comments on these topics:
     Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of CPSC's functions, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
     The accuracy of CPSC's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
     Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information 
technology.

    Dated: May 16, 2013.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2013-12057 Filed 5-20-13; 8:45 am]
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