[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 156 (Wednesday, August 13, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47461-47463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19092]


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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 seeks public 
comments on its proposal to extend through December 31, 2017, the 
current PRA clearance for information collection requirements contained 
in its Trade Regulation Rule entitled Labeling and Advertising of Home 
Insulation (R-value Rule or Rule). That clearance expires on December 
31, 2014.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 14, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comments part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``R-value Rule: FTC File 
No. R811001'' on your comment, and file your comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/rvaluerulepra1 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, 600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver 
your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office 
of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, 
Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for copies of the collection 
of information and supporting documentation should be addressed to 
Hampton Newsome, Attorney, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Mail Code CC-9528, 600 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2889.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Proposed Information Collection Activities

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, 
federal agencies must get OMB approval for each collection of 
information they conduct, sponsor, or require. ``Collection of 
information'' means 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 section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
PRA, the FTC is providing this opportunity for public comment before 
requesting that OMB extend the existing PRA clearance for the 
information collection requirements associated with the Commission's R-
value Rule, 16 CFR Part 460 (OMB Control Number 3084-0109).
    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. All comments must be received on or before October 14, 
2014.
    The R-value Rule establishes uniform standards for the 
substantiation and disclosure of accurate, material product information 
about the thermal performance characteristics of home insulation 
products. The R-value of an insulation signifies the insulation's 
degree of resistance to the flow of heat. This information tells 
consumers how well a product is likely to perform as an insulator and 
allows consumers to determine whether the cost of the insulation is 
justified.

R-value Rule Burden Statement

    Estimated annual hours burden: 129,656 hours.
    The Rule's requirements include product testing, recordkeeping, and 
third-party disclosures on labels, fact sheets, advertisements, and 
other promotional materials. Based on information provided by members 
of the

[[Page 47462]]

insulation industry, staff estimates that the Rule affects: (1) 150 
insulation manufacturers and their testing laboratories; (2) 1,615 
installers who sell home insulation; (3) 125,000 new home builders/
sellers of site-built homes and approximately 5,500 dealers who sell 
manufactured housing; and (4) 25,000 retail sellers who sell home 
insulation for installation by consumers.
    Under the Rule's testing requirements, manufacturers must test each 
insulation product for its R-value. Based on past industry input, staff 
estimates that the test takes approximately two hours. Approximately 15 
of the 150 insulation manufacturers in existence introduce one new 
product each year. Their total annual testing burden is therefore 
approximately 30 hours.
    Staff further estimates that most manufacturers require an average 
of approximately 20 hours per year regarding third-party disclosure 
requirements in advertising and other promotional materials. Only the 
five or six largest manufacturers require additional time, 
approximately 80 hours each. Thus, the annual third-party disclosure 
burden for manufacturers is approximately 3,360 hours [(144 
manufacturers x 20 hours) + (6 manufacturers x 80 hours)].
    While the Rule imposes recordkeeping requirements, most 
manufacturers and their testing laboratories keep their testing-related 
records in the ordinary course of business. Staff estimates that no 
more than one additional hour per year per manufacturer is necessary to 
comply with this requirement, for an annual recordkeeping burden of 
approximately 150 hours (150 manufacturers x 1 hour).
    Installers are required to show the manufacturers' insulation fact 
sheet to retail consumers before purchase. They must also disclose 
information in contracts or receipts concerning the R-value and the 
amount of insulation to install. Staff estimates that two minutes per 
sales transaction is sufficient to comply with these requirements. 
Approximately 2,000,000 retrofit insulations (an industry source's 
estimate) are installed by approximately 1,615 installers per year, 
and, thus, the related annual burden total is approximately 66,667 
hours (2,000,000 sales transactions x 2 minutes). Staff anticipates 
that one hour per year per installer is sufficient to cover required 
disclosures in advertisements and other promotional materials. Thus, 
the burden for this requirement is approximately 1,615 hours per year. 
In addition, installers must keep records that indicate the 
substantiation relied upon for savings claims. The additional time to 
comply with this requirement is minimal--approximately 5 minutes per 
year per installer--for a total of approximately 134 hours.
    New home sellers must make contract disclosures concerning the 
type, thickness, and R-value of the insulation they install in each 
part of a new home. Staff estimates that no more than 30 seconds per 
sales transaction is required to comply with this requirement, for a 
total annual burden of approximately 7,700 hours (an estimated 924,000 
new home sales per year \1\ x 30 seconds). New home sellers who make 
energy savings claims must also keep records regarding the 
substantiation relied upon for those claims. Staff believes that the 30 
seconds covering disclosures would also encompass this recordkeeping 
element.
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    \1\ See Table Q1 on housing starts for single family and 
multiple units for 2013 at https://www.census.gov/construction/nrc/pdf/quarterly_starts_completions.pdf.
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    The Rule requires that the approximately 25,000 retailers who sell 
home insulation make fact sheets available to consumers before 
purchase. This can be accomplished by, for example, placing copies in a 
display rack or keeping copies in a binder on a service desk with an 
appropriate notice. Replenishing or replacing fact sheets should 
require no more than approximately one hour per year per retailer, for 
a total of 25,000 annual hours, industry-wide.
    The Rule also requires specific disclosures in advertisements or 
other promotional materials to ensure that the claims are fair and not 
deceptive. This burden is very minimal because retailers typically use 
advertising copy provided by the insulation manufacturer, and even when 
retailers prepare their own advertising copy, the Rule provides some of 
the language to be used. Accordingly, approximately one hour per year 
per retailer should suffice to meet this requirement, for a total 
annual burden of approximately 25,000 hours.
    Retailers who make energy savings claims in advertisements or other 
promotional materials must keep records that indicate the 
substantiation they are relying upon. Because few retailers make these 
types of promotional claims and because the Rule permits retailers to 
rely on the insulation manufacturer's substantiation data for any 
claims that are made, the additional recordkeeping burden is de 
minimis. The time calculated for disclosures, above, would be more than 
adequate to cover any burden imposed by this recordkeeping requirement.
    To summarize, staff estimates that the Rule imposes a total of 
129,656 burden hours, as follows: 150 recordkeeping and 3,390 testing 
and disclosure hours for manufacturers; 134 recordkeeping and 68,282 
disclosure hours for installers; 7,700 disclosure hours for new home 
sellers; and 50,000 disclosure hours for retailers. The estimated total 
burden is approximately 129,656 burden hours.
    Estimated annual cost burden:
    $2,571,000 (solely related to labor costs and rounded to the 
nearest thousand).
    The total annual labor cost for the Rule's information collection 
requirements is approximately $2,571,000, derived as follows: 
Approximately $810 for testing, based on 30 hours for manufacturers (30 
hours x $27 per hour for skilled technical personnel); $3,976 for 
manufacturers' and installers' compliance with the Rule's recordkeeping 
requirements, based on 284 hours (284 hours x $14 per hour for clerical 
personnel); $47,040 for manufacturers' compliance with third-party 
disclosure requirements, based on 3,360 hours (3,360 hours x $14 per 
hour for clerical personnel); and $2,519,640 for disclosure compliance 
by installers, new home sellers, and retailers (125,982 hours x $20 per 
hour for sales persons).\2\
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    \2\ The wage rates for engineering technicians, except drafters 
(skilled technical personnel), file clerks (clerical personnel), and 
sales and related occupations (sales persons) are based on recent 
data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment 
Statistics Survey.
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    There are no significant current capital or other non-labor costs 
associated with this Rule. Because the Rule has been in effect since 
1980, members of the industry are familiar with its requirements and 
already have in place the equipment for conducting tests and storing 
records. New products are introduced infrequently. Because the required 
disclosures are placed on packaging or on the product itself, the 
Rule's additional disclosure requirements do not cause industry members 
to incur any significant additional non-labor associated costs.

Request for Comments

    You can file a comment online or on paper. Write ``R-value Rule: 
FTC File No. R811001'' on your comment. Your comment--including your 
name and 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.

[[Page 47463]]

    Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive personal information, like a 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 any comment does not include 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 . . . privileged or 
confidential,'' as discussed 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 your comment confidential 
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for 
confidential treatment, and you must follow the procedure explained in 
FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\3\ 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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    \3\ 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), 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, the Commission encourages 
you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the Commission 
considers your online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/rvaluerulepra1 by following the 
instructions on the web-based form. If 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 ``R-value Rule: FTC File 
No. R811001'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or deliver 
it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 
Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex J), 
Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 
400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex J), Washington, DC 
20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by 
courier or overnight service.
    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 October 14, 
2014. 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.

David C. Shonka,
Principal Deputy General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2014-19092 Filed 8-12-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P