[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 159 (Monday, August 18, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48748-48749]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19504]


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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 Power Output Claims for 
Amplifiers Utilized in Home Entertainment Products (Amplifier Rule or 
Rule), 16 CFR Part 432 (OMB Control Number 3084-0105). That clearance 
expires on December 31, 2014.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 17, 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 ``Amplifier Rule: FTC 
File No. P974222'' on your comment, and file your comment online at 
https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/amplifierrulepra 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 Jock 
K. Chung, Attorney, Division of Enforcement, Bureau of Consumer 
Protection, Federal Trade Commission, Mail Code CC-9528, 600 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20580, (202) 326-2984.

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 
Amplifier Rule, 16 CFR Part 432 (OMB Control Number 3084-0105).
    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 17, 
2014.
    The Amplifier Rule assists consumers by standardizing the 
measurement and disclosure of power output and other performance 
characteristics of amplifiers in stereos and other home entertainment 
equipment. The Rule also specifies the test conditions necessary to 
make the disclosures that the Rule requires.

Amplifier Rule Burden Statement

    Estimated annual hours burden: 450 hours (300 testing-related 
hours; 150 disclosure-related hours).
    The Rule's provisions require affected entities to test the power 
output of amplifiers in accordance with a specified FTC protocol. The 
Commission staff estimates that approximately 300 new amplifiers and 
receivers come on the market each year. High fidelity manufacturers 
routinely conduct performance tests on these new products prior to 
sale. Because manufacturers conduct such tests, the Rule imposes no 
additional costs except to the extent that the FTC protocol is more 
time-consuming than alternative testing procedures. In this regard, a 
warm-up period that the Rule requires before measurements are taken may 
add approximately one hour to the time testing would otherwise entail. 
Thus, staff estimates that the Rule imposes approximately 300 hours (1 
hour x 300 new products) of added testing burden annually.
    In addition, the Rule requires disclosures if a manufacturer makes 
a power output claim for a covered product in an advertisement, 
specification sheet, or product brochure. This requirement does not 
impose any additional costs on manufacturers because, absent the Rule, 
media advertisements, as well as manufacturer specification sheets and 
product brochures, would contain a power specification obtained using 
an alternative to the Rule-required testing protocol. The Rule, 
however, also requires disclosure of harmonic distortion, power 
bandwidth, and impedance ratings in manufacturer specification sheets 
and product brochures that might not otherwise be included.
    Staff assumes that manufacturers produce one specification sheet 
and one brochure each year for each new amplifier and receiver. The 
burden of disclosing the harmonic distortion, bandwidth, and impedance 
information on the specification sheets and brochures is limited to the 
time needed to draft and review the language pertaining to the 
aforementioned specifications. Staff estimates the time involved for 
this task to be a maximum

[[Page 48749]]

of fifteen minutes (or 0.25 hours) for each new specification sheet and 
brochure for a total of 150 hours (derived from [300 new products x 1 
specification sheet) + (300 new products x 1 brochure)] x 0.25 hours).
    The total annual burden imposed by the Rule, therefore, is 
approximately 450 burden hours for testing and disclosures.
    Estimated annual cost burden: $22,200.
    Generally, electronics engineers perform the testing of amplifiers 
and receivers. Staff estimates a labor cost of $14,100 for such testing 
(300 hours for testing x $47 mean hourly wages). Staff assumes 
advertising or promotions managers prepare the disclosures contained in 
product brochures and manufacturer specification sheet and estimates a 
labor cost of $8,100 (150 hours for disclosures x $54 mean hourly 
wages). Accordingly, staff estimates the total labor costs associated 
with the Rule to be approximately $22,200 per year ($14,100 for testing 
+ $8,100 for disclosures).\1\
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    \1\ The wage rates for electronics engineers and advertising and 
promotions managers are based on recent data from the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics Survey at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.htm.
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    The Rule imposes no capital or other non-labor costs because its 
requirements are incidental to testing and advertising done in the 
ordinary course of business.
Request for Comments
    You can file a comment online or on paper. Write ``Amplifier Rule: 
FTC File No. P974222'' 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.
    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 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 . . . 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).\2\ 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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    \2\ 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/amplifierrulepra 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 ``Amplifier Rule: FTC File 
No. P974222'' 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 17, 
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. 2014-19504 Filed 8-15-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P